Dear Zelink fandom, Legend of Zelda fandom, and others:
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.
❓"What can I do?"
Reblog or otherwise share this post. Spread her name far and wide. She's involved in other fandoms (Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Sonic, Arcane) too, and I don't know their stories - she may very well have hurt people there too. The more people know about her, the less power she'll have.
pixelskylines
jbbartram-illu
titsay
yousharknotpass
germansingergirl
areudirty
dededos
