#linked seas

I would like to start a Snack Club with the boys. If I sit in a rowboat and bring human snacks, will they bring mer snacks, and we can share?

*Thirteen mer pop their heads above the ocean's surface*

Wild: Snacks?

Hyrule: Snacks?

Wind: Snacks?

Time: Snacks?

Aryll: Human Snacks???

Everyone else when they see your pile of treats in the rowboat: Snacks!!!

Wild: SNACK CLUB!!!! Hang on, let me get some stuff to trade.

*After several arguments about what kind of treats a human would like--Aryll is adamant that you would love eel bites--the Chain sets up shop on a wide piece of driftwood next to your rowboat*

Ravio, rubbing his hands together: Welcome, traveler! We have plenty of fine goods for tr--

Wild, trying to climb into your boat: There's BREAD in here!

*Chaos ensues*

Aah, YES! I almost didn’t comment on it, but I’m glad I did.

You absolutely succeeded with Fi’s dialogue, it felt like a true fourth-wall break.

(feel free to link to other posts if you already answered!)

Thank you so much for being patient on this ask, Pelican!! I'll do a full write-up of Warriors's backstory for the LS character lore fic at some point, but for now, have some fun facts about everyone's favorite Captain!

-He has one of the rarest scale types of all mer—each one is almost as hard as metal and just as shiny. He weighs the same amount as Time, even though Warriors is smaller. Because of this, Warriors has a hard time swimming up to speed, but once he gets going, he barrels through the water like an unstoppable force.

-Artemis also has this scale type, but her scales are smaller and more flexible, gold to Warriors’s silver.

-Warriors was the first mer to join the Chain, making them an official tribe with him, Time, and Malon.

-His favorite food is a tuna-roe-and-sea-rice bowl Wild makes. Very salty, a bit sour, lots of savory/umami flavors. Filling, too!

-He spent his early years training to be a soldier for his birth tribe (the Spire Tribe), because they had a long history of getting into skirmishes and wars with other mer. At his heart, all he wants to do is protect the mer he cares about. This has driven him from soldier, to rebel, to aimless mercenary, and now, to medic-and-second-in-command.

-At first, Time wanted Malon to be his second in command. Malon convinced him that Warriors should take that role, partly because of Warriors’s combat knowledge, and partly because she knew Time would struggle putting her in the dangerous situations a second would face. She’d already lost her birth tribe; she wouldn’t lose the one she’d built with her husband just because he didn’t feel comfortable asking her to do something. Warriors is aware of all of this.

-Warriors feels awkward around guppies and newborns, like he doesn’t know what to do with them. But after living with the Chain for so long, he feels comfortable around his tribe’s guppies.

-He was the only reason Legend survived during the time Lege was unconscious in The Scavenger and the Chain.

-He squealed with excitement when the Chain established their pod of dolphins and he learned he could have one for himself. He made Time and Malon promise never to tell anyone about the undignified noise he made.

-He’s turned his scarf into a young-mer-carrier more times than he can count. It’s muscle memory at this point. Everyone from Sky and younger has taken several rides in the Warriors Guppy Sling. Warriors tried it on Twilight once, when Twi got injured on patrol. Never again. Time still busts up laughing when he remembers how he found the two in literal knots, sunken to the ocean floor.

I might wind up adding more guppy lore posts (if you or anyone else have requests for specific ones, lmk), but I'm going to start with Wind, Aryll, and Tetra! I haven't talked much about where they came from. Plus, Tetra is my favorite Zelda outside of LS. :)

The Demise Tribe wiped out Wind and Aryll's home (the Outset Tribe) when they were really little. Aryll doesn't remember much from their birth tribe, just bits and pieces. Wind preserves his memories as much as he can, but his grandma's face is getting blurry when he tries to recall her. Their grandmother sacrificed herself getting them to (relative) safety.

A day or two later, Wind and Aryll stumbled across the largest group of scavengers in the ocean--not organized or loyal enough to call themselves a nomadic tribe, but friendlier than most. Wind and Aryll traveled with them for almost a year and became close friends with the undisputed leader of the scavenger group, Tetra.

Helmaroc, a roaming, low-ranking Demise leader, kidnapped Tetra and Aryll while the group traveled through a barren part of the sea. Wind nearly died trying to rescue them, only to wake up alone ... except for a strange piece of talking wood named the King of Red Lions. The King gave Wind the Wind Waker, saying it was his birthright and refusing to elaborate. The Wind Waker didn't do much aside from creating bubbles that could alter the current slightly, but Wind had been a scavenger long enough to know never to refuse a resource. Besides, the baton helped him swim a little easier.

Together, Wind and the King saved Aryll, but the Demise Tribe had moved Tetra further into their territory. The King tried to convince Wind to stay behind, saying he had something Wind needed to hear. When Wind realized the King wasn't going to give him information to help him free Tetra, he swum off, telling the King to take care of Aryll and that he would hear him out later.

In Demise territory, Wind destroyed Helmaroc and freed Tetra. Together, the duo faced Ganondorf, who'd orchestrated the kidnappings and wouldn't say why. It was a long and painful fight. Wind lost his weapon as Ganondorf advanced on Tetra. In desperation, Wind pulled out the Wind Waker ... and it summoned the largest whirlpool on record. Wind stayed safe at the center, but the whirlpool killed Ganondorf and wiped out the Demise poison from the entire area. Tetra was nowhere to be found.

Wind swim-limped back to where he'd left Aryll and the King, only to discover that all the magic had drained from his boat friend. Aryll explained that the King had said something about Wind needing his power, then turned faded, stiff, and dead. She also told him that the King wanted him to know that Tetra would be safe. Wind was crushed. But he needed to be strong for Aryll.

They tried bringing the boat with them for a while, but without the King propelling himself, swimming became too difficult for the guppies. They had to leave him behind.

Wind and Aryll looked for their old scavenger group or Tetra for months and found nothing. Wind suffered and slowed from his injuries. He gave every scrap of food he could find to Aryll, only letting himself eat if she said she was full. (Aryll lied about being full as much as she could without making her big brother suspicious.)

The journey grew too much for Wind, and the two huddled down in a nook at the edge of a reef. The Chain found them a few days later. Wind was in bad shape, but he refused to let anyone near him or his sister for weeks. He sent almost everyone to the infirmary at one point or another during that period (Time almost lost a few fingers to Wind's fangs). Eventually, Wind realized Aryll was beginning to starve, and Malon coaxed them both into eating something. Not long after, Malon convinced them to come back to the Dome, and the duo got some medical care. (Some. Less than Warriors would have liked. Wind was stressed out and ready to end anyone who looked at Aryll the wrong way.) Aryll took to their new family fast, and Wind acquiesced once he saw how gentle and kind everyone was with his sister. Still, he holds the tribe record for longest time adjusting to life with the Chain. Everyone hopes that record will never be broken, but Legend was/is close.

The thing that made Wind choose, once and for all, to stick with the Chain and trust them was the day he heard that the whirlpool had flung Tetra into the Wisdom Tribe's territory. Tetra adapted well and even convinced the older mer to help her look for Wind and Aryll. Once the trio reunited, healthy and safe at last, Wind finally settled. He still wishes he'd listened to what the King of Red Lions wanted to tell him before the old boat passed away.

I got so many Mer Snack Club asks! XD Might have to do a Mer Snack Club Ask Hour at some point, lol! Going to put a couple under here that I couldn't answer directly and do them in a group, hope that's all right!

Wind: Oh! I've heard of this sort of food swap, it's a human thing called a luck pot, right, Aryll?

Aryll: *stares at crab plushie* He's ... so ... beautiful! *squeezes plushie* I LOVE HIM AND WILL CHERISH HIM FOREVER, HIS NAME IS SNUGGLES, THANK YOU.

Hyrule: I think Aryll's a little distracted, Wind.

Shadow: She's not the only one. *snickers and points at Four, who stares at the cassava chips like they hold the secrets of the universe*

Hyrule: Huh. Four? You okay there, buddy?

Four: *heavy breathing* I DON'T KNOW WHICH FLAVOR TO CHOOSE.

Wild: *holding an armful of pudding jars, sea cucumber salad, urchin carpaccio, and crispy soft-shelled crabs to trade for the raft of smores, blueberries, jalapeño poppers, and fried sweet potato* Put all of them in your mouth at once, then. Hey, what's this sand-looking stuff? Old … bay? Sand from an old bay? Guess the age might make it taste better. Let me try. *sticks a finger in and licks the seasoning off* *eyes widen* *shakes it on one of the crabs, sticks a jalapeño popper on top, then shoves the whole thing into his mouth* I love human food. You guys are geniuses. Now I need to try sand from all over the ocean to see if it tastes as good as your old bay sand!

Four: *coughing* BAD IDEA. DO NOT EAT ALL THE CHIPS AT ONCE. Urgh, you will pay, Wild …

Wild: I am paying. *gestures to his haul of mer food* I'm bringing our stuff to trade for the luck pot, remember? Speaking of, hold on, I forgot the shrimp skewers and eel bites. *dives underneath the surface*

Shadow: *dips one of the cinnamon sugar cassava chips in the jam-topped, spiced tapioca* Hey, this is really good. *shoves one in Four’s mouth, Four miraculously stops pretending to go belly-up to enjoy the treat*

Sky: Hey, what happened to that orange root stuff? I know it was right here.

Time: *licks fried sweet potato off his fingers* What orange root stuff?

Sky: *disappointed Sky face* Aww. Well, at least we still have some of those berry things—what?! How are those gone, too?

Warriors: *freezes with blueberry smeared on his face* Oh.

Sky: *groans*

Warriors: Don’t worry, Sky. There are still plenty of human treats left.

Hyrule: Um.

Warriors: What now—oh.

Legend and Ravio: *have somehow wound up on the boat, stuffing their faces with anything edible—especially the smores*

Warriors: Well, I guess that answers the question of if they're due for a growth spurt or not. … Sorry, Sky.

Aryll: EELS! Little ones! *shoves a handful of sour gummy worms into her mouth, her face twists, then she spits them out* Ow! They bit me!

Wind: WHAT. *grabs a rock and prepares to whack the gummy worms*

Legend: Hang on, I’m pretty sure those things are already dead. Wild, put one in your mouth and see if it bites you, too.

Warriors, the One Adult On Watch Right Now: Legend, you can’t just make Wild eat whatever you’re worried about.

Legend: It’s worked so far. See?

Wild: *slurps up all of Aryll’s half-eaten gummy worms*

Warriors: Wild, no, spit those out, that’s disgusting!

Legend: Yeah, you have to eat the fresh ones or we won’t know if they’re dead or not!

Wild: Ish rlly gub.

Warriors, battling an incoming headache: Don’t talk with your mouth full.

Wild: *swallows* It’s really good. Super sweet, but more like a really hard pudding than an actual eel? Lemme try those fresh ones. *eats a gummy worms with all the sour coating on it* *eyes go wide* *snatches the bag away from everyone else* It’s disgusting. Spicy. None of you would like it. I’ll … go dispose of it.

Legend: Hey! That means it’s good, start sharing! *tries to tackle Wild*

Wild: *holds bag out of Legend’s reach with a grin* Now, now, you should listen to your elder—

Ravio: *swims out of nowhere and grabs the bag, starts munching the gummy worms* Hey, these are great!

Legend: I knew it! Share. *holds out hand*

Ravio: Oh, now you’re interested in sharing? Because I remember a time when there was an extra sea snail—

Legend: You’re still mad about that?!

Warriors: *swims over to you with an exhausted expression while everything devolves into sour gummy worm chaos behind him* Ah, thanks for the treat, friend. I think it’s safe to say the rest won’t make it to the others.😅

*produces platter of cupcakes*

Most of these are sweet spice cupcakes. But some have hot cayenne pepper instead.

Would the boys be interested in playing?

(I do have a backup platter of the “nice” ones, just in case. 😁)

*The adoles pop their heads above the surface*

Wild: Spices? Like salt or seaweed flakes?

Hyrule: Bet that would be tasty with sweet stuff, those look kind of like your seaberry puffs! So, this is just a game where the treat's either cold or warm?

Ravio: Uh, that's a weird look on the human's face ... I think there's more to the game than that.

Wild: Well, what else could it be? I don't know what a "cayenne" or a "pepper" is, but there's only one meaning for the word hot. I'm the oldest and hungriest--

Legend: You are NOT the hungriest, I can guarantee that.

Wild: Because I'm the oldest and hungriest, I'll go first.

Legend: *snatches a cupcake from the plate and shoves the whole thing in his mouth* Oh. Oh, wow, that's really good. That's not a spice we have here in the ocean, it tastes kind of warm without being actually warm. Bet it would be good with the coconuts we get drifting out here sometimes. I like it! *hands one to Ravio, who takes a smaller bite*

Ravio: Yum! It's kind of prickly, like eating a sea urchin without cleaning it. But this won't kill you like a whole sea urchin would going down. It's delicious.

Legend: No way, that's not at all what it tastes like.

Hyrule: Maybe you two got the different kinds?

Ravio: I don't think so. Mine wasn't warm, and neither was Legend's. Maybe my tongue tastes things differently since I'm ... you know. Ex-Demise.

Legend: Here. *splits a cupcake in half and gives the halves to Wild and Hyrule* This one doesn't feel warm, so it must be the same flavor Ravio and I had. You two can tell us what it really tastes like.

*Quiet munching*

*Pause of horrified realization*

Hyrule: *coughs, splutters, makes general dying noises*

Wild: It's attacking my mouth!

Hyrule: How did someone--cough--turn Demise poison into food?

Wild: I love it! More, please! I want to fight it back.

Legend: You two are so dramatic. *Gulps down three more cupcakes without a problem*

Ravio: Yeah, it doesn't hurt, it just prickles a bit. *Bites into another* Oh. That one does taste different. I see what Legend was saying about it feeling warm instead of being warm. That one's not for me, I think. *Shoves the rest of his sweet spice cupcake at Legend, who gobbles it up straight off of Ravio's hand*

Wild: Maybe "hot" is a flavor on land instead of a temperature?

Legend: But these are all the same flavor. See? *Eats another cupcake* Exactly the same.

Hyrule: *Gurgles and floats belly-up in the background*

By the way, do different tribes have any distinct or signature foods they call their own? Does your tribe ever swap recipes or dishes with Wisdom, for instance?

Everyone in the Chain Tribe: *Eyes widen* *Heavy breathing ensues*

Chaos: *Breaks out*

5 minutes later ...

Aryll, playing with her crab rangoon: Look, look! It's like a little crab if you flip it upside-down and make it walk!

Legend: I think it's called "crab rangoon" because there's crab in it, not because it looks like a crab.

Sky: There's no way there's crab in this. Crab isn't creamy.

Wild: It is if you do it right. *Stuffs 7 Jammie Dodgers into his mouth at the same time without breaking eye contact*

Aryll: It has crab in it, and it looks like a crab. I'm naming mine Scuttles. Because he scuttles. See, Mal--

Shadow: *Grabs Scuttles and eats him without looking while also scooping up his fifth helping of rice pudding*

Aryll: 0-0

Everyone: *Backs away, pushes your boat away from inevitable doom*

Shadow: Huh? Why is the boat--

Aryll: S C U T T L E S!!!!!!! *Leaps for Shadow and drags him under the surface*

Four: I always knew I'd go out someday because of Shadow's bad decisions.

Wind: *Pats Four's shoulder* Death by Aryll is a rough way to go.

Warriors: I nominate Legend to break that up before we're down two tribemates.

Legend: Me? Why me?

Warriors: Because you're her second favorite after Wind.

Legend: Then why doesn't Wind do it?

Wind: Because she won't bite you. She's worried you're too frail, she thinks your skin and scales aren't strong enough.

Legend: What?! I am not--Aryll! *Dives under the surface*

--

Tribe foods vary depending on location and the tribe's lifestyle! Groups that live closer to shore tend to eat more shellfish, where ones in deeper seas hunt large fish and gather plankton/krill. The Chain and Wisdom both live in similar habitats with similar lifestyles. Because they've grown next to each other with a ton of communication, both groups eat similar dishes.