well look at that it's disability pride month. DISABLED PROTAGONISTS. GO
Happy Disability Pride Month to folks in the States! What a good ask to kick us off!
Alright, I am going to quantify this a little because there are technically a lot of disabled protagonists. However, a lot of these are done by taking singular diagnosis criteria and slapping them onto a character (looking at the hyperactivity trait being given to a lot of Links). This is not exploring disability with a lot of depth, and we can do better for Disability Pride!
So, this will include works where the disability is explored through the narrative in more than just a one-off mention. If I can't tell it was meant to be coded as a disability without having to ask the author, then it doesn't get included.
A Crossing of Stars by @ixtaek features a Link with a prosthetic arm! And the loss is plot relevant, though I will say no more.
Alone With You by @deiliamedlini features a Zelda with what I believe would now be called POTS (she suffers from low salt throughout the story and light-headedness and it is clearly a disability, but I'm not positive if POTS is the specific diagnosis)
The Bonds We Build by @/lillians-malice has a blind Zelda and a Link who has dubious control over his arm that feels fair to call a motor control disability.
Cinders of Life by @amelias-calamity-quintet has a mute Zelda! She uses sign to communicate and her mutism is directly connected to her magic. The autonomy of that is a major part of her arc.
Day After Destiny by @amelias-calamity-quintet features a Link and Zelda who are already war veterans. Their PTSD will come up in the narrative.
Divine Gemstones by @divine-gemstones has a major character who has a prosthetic leg!
The Enemy's Enemy by @wouldyoustilllovemeifiwasawyrm pretty directly explores trauma and PTSD, along with healing from it.
The Hand That Holds the Sword by @zarvasace has several! One of the Link is missing an arm, one has vision impairments, one is dead. Their various disabilities definitely affect how they approach their quest.
Guarding Zelda by @railtracer30 has a mute Link and his mutism comes up as a barrier in a time of crisis! So I will include that as being more than just having a Link use sign.
Link and Midna's Investigative Services by @inolabean has a Link that is a war veteran, being both a leg amputee and suffering from PTSD. Both get explored with a lot of depth in the work.
Mark of a Hero 🌟 by @amelias-calamity-quintet has a Link who is coded ADHD with multiple comorbidities (depression, dyslexia, dyscalculia, hyperactivity).
Restoration Age by @amelias-calamity-quintet has a Link with glasses! Keeping those on in a dungeon is going to be a challenge and will come up in the story.
Trail of the Galaxy by @amelias-calamity-quintet features two Zeldas, one of which is a cyborg who is very mobility disability coded.
Zombie Cake by @inolabean features a Link with insomnia! This is one of the primary explorations of this story too.
Hopefully some good reading for you!
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