Eyes of Hyrule
May. 29th, 2022 09:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingSo there's a Legend of Zelda zine about the Sheikah that has applications open until June 18:
https://sheikahzine.tumblr.com/faq
https://twitter.com/SheikahZine/status/1530651311179550721
The mod is a talented artist and graphic designer who is also an all-around good and kind person, and I appreciate that she decided to open the field to the Yiga Clan, the Twili, and OCs based on people's theories and headcanons. I've been waiting for a Zelda zine that explores the more speculative aspects of the games, and I'm beyond thrilled that this project is becoming a reality.
These are my pitches, which I'm sharing here because I'd really like to write all of these pieces regardless of whether I'm selected to participate in the zine...
"They Only Come Out at Night"
A quiet horror story about Grog, the carpenter's son who sits under the tree at the entrance to Kakariko Village in Ocarina of Time. This story will be about how creepy Kakariko Village is, and how many of the people living there are secretly Sheikah. When Grog learns too many of the village's secrets, the potion brewer sends him into the Lost Woods, knowing full well that he will never return. The horror elements of this story will be subtle - nothing gory or explicit - but I promise it will give you chills. The story will be canon compliant, and it's less about Grog himself than it is about the Sheikah living in Kakariko.
A sample Kakariko Village horror story:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18087386/chapters/49978445
"The Occult Symbology of the Sheikah"
A nonfiction essay about the cultural context of the occult imagery and symbology associated with the Sheikah in Ocarina of Time. I'll talk about the occult boom of Japan in the 1990s, and how Western mysticism and American New Age spirituality became the basis of a grassroots industry that marketed the accoutrements of traditional practices like tarot, European paganism, and Kabbalah. How this happened is a really interesting story, and it's cool to see how this subcultural interest in the occult influenced Japanese video games and anime. The Sheikah in Ocarina of Time are a perfect focal point for this discussion, and I have a small collection of high-quality reference images that I can use as illustrations.
A sample Sheikah lore essay:
https://pocketseizure.tumblr.com/post/657688678713442304
"Rest These Weary Bones"
A set of three connected pieces of flash fiction (stories of around 500 words each) about Sheikah women at the end of their journeys. I'd like to use this medium to highlight some of the smaller and less dramatic stories of the Sheikah. I'll write about Impaz in Twilight Princess, who remains in an empty village waiting for the hero; Mrs. Marie in Wind Waker, who maintains a cabana concealing an underground labyrinth; and Impa in The Adventure of Link, who has spent her life guarding the secret of the sleeping princess in the North Castle. The connecting theme of these stories is that there's heroism in the responsibility of preserving knowledge of the world's hidden histories, just as there's honor and joy in passing this knowledge to the next generation.
A sample series of connected flash fiction about the Sheikah:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/25230271
https://sheikahzine.tumblr.com/faq
https://twitter.com/SheikahZine/status/1530651311179550721
The mod is a talented artist and graphic designer who is also an all-around good and kind person, and I appreciate that she decided to open the field to the Yiga Clan, the Twili, and OCs based on people's theories and headcanons. I've been waiting for a Zelda zine that explores the more speculative aspects of the games, and I'm beyond thrilled that this project is becoming a reality.
These are my pitches, which I'm sharing here because I'd really like to write all of these pieces regardless of whether I'm selected to participate in the zine...
"They Only Come Out at Night"
A quiet horror story about Grog, the carpenter's son who sits under the tree at the entrance to Kakariko Village in Ocarina of Time. This story will be about how creepy Kakariko Village is, and how many of the people living there are secretly Sheikah. When Grog learns too many of the village's secrets, the potion brewer sends him into the Lost Woods, knowing full well that he will never return. The horror elements of this story will be subtle - nothing gory or explicit - but I promise it will give you chills. The story will be canon compliant, and it's less about Grog himself than it is about the Sheikah living in Kakariko.
A sample Kakariko Village horror story:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18087386/chapters/49978445
"The Occult Symbology of the Sheikah"
A nonfiction essay about the cultural context of the occult imagery and symbology associated with the Sheikah in Ocarina of Time. I'll talk about the occult boom of Japan in the 1990s, and how Western mysticism and American New Age spirituality became the basis of a grassroots industry that marketed the accoutrements of traditional practices like tarot, European paganism, and Kabbalah. How this happened is a really interesting story, and it's cool to see how this subcultural interest in the occult influenced Japanese video games and anime. The Sheikah in Ocarina of Time are a perfect focal point for this discussion, and I have a small collection of high-quality reference images that I can use as illustrations.
A sample Sheikah lore essay:
https://pocketseizure.tumblr.com/post/657688678713442304
"Rest These Weary Bones"
A set of three connected pieces of flash fiction (stories of around 500 words each) about Sheikah women at the end of their journeys. I'd like to use this medium to highlight some of the smaller and less dramatic stories of the Sheikah. I'll write about Impaz in Twilight Princess, who remains in an empty village waiting for the hero; Mrs. Marie in Wind Waker, who maintains a cabana concealing an underground labyrinth; and Impa in The Adventure of Link, who has spent her life guarding the secret of the sleeping princess in the North Castle. The connecting theme of these stories is that there's heroism in the responsibility of preserving knowledge of the world's hidden histories, just as there's honor and joy in passing this knowledge to the next generation.
A sample series of connected flash fiction about the Sheikah:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/25230271
