hey guys, just got back from my very long journey of re-writing history to put us on a timeline where harry potter doesn’t exist! no need to thank me, but don’t worry, it’s gone now.
who?
what is this person talking about
This post gives me a great idea for seven books and eight movies
Despite the fact that I am not deaf, mute, or blind myself, one of the most common questions I receive is how to portray characters with these disabilities in fiction.
As such, I’ve compiled the resources I’ve accumulated (from real life deaf, mute, or blind people) into a handy masterlist.
i love being briefly infatuated with things! i love finding inspiration! i love never losing the thrill of discovering a new love! damn the idea that ephemerality equals insignificance!
At this point, our beloved game Breath of the
Wild has been out for around half a year already. If you have played the game,
you are probably very familiar with the Adventure Log feature in BotW that
helps you keep track of all your missions and side quests. Or else its pretty much impossible to remember if you were catching chickens for this guy or collecting weapons to show that kid who’s boss.
But here’s the thing- Have you ever thought about the Adventure Log’s origin? Who or what
is helping Link keep track of his missions?
If your answer is the Sheikah Slate or the
“system”, which is what I’ve always thought, I’m gonna go ahead and assume you
own an European/American copy of the game. Because apparently, in the Japanese
version of the game, there is evidence that shows that LINK is the one who
wrote the adventure log to keep track of his own journey.
“Ok… So what?”
So Link wrote the Adventure Log. Big deal. It’s
not like this is gonna change the gameplay in any way.
…True. However, Link didn’t JUST record his
missions in the Adventure Log. According to the Japnese version, Link would
often type up some of his own thoughts and comments on what he was doing aside
from his current objectives. This could give us a deeper insight of Link’s
character.
Here’s an example:
This is what shows up after you complete The
Hero’s Sword quest. The content of the two versions are very similar, but notice
the use of “自分”
(myself) in pic 1. This is evidence that the adventure log is written by Link,
who’s talking about himself in first person narrative, instead of “the system”.
With that in mind, the Japanese version can be translated to:
(I)
Finally retrieved the legendary Master Sword. (I) Don’t know if it’s just an
illusion, but the sword itself seems to be delighted about this.
To
this moment, Princess Zelda is still inside Hyrule Castle, fighting to suppress
the Calamity.
She is
still holding on to the faith in me, believing that I will definitely come for
her…!
But
with the power (that I have) now, can she really be saved (by myself)…?
You see what they did there?
The English version replaced every first person pronoun Link has used with “you”!
As someone who owns an American copy, and has
never set the system language to Japanese, I was absolutely SHOCKED when I was
told about this (credits at the end).
Remember how we could find diaries of NPCs all
across Hyrule? Link’s was right under our noses this whole time!
Now that you know about this, does your
adventure log seem a bit different from before?
(I)
finished visiting all 13 of the locations in the old pictures. I remembered
everything I’ve been through together with Princess Zelda.
In
those memories (of mine), Princess Zelda always strived to complete the task
burdened onto her…
Even
if it’s just a moment sooner, (I) want to save her as quickly as possible
(I)
want to see her smile again, with these eyes (of my own).
The translation on this one is just OFF. I
can’t believe the English version completely omitted the last part, and
replaced it with some kind of mission instruction.
Link has been fighting all this time to see
Princess Zelda’s smile again with his own eyes.
…*sniff*
Not to mention those side quest logs. Once you
realize that all of the entries were written by Link himself, the seemingly
trivial information recorded in those suddenly opens up so many more hidden sides of
Link. It basically re-introduced Link as someone with normal human emotions
instead of the silent hero depicted throughout the game.
The caring Link, who was worried about a girl
he only met twice for putting herself in danger:
…(I) ventured
inside and found part of the Royal Guard’s Series, famous among equipment
collectors.
When
those were shown to Parcy, the traveler at the stable, her curiosity about it
seem to be provoked more than ever (by me). (I) Hope she won’t do anything
reckless…
The compassionate
Link, who felt glad for other peoples’ happiness:
…
As a
sign of appreciation for bringing the town together and as compensation for the
work done (by me), a hefty amount of gems that were unearthed during the town’s
construction were given by Hudson (to me).
(I)
wish the couple could live happily ever after.
The reckless Link, who apparently felt thrilled
when he managed to knock out some monsters with his new companion:
(I)
captured the giant horse in Taobab Grasslands
So
that’s why. It’s indeed a really big horse. It trampled whatever kind of
monster in its way with ease when it galloped. That was really cool.
When
it was brought back to Straia (by me), he was very surprised.
Link the foodie, who carefully noted down new
recipes he learned along the way for future use:
(I)
brought Kiana the goat butter and hearty blueshell snail required for cooking
seafood paella. She shared some of the dish (with me) as thanks!
/////Recipe/////
The playful Link, who tried to mimic the way
Gorons speak- by adding “goron” at the end of every sentence- after he passed
the Test of Will and became one of the bros:
……
Ah…
(I) kinda want to write down Kabetta’s Bro Motto, but there’s not enough space goron?
That’s
too bad goron…
The empathetic Link, who felt nervous for the
guy in this side quest, then relieved when the couple finally got together:
…and… THIS:
The last line on the left is the Japanese
equivalent of What the heck…
I guess the statue is a bit too weird even for
our great adventurer.
Finally, we have the entry that shows up after
you complete the DLC trial:
(I) finally
conquered the merciless Trial of the Sword.
……
(I
believe that) Princess Zelda would be quite happy about how much I’ve improved
As we all know, Breath of the Wild is a game
that focuses a lot on the freedom given to the players. Even the main story line
is broken down into the form of memories, waiting for the players to find. As
the players venture on into the wild, they would eventually find the
information they need to learn about this world. The amazing amount of details
you can find about Hyrule and its people is an important reason why BotW is so
attractive.
On the contrary, the info available about our
protagonist is very limited. The only piece of description that directly
describes Link is in Zelda’s diary, where she points out that he is a very
quiet person, and that’s it for our hero.
…NOT!!
Link had always had the most extensive
character description. Right under our noses.
Nintendo got us. They got us GOOD.
But now we know.
SIX months after the game’s launch.
…Better late than never.
End.
P.S.: Fun fact about BotW Link- he seems to
like the sand seal game a lot. Of all the entires about racing minigames, the
sand seal game is the only one where Link wrote “(I’ll) try to get a better
score next time!”
He’s so adorable I can’t //////
CREDITS
Disclaimer: I did not discover this.
This discovery was made by a Chinese gamer @atomaruU about a week ago. To make sure that her theory
is correct, she cross referenced the English version of the game, only to
discover that the language is completely emotionless and robotic. Therefore, to
allow more people to see who Link REALLY is, I was asked to write this post
based on the Chinese article she published.