Neck Deep In The Zelink Dumpster Fire

my favorite part of sgnarl's commission posts is when he shouted "its commin time!" and commed all over the place

I finally got top surgery! Unfortunately I ran into some absolute fuckery with getting disability pay from my job. My stupid ass has missed a paycheck

Before we get into the details....

As always, if you're ever curious about the progress on a commission, just ask for an update and I'll send you one. I only accept payment upfront & I will not negotiate on paying after. No slots this time, comms open indefinitely. Payment info at the end of post

Character credits: @goldencamelias, @wheelsupin-azarathmetrionzinthos, @saberchild, @bearliquids, @courtjester69420

You can contact me right here on tumblr dot com, just DM me!

Sketch - 30$

Okay it's not technically a sketch, its a shaded & colored line drawing that looks a bit sketchy

Typically I wanna stay within a small color scheme, like 3-4 colors but I'm open to just doing flat colors

Extra character = +10$ for every character added

Portrait - 40$

Portraits will always be rendered/painted

They will always have a "decorated" background (simple shapes, colors, concepts, or designs)

Portraits will always be from the bust up

Full Body & Plain BG - 40$

I'm tacking this option onto this post because it seems to be the most popular option

Full body, fully lined, flat colors

Add character +10$

Add shading & lighting +10$

Price points for the background can be negotiated based on the level of detail required, or if they are a complete or partial background

Concepts I Will Accept

✔️ - some robot/cyber/mech stuff (i really determine case-by-case), furry/anthro, non-humanoid creatures, fantasy, sci fi, OCs, weapons, blood, nudity/suggestive/NSFW

✔️ - some fandoms I'm familiar with are D&D, Marvel & DC comics/movies, Assassin's Creed, Disco Elysium, ATLA, Metalocalypse, The Wolf Among Us. I'm capable of doing any fandom artwork with sufficient references & have done so in the past

Concepts I Won't Accept

❌ - hateful imagery, underage/abusive/incest ships, certain fandoms (Harry Potter, Voltron, Supernatural are among these), gore, and ofc I reserve the right to deny anything

paypal - thundahouse

Alone With You by @deiliamedlini

Modern | Mature | AO3 | Complete

Synopsis: Zelda is a popular high school senior whose hobbies include theater, the school senate, and fighting with the Vice Principal (who seems to have a personal vendetta against her). Link is her aloof classmate with a motorcycle, two friends, and a bad reputation that steers most people far away from him before he can even say 'hi.' After years of never talking to each other, a brief project in their ASL class has them noticing the other more and more, and they realize that there's more to the other person than meets the eye. And they're about to figure out that life isn't meant to be lived alone.

Content Warnings: Implied sexual content, depictions of bullying

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This story is not going to conclude where you think it will. That's a positive thing herein. Modern Zelda AUs are a curious batch because removing the fantastical from them and grounding them can be a negative for some audiences. Most ppl in this niche want mythic escapism. But Alone With You plays around with character first and foremost, the plot is really third priority. You get invested in the couple, their friends, their plethora of rivals, and the situations they find themselves in. And along the way you get attached to the good-hearted delinquent-adjacent Link Hunter and his buddy Zelda Harkinian, the highschool drama nerd who hates capital D Drama. The only drama she can stand is her supernatural Sunday night standard Midnight Howl, thank you very much. Deilia is good with the characters, prolly bcuz they've got The Goods writing talent wise. - RailtracR30

This is such an amazing modern AU that just hits all of the right notes of sweet and fluffy, angst, and hurt/comfort. Link and Zelda seem to be on opposite ends of the popularity scale at first, but they quickly realize just how alike they are and how much those similarities are drawing them closer and closer toward love. They face real life together, hand-in-hand no matter what, and hold each other up through the consistent ups and downs of high school and family drama. An amazing read, will tug at your heartstrings in the best way possible! - abbyz-elda

This work is a heartfelt, emotional, and raw story of two young people learning to heal together as they make their way through their senior year of high school. It's a quest of character as Link and Zelda both come into their own, but be ready for the tearjerkers on those battles of self-discovery. - amelias-hart

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You can find @deiliamedlini at AO3.

If you wish to take part in any fandom, you need to accept and respect these three laws.

If you aren’t able to do that, then you need to realise that your actions are making fandom unsafe for creators. That you are stifling creativity.

Like vaccination, fandom only works if everyone respects these rules. Creators need to be free to make their fanart, fanfics and all other content without fear of being harassed or concern-trolled for their creative choices, no matter whether you happen to like that content or not.

The First Law of Fandom

Don’t Like; Don’t Read (DL;DR)

It is up to you what you see online. It is not anyone else’s place to tell you what you should or should not consume in terms of content; it is not up to anyone else to police the internet so that you do not see things you do not like. At the same time, it is not up to YOU to police fandom to protect yourself or anyone else, real or hypothetical.

There are tools out there to help protect you if you have triggers or squicks. Learn to use them, and to take care of your own mental health. If you are consuming fan-made content and you find that you are disliking it - STOP.

The Second Law of Fandom

Your Kink Is Not My Kink (YKINMK)

Simply put, this means that everyone likes different things. It’s not up to you to determine what creators are allowed to create. It’s not up to you to police fandom. 

If you don’t like something, you can post meta about it or create contrarian content yourself, seek to convert other fans to your way of thinking.  

But you have no right to say to any creator “I do not like this, therefore you should not create it. Nobody should like this. It should not exist.”

It’s not up to you to decide what other people are allowed to like or not like, to create or not to create. That’s censorship. Don’t do it.

The Third Law of Fandom

Ship And Let Ship (SALS)

Much (though not all) fandom is about shipping. There are as many possible ships as there are fans, maybe more. You may have an OTP (One True Pairing), you may have a NOTP, that pairing that makes you want to barf at the very thought of its existence.

It’s not up to you to police ships or to determine what other people are allowed to ship. Just because you find that one particular ship problematic or disgusting, does not mean that other people are not allowed to explore its possibilities in their fanworks.

You are free to create contrarian content, to write meta about why a particular ship is repulsive, to discuss it endlessly on your private blog with like-minded persons.

It is not appropriate to harass creators about their ships, it is not appropriate to demand they do not create any more fanworks about those ships, or that they create fanwork only in a manner that you deem appropriate.

These three laws add up to the following:

You are not paying for fanworks content, and you have no rights to it other than to choose to consume it, or not consume it. If you do choose to consume it, do not then attack the creator if it wasn’t to your taste. That’s the height of bad manners.

Story Spotlights Hub Post

Reference post for links and details on the Expanding Hyrule Story Spotlights community project.

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Overview Post - Review Form - Reviews - Archive

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Works In Need of Reviews

Looking to help support a creator in Expanding Hyrule? All of these works in our collection have yet to get enough reviews for a spotlight. Works need a minimum of 3 reviews to be featured, and will include up to 5 in their post, but you are welcome to submit more, the link to the responses is available on this post for creators to read the whole list.

You can find all these works linked in the archive listed above!

Short Projects (Concept boards, under 10 chapter fics, etc)

Shadows of History by @palmolli (1/3)

The Tale of the Realm Walker by @tnc-n3cl (1/3)

Golden Sands by @shingekinohyrulewrites (1/3)

Intertwined Fates by @doodleoceaniswriting (2/3)

Prophecy of the Key by @themindbehindthejork (2/3)

Beauty by @/SaltySaph and @/Tilea

The Symphony That Shattered the Sky by @the-twilight-duchess (1/3)

The Ferryman by @leadernovaandthemacare (2/3)

Hello, Star Boy by @leadernovaandthemacare (2/3)

Between the Devil and the Deep Sea by @inolabean (2/3)

Bleeding stars by @dinsflowers (1/3)

Into the Woods by @/Lyxie (1/3)

A Friend At the End of the World by @anna-of-pearl

A guy like you, a place like this by @girlbogg (2/3)

Written in Stone by @zeldieboo (2/3)

The Girl in the Crystal by @the-twilight-duchess (2/3)

Puppets & Chains by @imagineaspen (1/3)

Gossipmongers by @/badmoonbuns (1/3)

divinity bleeds by @tciddaemina (1/3)

lord of the dawn by @tciddaemina (1/3)

Of Blood and Spirit by @zafiada

Space Pirate Link and the Lost Hyrule by @/BellamyBriggs (1/3)

Souls of Power by @mothmanicus (1/3)

Song of the Sages by @amelias-calamity-quintet (1/3)

Turbulence by @the-twilight-duchess

A Study in Chemistry by @the-twilight-duchess (1/3)

Wicked Delights by @the-twilight-duchess (1/3)

What We Sow by @the-twilight-duchess (1/3)

In the Fire of Anathema by @the-twilight-duchess (1/3)

Trouble by @ohfuckohfucknoplease

Revival by @imagineaspen

Then I won't have no legacy by @/Domoda (1/3)

A gaze black and pitiless by @jammerific

The Silent Great Fairy by @/rengaminbunny (1/3)

The Ghosts of Yesterday by @only-by-the-stars

What You Ask For by @the-twilight-duchess (1/3)

Moderate Projects (Started comics, <75k fics, etc)

The Legend of Three by @fablesfables (1/3)

Into the Dark by @deiliamedlini (1/3)

The Hand That Holds the Sword by @zarvasace

Fighting Fate by @/Allendra

Desert Blight by @/jclbs (1/3)

Cinders of Life by @amelias-calamity-quintet (1/3)

Ballad of the Chosen by @/dummies_and_dragons (1/3)

Strangeness and Charm by @justbecause13 (1/3)

Forsaken AU by @skyloftian-nutcase (1/3)

The King and the Mercenary by @ghosttcryptids (1/3)

The Enemy's Enemy by @wouldyoustilllovemeifiwasawyrm

Children of Destiny by @/Lhyliart

House of the Sun by @ro-blaze

I Remember Your Name. by @commander-goo

Arteria di Miasma by @/Vaizo (1/3)

In the Shadows by @randombutloved

Large Projects (Ongoing comics, <150k fics, etc)

A Conviction to Save by @advocaado (1/3)

A Crossing of Stars by @ixtaek (1/3)

The Wondrous Adventures of the Righteous Maximus by @/Split Infinitive

The Weekly Hyrule News by @/BatNeko

S.T.T. by @/AzrealTheStoryteller (1/3)

Swamp Link AU by @skyward-floored

What It Means To Be Chosen by @raginghummingbird (1/3)

The inconsistencies of fate by @stinkyguar (1/3)

Imprisoning War by @skyloftian-nutcase (1/3)

Only in Hyrule by @/CrazygurlMadness (1/3)

Epic Projects (Long running comics, >150k fics, etc)

Legacies & Bloodlines by @/nolansman

Fighting Gravity by @/CrazygurlMadness (1/3)

Bright as Night by @/Allendra (1/3)

Make a Wish, Make it Count by @/LiliansMalice

Cloak and Dagger by @crownedcrusader

Reality by @/Leila Editer

The Hunt by @/andrhars

And the Clouds Parted by @/SkyLeaf

The Magic Awakens by @scarlet-curls

The Hero of the Dunes by @webhead3345

Coin-Operated by @inolabean

Hit List by @/zestycrouton

Nothing Emboldens Sin So Much As Mercy by @studiorat & @/SaltySaph (1/3)

when the sun sets, we're both the same by @tciddaemina (1/3)

Growing Up Gerudo by @growingupgerudo (1/3)

The Last Resort by @/JDetan and @/TheAngelicStoryteller (1/3)

To Hold the Sun, To Catch the Moon by @obsidiangst, @softpromise, and @hyperphonic

Already Spotlighted Projects

You can view spotlighted works in the Expanding Hyrule Story Spotlights by either clicking on the #Story Spotlights tag on this post or this link.

Scheduled Spotlights

A Tale of Two Rulers | A Voice from the Desert | Day After Destiny | I Adopted the King of Darkness | I dreamt that I died | Link and Midna's Investigative Services | The Lost Woods | Path of the Infinite | Seven Kingdoms | To Beat, To Break, To Burn | Vampire Bat

Other Notation

⭐ Some works have particularly resonated with our community. Works that have received 5 or more reviews in are denoted with a ⭐ on their spotlight and here on the hub post as to highlight this community recommendation.

* Some works spotlighted received spotlights but were removed later due to reassessment with the EH's archive requirements or request of the author. This is not a reflection on the quality of the work, only that further readings or statements from the creator no longer qualified it as an Original Legends work.

Next attempt at learning this art style.

I’ve gotten kind of addicted to using this style since I don’t have to do sketches or outlines, my weak points.

Ao3 does not need a 1-5 star rating system, you just want to bring down authors writing for FREE

Ao3 does not need automatic censorship, it is an archive, therefore anything can be posted

Writing or reading about something illegal does not mean the author nor the reader condones it, if that were true, you could never read a story involving anything negative

I've been involved in the Zelink fandom for over 20 years, and have always loved it for everyone's creativity and inclusiveness. However, I can no longer remain silent about a person who claims to be a part of this community, but is actually a hateful bigot who has been harassing and terrorizing dozens of people in the past year, many of whom I respect and consider friends.

Her name is Kaede/Dragon Princess (kaede_kairi on X/Twitter, kaedekairi on bluesky, mylonelydreaming on tumblr), and she has many alts she hides behind to send people anonymous, abusive, and often bigoted messages. She will target people for "crimes" including:

Being a multi-shipper (not shipping Zelda/Link exclusively)

Shipping Riju, even when portrayed as a consenting adult

Shipping non-human characters, even when they're fully-sapient and consenting

Writing a fic with a tag she perceives as "wrong", even if the actual situation is moral and consensual

Giving kudos on a fic with the "wrong" tag

While many of us in the community have tried to ignore her abuses for a long time, her recent messages have escalated to personal, violent threats. This is why I can no longer stand by and watch her terrorize the fandom.

(TW: The following screenshots contain upsetting language, including Islamophobia and transphobia.)

Kaede_kairi, you are not covered by your innocent fangirl mask. We have thorough evidence and proof of the person you truly are: A bully, an abuser, a bigot, and a hypocrite to boot. Get the fuck out of my fandom.

(For more details, see this Google Doc for a full extensive list of her known aliases, records of her harassment against over 20 individuals, and proof of her actual political stances. Warning: Contains many more examples of bigoted/abusive language.)

For everyone else: please note that although this is a callout post, my biggest goal is not so much to hurt her, but rather to tell everyone who has experienced attacks from her, or may be targeted by her in the future:

Don't be afraid. You aren't a bad person because of her accusations. You're not alone, and she is just one person. The fandom does not support her.

❓"What if she has a point about some of those things though?" She's actually just using those topics for excuses to bully people, as evidenced by how she sends hate mail based on an ao3 tag without even having read the story. Furthermore, writing or enjoying a work of fiction aren't crimes, whereas she is the one who's going out of her way to send abuse to people minding their own business.

When you're in the phase you're in now, you have all the "omg my writing is garbage" thoughts, but those are not true. Your writing is the same as it was last week. However, your ability to see it and analyze it is getting better -- and that keener perception is why it SEEMS to be worse. It isn't, I swear.

When it's the other way around and your execution is in a growth stage and your perception is on a plateau stage, that's when you have all your "omg I'm a supergenius? Omg *I* wrote that? fuck yeah im a god of writing" moments (and if you haven't had them yet, that's ok, they'll come, be patient with yourself).

Either way, this is a normal part of the growth process. It's like the ache of sore muscles after you've gone to the gym for the first time in a while, that's all. Your muscles will hurt less as you get stronger, and then you'll add more weight or more reps to your exercise routine, and you'll be sore again until your body catches up. It's just that when that's happening in your brain, it's a lot harder to set the "muscle ache" aside, because your brain's only way of expressing discomfort is to gnaw miserably on itself and make you have sad thoughts. Prescription: Have a cup of tea or whatever small treat you like best, and be gentle and patient with yourself. It's gonna be ok. Try to consciously notice and appreciate some of the things you've measurably gotten better at and give yourself a deliberate, intentional, conscious pat on the back for it. (I have ADHD, so my brain doesn't want to give me the reward chemicals automatically; I have to trigger it manually by saying aloud "I'm really proud that I accomplished this." YMMV.)

SECOND POSSIBLE DIAGNOSIS: This one also happens to me all the time. Oftentimes when I have the "my writing is getting worse" feeling, it is a signal from my subconscious that the story is going in the wrong direction -- that is, a direction which doesn't satisfying to me, or that I'm not interested in, or that leads the characters in a direction that I don't like, or that leaves a glaring plot hole that I haven't noticed consciously yet... All manner of small, fixable problems. This usually happens after I have ignored the earlier warning signs, which start with feeling a bit bored of the story but trying to push through, and then go to a vague dissatisfaction that I ignore. The end result of this is frequently outright burnout or writer's block, so the better you get at noticing those early warning signs, the faster you can address them and nip the problems in the bud. Problem is, being able to do this and use your feelings as a useful tool to flag burgeoning story problems only comes with practice. Prescription: Do the practice. When you start having those fidgety, restless feelings, try to notice what you're feeling before it gets to the "this is garbage and I hate it" stage, and then sit with that feeling. Instead of flinching away from it and hiding from the scary feeling, turn towards it with compassion and curiosity. Ask it questions like, "Hmmm, what SPECIFICALLY is garbage about it? What would make it more fun and appealing? Is there anything I'm missing here?" Your brain may initially try to continue the tantrum of "No, it's bad, it's just all bad, there's nothing good about this, it's horrible, and therefore I'M horrible" but you're gonna need to address this with all the kindness and patience that you would give a cranky toddler. Let it wriggle and cry, and just continue being curious and trying to get it to use its words to express what the problem is. Eventually you'll stumble on SOME kind of answer, and then YAY THAT IS A THING THAT CAN BE FIXED. Oftentimes when it happens to me, I have a reaction that's sort of like, "Oh! Duh! I forgot [XYZ thing]! That was a silly mistake, haha, no wonder I'm grumpy about it. Glad i noticed it now." The answers you stumble on might be things like, "I don't like mystery novels but I seem to be accidentally leading myself into writing one, whoops" or "It is so out of character for this person to be reacting that way, I need to rewrite this scene" or "I'm feeling bored, I would have put the book down by now if I were a reader; how can I jazz it up?" THIRD POSSIBLE DIAGNOSIS: (kind of a really specific subset of the Second Possible Diagnosis, but it is SO COMMON for both experienced writers and apprentice writers that it gets its own section) Your book might be having problems with tension.

Tension issues account for 99% of all book problems. It's like sewing machines?? You know how all sewing machines have the devil in them, and if you try to sew and your thread gets tangled and fucked up on the bottom, that's because the tension has gone weird, so you have to try rethreading the machine and wiggling the tension knob a bit to make it stop? Like that.

Prescription: If you are having the "this shit sucks" reaction, stop immediately and check your story tension. Are there stakes? Do they MATTER DEEPLY to the protagonist? Can they be raised? Can they be endangered? Does a new problem need to be introduced, or an existing one made worse? TENSION TENSION TENSION TENSION. There are a thousand ways of raising tension, and I cannot list them all here. When my tension is right, I almost never have the "this sucks" reaction, because I am in that document doing my job with ruthless efficiency. The SECOND it goes wonky, I have a crisis of confidence and a small tantrum and I sink into my Desponds. Every single time. It has gotten to the point where I have trained my closest friends to say, when I slide into their DMs to complain about my book: "Oh, this part. Past!Alex told us to give you a message. [checks notes] Message reads, 'bitch, is it a tension problem'" whereupon I subside, chastened, and say, "....yeah probably."

CHECK YOUR TENSION, IT IS PROBABLY FUCKED UP. How do I know? Bc tension wants very badly to fuck itself up if you're not keeping an eye on it. Same as sewing machines having the devil in them.