#markofahero

Rules: Make a list of every creative project you'd like to tackle next year! It can be anything, from updating a story to starting a new story entirely. Fanart ideas. Wrapping up old projects. Literally any creative endeavor that comes to mind! It doesn't have to be super extensive either. Just whatever you think you'd reasonably like to tackle in the coming year.

Tagged on my main, moving to my fic side blog. Thank you for the tag @mistresslrigtar and @abbyzwrites!

My goals for 2026:

Finish Mark of Hero. I am half way through the first arc of book 8, which leaves it, book 9, and the prequel to finish. At current pace, this is looking to happen in June-July, but still realistic even if I need to slow down for the year as a whole.

Return to Restoration Age. I won't be overly ambitious and say finish it too, though at my current pace, that's not off the table. We'll see there the year takes us, but I'm very excited for the planning I've been starting on this one.

More collabs! I am so excited for Cross-legends again this summer. I think I will do smaller projects, but hopefully with more creators!

So I started this originally like…probably in May-ish? But I was doing other projects too and then Artfight and work got busy aaaaand hey now it’s almost October. Also I’m just slow and committed to a render style I don’t have a lot of experience with. So yeah.

A mock “cover” for book 1 of @amelias-calamity-quintet ‘s fic Mark of a Hero!

Mark of a Hero by @amelias-calamity-quintet🌟

Epic Fantasy | Teen | AO3 | Ongoing

Synopsis: Hyrule is at peace, or so the Royal Family would have its people believe. Something is afoot in the kingdom, and someone needs to do something about it. Least likely would be Marksmen Link Sayre- a mercenary and monster hunter doing his best to get by. Until a job goes wrong, and he gets roped into the secret plans of Hyrule's princess. Now Link must play the part of the Hero to dive deeper into the mystery, and maybe stumble into a legend of his own.

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This story feels so much like a Zelda game it’s hard to believe it’s not part of the franchise! Between unique dungeons, fun and exciting NPCs, and a party of heroes that are absolutely lovable, this story is definitely one to check out. Link is an animal-loving, capable, hilarious hero who is always trying to do his best for the people he loves, and Zelda is a powerful princess with something to prove. Definitely a worthy story to put on your TBR! - abbyz-elda

Mark of a Hero is an epic scale Zelda adventure that expands upon the lands, lore, and people of Hyrule and beyond. These lands outside of Hyrule have the definitive Zelda vibe to them, and they each have their own uniqueness to them as well. Exploring Hyrule and its neighbors gives many opportunities for the Zelda lore to be explored and expanded upon in ways that have been very fun and fascinating to learn and read about. The world of these books are also full of colorful and endearing characters that you can't help but fall in love with -- as well as a terrifying legion of villains you'll love to hate. I've had the amazing opportunity to be an early reader for the series, and I've immensely enjoyed every moment of it! I'm currently on book 4, and I can say that I've been excited to read each and every chapter and to see how the story twists and turns. Through the distinctive settings, the many charming characters, and the compelling plotlines, you can tell that Amelia has put much care into their research and their craft to write this story! - doubtfulloser

A very quintessential and uniquely engaging Legend of Zelda story, Mark of a Hero feels like it is in fact part of the franchise: - it is set in a very vast and detailed world, absolutely full of interesting and unique background and tertiary characters; - it has a really, really cool Link in Link Sayre, mercenary and unwitting pretend hero who we all expect really is not pretend at all; - it has an amazing take on the Princess Zelda, the role, the royal dynamics, and how the one we're following in this story is responding to the challenges it all creates; - it has boss fights and puzzles, and will make you think that this could 100% be a really cool game to play; - it has amazing secondary characters, from a gossipy Zora to a completely ordinary old man, the supporting cast is just an absolute delight. This story is in progress, and it is already epic even though there is a lot left to come. A long read for sure, but it could easily become your comfort fic for a nice long while. - Karama9

I'm only on Book One at the moment, but amelias-hart is once again knocking it out of the park! If you liked Goddess of Secrecy, you will LOVE this. It's jam-packed with quirky, vivid characters with amazing chemistry, great action scenes, fun jokes, and (in my opinion) Amelia's incredible strength at writing dungeons that are just as enjoyable to read about as they would be to play. - waterglider

An amazing epic fantasy that still feels in line with the a Zelda game's humor, pacing, and overall atmosphere. The best "adult" Zelda take that I've seen that doesn't feel like it throws in edginess as a stand in for mature. A great series to get into if you want something to read for quite some time, and will keep you interested the whole way. - Uhandar

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You can find @amelias-hart at AO3, Bluesky, and Wattpad.

Rules: list your top 3 most popular pieces of writing (fanfiction or original stories, you can choose whether you list them by views or likes/kudos—trad or indie books count, too!), then tell us something you and/or other people like about each one and share a little behind the scenes of writing them! Positive things about your work only, your writing is more than worth it and so are you. It's time to give yourself and your writer friends some love!

Thank you @mistresslrigtar for the tag! Since I was tagged on my main, will be including somethings multiplatform for both fanfic and original works.

Goddess of Secrecy

AO3 - Wattpad

While the whole story is now available on AO3, GoS is by far my most popular work due to its popularity on Wattpad. Currently sitting at 300,000+ reads, GoS is in the top ~20 most read LoZ fics on Wattpad. That fact that my original legends, barely Zelink, first fanfic retains that spot after 13 years is wild. GoS made me as a writer. I wouldn't have become the storyteller I am without it, and it is the primary motivator I had in starting @expanding-hyrule to help other OLs find their readers. Clearly there is a readership for these kinds of works. Just gotta help folks connect.

Mark of a Hero

Book 1: AO3 - Wattpad

While the first book was also crossposted, MoaH is undoubtedly more popular on AO3 (which says something I think considering how much harder it is to get hits on AO3 over reads on Wattpad). Sitting at 5,757 hits, MoaH is the first work I've posted to AO3, as I've now been on the platform for just a little over a year (again, I think says something about the work). If GoS was my journey of becoming a writer, MoaH is the showcase of the skills I gained. There is so much I've had to learn to make this series what it is and it has been an absolute delight to grow alongside it. I am thrilled for what folks are going to get to explore as we're headed into book 3 and on.

Word Walkers - Stolen Secret

Because of the fanfic inclusions, I am not linking this one here, but you can find the direct links on @wordwalkers (it should be pinned). The first book of the series is available on Amazon, B&N, and most places you can buy books these days in hardback, paperback, and ebook. Word Walkers is my first book publication, third publication overall. It is a self-published new adult fantasy novella in a series that was prepared to continue after its 2019 debut. I was all set to send it to editors at the start of the new year to get the ball rolling and then the funniest thing happened. In any case, while book 2 is currently backburnered due to funds, writing this series has pushed me so much as a creative, both in the process of creating and also in expanding my skillset to go on to publish. It is hard to compare the successes of fics to published work as they are fundamentally metricked differently, but at the time of release, I had about 100 followers on Instagram and I sold about 100 copies at release, which is an exceptional statistic. I think most people will tell you to expect only about 10% of a following to buy a product you sell. I would say that certainly is a metric to contend with my other two. Also, don't let Amazon lie to you, this work does not contain erotica. I have nothing against the genre, but Amazon continues to do battle with me over this incorrect metadata after 7 years and I don't want anyone to be misled about its contents.

So a while ago, I wrote a blog post on dungeon design and my approach to building dungeons. I have been talking about it a lot on the EH server since folks were asking, and eventually I asked if folks wanted me to do a workshop since I was coming up on needing to make a dungeon for MoaH. And so, a little impromptu, I did!

So I've been told that my work list looks daunting. I think a lot of people see the Calamity Quintet+++ series and think they need to read the whole thing but this is not the case! While some of my works share connected timeline business for the Calamity Quintet's overarching story, all of my Original Legends are standalone! Hopefully this chart helps you pick one to start with!

Beyond that, the commonalities are that all of these works are "Classic Quest" Original Legends, they chiefly feature Zelink (though a few have some other additional romances like Triforce Trio in RA, the all Sages polycule in SotS, and Zelimpa for TotG), they all aim to generally fit Nintendo's style and tone, and they are all long.

Alt text and links under the read more.