#they all play as the version of Link that's closest to them except for Legend who plays Zelda and Twilight who plays Sheik

[notgonnaedit]

Ordon

Summary: When the Chain is sent through another portal, they end up in Twilight's home

Focus Link: Twilight

A/n: Art is mine. I played the Wii version of TP, so I'm gonna use that map as a reference, but Twi will have his clothes from the HD version

Master list

Twilight groaned as he landed face first in the dirt.

Traveling by portals was always risky, never knowing what time you'd end up in, and a mouth full of dirt was not the greatest introduction to a new time.

"Great, where are we this time?" Legend grumbled as he dusted himself off. 

"No idea." Hyrule said. "But this forest is massive!"

Twilight examined his surroundings. They were standing in the middle of a forest. Tall trees surrounded them, and by the looks of it there was a faint, almost buried tile that lined where they were standing.

"Look at that tree!" Wind exclaimed.

Twilight turned around to see a Titan of a tree hanging over a cliff, the only way to reach it was a hollowed out root. He turned again to see a small shop manned by a colorful bird. If that was there, and that was over there...

"I think we're in my Hyrule." He said aloud.

"Are you sure?" Time asked as he looked around.

Twilight nodded with an energy he never showed. "I'm positive."

"Do you have a place we can stay?" Warriors asked.

Twilight nodded. "My house is about ten miles away, we'd better hurry if we wanna get there before dark."

He started walking south. Legend looked at Wild, who shrugged. Wild knew Twilight the best out of all of them, except Time. They followed their companion through the woods.

"I've never seen him so upbeat." Wild said. "He must've really missed home."

Legend nodded. "Can you blame him? He's been away for who knows how long and death was knocking at his door a few weeks ago." He shuddered at the memory of Twilight laying injured in bed. He was so pale and weak...

Meanwhile, Wind was bombarding Twilight with questions about his home.

"How big is your Hyrule? Will we get to see the goats you told us about? Are there kids in your village?"

Twilight chuckled. "Pretty big, yes, and yes, though they're much younger than you."

Soon they came to a large dip in the woods.

"What is this?" Sky asked. In all his travels, he'd never seen such a strange geographical area. The closest thing he could compare it too was the Sealed Grounds back in his time.

"There used to be a lake here from what I'm told." Twilight said as they walked through it. "But after the Twilight it was covered in a poisonous fog. It took years to disapate."

"What was your adventure like?" Four asked. "You never really talk about it."

Twilight grunted lightly and Time stepped in.

"He doesn't have to talk about it if he doesn't want to."

"No, it's fine." Twilight said. He memory of the day he was pulled into a divine plot made shivers run down his spine. It was a reminder of the day his best friend lost her memory, and of the day his companion left him forever. "It was a fairly normal day in Ordon, except that I was to deliver a sword to the Royal Family..." He told them his story. Everything from Ilia's memory loss to racing Yeto down the mountain. 

Eventually they reached Faron Spring as the day started to turn to evening.

"Let's rest here." Twilight said. "We still got a while before we'll get there."

Hyrule splashed his face with the Spring water as everyone sat down.

"Is this the Spring where you learned you were the Chosen Hero?" Wild asked.

Twilight nodded. "He told me that the tunic I wear now was the one my ancestor wore in his journey." He glanced at Time who was observing the tall stones.

Warriors stretched his back. "The weight of these bags is killing me!"

Legend rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have volunteered to take them, tough guy."

Twilight walked over to where the horse grass grew and picked it.

"What are you doing?" Four asked.

Twilight didn't answer as he brought the grass to his lips and blew. A gentle melody echoed through the wind, carrying it's song to the right ear.

"That's Epona's Song." Time said turning to him, a look of bewilderment on his face. He already knew that Twilight was his decendent, but his Hyrule was much different, so it had to be at least a century. Yet Epona's Song had survived just the same.

Just as he said it, a chestnut mare with a white mane cantered to Twilight, who stroked her nose affectionately.

He said to the group. "She can carry your loads for you."

Warriors gratefully attached his bag to Epona's saddle, as did the others.

"It won't hurt her, right?" Wind asked. He wasn't used to horses.

Twilight smiled. "No, she's a tough one."

"We should keep going," Four said. "Unless, we wanna set up camp for the night."

"No, thanks." Sky said.

Twilight's continued to lead the way through a cave, lantern in hand. "Be careful of the rats." He said. "They usually run away but sometimes they bite."

Eventually, they came to a long rope bridge where Twilight smiled. "This is it, after this we'll have entered Ordon Province." He pace quickened as they went.

"He's really excited." Wind noted.

They came across another Spring that Twilight slowed when he saw. He stared sadly at the peaceful scene. All of his worst memories had happened there. But then he saw something near the back of the spring and brightened.

"Why'd we stop?" Hyrule asked approaching his distracted comrade. It was then he noticed the young woman, around Twilight's age. She had short peachy blonde hair that fell just past her chin, and pale skin that seemed to glow faintly. Her back was turned to the group, but they could tell she was very beautiful.

Twilight took a step forward. "Ilia..."

The girl turned around, revealing her sage green eyes and petal shaped lips.

"Link?" Her face broke into a smile as she ran to Twilight. He ran to her as well and they embraced in a tight hug.

The others stared at him feeling puzzled. While most of them assumed this was Ilia, Twilight's childhood best friend, Time and Warriors had a feeling something else was connecting them.

The two friends pulled apart suddenly, and Ilia's smile turned to a scowl.

"Where have you been?! It's been three months, I've been worried!" She looked at Epona, who was standing near the Links. "Epona isn't hurt is she? Link, I swear, if you hurt her—"

Twilight chuckled lightly. "Relax, Ilia. Epona's fine, I'm here now. I've been traveling, with them..." He turned to look at his brothers. Most of them nodded in greeting, but a couple (Wind and Wild) smiled and waved vigorously.

Ilia looked at them curiously. They all shared the same build. Lean and strong. But they all looked different. Most has blue eyes like Link, but one had dark brown and another grey. One thing was for sure, they were all connected.

"I see." She said softly. 

Twilight looked between his best friend and his brothers, speaking to both. "How about we go to my house. I'll explain it all there."

~~~~~~~~

Time watched Twilight and Ilia catch up as the younger hero led the way to his home. The two had a strong bond, no doubt about that, but there was something else he noticed. A look air of protectiveness had surrounded Twilight. Sure, he was always protective of his friends, but with Ilia it had increased.

"Is this your house?" Wind asked as they came to a tree house in a clearing.

"Yep." Twilight said as he tethered Epona. He walked to the ladder and started to climb. "And the village is just down that way." He pointed to a fence that lined a pathway to the South. He climbed to the top and opened the door. Ilia followed him and, with a shrug, so did the others.

"Not too shabby, Rancher." Legend said as he looked around Twilight's home. 

Wild looked at the pot on the fireplace and his stomach growled. He looked at Twilight. "Can I use that? I'm starving."

A chorus of agreements rang through the small home.

"Sure." Twilight said as he removed his wolf pelt. "Ilia, are you staying for dinner?"

She smiled. "Of course. You owe me an explaination."

"So how long have you been friends?" Warriors asked as he examined the pictures on the wall. There was one of what looked like a younger Twilight and Ilia fishing together.

Twilight shrugged. "I dunno. I've known her as long as I can remember."

Over by the fire, Wild was making soup with Ilia's assistance. The girl smiled softly. "I remember."

All eyes turned to her, including Twilight's.

"My parents were away in Castle Town." Ilia explained. "I couldn't have been older than three, so I was staying with Rusl and Uli. Rusl went out hunting one day, but he didn't come back with any game. He came back with a boy around my age. He said that he found him with a golden wolf protecting him, and took him home."

Twilight glanced at Time, who was sitting in a chair. "Must have been sent by the gods." He said.

Four nodded. "They didn't want their Chosen Hero dying at such a young age."

"Yeah, that must be it." Twilight said a bit nervously. He remembered the Hero's Shade last words to him. How he learned that the stal that stood before him was his ancestor. But even more chilling was the fact that the very stal sat before him in the body of a man. Twilight wondered what had happened to Time that made him become the ghoul that couldn't move on without passing on his skills. That's couldn't fully die.

~~~

After dinner, Twilight opted to walk Ilia home, but she insisted to wait until tomorrow to show his face in the village, as to not cause everyone to wonder where he'd been.

"I'll at least take you to the entrance."

Ilia smiled as Twilight opened the door for her. "If you insist."

They left the others to settle in and get ready for bed.

"I knew about Ilia." Wild said. "But I thought he had feelings for Midna." 

They all recalled Twilight's story, and how the snarky imp had really been a beautiful princess.

Wind nodded as he got in his sleeping bag. "He sure sounded like he did."

"That was years ago." Time said wisely. "He may have changed his heart."

Warriors chuckled as he copied Wind's actions. "Well, whatever he feels, Ilia definitely likes him."

~~~~~

"So all those boys are you." Ilia said. "But from different times?"

Twilight scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, pretty much. But some of us might be related."

Ilia nodded. "Like you and the one missing an eye."

A startled gasp escaped Twilight's mouth. Ilia smiled. "Oh, don't act so surprised. I saw the way you looked at him after I mentioned the Golden wolf." She quieted and looked at Twilight's shadow crystal that hung from his neck. "Was he the Stal Warrior you told me about?"

Twilight nodded. Ilia was the only person in his time that knew of his quest, other than Zelda of course. "He's my ancestor, Ilia." He said. "But he doesn't know..." He trailed off. He didn't want to tell the Old Man about his doomed fate, but should he? He was brought out of his thoughts by a warm feeling against his hand. He looked down to see Ilia holding it with two of hers.

"It'll be fine, Link. If he's anything like you, he'll be okay. I know you can handle it. After all, you handled it so well when I lost my memory." She looked up at him with kindness. 

"That reminds me..." Twilight said. "Did the doctor say anything?"

Ilia sighed. "You know how Doctor Orville is." She said, no doubt remembering how he treated Ralis. "He wanted an immense fee just to tell me most of them will come back on their own, if at all. I remember most everything, except for in-between when I was taken and when Telma took me in."

Twilight gazed down at her sadly. She was so pure and kind, she didn't deserve any of the hardships she suffered. She was so strong and resilient, even when she didn't know her own name, Ilia was determined to help the dying Zora prince. 

Twilight pulled his friend into a huge, which she gladly accepted. 

"You might not remember everything, Ilia. But I'm glad you remembered me."

Ilia pulled away from the hug, her eyes slightly misty. "Thank you, Link. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and jogged to the village and Twilight moved to go inside.

He found his friends on the floor in sleeping bags, except for Time, of course. (Twilight let him take his bed, but not without some arguing from the elder, but the younger insisted.) 

"So..." Warriors said with a smirk. "Ilia."

Twilight looked at him with his best wolf-stare. "Don't go near her, Captain."

The soldier immeaditly shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that."

Sky smiled at him knowingly. "He's talking about you​​​​ and Ilia."

Twilight took off his wolf pelt on his shoulders. "She's my best friend." He moved to untie the Ordon cloth around his waist.

"Are you sure she isn't more than that?" Legend hinted as he lay back with his arms behind his head.

Twilight took off his tunic and chain mail before taking off his boots. "What do you mean?"

"Hylia, he's dense." Wind whispered to Wild, who rolled his eyes.

"Ya like her!" Wild said bluntly as he sat cross legged on top of his blanket.

Twilight shook his head. "You got the wrong guy, Champion."

"Oh please, we saw the way you looked at her." Four said with a smirk that everyone seemed to be wearing.

"And the way she looked at you." Hyrule said. "Right, Old Man?"

The oldest of their group had an unreadable expression asTwilight laid down and pulled his covers around him.

"I think," Time started as he climbed the ladder to Twilight's bed. "That you all need to go to bed, and let the Rancher figure out his feelings for himself."

The group grumbled their good nights and went to sleep. But Twilight stared up at his ceiling, trying to make sense of what they had told him.

~~~~~

The next morning, the Links were aroused by and unfamiliar voice calling to them. Well, unfamiliar to all but one.

"Link!" A young boys voice shouted. "We know you're home! Get up!"

Legend rubbed his eyes angrily. "Who is that?" He grumbled.

Twilight got up and opened the door. He smiled when he saw the familiar sight of Talo, Malo, Beth, and Colin all standing in his yard.

"You couldn't have let me sleep?" Twilight asked jokingly. "Hold on, I'll be down in a minute."

When he went back in, he found everyone getting themselves around, well, all except Sky. That boy could sleep through anything.

"Who was that?" Time asked as he joined everyone.

"Village kids." Twilight answered fondly. "They do this every so often. Ilia must have told them I came home. I'm actually surprised they let us sleep in this late.

Hyrule looked out the upstairs window at the sun. "Its, like, eight in the morning!" While he may struggle with iliteracy, the Hero of Hyrule was no stranger to telling the time by using the sun or moon, as any traveler should know.

Twilight got dressed in his casual attire, but not the outfit his counter parts were used to. He wore a sleeveless white shirt with green embroidery, baggy dark green pants that reached past his knees, a blue cloth around his waist tied with a smaller orange cloth like usual, and a green sleeve tethered to his shirt on his left arm.

"Wake up, guys." The Rancher said. "You can't see the goats if you're asleep."

Wind immeaditly perked up. He got dressed twice as fast as the others and was at Twilight's side in a moment.

Strange clothes for farm chores." Warriors noted remembering how Twilight helped at Lon Lon Ranch in his usual attire.

"It's traditional Ordon clothing." The native told them as he walked to the door. The others followed him, all in their day clothes. Even Sky had awoken and was groggily climbing down the ladder.

"Link!" The kids all said as they ran to Twilight, jumping on his back and hanging off his arm. The Rancher didn't seem to mind at all. He laughed with delight as he hugged one particular blond boy.

"Link, Mom and Dad are waiting to see you!" Colin said. "And Rose so close to learning how to walk." He looked over Twilight's shoulder and a confused look crept across his face. "Who are they?"

Twilight turned to see his counter parts standing behind him. He really didn't want to explain how time travel and the Hero's Spirit worked.

"They're–er– travelers. I met them while I was traveling myself."

"Oh." They seemed satisfied with his answer. 

"You should probably head to the ranch." Malo said in his monotonous voice. "Fado has barely been able to keep the goats in check."

"Yeah!" Talo said. "Rusl and my dad had to go into Faron Woods to find one last week!"

"You guys!" Beth scolded. "Link just got back and you're already giving him chores!"

Twilight chuckled and took Epona's reins in his hand to lead her. "It's fine, Beth. I was just about to show my friends here the ranch anyway." He turned to his caravan. "Come on, y'all. The Ordon tour starts now."

~~~~

Ordon Village was just as Twilight had left it. Calm, quiet, and quaint. The lake to his right was just as clear as ever, and the hawk grass on the earthen collums were staying in the gentle breeze.

To the left sat Fado's house, and even farther was Rusl, Uli, Colin, and Rose's house. 

"Link!" Ilia waved from where she was talking with Uli by the bridge. She was holding one year old Rose on her hip.Twilight smiled and made his way over to them.

One thing Twilight had missed was Uli's smile. No matter what he was feeling, she could always make him feel warm inside when she smiled.

"Oh, Link." She said wrapping him in a hug he gladly returned. "We've missed you so much!"

Twilight felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Rusl standing there, his own face shining with a welcoming smile.

"Good to have you back, son." He said.

Twilight felt his chest swell with pride. Rusl and Uli had taken him in until he moved out at sixteen, a year before his adventure. They treated him as one of their own, and Twilight always considered them to be his parents and Colin and Rose to be his younger siblings.

In the background, someone coughed. Twilight pulled away from the two and turned to his group.

"Oh, sorry, guys." He said. "I forgot to introduce you."

"Who are you're...friends." Rusl hesitated on the last word. He wasn't quite sure how these people knew Link. They varied in ages and height, but they all had the same aura that Link did.

"These are my friends." Twilight said to his parental figures. "We just call each other by nicknames. That's Traveler, Captain, Sailor, Champion, Smith, Veteran, Chosen, and the Old Man. Guys," He turned to his group. "This is Rusl and Uli, and their daughter Rose. They raised me as their own, and Colin was here just a minute ago..."

Time held out his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you." Rusl took it and nodded. Time already liked him. They did a fine job with his decendent.

"Can we see the goats now?" Wind said a bit impatiently. He might be a hero, but he was still a kid.

Ilia chuckled. "You're friend might be right, Link. I'm sure the kids already told you about Fado. You know how my father feels when you aren't helping with the ranch."

"Then why doesn't he have Link run it full time, and Faso helps?" Rusl asked.

Uli chided her husband. "Link has more important things to tend to in Castle Town with you. He can only stretch himself so thin." She turned to Twilight. "I don't mean to talk about you like you're not here."

Rose started babbling from her place on Ilia's hip. The young woman held her up to eye level. "Do you wanna see Link? You want your big brother?" She handed Rose to Twilight, who gingerly took the baby.

"Hi, Rosie." He said to her smiling.

"Ink!" She babbled happily. While she couldn't quite say Twilight's name yet, that didn't stop her from trying. Just then, Colin came up with grass stains on his clothes. The other village kids tailed behind, and went to their own parents.

"Colin, what happened to you?" Uli asked as she took in his state.

"Taking wanted to play sumo and I said I didn't want to, so he tried to make me. But I beat him."

"Good job." Rusl and Twilight said in sync. Ever since Colin saved Beth from the Bulbins, Talo had stopped bullying him. But there was always the occasion when Talo went to far.

The other Links watch in amusement at the family. Wild was wondering why his companion had never mentioned his family before. But that nice moment was interrupted by a call from the north.

"Heeeyyyy! A goat got loose!!!"

A blue, horned beast ran down the path. The group got in battle stances, not knowing what else to do. The goat was coming right for them. But Twilight handed Rose to Uli and ran across the bridge. They watched in wonder as their friend grabbed the goat by it's ringed horns and threw it to the ground. It got up, shook its head, and walked back up to the ranch.

"I should probably go see how Fado's doing." Twilight said as he dusted his hands off.

Ilia giggled. "Probably. You should go now before anymore get loose."

Twilight took Epona's reins once again and led his companions to his job.

"You're sure you don't have any magic items?" Legend teased. To be fair, Twilight had grabbed a thundering beast and threw it to the ground like it was nothing. It wouldn't be unusual for Legend to be slightly jealous of his beastly friend's strength.

Twilight chuckled. "Just my crystal."

Four noticed they were in a stretch of the path where no one is around and he took that as an opportunity. "Does anyone here know about your–you know–other form?"

"Just Ilia." The Rancher said shortly.

"You seem to really trust her." Sky said in a tone that could be considered a teasing one.

"She's my best friend." Twilight said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell Rusl and Uli, and they raised you." Warriors pointed out.

"Ilia saw things she couldn't explain. I told her everything so she wouldn't think she was losing her mind." Twilight's tone was somber. "It's hard enough knowing there will be some things she'll never remember. I wanted to give her some peace of mind."

The group fell silent at his words. They knew he was just trying to protect his friend, but they still felt there was some unspoken feelings amidst.

"Well, we're here." Twilight said as they approached the open gates of the ranch. Ranch didn't cover it. There was a fence along the South side, but the pasture was bordered by small cliffs on all sides. There was a barn on the west side, and it's doors were open.

There was one man in the center of the pasture, and he was inspecting a goats hoof.

"Fado!" Twilight said approaching him.

Fado looked up from the goat. "Link! You're back, and you brought Epona!"

Twilight laughed. "Yep, I figured you needed the help.

Fado scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I sure do. I need to check for sickness today so I gotta round 'em all up in the barn. You think you can do that?"

Twilight smirked as he mounted his horse. "You bet." He turned to his friends. "Y'all better stay back while I herd them. They can get aggressive. Hyah!" He took off on Epona in a canter.

Wind watched in awe as Twilight herded the goats into barn. He made it look so easy. "He's really good."

Time felt a swell of pride. Malon would be proud to watch their decendent handle animals with such skill. He could hardly believe that the same boy who was riding around, was barely breathing a few weeks ago. Whatever that shadow did had messed him up, and Time shuddered to think what might have happened if the Traveler's life spell hadn't worked. Time thougtt about how much Twilight talked about Ilia. He had painted a perfect picture of her, from her green eyes to they way her nose scrunched when she laughed. It was clear to the man that they had feelings for each other, whether they knew it or not.

Wild, on the other hand, was confused. Twilight had talked about Midna like an old heartbreak that hadn't healed. But when Twilight was around Ilia, he smiled like her very presence was his reason for anything.

By now, all the goats were in the barn being checked for sickness and disease by Twilight and Fado.

"How did you know of their sick?" Wind asked as Twilight examined a goats mouth. Four, Time, Sky and Wild had gone back down to the village. Wind, Legend, Hyrule, and Warriors stayed out of fascination for the goats.

"You check their mouth, and if their spit is yellow, they're sick." Twilight said as he patted his goat's back. "But this old girl is as healthy as they come."

"You never mentioned the smell." Warriors said distastefully.

Legend rolled his eyes. "It's a barn, Captain. What did you expect?"

"I don't mind it." Hyrule said. In his time, there was very little livestock. Most towns were scattered and maybe had one or two cows.

~~~~

Back in the village, Four and Time were talking with Rusl while Wild was playing with the kids, and Sky was talking with Ilia.

"Link said you were a blacksmith." Four said. "Do you mind if I use your forge to repair this?" He held out a broken sword, no doubt Wild's.

Rusl took the sword and inspected it. "Hmm, it will take skill. Are you up to the task?"

Four squared his shoulders. He was used to people underestimating him. "Sir, I've forged swords in the fires of the volcano of my home. I can handle a forge."

Rusl laughed at the boy's attitude. "Go on ahead, lad. I believe you."

Time chuckled as the Smith ran off with the sword.

"How about you?" Rusl asked. "How do you know Link?"

Time hesitated. "I'm just a traveler."

Rusl shifted. "Are you by any chance his family?" He continued when Time didn't respond. "You have the same eyes and air of confidence. I wouldn't be surprised if you were his father, but I feel like Link would've mentioned it by now."

"Let's just call it a coincidence." Time said. "Ilia told us that you found Link in the forest?"

Rusl nodded. His eyes were distant, like he was reliving a memory. "I was hunting and I came across a wolf. But not just any wolf: its coat was gold, like the sky at sunset. In fact, it kinda looked like the color of your hair. Anyway, it stared at me. I was afraid to kill it because it might've been a spirit or god, so I just stood there, watching it.

"It wasn't long before the leaves in the bushes rustled, and a little boy, a toddler, wrapped his arms around the wolf cheerfully. The wolf stared at me with its one red eye, and I somehow understood. It wanted me to take the boy, it couldn't take care of him forever. 

"I remember looking at the boy's hand and seeing the symbol of the Royal Family. It wasn't until years later that I leaned that the boy, our Link, was the chosen hero. I never saw that wolf again, but I had a feeling it was sacred."

Time knew he needed to have a talk with Twilight later. "You said the wolf had one eye. Which eye was missing." He knew he was crazy for thinking it, but he had to know.

"I think it was missing it's right eye, but I could be wrong."

That was all the confirmation Time needed. He wasn't going to talk with Twilight anymore. There was a reason he didn't tell him, and Time was scared to know.

~~~~~~~

That night, everyone was once again settling down in Twilight's home.

"You're home is a lot like mine, Rancher." Sky said as he lay down. "Tight-knit, friendly people. It kinda makes me miss home."

"We'll get to your home eventually." Four assured him.

Twilight sat at the table with Time. The two hadn't spoken since Twi finished helping at the ranch. Both were scared to speak to each other.

Not being able to bear the awkwardness, Twilight went to his door. "I need to check on Epona." When he was outside, Twilight inhaled a deep breath of the night air. He found it cleared his mind better than anything. 

He climbed down the ladder only to find that Epona wasn't there. Twilight scanned the area and sniffed the air. Ever since Faron had turned him back into a man, he had some side effects. Such as, his hair was wilder and courser, and his senses were always on high alert. They weren't as strong as when he was in full wolf form, but they were strong enough to come to the conclusion that Ilia had taken Epona to the Spirit's Spring.

Twilight smiled to himself as he headed down the trail. Ilia had been doing this for years, and tonight was no exception. He reached the Spring and found Ilia standing in the center, stroking Epona's face. She looked ethereal in the moonlight, her peachy hair had a silvery glow, casting a fairy-like look on her face.

"Oh, hi, Link." She said smiling. "I'd thought I'd wash Epona for you, since you probably never had a chance to in your travels."

Twilight smiled at her. It felt so nice to hear his name for what felt like the first time in months. "Thank you, you're right. She could use a good wash."

Epona nickered, causing a light laugh to pass between the two friends.

"I've missed you, you know..." Ilia said. "I was starting to wonder if you were ever coming back, even with your letters, I..." She trailed off. 

Finally, Twilight understood what his counter parts were talking about. Ilia cared for him in a way no one else did. She'd listened when he told her about his journey. The nightmares he still had, the interesting people he met. And Midna... How Ilia listened for hours about how he talked about Midna when the farm girl cared for him herself.

He stared at her. Her pale skin shimmering in the water's nightly glow.

"Ilia..." Twilight started as he moved to close the distance between them. "I..."

"Stop." She said. "I know what you're going to say. I know you love Midna, and I'm not her."

Twilight took her hand gently, his calloused palms caressing her soft ones. "Ilia, you've always been there for me. To scold or to cheer me on, you always wanted whats best for me. I was so upset that Midna left, I forgot that you were always there for me. I was a fool not to see it sooner. Ilia—"

Ilia reached up and kissed him. Twilight stood there dumbfounded for a moment before he leaned into the kiss, his hands holding hers.

When they pulled away, their foreheads were almost touching. Twilight was sure he looked like and idiot with his goofy grin and spreading blush, but Ilia didn't seem to care. She just smiled up at him and said, "Took you long enough."

[science-lings]

LU Headcanons: Smash Ultimate Mains

There are multiple for each one because there are over 80 smash characters and more than one fit each of their vibes and I personally have a whole team of characters that I like to fight as.

Wind: Young Link, Meta Knight, Minecraft Steve, Sonic, he is a child, he plays characters that a gamer kid would play, also he hero worships Time so of course he’d play as baby Time because it’s funny. He prefers fast characters to ones that are super strong and has different moves that he spams constantly. Aside from Young Link he refuses to play children. But when they go for an all Zelda character round, he’s Toon Link. 

Four: Tends to go for characters that are multiples in one, like the ice climbers or duck hunt or Banjo and Kazooie or Rosalina and Luma. He gets bullied into playing Hero because of their matching haircuts, He also occasionally plays as Olimar because he’s just a little nature alien that uses throws little alien plant people at everyone else. He draws the line at being bullied into playing Little Mac. 

Hyrule: Likes cute cartoon characters like Yoshi and Megaman and Sora, also tends to go for a lot of Pokemon like Pikachu and the Pokemon trainer, he also sometimes plays as Lucas because he’s just a scared little kid with magic and that Hyrule identifies with a little bit. He also goes for that one Fire Emblem character that does magic and turns into a dragon, I literally cannnot tell those bitches apart. 

Sky: Likes little characters that can fly, like Kirby and Pit and Bowser Jr. but he couldn’t not main Cloud. I mean seriously, his name and big sword is the perfect fit for Sky. I also think that he would play Peach because he likes how cutesy and nonviolent she is despite being in a fighting game. I mean seriously her main weapons are her ass and her parasol and a golf club.  

Warriors: Okay he only plays as those Fire Emblem sword bitches, Ike and Marth and Lucina and all that shit. He plays as any prettyboy sword bitch in the game, including Shulk and Cloud and Sepheroth, though he only plays as Sepheroth when Sky plays as Cloud. When he’s not a typical swordsmen character, he plays as Toon Link. He loves Toon Link for obvious reasons. 

Legend: Either goes for girls but especially magic girls... and that’s it. He plays as Zelda and Zero Suit Samus and Palutena and Bayonetta and Pyra/Mythra, but absolutely refuses to play as a Fire Emblem Character specifically out of spite for Warriors. He does play as Ness when Hyrule is Lucas. 

Time: Has not type, sure he has preferences but they don’t follow a pattern. Like he plays as Bowser and Sheik and Pac-Man and Min Min and there’s no similarities, he just likes them. Though he does like Bowser only because Malon has the little scarf clip that looks suspiciously similar... He likes Pac-Man because he’s old, and Sheik because he’s bisexual and Min Min because she has dragons and noodles and just perfect vibes. He will play as Young Link when it’s that wario stage that forces you to taunt because his taunts have him chugging milk and saying hi to Navi and that is pretty cute.

Twilight: Whatever vibes the Belmont's and Solid Snake have is Twilight’s theme, like buff bounty hunter/monster killer types, but also dogs, like Duck Hunt and Isabelle, and he has been bullied into playing as Wolf. Idk he either goes for the edgy buff dudes or puppies. He likes the living room stage but gets distracted by the animals in the background.  

Wild: He likes a bunch of the robot-y sci-fi characters, Like Samus and Dark Samus and R.O.B. He also thinks Ridley is cool. Sometimes he goes for the Fire Emblem character that comes in different genders (I think it’s Byleth but idk), He also plays as himself because he thinks its cool that he can. He likes that he can use bombs. Also his final smash is with a bow and arrow and that’s very Wild.  

[spoadicdeviance]

A Case For Motion Controls

AKA, “You know what?: Part Two”

I made my post some time ago intended to serve as a counterpoint to those who wanted a version of Skyward Sword without motion controls. I’ve stated how motion controls are vital to the game’s core design and how removing them or even giving the player the option of playing the game with standard controls would be counterintuitive to what Skyward Sword set out to do.

Naturally, I have seen some feedback from that post, mostly positive, but with a few people questioning why I was so adamant about Skyward Sword retaining its original control set up. Some people questioned why I was opposed to a hypothetical remake that provides the player with the option for standard controls. Their reasoning being that more playstyles is never a bad thing.

Now, while multiple options given to the player would appear to have no downsides, in this case, however, the idea of Nintendo even allowing to option for standard controls (let alone removing all of Skyward Sword’s motion controls) would be equivalent of them saying that Skyward Sword failed in its objective of showing gamers motion controls can work in video games.

As I told everyone who read my previous post, that’s objectively not true. Skyward Sword’s motion controls do work properly, and they did make a massive difference when playing the game.

Skyward Sword just happened to have been released at a time where the majority of gamers got tired of the whole motion control phenomena that was going on since 2006.

And in all fairness, those gamers have all the right to have felt burned out. With Sony doing less than the bare minimum with the PlayStation Move and whatever the hell Microsoft were trying to do with the Kinect, you could see where a lot of gamer’s hatred for motion controls could’ve started from. 

Even Nintendo should holster a significant amount of blame for the masses turning on the Wii and motion controls. I think Jonathan Holmes of Destructiod put it best in his review of Skyward Sword:

“If the Wii launched with The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, everything would be different.”

Regardless about how you or I feel about this game in particular, let’s be honest, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess was the catalyst of the Wii’s eventual fall from grace. As much as Twilight Princess did a whole lot of good initially for Nintendo and the Wii, the success of that game sent a clear message to other game developers;

1. Make a game for the Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 generation of consoles (Or just take one that was already made)

2. Tack on some waggle controls and AR aiming on said game (playtesting is optional)

3. Release the game on the Wii

4. …

5. PROFIT!!!

Look at what that mindset brought us; piles and piles of terrible shovel ware that barely utilized the Wii’s motion control technology properly, if at all. Heck, most of the shovel ware on the Wii are ports of PS2 shovel ware with waggle motion added.

Sure, there were some great ports on the Wii (Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Pikmin 1 and 2), but those were the exception not the rule.

Even with the great Wii games that were not ports (Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, No More Heroes 1 and 2, Madworld, etc.), when you played them you couldn‘t help but think;

“Why is it necessary to use motion controls if the action I’m preforming could’ve easily been done with standard controls with little to no difference”

That was the issue with motion controls during the Wii’s heyday, not that they were overbearing, but that they were basically unnecessary. Only the AR sensor aiming added anything of note to the games. Even then, it boiled down to the wiimote being a glorified mouse.

Then, when the initial hype surrounding the Wii started to die down, Nintendo decided to unveil Wii-Motion-Plus; an upgraded form of the Wii’s original controller that allowed for more complex motion-based inputs for upcoming games.

“Okay then.” gamers said, “Actual motion controls and not just cheap waggling. Maybe this will be the opportunity for the Wii to finally fulfil on the promise of a gaming revolution.”

And what did Nintendo do with all that resurfaced hype? Release a bunch of mini-game collections that amounted nothing but glorified tech-demos for Wii-Motion-Plus. 

Even Red Steel 2, the only full game other than Skyward Sword that used motion-plus, was too short, too light on content, and simply lacked any moment that made the player think that this game needed motion-plus to exist.

By the time Skyward Sword was released to the public, gamers had been through five or so years of shovel ware, pointless waggling, and games that never truly tapped into what motion controls can do. Needless to say, the idea of a game going all in on motion controls, in the minds of the average gamer, is about as welcome as a lederhosen store in Jerusalem.

Even without taking into account the changes to Zelda formula, the different art style, the OPTIONAL HINTS, some of which were used in previous and later Zelda games (that the masses decided to ignore), Skyward Sword was already fighting an uphill battle when it came to getting approval from gamers with its motion-plus based controls.

That’s the cold hard truth; the majority of people who hate Skyward Sword had already decided to hate the game before it even came out.

Whenever the player held the wiimote at an angle and swung the wiimote in a way that the game interpreted your left swing as an upper-left swing, the player took that as the controls malfunctioning rather than him/her realizing that he/she is playing the game incorrectly.

Whenever the player had to recalibrate the wiimote once (two times max) during an entire playthrough, the player interprets that as motion-based controllers being faulty, ignoring the fact that all technology (not just every controller, joystick, and keyboard and mouse) does not work all the time. 

Seriously, you never had to unplug and re-plug a wired controller because your character was moving without you touching the controller? Buttons on a keyboard/controller never jammed or didn‘t work when pressed? You never had to check the mouse whenever you moved it and it was not doing anything in the game? Really? Yet the wiimote must work at 100% efficiency when you’re playing Skyward Sword.

Whenever the game tells the player that a new dowsing target is available, the player saw that as the game holding their hand and not the game giving an OPTIONAL way of helping inexperienced players. You can always hold the c button, aim the wiimote so that the cursor highlights the eye symbol and select that whenever a new dowsing target came up so that dowsing would never get in the way of your playthrough. 

Also, where were the gamers who complained about dowsing at when Breath of the Wild, the “savior of the Zelda franchise” and “game of the year, all years”, had the Shiekah Sensor? You know, the feature that was just as optional as dowsing was and functioned the exact same way, just walk in the direction of the closest object of interest instead of pointing your wiimote. The fact that Breath of the Wild focused more on exploration should, in theory, make the inclusion of such a feature a more egregious offense than dowsing in Skyward Sword, but that’s just me.

Fact is the most gamers who hate Skyward Sword were just looking for reasons to justify their hatred, regardless if it was consistent with their critical outlook on other games, and it was all because Skyward Sword wanted to do its own thing.

And you know what? It would be one thing if the motion controls just simply worked. Then all I would do is say that this backlash was simply an overreaction to something inoffensive. 

The reason why I write posts this long in order to counter the arguments of those that hate Skyward Sword is not because the motion controls simply work, it’s because the motion controls in Skyward Sword are core to what makes the game truly magnificent.

It’s similar to what videogamedunkey said in his Mario 64 video; the controls were so revolutionary that they were actually alienating.

The 1:1 swordplay allowed combat to have more depth than a lot of other games, let alone Zelda titles. Enemies either blocked or had their weak points positioned in such a way that you had to be precise with how you swung your sword if you wanted to defeat even basic enemies like Bokoblins and Deku-Babas. Also stunned enemies and bosses require more tactful strikes. It wasn‘t just senseless button mashing (although don’t get me wrong, that does have its cathartic moments too).

Flying your Loftwing, using the beetle, and swimming felt more fluid compared to using the analog stick, making even the swimming sections smoother compared to Twilight Princess for example. Heck the Loftwing controls is like if you took a flight stick meant for simulation games and made it horizontal. You didn‘t have to spend an additional $50 (if you’re cheap) on a peripheral to experience it. Just use the same controller you been using for the entire game.

Even aiming with the wiimote at any angle you wanted, without relying on the Wii’s sensor bar, made aiming in Skyward Sword more flexible than standard wiimote aiming, and to be perfectly honest, even when compared to mouse controls.

Plus, there’s the little touches like using the bow by holding the wiimote like a longbow then pressing the c button on the nun chuck and pulling it back like you’re readying the arrow before firing. Bowling the bombs and angling your shot by tilting the wiimote in the direction you want the bomb to go. Getting the shield ready by moving the nun chuck forward like how Link readies the shield in game. All of this and more adds to how the controls make the player feel immersed in the game, like the player is actually doing what Link is doing on screen.

Even the controls some would say are “standard wiimote waggling” like rolling and leaping while climbing ladders/vines do not take anything from the other ways the motion controls add to the overall experience.

These controls are what make Skyward Sword stand out amongst its contemporaries.

If you take all of that and tried to make the game in a way so it can be played with traditional controls, you’ll be left with a control scheme that’s run of the mill in some ways, clunky and awkward in others.

In a previous post, I took a jab at Metal Gear Rising: Revengance, using the game as an example of why Skyward Sword would not work with standard controls. I didn‘t do this simply to spite fans of the game, I did it because the dual analog stick swordplay is awkward to figure out and clunky in execution. It took way too long to decode the analog puzzle that was Blade Mode and I would just use the face buttons for horizontal and vertical slashes whenever possible, which as stated before was just button mashing. That’s what would Skyward Sword’s combat would devolve into if the motion controls were removed.

Every other effect of switching to traditional controls would make the moment to moment gameplay slow and monotonous most of the time with very few select sections not changing for better or worse. There is no inherit benefit to removing the motion controls in Skyward Sword and replacing them with traditional ones outside of pleasing those who hate motion controls.

All of this is not taking into account the ways Skyward Sword is impressive outside of the motion controls; the great story with excellent characters, wonderful art style, captivating music, fun side quests/minigames, the fact that rupees were now worth something in a Zelda game outside of being glorified carnival tickets for minigames, the fantastic level/dungeon design, terrific boss battles, shield durability which made sure you were more strategic when you went on the defense in fights, a stamina meter that allowed for more mobility, light rpg elements including crafting to upgrade your potions/items plus an expandable inventory that can hold certain amount of items with each layout of items effecting how you played the game, a hero mode that gave the game more challenge via only using consumables for healing.

Even if you take out the motion controls and reworked the game to function without them, you still get what amounts to a great adventure game and a step forward for the Zelda series. Why else would Breath of the Wild take a good majority of its design elements from Skyward Sword?

With motion controls, you have the game that’s like no other before it. A game that carried out the promises the Wii had laid out at the start of its life cycle. A game that did what others such as Wolfenstein 3D, Wing Commander, Alone in the Dark, Ultima, Diablo, Deus Ex, the Thief trilogy, The Elder Scrolls, Grand Theft Auto, Mario 64, and even The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time had all accomplished; introducing new concepts to gamers, showing them that the medium is still capable of being much more than what is being currently provided.

And it isn‘t like motion controls will ever replace standard controls, much like how 3D gaming hasn‘t replaced 2D gaming all together, or how Third Person perspective in games has not disappeared in the wake of First Person games. Motion controls would simply be there as an option for designers to use when creating their own game and what’s wrong with more options?

Whether you like motion controls or not, there’s no denying that Skyward Sword accomplished a lot in terms of presenting new ways to design and play video games.

You can read all this and say I’m a Nintendo fanboy (even though I criticized Nintendo for being one of the primary causes of gamers turning on motion controls and the ultimate downfall of the Wii), call me a contrarian, or dismiss me as a part of the “Skyward Sword Defense Force”. All that accomplishes is you throwing ad hominems my way without presenting a counter argument to what I’m saying.

But go on and ask Nintendo for a version of Skyward Sword that removes the motion controls. They might even give you what you want. If that happens to be the case, you’ll be left with a great adventure game and a welcome entry in the Zelda series.

I’ll be playing the version of Skyward Sword that embraces what it is, motion controls and all. The version that is not only a masterpiece in its own right, but also one of my personal favorite Zelda games of all time, alongside Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, and Majora’s Mask, if not my absolute favorite.

[opinionatedpieces]

Nintendo Direct September 4th, 2019. A bust or a gift?

Ever since the Switch came out, I've been eagerly waiting for every new game to release. I’m personally a massive fan of the games on the Switch in particular, as over the years I’ve noticed, and many others probably have as well; that the selection of games are now broadening, instead of exclusively having kid’s games on the Switch. We’re slowly getting more mature oriented games aimed for young adults or older teenagers, like Diablo 3, Skyrim, Bayonetta 2, and many more.

 However, I'm not going to talk about the M rated games, I'm more interested in the ones that are made for a general audience, I’m not a massive fan of Smash Brothers, but it came as a surprise to me as to Terry Bogard being introduced as the newest fighter in Smash; I honestly believed that SNK was just forgotten to the rest of the world except South and Central America, including the Caribbean. I grew up playing those games and it was the one time I could enjoy my time with my distant cousins in an old-timey arcade place in some random technology store in DR, it’s like the closest to Street Fighter I’ve ever played. I’m getting a bit off-topic but it’s okay because we’re out here to have a good time and not stress out, you know.

Regarding Xenoblade, I was expecting a remastered version of Chronicles but I didn’t think it’d happen this quickly. And sure, it's my fault for not checking the Nintendo Website for upcoming games or games in development, but whatever man. Considering the Switch’s engine, I can only imagine how beautiful it’ll look graphic wise; as well as the amount of data that’ll probably take, oh boy. I’m particularly excited for the SNES ports coming to the Switch, Legend of Zelda: like A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and hopefully many more. I lived and breathed Super Metroid, it’s probably the first SNES game I've ever played, it’s either that or EarthBound, which by the way, if you haven't played Earthbound or Mother 3, give them a try, I cant guarantee you’ll like them as they’re not for everyone and no game is. But they’re amazing games with really good jokes and extremely good writing. Especially Mother 3.

Now, this is where I delve into my obsession, Animal Crossing: New Horizon, I’ve been waiting since New Leaf for ths game and I’ve been so deprived of any new info or content for the development of the game, I became excited over having SLEEVES in Animal Crossing dude, you can have CURLY OR WAVY HAIR AHHH, YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A SKIN COLOR THAT ISN’T THE RESULT OF A TAN. I’ll admit before anyone else does, having multiple skin colors in games isn’t important, but with a game that is meant for you to have your own personal experiences and virtual friendships in; I’d much rather pretty much insert myself into the game, dark skin and all. Regardless, the animals actually CHANGE THEIR CLOTHING DEPENDING ON THE SEASON like I know that sounds trivial but even as a kid, I'd wonder if they ever got cold, they’d always wear the same thing unless they were gifted new clothes, or copied one of your designs.

There’s also a new Harvest Moon game based on Doraemon, which is pretty rad since whenever I think of that show now, it’s usually chocolate or old Japanese commercials. It’s nice to know that even if it’s been a LONG time, it won’t be forgotten for a while, I mean look at Osomatsu-Kun, everyone almost forgot about that show till we got a fresh new pair of Octuplets in 2015, Osomatsu-San, 20 year old no good NEETS and it’s pretty funny. However, in regards to Harvest Moon, it’s best to inform people that the farming life game we’re all so used to is no longer published under the name “Harvest Moon”, it’s “Story of Seasons” now, so if you see any other games  under the name Harvest Moon, that’s most likely, if not, exclusively why. Most people don’t like the direction they’re heading, but like, I’m noticing a decent amount of progress. The stories and backgrounds of certain characters are becoming more coherent, the gameplay is noticeably becoming easier for a newcoming generation, and the music is lowkey becoming more relaxing. I can critique it if I wanted to, but right now, I want to appreciate the new games, cause Jesus Christ I KNOW how much shit these games get on the daily.

I enjoyed this year’s Nintendo Direct like always, I’m very excited for New Horizon, as you can tell. I’m also excited for a possible Sequel to Breath of the Wild, as that game was gorgeous, well thought out, and well-executed. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and let’s hope to more content from me soon.

[gadgetsrevv]

Harry Kane has declined over the past year. Should Spurs fans be concerned?

If you had to guess, you could probably get most of the names. Over the past 10 years, who would be on the top 10 for most shots attempted in a single Premier League season?

The list doubles as a pretty good summation of the most impactful players in the league over that span. There’s Luis Suarez, who is on there twice. Wayne Rooney is on there. So is Cristiano Ronaldo. The two defining Chelsea players of the era, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, both make appearances, as do Gareth Bale and Robin van Persie. All legendary figures, able to prop up the attacks of some of the best teams in the league, all on their own.

You know who else belongs in that group? Harry Kane — or, at least, he used to.

– ESPN’s Ultimate XI: This team would win everything – Ian Darke: What could derail Man City and Liverpool this season? – Graham Hunter: The legend of Samuel Eto’o

In 2017-18, Kane took 184 shots. Since 2008, which is as far back as TruMedia’s dataset goes, only Suarez (187 in the 2012-13 campaign) attempted more. Like Suarez, Kane is the only player with two seasons that fit into that aforementioned top 10, as his 158 shots in ’15-16 rank exactly 10th, and that’s without even mentioning the year in between.

A couple of weeks ago, I picked Kane as the best attacker in the league for the ’16-17 season. That year, he became one of only six players this decade to break the 1.00 non-penalty-goals-plus-assists-per-90-minutes mark. Had Mohamed Salah not put together the best non-Luis Suarez attacking season in Premier League history, I would have picked Kane for the next year, too. With his 28 non-penalty goals, Kane has been surpassed by only Suarez and Salah (31) in this decade. His two-season total of 52 from 2016 to now is the best back-to-back run of the past 10 years; the same is true if we extend it back to a third year. He scored 72 non-penalty goals from 2015 through 2018, and no other three-season run comes even close.

At the end of the ’17-18 season, Kane was just 25, with years left of his prime. Although Tottenham hadn’t won a trophy, Kane’s ascension coincided with Spurs rising into the Premier League top four and staying there. He’d already become a legendary, talismanic figure, winning two Golden Boots in a row. The season that snapped his streak doubled as one of the best individual goal-scoring seasons in league history.

Kane’s doing just fine for England, but goals and impact have been much harder for him to come by at Tottenham, especially in 2019.

Kane was a bona fide superstar with the potential to get even better. Like Lampard, Rooney and Steven Gerrard before him, he’d become the kind of player continental giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona would soon try to pry away from the Premier League.

Except Kane hasn’t been that player since the 2018 season ended, and perhaps even before then.

Last season, Kane scored 13 non-penalty goals, a total that’s been matched by the likes of Yakubu, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Andy Carroll, Peter Odemwingie and Grant Holt. Given Tottenham’s lackluster performance in the second half of the previous Premier League season and their struggles to start the 2019-20 edition, there are plenty of questions surrounding the future of their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, and ever-present stars such as Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, who all have just a year remaining on their contracts. But the most important question for the club going forward might actually be this one: What are they going to get from Harry Kane?

Here is Kane’s season-by-season goal and expected-goal production, per 90 minutes:

And here’s his shot output:

What can we take from this? Outside of 2017-18, Kane’s underlying performance has remained impressively consistent. In his four other full seasons as a starter (not counting this partial season) he took around the same number of shots of roughly the same quality. The reason that 2016-17’s goal-scoring efficiency matches, and actually improves on, ’17-18 is that Kane couldn’t stop picking out the corners.

According to TruMedia’s post-shot xG model, Kane’s shooting (i.e., where he placed the ball on the goal frame) added a whopping 0.2 xG to his shots per 90 minutes. Finishing, though, is unpredictable from year to year and most players regress toward their xG numbers, so Kane was able to reach the same heights the next year because of the massive increase in shots. The year before produced world-class results on an unsustainable process, and it seemed as if he’d figured out a way to make the results stick.

That, of course, hasn’t happened.

Just look at the massive drop-off after the 2017-18 season. Last season, Kane posted the lowest non-penalty shot, goal and xG rates of his career. Per 90 minutes, he took the fifth-most shots in the league, registered the ninth-most xG and scored the 12th-most goals. He has played only 360 minutes so far this season, but they haven’t provided any signs that the trend lines will start pointing in the other direction, as his shots and xG per 90 are both significantly lower than they were last year.

This is Kane’s shot map from the ’17-18 season. Green dots are goals, and the bigger the dot, the higher the xG:

And this is how last year and this year have looked, combined:

Translating the above, Kane has cut down on the shots from outside the box, which is probably a good thing given how few of them have gone in. And he’s still getting a healthy number of chances from the edge of the six-yard box and in. Except, superstars can’t subsist on a “tap-ins only” diet. So many of Kane’s shots between the six- and 18-yard box have disappeared. Those shots are hard to get, given how that area is always packed with bodies, but basically every elite goal scorer consistently finds a way — whether through intelligent off-ball movement, tight-area footwork to create space, a quick release to get off a shot or all three — to produce a high volume of attempts from that space.

For reference, take a look at Robert Lewandowski‘s shot map from last season in the Bundesliga:

The most hopeful explanation for Kane’s decline is injuries. Normalizing his production to per-90-minutes should eliminate the effects of lost time, but Kane has arguably been playing through injuries for the past 18 months and it has affected his performance even when he has made it onto the field. (Worse still, his fitness hasn’t always lined up with teammates, with Dele Alli battling injuries and Eriksen having endured a tough start to the season.)

More from Ryan O’Hanlon: – Sergino Dest is proof of U.S. Soccer’s progress – Who has been the Premier League’s best attacker, 2010-19? – Why being good at set pieces can win you trophies

In March 2018, Kane injured his ankle in a game against Bournemouth. He’d scored 24 goals in his first 28 games of the season but managed only six more after missing two games because of that ankle knock. Then, rather than resting for the summer, he played a full slate of World Cup matches for England. Last season, he missed eight games with a torn ankle ligament in January and then another nine with another ligament injury in April. He rushed back to start the Champions League final and was completely ineffective, registering just a solitary attempt on goal in garbage time after Liverpool had gone up 2-0.

With two Nations League games with England this past summer, Kane hasn’t really had much time to heal. If he ever gets that, maybe we’ll see his numbers start to tick back up for his club.

However, when asked, Tottenham have been quick to insist that Kane isn’t hurt, and with each passing game, the best version of Kane gets further away.

Kane did add four assists last year to make up for some of the decline in scoring. However, all of his non-shot production — chances created, through balls played, passes completed in the final third — has remained relatively stable or declined slightly. It’s possible that the succession of injuries means the old Kane will never come back. It’s also possible that Kane just experienced two career years in succession — one via his finishing and one via his overall performance — and his true level is somewhere around what we saw last year. A very good Premier League player, but not an all-conquering, world-class attacker.

Given the financial resources of their closest competitors, in England and in Europe, Tottenham must have worried about losing their superstar one day. It’s doubtful, though, that they ever envisioned it would happen quite like this.

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[syncogon]

Some Chinese Cartoons

[Disclaimer: this was addressed to one specific person. I’ll make a better post one day.]

One day I’ll add pics and make this actually formal and stuff. But for now...

我为歌狂/Music Up:

Summary: Two musically talented, insanely popular high school guys - but that’s about all they have in common. In fact, they hate each other’s guts. And yet, through complicated circumstances, they and two others join to form a four-man band, “OPEN.” Both individually and as a band, they face a variety of problems: financial, academic, familial, romantic, and everything in between, in order to pursue their dreams. (52 eps)

Commentary: This is set in modern(ish) day, real world. Made in 2001, so keep that mind when considering the animation quality. They do have a lot of good songs, since this IS a show about singers and pop bands. Overall the tone is pretty light. Some things are a lot more dramatic than they need to be but that’s fantastic. And a lot of the problems are highly relatable. Development of characters and relationships is def one of the selling points. HUGELY nostalgic for me and a lot of Chinese people it seems haha

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLkMLYnt73g the second opening.

战龙四驱/Go For Speed:

Summary: Two years ago, the genius high schooler Fei won the minicar (4WD) racing Nationals. But only shortly afterward, he disappeared, with only a short note hinting at why. Now, his younger brother Dragon follows in his footsteps, designing and creating his own minicars to compete in the tournaments and steadily working his way up through the rankings. Along the way, he meets many people, makes friends and enemies, and struggles to find Fei and his reason for leaving. (64 eps)

Commentary: Modern/slightly future-day, real world (Shanghai!!). Okay so this show is based around like the gimmick of “minicar racing” - not sure what to really call it. The races are surprisingly fun to watch actually imo, with the technological abilities of the minicars, interactions between players, and obstacles to pass... but you’d probably have to decide that for yourself. For me, the biggest draw was probably the surprising number of subplots, which explore the complex relationships between all the characters - literally every single side character is well established and developed. Family and familial relationships play a pretty big role. Revenge and forgiveness are there too. I got hooked into this show when it was airing on TV solely because of one character haha. Caveat that it starts slow, I don’t know how much you’d actually like this, there needs to be some suspension of disbelief, and the animation quality isn’t fantastic… rip

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb0tHRbyaek&index=30&list=PLQukwpGC9a0wfDv0ymEgGX-LydTKbZY_s (a trailer, in english for some reason even though i’ve never found an english dubbed version of this and don’t want to. It mostly focuses on the racing aspect, but as before, don’t let that fool you, it’s surprisingly deep. Come for the races, stay for the chars)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQukwpGC9a0zqrmIGCXOW1QVlfh6svY7y since when was this on youtube?? :o WAIT HOLY SHIT SINCE WHEN DOES THIS HAVE ENGLISH SUBS THIS IS A GAME CHANGER AAAAA NOW LIKE I MIGHT GO REWATCH THIS - just kidding, only the first episode. Man what a letdown

弹珠传说/Danzhu Legend:

Summary: This is a world where people have Danzhu battles: competitions involving channeling your magic energy into Shooters to launch marble-like Danzhu at targets. These objects have great power, but, so far, no one has decided to take advantage of it… until now. One day, a young boy who has always dreamed of becoming a Danzhu battler is chosen by one of the five Legendary Shooters. He journeys into the mountains to seek training from the Danzhu Master, where he meets the other four Legendary wielders and learns that their job is to stop the evil threatening to take over their world. (52 eps)

Commentary: Fantasy world. So this is like your pretty standard “boy discovers power and works to save the world” story, but still enjoyable in its own right. The gimmick of this are the aforementioned Danzhu. The Guardians are also very important; all Shooters are linked to a spiritual animal/creature/something that’s the basis of power. The battles are all very cool! Quick disclaimer: for various reasons I am more familiar with this show than maybe any other of the ones here. This fact made me appreciate how much potential this story had, but also made me realize all of its flaws. There are a lot of things it could have done better - character development jumps to mind, because aside from the MC and one of the antagonists, most of them don’t change all that much. Also there’s lots of recycled animation. Just keep these caveats in mind. However, I still found the adventure/plot/magic very exciting to watch, a healthy dose of idealism and humor as well as tension/smarts/raw courage, so if you’re interested in that aspect more, I’d recommend this!

Links: ALL THE EPISODES ARE ON YOUTUBE ONCE MORE PRAISE this is very helpful for me because when i needed them to be on youtube, someone had like taken all of them down, which was very upsetting, but now they are back again, glorious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvQUvsPwKA0&list=PLZKi4aAqJS8dbVOUrKnDqNU4F4rnm8Ott playlist isn’t in order but you should watch the opening theme to get a feel for it - if you want even more of a feel, watch to 4:50, which is kinda like a prologue and a better summary of what I said above lol

开心宝贝/Happy Heroes:

Summary: Just read what’s on tvtropes tbh haha (link below) (Ongoing, 10 seasons, 52 eps each (except season 8 which was 40 eps) )

Commentary: Imo the best seasons were 3, 5, 6, and 8. After 8 the animation style changed a bit and the humor quality kinda went down…well, that might just be me, though. Either way, though, there are so many amazing earlier episodes, and I’ve gotten really attached to all the characters. It being a kids show, there’s no super deep plot or lasting impact of anything (aside from the last arc of season 7, heh. I remember watching when it came out in 2014 and flipping out bc I did NOT expect that, knowing HH) but it’s still thoroughly enjoyable. There are also two movies: the second movie is kinda confusing and meh but the first movie is pretty good and I think you can find it on youtube. In fact I believe all the episodes are on youtube, but I imagine you have those links already

Links: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKA3CuHXUxHflv9KAgEJyKQ is the channel with everything. Watch the trailer for season 8! It’s v epic and got me hyped when it released.

Tvtropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Animation/HappyHeroes

Movie 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUiA3nue22Y. (there are english subs too! haha)

Movie 2 isn’t worth watching trust me

星游记/Rainbow Sea:

Summary: Years ago, a man dressed in all red made a declaration to the universe: behind the largest black hole was a mysterious place called Rainbow Sea, a place where any dream could be fulfilled. Enchanted by the stories, people from across the universe joined the man in red in his journey. Unfortunately, no one ever returned. Rainbow Sea was scoffed at as a myth and a lie. The man in red was cursed, nicknamed by people as the Red Demon. The sinister organization known as the Galactic Eyes quietly gained control of the Solar System and numerous other star systems, sealing off the planet where the Red Demon had come from, Earth, and forbidding any ships from entering or leaving. Now, ten years later, the Red Demon's son Maidang has reached adolescence and is determined to fulfill the pinky promise made to his father before he left: to reunite with him at Rainbow Sea.

Commentary: Quality stuff right here. Best part is the backstories of all these characters, there’s some really moving stuff. The characters are p great - Maidang is so inspiring, Gudong is highly relatable, Diya is awesome... The art style (esp for their eyes) is really nice. ...Not much else to say off the top of my head, esp since the story is far from over, but even if it starts off slow, this is definitely worth your time!

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiB_oZBdi7k&list=PLF068DA90359EDE0D all the episodes. The opening theme/sequence was what got me hooked, you should def watch it (up to like 1:20 or whatever, then if you want like a prologue watch to like 3:07)

26 eps so far. Season 2 and after are apparently going to be “web movies” instead of episodes, something like 60 minutes each, and will cost money (rip) but I’m sure they’ll show up for free somewhere eventually. Fingers crossed this’ll be soon. Wanna join me in hiatus hell :DD

神魄/Zinba:

Summary: Kan is happily chatting with his closest friend on an ordinary school day when, all of a sudden, he finds himself pulled into an alternate fantasy world. This world is filled with Zinba, large and powerful creatures that may form bonds with select humans, called Linkers, for immense battle power. After becoming a Linker with one of the strongest Zinba ever to exist, Kan joins the peacekeeping Dux force of the kingdom of Toria and fights against the various evils threatening the land, all while trying to find his way back to his own world. (52 eps)

Commentary: Okay, so you know, I wouldn’t recommend this as much as some of the others on this list, esp since it’s the most recent Chinese show I actually watched, but it made enough of an impact on me to have it worth talking about. I started watching bc a) it showed up as recommended for me on youtube, b) the opening is SICK as HECK, and c) the protag of this is voiced by the same person as the protag of DZL, and generally looks/acts kinda similar haha. Anyway, overall thoughts: basically, it had a lot of unrealized potential. The world and the character designs are AMAZING. I liked the animation. The plot is interesting, with a surprising number of plot twists as to who’s the real ultimate villain. But there could have been So Much More development – we could’ve gotten more thorough backstories for the main crew, for example, or seen more of the world/magic/tech, but instead a lot of the people as well as Zinba just… exist, as static and boring entities. There were like two interesting characters total (Kan’s aforementioned “normal” friend being one of them heh). Kan himself was suuuuper annoying, esp at the beginning. (can you tell I really appreciate/prioritize the characters of a show?) However, some moments were quite well done and epic, and I wrote some fanfiction and commentary on basically every episode, so it holds a place in my heart. Also, there is a full English dub lmaooo (the voices suck but the translations for names/places/etc are interesting) (episode 1 has 318k views??? That’s a TON for a chinese cartoon)

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G83STZ9xcc the opening which is good and worth watching, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQukwpGC9a0xatMI-KGO9SILZ5sSWfWXX full playlist, syncogon.tumblr.com/tagged/zinba lol