Questions About Writing a Deaf Character | General Discussion

So I'm writing a Legend of Zelda fanfiction for fun and intend for Link to be deaf, since deaf/mute Link is one of my favorite headcanons. I, however, am not deaf, and don't have any deaf references except a couple friends taking ASL and the videos of a lovely deaf youtuber, so I wanted to get some outside input. I'd definitely like to hear from people who are deaf, but if you're not and know you can answer any of my questions that's fine too!

Here are the questions. Some of them are pretty long and specific

What types of things do hearing people do that bother deaf people? Also pet peeves among deaf people in general
I've heard that a lot of deaf people can still hear some sound. Is this true? What can most deaf people hear then? Is it all just muffled and indistinct?
What types of trouble (if any) would Link encounter as a deaf sword fighter and how might he overcome them? Link is a talented swordfighter, and I intend to keep it that way, but I was thinking he might have a hard time detecting enemies when they're behind him or something. He has a fairy companion, so I was thinking they could have a connection that allows him to sense her location. Basically the fairy would be to Link what the fairy is to players in the games, allowing Link to "lock on" to the position of enemies when she hovers around them. Is this ok?
I know lip reading is never ideal for communication, but if a deaf child was born into an environment where sign language wasn't an option to them, to what degree would they be able to understand speech through lip reading? I know household signs would probably be used for communication eventually, but if someone who didn't know these signs came along and started talking, would said deaf person understand enough of the language and lip movement to figure out what he was saying?
What do you think of hearing characters being magically granted the ability to use and comprehend sign language?
And if sign language didn't exist in this world (since it's kind of medeival), what do you think of Link being magically granted the ability to use and comprehend sign language?
Should I write Link's lines in ASL gloss?
And if there are any other details about the deaf experience you're alright sharing, I'd love to hear them!

That's all for now, but I'll surely come up with more. I just want to make sure I do this right. Thanks for reading!

~~This is so long omg~~

EDIT: Some info about the world for those who don't know LoZ

It's basically just stereotypical fantasy with no modern technology and some magic (so probably no hearing aide). I definitely don't want to do any sort of magical deafness fixing stuff, so I've decided that's not something magic can do.

Tangle

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June 07, 2018 12:52:53

So I'm writing a Legend of Zelda fanfiction for fun and intend for Link to be deaf, since deaf/mute Link is one of my favorite headcanons. I, however, am not deaf, and don't have any deaf references except a couple friends taking ASL and the videos of a lovely deaf youtuber, so I wanted to get some outside input. I'd definitely like to hear from people who are deaf, but if you're not and know you can answer any of my questions that's fine too!

Here are the questions. Some of them are pretty long and specific

What types of things do hearing people do that bother deaf people? Also pet peeves among deaf people in general
I've heard that a lot of deaf people can still hear some sound. Is this true? What can most deaf people hear then? Is it all just muffled and indistinct?
What types of trouble (if any) would Link encounter as a deaf sword fighter and how might he overcome them? Link is a talented swordfighter, and I intend to keep it that way, but I was thinking he might have a hard time detecting enemies when they're behind him or something. He has a fairy companion, so I was thinking they could have a connection that allows him to sense her location. Basically the fairy would be to Link what the fairy is to players in the games, allowing Link to "lock on" to the position of enemies when she hovers around them. Is this ok?
I know lip reading is never ideal for communication, but if a deaf child was born into an environment where sign language wasn't an option to them, to what degree would they be able to understand speech through lip reading? I know household signs would probably be used for communication eventually, but if someone who didn't know these signs came along and started talking, would said deaf person understand enough of the language and lip movement to figure out what he was saying?
What do you think of hearing characters being magically granted the ability to use and comprehend sign language?
And if sign language didn't exist in this world (since it's kind of medeival), what do you think of Link being magically granted the ability to use and comprehend sign language?
Should I write Link's lines in ASL gloss?
And if there are any other details about the deaf experience you're alright sharing, I'd love to hear them!

That's all for now, but I'll surely come up with more. I just want to make sure I do this right. Thanks for reading!

~~This is so long omg~~

EDIT: Some info about the world for those who don't know LoZ

It's basically just stereotypical fantasy with no modern technology and some magic (so probably no hearing aide). I definitely don't want to do any sort of magical deafness fixing stuff, so I've decided that's not something magic can do.

Last edited on Jun 07, 2018 12:58:45 by Tangle

I'm half deaf so I can only answer from that standpoint. It's better than nothing though?? I have multiple deaf friends and so I know what it's kinda like to be deaf lol
1st Question:
1. Talk without realizing we're deaf
2. When they realize we're deaf they treat us like we're ******** and CONTINUE TO TALK RATHER THAN GRAB A PIECE OF PAPER AND A PENCIL (1 of my frens said that~)
3. When people ask you dumb questions like 'so can you hear music'? Like, 'yes I can hear music, no, I'm deaf you moron' (That fren again)
2nd Question:
1. Some can. Some can't. I'm completely deaf in one ear so there is no sound whatsoever. You can shout into my ear and I wouldn't give a crap. I'd understand what you're saying because my other ear works fine.
2. It's called Partial Deafness, as actual deafness is literally having the entire eardrum nonexistent/nonworking. Partial Deafness is basically just very bad hearing damage.
3rd Question:
1. Sound. I used to take martial arts and sound is vital - the wind, the sound of footsteps, even the sound of arms moving - all can tell you where the enemy is and what they're planning. A way to keep Link a talented swordfighter is possibly have the fairy be telepathic. If you were born deaf you do not understand sound so he wouldn't hear the fairy in his head saying 'there's an enemy behind you', but a way you could work in telepathy is the fairy almost sending him a vision of where the enemy is and what they're about to do.
2. That's fine as long as sound isn't involved (: it has to be visual. I've never played Legend of Zelda so I wouldn't know if there's sound involved.
4th Question:
1. If signals weren't provided and the child was raised solely via lip reading they would be able to understand it very well. A friend of mine who relies on lip reading says she can even understand what people are saying on TV. However, being raised with minimal lip reading or learning it from age 10+ means they would not know it as well. It all depends on experience.
5th Question:
While that would be interesting for sure (And could add a comedy factor to your fanfiction) 2 more interesting ideas: 1. Making the person conversing with Link momentarily deaf (adds to comedy factor as they struggle to understand each other) 2. Have the two 'split conscious' or have a realm where Link can actually hear. If you've ever read Warriors, a character known as Jayfeather is completely blind, but in his dreams he has the ability to see. It'd be like an astral plane that the Fairy could take them to so they could converse the normal way. I'd start with this if you're inexperienced with writing deaf characters.
6th Question:
That wouldn't make sense. In a world without sign language, what use would it be if Link could learn a nonexistent language? Having him make up his own language and having him teach it to others would be interesting though.
7th Question:
There's a game for PS4, I think it's called Moss? It's a game where you play as a deaf mouse who can only communicate via ASL. It shouldn't be more than 20 USD if you want to try it to learn more about writing with ASL. I wouldn't write in ASL gloss personally, but writing skills are primarily subjective. Writers are unique, and must learn what works for them - even if that means coming up with a unique, new way to write something. The feedback you get when you use to write something you've never done before is critical - 'I liked it' 'I didn't like it' 'I think it was good but try this:' If the positive outweighs the negative it works, and vice-versa.
Here's a link to the Moss page on Playstation if you're interested.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/moss-ps4/
8th Question:
Being deaf isn't terrible, but being half-deaf is. Things like earbuds, or surround sound, just don't have a great experience.
Being born deaf isn't bad either. To quote many: 'how can you miss something you've never had?'

EgoLobster

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June 07, 2018 13:30:14

I'm half deaf so I can only answer from that standpoint. It's better than nothing though?? I have multiple deaf friends and so I know what it's kinda like to be deaf lol
1st Question:
1. Talk without realizing we're deaf
2. When they realize we're deaf they treat us like we're ******** and CONTINUE TO TALK RATHER THAN GRAB A PIECE OF PAPER AND A PENCIL (1 of my frens said that~)
3. When people ask you dumb questions like 'so can you hear music'? Like, 'yes I can hear music, no, I'm deaf you moron' (That fren again)
2nd Question:
1. Some can. Some can't. I'm completely deaf in one ear so there is no sound whatsoever. You can shout into my ear and I wouldn't give a crap. I'd understand what you're saying because my other ear works fine.
2. It's called Partial Deafness, as actual deafness is literally having the entire eardrum nonexistent/nonworking. Partial Deafness is basically just very bad hearing damage.
3rd Question:
1. Sound. I used to take martial arts and sound is vital - the wind, the sound of footsteps, even the sound of arms moving - all can tell you where the enemy is and what they're planning. A way to keep Link a talented swordfighter is possibly have the fairy be telepathic. If you were born deaf you do not understand sound so he wouldn't hear the fairy in his head saying 'there's an enemy behind you', but a way you could work in telepathy is the fairy almost sending him a vision of where the enemy is and what they're about to do.
2. That's fine as long as sound isn't involved (: it has to be visual. I've never played Legend of Zelda so I wouldn't know if there's sound involved.
4th Question:
1. If signals weren't provided and the child was raised solely via lip reading they would be able to understand it very well. A friend of mine who relies on lip reading says she can even understand what people are saying on TV. However, being raised with minimal lip reading or learning it from age 10+ means they would not know it as well. It all depends on experience.
5th Question:
While that would be interesting for sure (And could add a comedy factor to your fanfiction) 2 more interesting ideas: 1. Making the person conversing with Link momentarily deaf (adds to comedy factor as they struggle to understand each other) 2. Have the two 'split conscious' or have a realm where Link can actually hear. If you've ever read Warriors, a character known as Jayfeather is completely blind, but in his dreams he has the ability to see. It'd be like an astral plane that the Fairy could take them to so they could converse the normal way. I'd start with this if you're inexperienced with writing deaf characters.
6th Question:
That wouldn't make sense. In a world without sign language, what use would it be if Link could learn a nonexistent language? Having him make up his own language and having him teach it to others would be interesting though.
7th Question:
There's a game for PS4, I think it's called Moss? It's a game where you play as a deaf mouse who can only communicate via ASL. It shouldn't be more than 20 USD if you want to try it to learn more about writing with ASL. I wouldn't write in ASL gloss personally, but writing skills are primarily subjective. Writers are unique, and must learn what works for them - even if that means coming up with a unique, new way to write something. The feedback you get when you use to write something you've never done before is critical - 'I liked it' 'I didn't like it' 'I think it was good but try this:' If the positive outweighs the negative it works, and vice-versa.
Here's a link to the Moss page on Playstation if you're interested.
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/moss-ps4/
8th Question:
Being deaf isn't terrible, but being half-deaf is. Things like earbuds, or surround sound, just don't have a great experience.
Being born deaf isn't bad either. To quote many: 'how can you miss something you've never had?'

I am not deaf/HoH myself, but I have done my best to write a deaf character before. From my research, I'll try to add a little bit that relates to your bullets.

deaf/HoH peeves: A lot of deaf/HoH people get pretty irritated when hearing people assume that because they have not responded to them speaking/yelling at them from outside their line of sight that they are being rude. Many deaf/HoH people make it a point to let people know that it's better to get their attention with a touch on the shoulder or stepping politely into their line of sight.

They are irritated by the fact that hearing people are not willing to include subtitles to various visual medias in public places such as movie theaters.

A lot of deaf/HoH people are often confronted by the idea that they should, unquestionably, get hearing aids or an implant to make themselves hear instead of being accepted for their lack of hearing. Many hearing people assume that those that don't should strive to fix their hearing to accommodate them regardless of the pain and risks of these devices.

There's a lot of irritation about people assuming that because they are deaf/HoH that they should have some universal supernatural skill to either read lips or some other sense should be enhanced, that's not always and is rarely true.

The last thing I've noticed is that a lot of the deaf/HoH community is treated like they are mentally deficient to go with their hearing disability. People will often talk loud and slow as though somehow that will improve their hearing.

Hearing people often, also, belittle SLs as though SLs are not a viable and legitimate mode of communication/language. Some deaf/HoH children are forbidden to even learn a SL by their parents and additionally forced to be 'verbal' or speak clearly as though they are hearing people. This creates some frustration and tension in deaf/HoH people when they grow older, become more into their deaf/HoH self, and want to depart from those forced leanings and focus more on SL when hearing people sort of force them to continue being verbal to accommodate them.

Hopefully an actually deaf/HoH person can tell you more specific things they encounter day to day.

Deaf vs. HoH: All deaf people are "hard of hearing", but not all "hard of hearing" people are deaf. A deaf person is someone that either cannot hear at all in any capacity. However, there are severely "hard of hearing" people whom can still hear in a limited capacity that are included into the larger deaf community due to being so HoH that they may as well be functionally deaf. I cannot say exactly what it is like to be severely HoH in how that effect their hearing quality; muffled or otherwise. I also may be wrong or inaccurate on this point, but hopefully it's a close explanation.

Lip reading: It's not a superhuman ability. A lot of lip reading is a lot to do with context in the body cues, facial cues, and--just a lot of guessing. Many deaf and HoH people say that when they "lip read" they are just guessing out ever couple of words and hoping they get it right. Even those that grew up having to do it, it's not that accurate.

Someone might say "I am going out to get the milk from the store down the street."

And all the deaf/HoH person will get is "I--go--milk--street." Then use that to infer the rest. Perhaps the person is holding keys or glancing to the door or what-have-you.

This is a very exhausting and mentally straining way to communicate so it is the farthest from the most preferred manner of communication. If you've ever tried to talk on the phone with someone where the line is weak and breaking up, you'll understand why "lip reading" is not only tiring, but frustrating, as well as dubious.

The only real way to get around that is to make the character unrealistically accurate with their vision, something that Link may be. But you also have to be careful to make it very clear that such a trait is not natural to a regular-joe human deaf/HoH person.

Magical granting of ASL: Uhm, I couldn't say. Reference a deaf/HoH person or a dozen and see how they feel about it. I would say it's a bit like sharing a verbal language magically and I think it's not only doable, but also not rashly out of line to make that a mechanic--but again, I am not a deaf/HoH person that might find some issue with that mechanic. I'm interested to see what kind of responses come to this thread in regards to several of these bullets.

writing an SL: I read some article about that a while back and I wish I still had a link, but the consensus is that you should indicate that the language being spoken in "s is SL, but it should be presented the same as verbal speech in "s. Because they are both legitimate and equal languages. But I could be wrong and it was a singular article that I managed to find--that I hazily remember at best. I remember most that it shouldn't be written as a special language in, like, italics or special symbols or syntax...I think.

battle: That's real hard to say. i had a hard time with that one myself. Best you can do is write the scene as you would normally then go back and decide how it would go down if he didn't hear a twig snap or chainmail clank or so on. Focus on sight and smell and the way the air shifts and moves. There will be a clear disadvantage, but he is a hylian and it would not be out of turn for him to be somewhat more sensitive to non-sound cues in the environment if he was well trained and disciplined to do so.

That's all I got! Goodluck!!! (Another disclaimer about not being deaf/HoH and that I might be wrong or misinformed anywhere in this post. No intention to harm was made.)

Devang

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June 07, 2018 13:36:50

I am not deaf/HoH myself, but I have done my best to write a deaf character before. From my research, I'll try to add a little bit that relates to your bullets.

deaf/HoH peeves: A lot of deaf/HoH people get pretty irritated when hearing people assume that because they have not responded to them speaking/yelling at them from outside their line of sight that they are being rude. Many deaf/HoH people make it a point to let people know that it's better to get their attention with a touch on the shoulder or stepping politely into their line of sight.

They are irritated by the fact that hearing people are not willing to include subtitles to various visual medias in public places such as movie theaters.

A lot of deaf/HoH people are often confronted by the idea that they should, unquestionably, get hearing aids or an implant to make themselves hear instead of being accepted for their lack of hearing. Many hearing people assume that those that don't should strive to fix their hearing to accommodate them regardless of the pain and risks of these devices.

There's a lot of irritation about people assuming that because they are deaf/HoH that they should have some universal supernatural skill to either read lips or some other sense should be enhanced, that's not always and is rarely true.

The last thing I've noticed is that a lot of the deaf/HoH community is treated like they are mentally deficient to go with their hearing disability. People will often talk loud and slow as though somehow that will improve their hearing.

Hearing people often, also, belittle SLs as though SLs are not a viable and legitimate mode of communication/language. Some deaf/HoH children are forbidden to even learn a SL by their parents and additionally forced to be 'verbal' or speak clearly as though they are hearing people. This creates some frustration and tension in deaf/HoH people when they grow older, become more into their deaf/HoH self, and want to depart from those forced leanings and focus more on SL when hearing people sort of force them to continue being verbal to accommodate them.

Hopefully an actually deaf/HoH person can tell you more specific things they encounter day to day.

Deaf vs. HoH: All deaf people are "hard of hearing", but not all "hard of hearing" people are deaf. A deaf person is someone that either cannot hear at all in any capacity. However, there are severely "hard of hearing" people whom can still hear in a limited capacity that are included into the larger deaf community due to being so HoH that they may as well be functionally deaf. I cannot say exactly what it is like to be severely HoH in how that effect their hearing quality; muffled or otherwise. I also may be wrong or inaccurate on this point, but hopefully it's a close explanation.

Lip reading: It's not a superhuman ability. A lot of lip reading is a lot to do with context in the body cues, facial cues, and--just a lot of guessing. Many deaf and HoH people say that when they "lip read" they are just guessing out ever couple of words and hoping they get it right. Even those that grew up having to do it, it's not that accurate.

Someone might say "I am going out to get the milk from the store down the street."

And all the deaf/HoH person will get is "I--go--milk--street." Then use that to infer the rest. Perhaps the person is holding keys or glancing to the door or what-have-you.

This is a very exhausting and mentally straining way to communicate so it is the farthest from the most preferred manner of communication. If you've ever tried to talk on the phone with someone where the line is weak and breaking up, you'll understand why "lip reading" is not only tiring, but frustrating, as well as dubious.

The only real way to get around that is to make the character unrealistically accurate with their vision, something that Link may be. But you also have to be careful to make it very clear that such a trait is not natural to a regular-joe human deaf/HoH person.

Magical granting of ASL: Uhm, I couldn't say. Reference a deaf/HoH person or a dozen and see how they feel about it. I would say it's a bit like sharing a verbal language magically and I think it's not only doable, but also not rashly out of line to make that a mechanic--but again, I am not a deaf/HoH person that might find some issue with that mechanic. I'm interested to see what kind of responses come to this thread in regards to several of these bullets.

writing an SL: I read some article about that a while back and I wish I still had a link, but the consensus is that you should indicate that the language being spoken in "s is SL, but it should be presented the same as verbal speech in "s. Because they are both legitimate and equal languages. But I could be wrong and it was a singular article that I managed to find--that I hazily remember at best. I remember most that it shouldn't be written as a special language in, like, italics or special symbols or syntax...I think.

battle: That's real hard to say. i had a hard time with that one myself. Best you can do is write the scene as you would normally then go back and decide how it would go down if he didn't hear a twig snap or chainmail clank or so on. Focus on sight and smell and the way the air shifts and moves. There will be a clear disadvantage, but he is a hylian and it would not be out of turn for him to be somewhat more sensitive to non-sound cues in the environment if he was well trained and disciplined to do so.

That's all I got! Goodluck!!! (Another disclaimer about not being deaf/HoH and that I might be wrong or misinformed anywhere in this post. No intention to harm was made.)

@Tangle
Disclaimer: I myself am not deaf, so I cannot speak for the deaf or hoh community, however I do have quite a few relatives who are, as well as hearing ones who have worked as interpreters, so I hope I might be able to answer a couple of your questions!

One pet peeve I definitely know of are people who, when they find out someone is deaf, start talking verrrrry slowly, or begin shouting their words as though that'll somehow help them hear you? If anything, it makes it even harder to know what they're saying, and can be pretty insulting.

Some deaf people certainly can hear sounds, although it varies a lot between individuals. My grandmother lost her hearing when she was very young, and is still able to hear some sounds. Usually they're loud, deep noises, like the sound of a helicopter flying right above your head. However, if the sound is very loud (such as turning up the computer volume to max and holding the speaker next to her ear) she can hear most of it. Whether or not it's comprehensible sounds, I unfortunately do not know, but she can hear them!

I like the idea of the fairy being used in battle in a similar way to the games! Another way to overcome possible challenges in battle, especially with heavier enemies such as Ganon, is detecting their position through vibrations in the ground. Even if Link couldn't hear their footsteps behind him, he could certainly feel them and have an approximate idea of where and how far away they are.

Lip reading depends on the individual, but it's entirely possible that they could understand speech fairly well through lip reading. Many of my relatives can understand people just fine by reading lips, although it's much easier when the person talking is facing you directly and speaking clearly (not slowly and exaggerated as I mentioned before lol)

I'm not sure about the idea of magically giving people the ability to understand sign language, but then I've never been a fan of stories that do that for spoken languages either. There are ways hearing and deaf people can communicate, such as lip reading and writing, so unless it was absolutely necessary, magically granting someone skills in a new language kind of feels like a deus ex machina.

Another idea, I'm not sure which LoZ game you're basing your story off of, but in BotW (I haven't played it, so apologies if I get this wrong) isn't there some sort of tablet Link uses to gather data in the world? If you're determined to write a world where there is no type of sign language, maybe it could have a function where it listens to someone talking, and transcribes it onto the screen so Link could read it? Just an idea!

Sorry for the rambling! ^_^;; I love the concept of your fanfic so far, and I hope you find all the answers to your questions!

BashfulBat

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June 07, 2018 13:58:08

@Tangle
Disclaimer: I myself am not deaf, so I cannot speak for the deaf or hoh community, however I do have quite a few relatives who are, as well as hearing ones who have worked as interpreters, so I hope I might be able to answer a couple of your questions!

One pet peeve I definitely know of are people who, when they find out someone is deaf, start talking verrrrry slowly, or begin shouting their words as though that'll somehow help them hear you? If anything, it makes it even harder to know what they're saying, and can be pretty insulting.

Some deaf people certainly can hear sounds, although it varies a lot between individuals. My grandmother lost her hearing when she was very young, and is still able to hear some sounds. Usually they're loud, deep noises, like the sound of a helicopter flying right above your head. However, if the sound is very loud (such as turning up the computer volume to max and holding the speaker next to her ear) she can hear most of it. Whether or not it's comprehensible sounds, I unfortunately do not know, but she can hear them!

I like the idea of the fairy being used in battle in a similar way to the games! Another way to overcome possible challenges in battle, especially with heavier enemies such as Ganon, is detecting their position through vibrations in the ground. Even if Link couldn't hear their footsteps behind him, he could certainly feel them and have an approximate idea of where and how far away they are.

Lip reading depends on the individual, but it's entirely possible that they could understand speech fairly well through lip reading. Many of my relatives can understand people just fine by reading lips, although it's much easier when the person talking is facing you directly and speaking clearly (not slowly and exaggerated as I mentioned before lol)

I'm not sure about the idea of magically giving people the ability to understand sign language, but then I've never been a fan of stories that do that for spoken languages either. There are ways hearing and deaf people can communicate, such as lip reading and writing, so unless it was absolutely necessary, magically granting someone skills in a new language kind of feels like a deus ex machina.

Another idea, I'm not sure which LoZ game you're basing your story off of, but in BotW (I haven't played it, so apologies if I get this wrong) isn't there some sort of tablet Link uses to gather data in the world? If you're determined to write a world where there is no type of sign language, maybe it could have a function where it listens to someone talking, and transcribes it onto the screen so Link could read it? Just an idea!

Sorry for the rambling! ^_^;; I love the concept of your fanfic so far, and I hope you find all the answers to your questions!

Thank you all so much for providing such detailed responses! I really really appreciate it!

Thank you all especially for points 5 and 6. I've decided to ditch the thing I mentioned in 6, so Link will know sign language due to being taught it growing up. My author powers have ensured that a fully fleshed out sign language exists in this world, which isn't that big of a stretch looking back on it xP

@EgoLobster

No sound involved in the "fairy guidance" thing! :D You just click a button and the screen turns to face the enemy your fairy has chosen to float around. The telepathic image is a great idea though! :O

Sadly, I do not have a PS4, but Moss sounds really interesting and I'm definitely going to look for a let's play on youtube

They really should make one ear earbuds or something, it seems like something people would definitely benefit from.

Thank you! :D

@Devang

A lot of the peeves you listed I don't think I've ever thought of. They're really insightful and some of them very upsetting ;-;

I loved your description of what lip reading is like! When Link is narrating, that would be a great thing to address

I considered heightened senses, but at the end of the day there's always something about it that bothers me. Plus the whole "this person is missing a sense so every other sense they have is superhuman" thing is quite overdone xD I think I'll avoid it so I don't--like you said--make it seem like all deaf people have heightened senses

For the magical granting of ASL, the only reason I wanted to do it was cause Link meets the second main character in the beginning of the story, and I don't think enough time will pass for this secondary character to learn SL, and a large part of the conclusion comes down to the strength of their friendship. But at the end of the day, I definitely could work around it with the fairy working as a translator when need be and the secondary character slowly becoming proficient, it'll just be a little harder on my as a writer xD

Again, thank you!

@Bashfulbat

Vibrations for bigger enemies sounds awesome! I'll definitely note that somewhere so I don't overlook that when I'm writing.

It's mainly based off of TP and OoT, with snippets of BotW (mainly cultural). It's mostly just an AU where I want to explore a world where Ganondorf isn't the one to get the triforce of power. I think I'm gonna do some brainstorming and see if I can incorporate the Shiekah Slate, because that is a brilliant idea. Alternatively, the idea of using the fairy as a SL translator came into my head too ^^

Thank you!! :D

Tangle

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June 07, 2018 15:01:04

Thank you all so much for providing such detailed responses! I really really appreciate it!

Thank you all especially for points 5 and 6. I've decided to ditch the thing I mentioned in 6, so Link will know sign language due to being taught it growing up. My author powers have ensured that a fully fleshed out sign language exists in this world, which isn't that big of a stretch looking back on it xP

@EgoLobster

No sound involved in the "fairy guidance" thing! :D You just click a button and the screen turns to face the enemy your fairy has chosen to float around. The telepathic image is a great idea though! :O

Sadly, I do not have a PS4, but Moss sounds really interesting and I'm definitely going to look for a let's play on youtube

They really should make one ear earbuds or something, it seems like something people would definitely benefit from.

Thank you! :D

@Devang

A lot of the peeves you listed I don't think I've ever thought of. They're really insightful and some of them very upsetting ;-;

I loved your description of what lip reading is like! When Link is narrating, that would be a great thing to address

I considered heightened senses, but at the end of the day there's always something about it that bothers me. Plus the whole "this person is missing a sense so every other sense they have is superhuman" thing is quite overdone xD I think I'll avoid it so I don't--like you said--make it seem like all deaf people have heightened senses

For the magical granting of ASL, the only reason I wanted to do it was cause Link meets the second main character in the beginning of the story, and I don't think enough time will pass for this secondary character to learn SL, and a large part of the conclusion comes down to the strength of their friendship. But at the end of the day, I definitely could work around it with the fairy working as a translator when need be and the secondary character slowly becoming proficient, it'll just be a little harder on my as a writer xD

Again, thank you!

@Bashfulbat

Vibrations for bigger enemies sounds awesome! I'll definitely note that somewhere so I don't overlook that when I'm writing.

It's mainly based off of TP and OoT, with snippets of BotW (mainly cultural). It's mostly just an AU where I want to explore a world where Ganondorf isn't the one to get the triforce of power. I think I'm gonna do some brainstorming and see if I can incorporate the Shiekah Slate, because that is a brilliant idea. Alternatively, the idea of using the fairy as a SL translator came into my head too ^^

Thank you!! :D

Last edited on Jun 07, 2018 15:02:06 by Tangle

@Tangle
I'm an author myself, if you ever need a hand with anything lmk (: writing a deaf character for the first time is difficult and frustrating if you are not deaf yourself. It's like a deaf person trying to write a main protagonist who isn't deaf - due to lack of experience, it can be hard.
You should watch a let's play
you really should
it's such a good game
If there were one ear earbuds that would probably be a lifesaver in my case. Hecc yes.

EgoLobster

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June 07, 2018 15:05:02

@Tangle
I'm an author myself, if you ever need a hand with anything lmk (: writing a deaf character for the first time is difficult and frustrating if you are not deaf yourself. It's like a deaf person trying to write a main protagonist who isn't deaf - due to lack of experience, it can be hard.
You should watch a let's play
you really should
it's such a good game
If there were one ear earbuds that would probably be a lifesaver in my case. Hecc yes.

@Tangle
link to a full playthrough!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTR0bbZT1A

EgoLobster

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June 07, 2018 15:05:47

@Tangle
link to a full playthrough!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcTR0bbZT1A

im hoh and i dont have tons of time rn so ill come back and edit if i can but i can say the worst thing someone could do at least in my opinion is start shouting when they learn. i actually understand less if youre shouting and it can overload me (but thats not universal for all hoh people since im autistic and thats why)
this is super specific and it probably only happens where im from but a lot of hearing people will learn sign and then use it to talk to others when they arent supposed to talk out loud but then when they learn im hoh they wont use it with me?? even though i indicate that i know it and that its easier for me? idk i come from kind of a bad place for this community so it might just be those rude people
ofc i can still hear some but theres a couple kinds of hearing loss i believe? like partial deafness as mentioned above and different degrees of hearing loss and ofc being deaf from birth
as for lip reading, if youre not taught from birth from what ive heard its pretty difficult. i personally never learned as my hearing loss is recent so i cant say much on that subject for certain but i believe its one of the hardest forms of communication outside of writing back and forth on a paper
i second the vibrations for bigger enemies that would definitely work !! you could also make an item similar to a balloon ? when you hold a balloon you can feel different sound pulses like music and things like that so you could have him take that out when he thinks an enemy might be near and if theyre making noise he might be able to sense it through the item
idk ! just some thoughts, hope my rambling was a little bit helpful

ImageWorks

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June 07, 2018 15:23:01

im hoh and i dont have tons of time rn so ill come back and edit if i can but i can say the worst thing someone could do at least in my opinion is start shouting when they learn. i actually understand less if youre shouting and it can overload me (but thats not universal for all hoh people since im autistic and thats why)
this is super specific and it probably only happens where im from but a lot of hearing people will learn sign and then use it to talk to others when they arent supposed to talk out loud but then when they learn im hoh they wont use it with me?? even though i indicate that i know it and that its easier for me? idk i come from kind of a bad place for this community so it might just be those rude people
ofc i can still hear some but theres a couple kinds of hearing loss i believe? like partial deafness as mentioned above and different degrees of hearing loss and ofc being deaf from birth
as for lip reading, if youre not taught from birth from what ive heard its pretty difficult. i personally never learned as my hearing loss is recent so i cant say much on that subject for certain but i believe its one of the hardest forms of communication outside of writing back and forth on a paper
i second the vibrations for bigger enemies that would definitely work !! you could also make an item similar to a balloon ? when you hold a balloon you can feel different sound pulses like music and things like that so you could have him take that out when he thinks an enemy might be near and if theyre making noise he might be able to sense it through the item
idk ! just some thoughts, hope my rambling was a little bit helpful

FR + 0 - pls click them! ->

The other questions have been answered pretty well, but keep in mind that ASL is AMERICAN sign language.

There are other forms of sign language. Why would he know that one?

Greyjoy

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June 07, 2018 15:38:03

The other questions have been answered pretty well, but keep in mind that ASL is AMERICAN sign language.

There are other forms of sign language. Why would he know that one?

UK time. Sorry for timezone-related delays in responses. They/Them.

@Ison

For the folks who aren't using SL with you, maybe they're embarrassed. I've been learning Chinese for years, but when I went to China to practice, every time I had to speak to someone I clammed up and started sweating. I was so overwhelmed that I think I only ever spoke a few sentences the entire trip. The people you mentioned might be similar, though it may not be as extreme. They definitely should sign to you. It would benefit you both! xD Of course, they might just be rude, like you said. If they are just being rude, that's awful :(

I really love the balloon idea! And balloons do exist in LoZ if I'm remembering correctly. It's both a unique idea, and would be very handy! Thank you!

@Greyjoy

Yes, you're right ^^ If I wanted to describe any signs though, I would probably describe the ones from ASL because that's what my friends know. I kind of didn't realize (even if it's very obvious looking back on it) that I could just use SL when referring to sign language in general xD I often didn't feel like typing it all out, so ASL wrongly became my default

Tangle

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June 07, 2018 15:56:44

@Ison

For the folks who aren't using SL with you, maybe they're embarrassed. I've been learning Chinese for years, but when I went to China to practice, every time I had to speak to someone I clammed up and started sweating. I was so overwhelmed that I think I only ever spoke a few sentences the entire trip. The people you mentioned might be similar, though it may not be as extreme. They definitely should sign to you. It would benefit you both! xD Of course, they might just be rude, like you said. If they are just being rude, that's awful :(

I really love the balloon idea! And balloons do exist in LoZ if I'm remembering correctly. It's both a unique idea, and would be very handy! Thank you!

@Greyjoy

Yes, you're right ^^ If I wanted to describe any signs though, I would probably describe the ones from ASL because that's what my friends know. I kind of didn't realize (even if it's very obvious looking back on it) that I could just use SL when referring to sign language in general xD I often didn't feel like typing it all out, so ASL wrongly became my default

Last edited on Jun 07, 2018 15:58:00 by Tangle