Why, Link, Why?

I've been thinking about this one for a while now. First, a disclaimer, I've nothing against the people that did this and I will deny any accusations to the contrary. I just want to get my voice out there with regards to one of my favorite franchises that made a decision that saddens me,

Link.

Ever since I got my first Gameboy, my first game, and favorite game, was The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. We had an NES at the time, and access to the first Zelda game as well, but I couldn't play it as well as Link's Awakening. I've had several Zelda games since, all on the Gameboy/DS systems with a short period of time I could play Twilight Princess, before the game, system, and many other things besides were stolen from me. I didn't get very far. When I was given the system and game, I was very excited. "Link's left-handed too, I'll finally have an advantage!" Nope, he was right-handed. He's right-handed in Breath of the Wild too, and I'm not sure about the ones in-between I never did get to see them enough to check.

Why am I sad they did this? I should think the answer's obvious. There aren't enough left-handed heroes out there. It's not the main reason I like the series. Far from it, but there's a certain comfort associated with the fact that, for the first time, the hero does things the same way I do. Everything is so...right, when the hero is the same as you. I'm sure any right-handed people out there can't quite understand the feeling, since just about, if not every, single, other, hero out there is right-handed. The player characters in their video games and such. Everything is the same for them, but lefties always have to compensate. For once, I didn't have to compensate for it being wrong, and it was taken away from me.

It just makes me so sad. Don't get me wrong, I still love the series, and its long and convoluted, deeply entrenched history, and I will make an effort to get my hands on all the games I missed out on, including the beautifully crafted Breath of the Wild, as soon as I can find my way to doing so, and I am collecting all the official manga written by Akira Himekawa and loving every bit of that too. The mangaka has done a beautiful job with every manga so far, and I hope they'll be able to continue doing so for all the games not yet storied.

New Things Don't Have to be Scary

Due to unfortunate socioeconomic circumstances, I'm currently living with my elderly father. All my life he's dissed the anime I grew up with, citing reasons such as "the mouth doesn't follow the words", "those big eyes", "the overstated emotions" and "I just got spoiled watching Looney Tunes" as reasoning for his dislike of my favorite things growing up. Out of nowhere, he's suddenly deciding to be a little more open-minded and is actually letting me show him some of my favorite shows! First, I had to look high and low for a dubbed copy, with him staying he "hates reading movies" and then later, allowing me to show the subbed versions instead. He's even complimented the background scenery of Ghibli films! This is a giant leap forward for me, though I hesitate to celebrate too soon, as backsliding is always a thing where humans are involved.

What Actually is Love?

I just finished a challenge from Ted Dekker to rediscover God's Love. It was an interesting trip. I've never been too fond of devotionals, and while I didn't journal the trip like some can, I actually enjoyed reading his writing. I usually do. There aren't many authors I enjoy to read as much as Ted Dekker, and I enjoyed meeting him too. His point of view is very interesting and his writing was in-depth. The reason I dislike most devotionals is they're shallow, but his was deep. Someday I hope to get the second one he did. He may have gone even deeper in this second walk to Love.

Like the famous chapter in Corinthians, Love holds no record of wrong. That's the part most people get wrong. People are constantly holding things against each other, reminding each other of times they fell short of expectations. We need to stop doing these things. I won't ask anyone to forget the wrongs done to them or the wrongs they feel were done to them, but they must be forgiven. Not just for their sake, but for your own as well. Wrongs held close to the chest become weights that bring you down. They make life harder to live. It can be a very hard thing to do but, when done, can bring a whole lot of healing.

Divisions Aren't Always Good

People like to divide into groups based on many differing characteristics, from looks to likes. It's not always such a good thing though. Allowing different people into groups gives new perspectives and new enjoyments, if one would only open one's mind to the idea. If I didn't keep an open mind, I wouldn't be able to find new things to enjoy. Some of my favorite reading material, for instance, has been gained from seeing things other people enjoyed and trying it out for myself. Same with TV shows, movies, music, and video games. All from meeting new, different people through various and new mediums, and showing an interest in some of their favorite things. Diversity can be a wonderful thing, if we just give it a chance.

Why Force It?

Why do people constantly try to force others into situations they don't want to be in? Or into doing things they don't want to do? I'm constantly being surrounded by people who are trying to turn me into someone I'm not by forcing me into doing things I don't want to do. It's so frustrating! Especially when I tell them I don't like it, or I'm not good at it, or otherwise make it plain (to me anyway) that I have no interest in this, yet they persist in forcing me into doing it anyway!

Annoying Situations

The awkward situations I talked about last time can sometimes lead to annoying situations when someone forces you into situations you're not prepared for, or good at, so to speak, and then isn't happy with the results. I've been in these situations plenty of times as well and I always feel like saying "I told you so" when they're unhappy with the results. I try very hard not to though, but I get a strange sort of satisfaction out of their frustration when the results aren't what they asked for.

Awkward Situations

I find myself in awkward situations now and again. People don't often listen to what I have to say, so I just stopped saying things. Nevertheless, I find myself in situations where people actually ask me to say things, and then they STILL ignore them. Then they wonder why I don't talk, or why I bring books or game systems and spend time by myself playing or reading. What do you expect when you talk about things I know nothing about or ignore what I say when I decide to plug in?!