don't be a gaping vent

Dinner parties are usually held at Rivan's, since he's the only one with any cooking skills and his house is the most convenient. Bazz's place would be much more comfortable for hosting this many people, but then they'd have to include Seggin and no one wants that (Trello is cranky but much less intentionally hostile, so Rivan usually ends up extending the invite to him as well, this is his dad after all). Zora diet is much less varied than a Hylian's as it is ultimately majorly raw fish/meat based. Most Zora don't even really bother with cooking or seasoning their food - they enjoy the raw taste and texture and don't get sick from parasites and such anyway. A healthy diet should include some amount of greens, usually kelp and algae but leafy vegetables and herbs also work. Zora can eat small amounts of roots, mushrooms, some grains and some fruit, but they tend to process them via pickling or brining for easier digestion. Rice is a common side/base, even though it doesn't provide much actual nutrition (good for filling up when there's not enough protein though!). Legumes, wheat, milk and stuff heavy in sugar are a hard no for a Zora stomach. Hot spice doesn't cause any serious digestive problems, but consuming it tends to make one -really- snotty which is kinda bad table manners, so it's an acquired taste.

The dish spread I drew is a bit chaotic (flavors don't pair super well and there is way too much variety for a casual meal) but it showcases the main logic of Zora cooking I think. A proper meal will have a bunch of small dishes, most of them (if not all) cold, and they're meant to be picked at and shared by everyone. The main course is almost always some kind of raw fish dish (or smoked, if there's no fresh catch available). Rice and seaweed/pickles are offered as sides. Everything is served plain, and vinegar, salt or fish sauce are used to season the meals to one's taste. For hot dishes, there's various soups, Rice Fried With Things and then fancier stuff like meat steamed in leaves/kelp or herb grilled fish. No fruit, sugar or wheat means Zora have very limited dessert choices. Most popular are rice cakes (can be sweet or savory) or egg-based puddings of sort. Zora don't really drink for hydration (they'll get that water in them anyway throughout the day) so beverages are usually just there to compliment the food. A common choice for a casual gathering like this is cold herbal infusion or mild rice wine (Bazz has been explicitly banned from bringing anything stronger than that to Rivan's house).

Zora may not drink for hydration, but recreational purposes are another story altogether. There are a few non-alcoholic options, such as hot or cold herbal infusions or teas (expensive!), but it usually is some kind of alcoholic drink that gets served at a party or gathering.

Zora have much higher tolerance than most other people in Hyrule (unless you ask a Gerudo), mostly on the account of being rather large and their slow-ish metabolism. Thus, if they drink, they drink a lot. And they do have a lot to choose from.

On the weaker side, there's mild rice wine and watered down fruity stuff. It's mostly served with casual meals and is barely considered alcohol at all.

The most popular stuff Zora drink when going out or having a party is a type of herbal spirit, watered down to one's preference (not dissimilar to ouzo or raki) accompanied by various salty snacks.

Then there's a lather large choice of wines made from a wide variety of plants (fruit is a problem when fresh, but fermenting/distilling gets rid of the most problematic bits), mostly favored by the herb haters and some nobles who want to pretend they're better than the commoners.

In theory Zora could drink stuff like beer, ale or mead, but since they don't have much use for the necessary ingredients on the daily basis, they don't really bother sourcing them just for this purpose. After trade went back to normal, some taverns started importing limited quantities as a curiosity.

Of course Zora also make a wide variety of unnecessarily strong distilled spirits, mostly from herbs. This is the kind of drink that's more of a luxury and meant to be consumed in small quantities. Almost all of these are considered a poisoning hazard by most of Hyrule, so you're unlikely to find them outside of the Domain.

Zora don't really have a legal drinking age, though obviously common sense is applied, like, you don't give wine to a baby and shop clerks will think twice before selling hard liquor to someone not looking fully grown. Zora kids usually start getting served milder drinks at home with dinner around the time they hit their final growth spurts (so at 40-60, which would be roughly 14-16 in our years).

The guards, unsurprisingly, tend to drink especially heavily (it is their major bonding activity), to the point that some amount of tavern outings are included in the yearly expenses (Bazz spent two weeks arguing for it with the palace accounting when drafting the Guard budget). On a daily basis they have to buy their own alcohol though, They mostly go for the common herbal spirits and wine, as these have the best price-to-value ratio when one wants to become shitfaced.

Pic 1 is more of a special occasion, which means the drinks are paid for from the Guard budget (it's just the cheap stuff though! Bazz wishes he had something better but then he'd have to buy for everyone and he's not made of money).

Also, a glimpse at the Zora tavern! It's just a big room with a few very long kneel-height tables (the guards stash their weapons and less comfortable armor bits underneath). Drinking is a social activity and the assumption is that you want to have as many friends around you as possible. The cheaper alcohol will be served in bottles or jugs, along with complimentary snacks, while the more high quality stuff is available per glass at a special order.

Bazz is the only one from the Brigade who -drinks-, and he has some rather concerning levels of tolerance. Rivan will sip his one drink throughout the night, but dip once the party becomes too much. He's actually pretty judgemental about Bazz's alcohol habits (especially because he was there once they started and he knows exactly how unhealthy they are) and also really dislikes being hit on by his drunk coworkers. He's also worried about Dunma, who insists on joining the outings for socializing reasons. She used to sit with the other youths, but after some less than pleasant experiences she consistently finds herself flanked by her dad and Gaddison.

Gaddison is probably most normal about alcohol, usually having a few casual drinks throughout the night. She's terrible at the social part though and most people tend to avoid her anyway, so she usually sits at the very edge of the table and either leaves with Rivan and Dunma, or the moment she sees Bazz cross the shitfaced threshold.

(1. she Will Not deal with him in this state; 2. Drunk Bazz is significantly less effective at shutting down people trying to be weird at her)

As for Pic 2, one of the perks of getting Link back in Bazz's life was getting a high quality drinking buddy (before that the best option he had was, funnily enough, Sidon, and usually they'd just end up talking about work anyway).

Bazz has a taste for the most cursed, borderline medicine-adjacent stuff (Link isn't that far off comparing it to paint stripper) and has a sizeable collection stashed in his office. Rivan knows about its existence and every once in a while threatens to pour it all in the Reservoir, heedless of the ecological disaster that would cause.

Pic 3 is just Sidon enjoying a glass of wine while going through some late night paperwork. He's (embarrasingly) not really fond of the herbal stuff and actively repulsed by whatever is in Bazz's glass on any given day. Bazz is well aware of course, so he always offers to share just because he finds Sidon’s poorly hidden wince hilarious.

EDIT: Also for those curious:

The most important and absolutely non-negotiable part of an outfit is the neck brace. Necks are considered the most intimate body part (they are rather delicate) and will only be shown bare to close family members and romantic partners.

Zora casual wear is rather simple and very standardized (communal society is great and all, but individuality and self-expression aren't exactly encouraged...).

An outfit will always consist of a neck brace with some kind of adornment and a decorative belt, any additional accessories depend on status and/or preference. Given that Zora tend to wear the same thing throughout their whole lives (the jewellery doesn't really wear down plus it would be really expensive) the design choice tends to meaningful and project an image of one's identity/status/family ties.

(A Zora will remove the neck brace before sleep if they're in private/family quarters but not in public sleeping pools).

The base design of the neck brace is standardized for everyone save the royalty, it's swapped for a bigger one with every growth spurt).

The neck brace is then decorated with an ornament, the choice of which is probably the most important within the whole ensemble.

Common Zora (represented here by Rivan, Gaddison and Cleff) usually sport a simple premade piece, either received from their family at the end of their tadpolehood or purchased from a silvershop's stock.

Ornaments tend to follow specific design conventions that are more male- or female-coded, and whatever style an individual will choose to wear, it will be their most important gender signifier (with how similar Zora men and women are to each other, this makes just everyone's lives easier). There are also gender-neutral designs, especially favored among the commoners of the Lower Domain, who mainly speak gendered-pronoun-lacking Zora language and also don't interact much with the nobles (this will be significant later).

Wearing the neutral design isn't necessarily a gender statement (like for Cleff here) but it is A Choice.

(In theory you could go in public wearing just the neck brace, with no ornament at all, but it would make you immediately stand out and people would assume you're hiding something).

The nobility class is much more particular with their neck ornaments. They are always custom made and showcase the family crest. The wearer has no choice in terms of the design and there's no gender-neutral option (highborn Zora are really particular about blood relations and proper marriages, which. is a whole thing. yeah).

The ornament is then accompanied by an elaborate necklace that goes all around the neck base. These are either inherited or custom-made and a highborn Zora will usually have a few sets. In practice, the choice of this piece will usually tell the most about the wearer, since it's not locked to biology and family history.

The next most important outfit element is the belt. It's not as crucial as the neck brace, but not wearing it would be somewhat indecent.

Similar to the neck ornaments, the commoners usually choose a standard, premade piece. The main difference is, the gender-neutral design is actually the most popular option, though more male- or female-coded versions are available.

The nobles' belts are once again custom made and much more elaborate. The design often includes the family crest (or a past version of it) and, contrary to the neck ornaments, is almost never gendered (mostly bc the belts are often family heirlooms. so convenient!)

Once again, a rich highborn Zora will usually have multiple belts to choose from. There are additional clip-on accessories to signify specific status modifiers (royal or religious ties, high political position etc).

All other accessories are left to personal preference with some restrictions. Ankle and wrist adornments are a thing for everyone, though the nobles' versions are of course much bigger and more elaborate. Most common Zora go for simple bracelets/anklets or neither.

Fabrics are exclusive to royalty, elders and ceremonial wear of high-status figures, while headwear is royalty-only. Tail ornaments are for those with a seat on the Council and brooches are a sign of past accomplishments. Only the royals can carry weaponry with civilian outfits.

A notable exception to all this is engagement jewelry, which can be mostly anything (except headwear). Most Zora go for belt or neck clip-ons though, which is most appropriate.

Stones don't hold as much significance (except sapphires, reserved for the royalty) but it's preferable that they're in shades of white, blue or green. In the end it's the metalwork that plays the more important role in the design of a piece.

Piercings exist as a concept, but are only really a thing among the Zora who don't have to be very active, as they tend to get infected in the murkier river/lake waters and also snag on things.

Now let's check out our guys in the lineup and judge their choices lol:

Rivan's casual outfit is extremely standard - the most basic male-coded neck ornament (the same one he received as a kid from his parents) and the standard, neutral belt. He often (but not always) wears rather large, simple wrist braces (so his stick arms don't snap in the wind, Bazz jokes). No footwear.

(When he was going through his rebellious phase he would put on a bunch of chain necklaces and shell jewelry over his regular set as a Statement. He also tried piercing, but the Guard made him take them out).

Gaddison's choices are also mostly standard, though rather heavy on the female coding. She claims it's because she's sick of outsiders mistaking her for a man and then getting all weird about it. She doesn't wear anything outside the basic neckwear+belt set.

Her neck ornament is the one she got from her parents and is actually the only thing she has left from her pre-Calamity life in Goponga.

Cleff is here to model a gender neutral design of the neck piece, and he's one of the very few people in Upper Domain who chooses to wear it. He says he just prefers the look and it doesn't really mean anything, but seems rather satisfied about getting side-eyed by the more conservative elders.

Bazz dresses like your model rich guy (Gaddison especially finds it rather obnoxious). He wears his family crest with a rather elaborate necklace (of which he has a few, all custom bc he refuses to wear anything inherited from Seggin's side and his mom's jewelry feels too weird given their non-existent relationship). Similarly, he has a few fancy belts and a whole bunch of wrist/leg braces that he frequently swaps around.

Laflat's outfit follows roughly the same logic as Bazz's, with the family crest and all. Her adornments look much more modest, but are actually all really old heirloom pieces (her family is one of the oldest in the Domain). An "if you know you know" type of thing. It actually gives her lots of respect points with the highborns and Elders, which in turn makes her job much easier.

Seggin is perhaps the most decked out in this whole lineup, being an Elder noble high military officer councilman. Any Zora past 250 yo gets the right to wear the Elder sash, which they can style to their preference (Seggin fashions it after his past Guard Captain getup). His sash is then decorated with a brooch further signifying his current rank as Major (a title given to retired high-ranking military officers. which he refuses to use. still wears the brooch). Nobility Elders often swap their jewelry for even more elaborate designs after getting the sash and Seggin is no exception, this necklace could probably serve as an armor. He wears a small tail adornment that showcases his position as the royal council member.

Seggin technically could also wear the engagement belt clip-ons he got from Bazz's mother, Yatga, but they've been stashed deep in his jewelry chests ever since he fought in the Calamity war and hasn't been taken out since.

Let's start with the non-Hyrule Zora! Represented here by Dorephan, Muzu, Yona and Khira, who were all born a fair distance away from Hyrule mainland, in the Necluda Sea Domain.

(I will elaborate on the Sea Zora and other Domains later, let's not make this thing any longer than it absolutely needs to be).

The Necluda Domain is close enough to Hyrule that their jewelry follows more or less similar design conventions (the outfits become less and less familiar the further east you go). The main difference is the metal used (copper and bronze) and common stone colors (purples and reds are common, contrary to Hyrule's blues and greens). Their outfits tend to feature more elements (such as rings, fin tips adornments and torso pieces) and no fabrics.

Family crests exist, but their designs are not gendered, and the practice of combining them is less common. Usually the partner who's lower in status just takes their new spouse's crest as is.

Another crest-related practice is royal servants taking on the crests of the family they serve.

In general, the Necluda Sea jewelry tends to feature more elaborate, intricate designs than Hyrule's and puts more emphasis on extensive chest adornments. The dangling torso pieces are decorated with plates of solid metal to flaunt wealth (metal is much harder to come by in Sea Domains than in Hyrule).

We never see any commoner Zora from this Domain (they don't really travel outside in the first place), which is a shame because their outfits are very different from the upper class. They wear barely any solid metal (only on the neck, if at all, it is really expensive) and their adornments are made from coral, shell and wire.

A guest can go around the Domain in their own adornments (although it's advisable that they remove any royal-coded stuff, such as headwear or pauldrons). If they choose to stay however, they will be asked to dress appropriately as to not stand out. For the Necluda folk this means throwing out basically everything, since even the metal is no longer appropriate.

Dorephan (a Necluda Sea Prince) got a whole new outfit upon his marriage to the Hyrule Domain's Zora Princess. His chest piece was swapped for the decorative engagement armor and an elaborate fabric ensemble on top. He had to lose the rings and the torso plates (Elder Council deemed them "too confusing") but managed to keep the little clips on the tips of his fins and Necluda-typical footwear (though in appropriate silver of course).

He also took on the Hyrule Domain's Royal Crest in its entirety (while Hyrule Zora noble families merge their crests, for the royals it's just the one that remains unchanging).

For Muzu, the new outfit was mostly whatever he was wearing before but in silver. The tail ornament, while purely decorative in Necluda Domain, conveniently fit his new position on the Council, so he could keep it without much trouble. He was also allowed the fin clips, seeing how Dorephan kept his.

The most drastic change was the chest piece, which became just a bit of silk rope denoting his "attendant" role. He really wanted to keep Dorephan's old crest on his neck, but was forced to go back to his family one (which got modified to be more male-coded, and thus appropriate for the Hyrule Domain nobility standards).

(If he was a servant of anyone else the situation would be different, it's just that the Hyrule Zora Council didn't want to have a citizen display allegiance to a whole another foreign power).

Yona's situation is mostly the same as Dorephan's, she has to take a new crest, lose the "weird" parts, wrap herself in silks and swap bronze for silver. She uses Dorephan's precedence to keep the fin clips.

Even her engagement jewelry (the tail ornament) got plated silver to match.

For Khira the required changes were least extreme, she just had to swap her set for a silver one with some minor redesign to fit in better (the damn gendered belts). Just like in Muzu's case, her torso adornment became an "attendant" rope detail. She also returned to her old family crest.

The Mipha illustration is to showcase how big of a deal fabrics are in the Domain! They're extremely expensive (made from fleet-lotus silk which is difficult to harvest and requires ages to spin and process) and limited to royalty and some highest-rank positions in the court (such as High Priests, top military commanders, guild leaders, Elders).

Mipha was quite shocked upon receiving her Champion outfit, it was more fabric than even she (a literal princess) has ever held in her life.

Sidon has multiple jewelry sets and then often forgoes some more annoying armor bits when he feels like he can get away with it (the Council is not amused). In private he basically just wears his neck brace with the royal crest (and the whistle, always the whistle) and a simple belt + arm brace + anklets set. The little feathered aigrette is usually the first to go (the way it attaches makes his forehead itch).

He also has a bunch alternate sets that don't follow his everyday outfit design, usually meant to be worn at casual gatherings or in private.

Back when he was younger and starting to pick up some royal duties he was really self conscious about being taken seriously and one of the ways he tried to remedy this was More Jewelry. In practice it made him feel even less confident and didn't seem to have any effect on the Council's attitude (if they found it pitiful at least they had the decency to not say anything).

The last illustration is mostly to show how different royal wear is from your normal Zora outfit. Bazz is, arguably, a guy with some really expensive taste in jewelry, and even he looks underdressed next to Sidon.

One big difference is the neck brace - both common and nobility Zora both use the same simple design, while the royals wear this big, elaborate construction that lets bits of their (pure, unblemished) neck skin show through (haha).

The exclusivity of fabrics was mentioned already, but it's the same with any headwear (tiaras, headbands, fin ornaments) or armor-inspired shoulder adornments, which are strictly royalty-only in casual wear. Similarly, only royalty is permitted to carry weapons without being dressed in full armor.

Royal belts, arm- and leg braces are of course really big and intricately detailed, but in this regard some nobles aren't that far off with the fanciness of their pieces (Bazz's arm braces are very comparable to Sidon's).

The royals can also wear any number of clip on accessories without any regard for their significance.

Before I get into more character-specific lore, this picture is a good ilustration of Zora in various moments of their childhood (which I will talk about in detail later, once I'm done wrangling the contents of Rivan's photo album).

Link is around 11 here, so he still hasn't pulled the Master Sword and thus is free to mess around with his Domain friends. This would make Bazz 29yo, Rivan 25yo and Gaddison 23yo - a Zora equivalent of an older child to a preteen. Bazz's height doesn't actually have that much to do with the fact that he's older, he just happened to hit an early growth spurt.

(Wait, who gave this kid a real sword????)

Then we have Mipha at 57yo (something like a 14-15yo teenager, very short for her age, she should be at least a full head taller at this point) and a slightly younger Kodah, who is in her 40s.

Sidon should actually be like, barely hatched and still bopping around in a pool as a tadpole if we followed the proper canon, but I stretched the timeline a bit for the sake of having a cute group picture. He's therefore in his 6yo, freshly-figured-out-this-legs-business toddler form.

Now, our beloved Big Bad Bazz Brigade (A+ for naming, Bazz, really).

(Did you know that in Japanese it's called ちびっ子スババ団 (Chibikko Subaba Dan) which would translate to something like "Little Bazz Gang"? Japanese Bazz gets the gold star for being Slightly Less Cringe I guess.

Bazz came up with the Brigade in his late teens (so as something like a 6/7yo), to make his and Rivan's escapades sound more serious, Gaddison joined shortly after, impressing the boys with her confidence and strength.

As a kid, Bazz was an absolute terror to both adults and other children. He wouldn't do anything that made him look uncool, he talked back to grown-ups he considered lower status, and then bullied kids who wouldn't accept his perceived superiority during games.

(I mean, he was rich, with important parents, and also pretty big and strong for his age. No wonder it went to his head. Also can't forget all the parental neglect.)

The Brigade only worked if he was the leader and if it was also named for him, of course. Rivan already had some special treatment from Bazz, being his oldest friend (also his parents were basically raising Bazz at this point). Gaddison found him obnoxious, but putting him a chokehold a few times seemed to grant her some amount of respect. And was easier than like, actually talking to people.

Other kids weren't very interested, needless to say.

Early Brigade days consisted mostly of catching frogs and whacking reeds with sticks. Bazz turned out to be a pretty good leader, coming up with activities, organizing heists and then (usually) weaseling them out of any consequences. It was little more than Messing Around But With A Name though.

Then 4yo Link arrives in the Domain and suddenly the Brigade business becomes much more serious. As soon as he realizes how valuable the tiny Hylian child is, Bazz immediately gets him to join his club and is later a bit disappointed about being stopped from sparring with a literal four year old.

For roughly six years Link travels back and forth between Hateno and the Domain, usually spending at least one season in a year with the Zora. He mostly hangs out with the Brigade, as they always seem to get in the most exciting predicaments. As they teach him how to swim and fish and handspeak, he becomes more Zora than Hylian in their eyes.

When Link's around 10yo, he and Bazz start practicing with swords. Rivan and Gaddison are a bit dejected, as they're too small to join, and Bazz seems to care about little else at this point. The Brigade is in shambles.

After a 12yo Link pulls out the Master Sword, his visits suddenly stop and the Brigade is now left completely aimless. They try to go back to pre-Link times, but it doesn't really work. After around two years Link starts appearing in the Domain again, though for much shorter periods and he usually just hangs out with Mipha.

At 16, Link is now officially a knight and somehow this results in him visiting the Domain a bit more regularly. In the meantime Bazz got another growth spurt, putting him roughly at Link's height, which means they can train proper swords now. This seems to catch Link's interest, enough that they are kinda hanging out again. Bazz still has to share him with Mipha though, which makes him quietly furious (she already took his dad! when will she have enough!).

Rivan and Gaddison come over for post-training lunches sometimes. Kodah tries to join the Brigade, but is denied (we all know you just want to be around Link, Kodah).

Around this time 4yo Sidon is finally allowed outside the palace, and seeing how the Mipha-Link-Bazz connection makes the Brigade hover in his periphery, he also wants to join. Is denied on the being-a-baby grounds. Bazz feels really smug about telling "no" to a Prince (who is a literal baby).

Then Link becomes Zelda's knight and his Domain visits stop for good. The Brigade sees him once or twice on official Hylian Royal Business, but he pretends he doesn't know them. It sucks. The group loses momentum again while Bazz, being tall enough to hold an adult size spear, starts getting trained by Seggin.

After that the Calamity strikes and well, childhood clubs stop mattering for a very, very long time. With how important Link became for the Brigade, it can't really go on after his death. It's dissolved without anyone really saying anything and Bazz, Rivan and Gaddison each deal with the war and its aftermath separately.

5,6. The age from 3 to 6 is very important. Once a Zora is comfortable with air, they can learn how to crawl and then walk, and also start working on basic speech. Handling them is a major chore though, since most of them really would rather return to water and also they're Very Hungry. All the time.

For once in my life I'm going completely anachronistic and giving Rivan access to a camera. The idea of a Proud Dad photo album was just too fun not to take advantage of.

I won't elaborate much on exact circumstances of Dunma's birth and upbringing, this is just a Baby Zora Growing Up kinda thing.

1 .Egg. Smaller than you'd expect (every time Zora women hear about Hylian pregnancies they shoot a grateful prayer to Nayru) and pretty durable. Needs very specific water conditions (clean, cold but not too much, oxygenated) to develop correctly, which takes around 6 months.

2. If everything goes right, the egg hatches into a tadpole. The tadpoles are much more fragile than the eggs and can die very easily if the water conditions aren't right or they get too little/too much/wrong kind of food. They don't really do anything besides eating, pooping and trying to get themselves killed. Because of this, baby Zora only get named on their first birthday, when they're deemed strong enough to probably make it through.

3. Until around 3yo the baby Zora will remain in the water, working hard on getting fat and sprouting limbs. They start demanding more protein-rich food - if two or more tadpoles survived, they should be separated, or they'll quickly become just one (but very round).

The baby still needs more or less constant care, as it will bite on things it shouldn't or jump out. They can start interacting with other family members, becoming more resistant to infections.

4. At around 3, the baby is ready to be introduced to the concept of using their lungs. They tend to not like it very much and it does take a while.

7. A zora usually gets their first neck brace and accompanying adornments around 6/7 years old, when it's deemed to be safe (as in, their necks are long enough that they probably won't choke).

8. The Zora toddler years last until around 10/15. They can run around (if a bit clumsily) and communicate (more or less coherently). Can start eating foods that are not algae or raw fish. Finally can be left to its own devices for short periods of time, moves to more communal care (parents with kids of similar ages often share care responsibilities).

9. 15-25 is an early childhood stage, the child Zora can do most everything that an adult can, just with a lesser degree of motor control. They're still very small, but mostly independent, curiously exploring the world. They start learning how to read and write.

11. Once the Zora is grown enough (within like 1 head of height to being adult size, usually around their 40s) they're expected to start helping out at some easier jobs (though with no compensation). Usually it's fishing, gardening or some menial Guild tasks (if they're from a Guild-adjacent family). They're still very much treated like young kids and have few civil rights.

10. 25-40 is Zora equivalent of early teenage years. Most of their essential education happens during this time (it varies a lot between commoners and nobility). Zora grow in spurts, which depend on an individual and are not consistent at all. You can have a friend group where everybody is roughly the same age and the tallest has two full heads on the shortest.

At this age the Zora are encouraged to explore the Domain and start building connections with the community.

12. The age of 50/60 is the biological adulthood barrier, though of course it varies between individuals. A Zora usually reaches their final height until then (though for some it might take until their 80s) and could technically start having children of their own (it's preferred they wait a bit more on that). Those who can, finally start their career paths as Guild apprentices or guard recruits. They gain some actual rights and are treated as their own legal people (for some more serious stuff they'll need to wait a bit more, one becomes a full citizen only at 100).

I actually don't have that much to add, Dunma was a pretty normal kid in terms of development, despite the extremely chaotic start (Rivan became a dad at 70, which is most definitely -not- a proper child having age,,, not to mention Dunma's mom went to the store to get shrimp and never came back).

Gaddison was helping out since the beginning but Bazz was a different story, which drew a major wedge in his and Rivan's friendship. The man was terrified of finally meeting her for many reasons, some more justifiable than others. When he finally did, he almost got his fin chomped off multiple times, which ironically made it a bit easier for Rivan to forgive his crimes. He ended up adoring her (he keeps some of her baby drawings on his office wall) and she kinda idolizes him in turn. Rivan is unsure what to think about it.

They're like around ther early 50s here, so the time when young Zora are assigned some easier jobs or start pursuing apprenticeships.

Rivan and Gaddison help out with fishing, while Bazz is doing the rich kid's path of getting formal education and being spear trained by Seggin.

In their free time they're your typical teenage gang of punks who bother everyone smaller than them just because they can. Rivan's the instigator most of the time, while Bazz is the one who makes sure they don't get into any actual trouble. The boys being a nuisance was actually what lured Gaddison back to them (she's been doing her own thing until now) - with her pretty terrible reputation, loitering with equally bad-behaving old friends sounded honestly great.

They all had their reasons for acting out actually, Bazz's being (unsurprisingly) his father, who at this point was very actively pursuing a political career in the (very unstable) Zora Court. Which made him even more annoying to be around, and Bazz had to be around him for the spear training.

Gaddison was a mess ever since the Calamity wiped out both her home and her whole family in Goponga. Her childhood was kinda just being passed around between overloaded communal care places and then getting kicked out of different sharehouses for "bad behavior".

Rivan, out of the three of them, had the most normal family and went through the war with minimal trauma, he was kinda just living his life vaguely assuming he'd follow in his mom's healer footsteps.

So when she died suddenly, while helping out a Guard unit during a monster control misson, it was a real shock to both him and his dad. Trello got incredibly depressed (and finally started letting Seggin's talking points get to him) and Rivan just found himself angry and aimless. Taking the medicine path suddenly didn't sound so obvious, and what's worse, the neighbourhood kinda assumed he'd take over his mother's community organising duties (she was one of those people who hold the whole thing together with a smile on their face). He couldn't do it, everybody got mad, he failed the med apprenticeship qualifiers (didn't even try to prepare), his dad got mad, and then there was no other opportunities because Trello was to wrapped in his own issues to help him out.

At least his oldest friend was equally upset with his place in the world, so Bazz Brigade was back online, kinda. Definitely not under this name though.

Bazz being able to wave the "do you know who my father is" card around was definitely something that made this whole troublemaking thing possible. Both Rivan and Gaddison were initially conflicted on the ethics of it (it's objectively wrong to abuse your social standing to avoid consequences! also you don't even like him. hypocrite.) but they had to admit it was nice to finally not be bothered about acting out.

Okay, so the most important thing about the Zora Military is that it used to be so much more, in every sense of the word, than what we see in BotW. Present day Guard is the remnants of the old City Guard, which was the only branch that managed to survive with enough people and structure to remain operational.

But let's go through all these armor designs now.

1,2: Army - the biggest branch of the old Zora military, starting place of every recruit. They train for defensive and offensive combat, dispatch any serious threats before they can reach the Domain proper, and are in general the main projection of Zora military power.

Army consists of soldiers of all ranks who use all weapons (mainly spears and bows). Most of them are stationed outside of the Domain (the city) in forts. Army recruits can be transferred to other branches of the military.

Army officers are considered the most skilled Zora fighters and this is the place to be if one wants to make a political career, but needs some social power boost (Seggin's family got their titles by rising in Army ranks).

An Army Captain armor is the heaviest one, but surprisingly practical (e.g. short scarf, tall helmet fins that sty close to the sides of the head). They usually carry a sword.

The Army got wiped out more or less in its entirety in the first few days of the Calamity, being the main force fighting off the monster and Guardian waves.

Seggin joined the main army during the Calamity and was one of the few who managed to survive (somehow. man must be immortal or something because he definitely was not -trying- to stay in one piece)

3,4 - Border Patrol - much smaller branch, handling general oversight of the Zora borders and stuff like recon. Consists mostly of soldiers with scouting, communication and survival skills. They aren't really meant to engage in active combat, though are of course sufficiently prepared if need be.

Zora's Domain used to have many nasty border disputes with Central Hyrule in the past, so the Border Patrol's most important function is to stand where the border is and make a "don't try anything funny" face. They check travellers' and merchants' papers and in general look out for any threat that might come from outside the Domain.

(There's a special section of slightly-better-at-handling-salt Zora, who handle the sea-related stuff, like foreign guests).

They wear a standard armor, but with the addition of a knife and a pouch (meds, preserved food, writing supplies etc), since they often have to go deep into forests/swamps, which cuts them off from main supply lines.

The Border Parol doesn't use any ranks except footsoldier, corporal and captain (since they don't form large groups in the first place). A captain will wear the same gear as a footsoldier, with the addition of short green scarf and a more lowkey version of the finned helmet.

Border Patrol was the first one to fall when the Calamity struck, getting taken by surprise. They had the bad luck of being the first in line on the way to the Domain.

5,6: City Guard: branch exclusive to the actual city of the Domain, they are tasked with defending its walls (if anything reaches this far) but more importantly, keeping order inside the city. They also handle some menial disputes before they got elevated to higher instances. Second largest branch after the Army (though still much, much smaller). They use all ranks in their organisation and have the nastiest internal politics.

The Guardsmen wear just your regular armor and are required to use Zora Spears (no bows!). The armor of the Captain of the Guard is one of the fancier ones, since its main purpose is more to intimidate and command respect rather than be actually useful for fighting (the absolutely impractical wide-finned helmet!).

The City Guard is the only branch that managed to remain operational after the Calamity. Or actually, they were just lucky enough to be inside the Domain walls when the main event happened, and remained there for the majority of the war to protect the civilians (that's how Trello managed to survive without too much trauma).

Present day Zora Guard is a slightly restructured version of the City Guard, still mostly focused on protecting the city. Out of necessity they also handle some more essential tasks of Border Patrol or Army.

7: Royal Knights: very small, purely ceremonial branch. Their task was mostly to look good around the palace, stand guard at important events and accompany&protect the members of the royal family. Royal Knights would be scouted from Army recruits on the basis of their skill but also looks. They don't have ranks.

The Royal Knight armor is very much more looks than function, with the overly long sash and oversized plates. They are required to wield a trident.

During the Calamity, the Royal Knights either joined the army (like Seggin) or stayed with their charges and then got incorporated into the Guard. The position is no longer in use.

8: Temple Guard: kind of their own thing, serving exclusively in Lower Domain city temples. They use no ranks and are technically not part of the Zora Military proper (hence the blank armors). They all wear no helmets and are adorned with thin, white sashes.

With the Temple being underground, they were basically unaffected by the Calamity - they still do their thing exactly as they always did.

9,10: Zora Diplomatic Corps: Not really a proper branch (technically it’s just a politician+some army footsoldiers), but important enough to be mentioned.

Zora kept some alliances before the Calamity (mainly with the Hylians and the Rito), and a small diplomatic mission would be sent to maintain the link, negotiate, communicate any developments with the Domain etc. The group would consist of a dozen or so footsoldiers (though usually of slightly higher social standing and wearing more fancy armors) and 3-6 diplomats who handled actual talking. The diplomats were almost always also military, though they would remain unarmed as a show of peace.

The diplomats would wear a piece of fabricwear (usually some kind of cape) specific to the region. Both to show their good faith and respect and also because it was often necessary to shield the Zora from non-ideal foreign weather conditions. They are also the only Zora who wear the Royal Family crest with their outfits (being representatives of the Zora Crown in a foreign land).

After the tragic accident of the Hebra mission, shortly before the Calamity hit, all the other diplomats were pulled back to the Domain. All their members were absorbed into the army. After the war, the diplomatic program was never reactivated.

11: Support & Logistics: pretty straightforward, technically also not a military branch but absolutely crucial to its functioning. They handle supply lines, medical aid, repairs, budgeting, entertainment, transfers, anything that’s not swinging the spear.

Second in size to the Army itself (and it is pretty close!), consist mostly of civilians and retired/transferred soldiers (very common career path). They wear the symbol of the branch of their assignment and (since they tend to travel back and forth between the border and the city) have the right to bear arms with their civilian attire.

They were somewhat affected by the Calamity, since the supply lines had to be maintained during the active fighting and the Guardian beams didn’t care if a Zora wore armor or not. As a whole, they survived, but in massively reduced form and currently just service the Guard.

12: Major: a retired officer and member of the Elder Council, technically no longer part of the military but still having a major (haha) influence over its management. Majors’ input and approval is crucial for anything army-related, like budgeting, major strategic moves or promoting/demoting soldiers.

Okay, these were the outfits, now let’s talk ranks! From highest to lowest (and some notable character examples):

General - current Zora King, has absolute power, usually doesn’t fight (Dorephan, later Sidon)

Commander - current Prince/Princes; if unavailable/unable to fight, the rank is given to King’s chosen highly ranked officer; an extension of the General's power. Participates in battle. (Mipha, Sidon)

Major - an Elder who retired above the rank of a Lieutenant. Doesn’t fight but their approval is necessary for lots of stuff. (Seggin, Trello)

Captain - experienced officer, usually classically educated. Commands their regiment, answers to Commander/General. Can nominate for promotions. (Bazz)

Lieutenant - experienced officer with decent leadership skills, commands a platoon. Can be assigned acting captain if necessary. (Rivan)

Sergeant - their task is usually to protect the higher rank officers, but they can command a team (Gaddison, Capelo)

Corporal - an above-average soldier showing leadership promise. Commands a section of a squad. (Numien, Torfeau)

Guardsman - lowest rank

Guardsman trainee - a recruit too young to officially join. They participate in training but are not allowed on the battlefield. (Dunma)

OKAY that’s it for the basics of the (lol) Zora military. Unfortunately all my favourite guys are in the army so it had to be done. Now for the additional art~

Pic 1: When I said that the City Guard Captain’s armor is mostly for intimidation that’s what I meant. The intended effect is this flurry of fins, sashes and metal bits when the Captain is entering the scene, making them impossible to ignore.

After getting the armor, Bazz had to practice the correct stride and fin position, because the sash, as it turns out, tangles really easily.

The armor was worn in the field for a good while after the calamity (you’re the Captain of the Guard, you must wear the proper armor) but is not anymore. Bazz made sure of that. There might be a story here.

Pic 2: How Gaddison Became a Sergeant. She actually doesn’t wear the badge in public very often and only uses it when absolutely necessary. She doesn’t really command anything, but having it allows her to operate a bit more independently. 

Also! If Bazz opened with “I’m making you a Sergeant because I need you to do a thing for me” she would have refused and told him to go fuck himself. Thus the lying game, which made her drop her guard out of amusement (ha, he was trying something but I got him to be honest with me! what is this? more dubiously moral shenanigans?).

The theme is paperwork bc its what loosely connects these three unrelated drawings lol. Can you tell I wasn't very focused today.

Pic 1: The cut content from the army branches/ranks post, was supposed to show Rivan wearing his Lieutenant badge, but I got distracted by the opportunity to draw Bazz's office.

Rivan being lieutenant is very convenient for Bazz, since there’s very few people he trusts more, and he needs someone capable of taking over whenever he's away. Despite his goofy sunshine personality, Rivan is actually one of the more competent guards with lots of field experience, and people tend to listen to him just because he's too damn likeable.

He is completely hopeless at dealing with anything management or politics related though, so he can't be left in charge for too long. Maybe when the times are calmer.

Pic 2: What even is all this paperwork that Bazz keeps complaining about? Most of it is just really, really boring reports. Every Guard intervention in the city, monster patrol, suspicious activity, it all has to be diligently reported. Bazz then takes the reports, cringes at all the typos, and summarizes them into one big daily/weekly/monthly report that will be presented at a Council meeting. Aside from that there's training regimens, guard rotations for the week, inventory, reassignments, budgeting...

We can't forget the matter of actually being the -City- Guard either; a concerned/hurt civilian is supposed to turn to them for immediate help, and then it's decided if the case needs to be elevated or not (oftentimes this kind of legal proceedings generate the most paperwork).

Given the sheer volume of things that need to be written down, Zora actually do use paper quite a lot, it being by far the most convenient medium for daily use. Anything deemed worthy of long-term storage (in Guard's case e.g. monthly reports, yearly budgets, more significant legal cases) is sent to a scriptorium to be transferred to stone tablets.

Bazz is actually quite well liked by the scribes for being very succinct in his documentation. There's a dartboard with Sidon's face on it.

Haven't seen you in a while, Torfeau! She's the one who most often handles Bazz's paperwork delivery bc she's a good egg who doesn't read important correspondence.

Also an end-of-day Bazz's desk looks almost clean, wow.

Pic 3: While the required Guard paperwork seems overwhelming, it's pretty manageable once you get the hang of it and is not actually the case of Bazz's chronic lack of sleep. That would be snooping around in old government archives and making personal copies of anything that looks interesting, or is off-limits (which makes it automatically interesting). He just likes knowing stuff, okay???? No other particular reason >:U

Gaddison is the only person (to Bazz's knowledge) who knows the full extent of this operation, and she kinda begrudgingly respects it, just on the account of the audacity. Sidon has Suspicions, but something tells him to not look too closely.

+as a bonus, I recorded a timelapse of the bazz&rivan pic! its a mess bc I kept forgetting things and then its not even for the final version bc I remembered that cast shadows are a thing like. next day.

1. Sidon is like 80? 90? here, he's restless for some outside Domain action, but I can't imagine his dad and the court being too eager to let him run around freely with like. All the monsters and such. So this is a compromise and the boy is rather grumpy about it lol.

The armor is very roughly based on unused designs from the totk artbook (we could have had Sidon with a cape TToTT)

2. Sidon is a pretty skilled warrior, but Bazz isn't the captain for nothing lol. I like to think Sidon relies a bit more on raw power instead of technique, which works well for slaying monsters, but not as much when sparring with someone who has actual experience and knows how to use his size against him.

(Bazz could be a bit less smug about it though. Seggin’s lessons were comparably painful, but the old man didn't waste time on stupid jokes at least).

(Also Sidon’s wearing his training set here, which is basically just an appropriately bigger version of the standard guard armor.)

3. Chill time in Sidon’s rooms~ bit rare these days, with both of them being so busy with work. Bazz only comes over when he really needs a break (it is a place where he's least likely to be randomly bothered) and Sidon will use the opportunity to get his hug quota.

4. Supportive bestie!!!! Bazz might be rather dry and not too eager to express his feelings, but he is not above being earnest when the moment calls for it,,,, and Sidon’s always just a bit flustered whenever it happens (and i mean come on, honest encouragement combined with gentle hand holding and tender bump on the crest, Bazz, you know what you're doing :v)

5. One of them famous Sidon’s Bone Crushing Hugs TM. Bazz is not a fan, but sometimes it's unavoidable. He endures, but does make sure to look extra displeased the whole time.