Xander & the Crew of the BlackFish
Phew! I was whittling at this for the past couple of days. I was inspired by @songofnewlife and @the-prairie-rose to get to work on my pirate zora! What started as one sketch became two, and then I wanted to elaborate on Xander's crew, and it spiraled from there! Come with me on a journey to talk about Xander and the crew of the BlackFish :>
Xander
The son of Matriarch Langara of Clan Marin, and younger brother to Luna and Lurona, just a few years older than Leta. As Langara’s only son, the pressure to have children was nonstop when he became of age. He eventually grew fed up with these rigid customs and left his pod to strike out on his own, spending years exploring the world outside his Clan. Once Hyrule had satisfied his curiosity, he turned his attention towards the Great Sea, traveling to islands, underwater kingdoms, port towns and more, making friends and enemies alike.
Xander would do odd jobs for rupees, collecting an impressive fund over the years thanks to being part of a long-lived race. He found he was really good at monster hunting; because he enjoyed it so much, he figured, “why not make it a professional thing?” Eventually he used his funds to commission a ship, though many wondered how he’d make use of something that couldn’t fully accommodate someone of his size. Xander was aware of this, and had his new ship, the BlackFish, made specifically for the crew he planned to hire. After all, while he was well suited to life in the water, if he expected people to accompany him with his business they would need a ship to work from.
Xander himself is a calm and practical individual, but underneath that persona lies a sardonic wit and a taste for the ostentatious. After all, while never having any use for material possessions as a zorca, a pirate’s status is often shown through power, wealth and panache in handling oneself. Xander knows he has to look as well as act the part if he wants anyone to come work for him, so he likes to show off the wealth he’s collected by wearing outfits tailored to his size, often sporting monster parts he’s hunted himself. It adds to his already-intimidating silhouette!
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The BlackFish
The BlackFish is a standard brigantine vessel whose sails were designed by Xander to be black on one side and white on the other thereby copying his Zorca colors. He commissioned a flag designed on his dorsal fin’s birthmark, tweaked to look like monster marks to hint at his monster-hunting profession. One side of the ship sports a floating platform he uses when either resting or addressing his crew; the other, meanwhile, has deployable counterweights to prevent his size from capsizing the ship. The Black Fish is large enough to support a full crew, complete with storage, galley, artillery section, and crew quarters (where the captain’s quarters would originally be on any other ship).
Another unique design of the ship is a harness of Xander’s own creation, which he attachess to the ship via a pair of chains when he desires to pull the ship himself. While the BlackFish is more than seaworthy, Xander himself constitutes that extra boost necessary for when there is no wind for her sails, when the ship and crew must be safely guided through a storm, and when chasing sea monsters that the BlackFish isn’t fast enough to keep up.
Xander makes a show of “stripping down” when he dons the harness, since he doesn’t want his expensive clothing getting wet. He’s gathered a loyal viewing party for the occasion.
It’s a regular sight, seeing crew members fighting over who gets to help undress him.
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The Crew of the BlackFish
Because he tends to live several times longer than most Hyrulean races, Xander has seen more than a few crew members come and go. No one is indebted to stay on the BlackFish, and they are paid well for their services (it is, after all, a high risk/high reward job!)
Xander currently has a crew of twenty individuals, six of whom have earned a place in his inner circle. These are the members he has come to personally trust and see as friends.
🦜 One-Eyed Jack
A Jackdaw Rito who arrived just in time for one of Xander’s hiring phases, Jack is a rito with a glib way of speaking. Though he likes to use humor, he doesn’t mince words - and even though Xander is captain, Jack is not shy when it comes to giving the Zorca advice. Rather than let ego get in the way, Xander opts to listen to what he has to say. Jack’s advice, as well as his own merits handling issues onboard the ship, have earned Jack the spot as First Mate and Quartermaster.
His authority is second only to Xander’s own rank, and he is keen to not abuse his position.
♨️ Obryan
Originally hired as an assistant to the previous cook on the BlackFish, Obryan took her superior’s role when the cook decided to retire. Nobody objected to the promotion; after all, Obryan already knew her former boss’ recipes, and even knew how to improve upon them.
She also works as the ship’s surgeon: as a Gerudo, Obryan is a seasoned warrior with plenty of knowledge on how to tend wounds. Her bedside manner is something to be desired, but it's only because she has no time to listen to the whinging of the other crewmates. There is a medic on board who can make potions and use a little bit of healing magic, but Obryan emphasizes nothing will heal right unless bones are set and wounds are stitched.
Obryan has had to tend to Xander numerous times, as evidenced by the number of scars he carries. She does not hold back on her scathing remarks regarding his stunts.
🏝️ Mergan
Mergan started out as a little stowaway who found their way onboard the BlackFish when the crew came upon the remnants of a ship overtaken by monster pirates. She eluded the crew for days, sneaking about and pilfering food and whatever else they wanted. This caused several crewmates to think the ship was haunted - they began to notice several things missing, moved elsewhere, and scuttling noises beneath the floors. Jack, however, sussed out there was more than meets the eye, and soon found Mergan’s hiding spot in storage where she’d made her own living space.
The crew members immediately made her one of their own. Xander, however, objected, saying children had no place on a monster hunting crew. He planned to have Mergan dropped off at the next port, but the crew counter-objected so much that some even considered mutiny. Jack kept the peace, and while Mergan was a sweet child, he also agreed that the BlackFish was no playground.
During the trip to the next port Mergan had a chance to show how tough and handy they could be, helping with various chores on the ship from cleaning and cooking to getting into hard-to-reach places. Her induction as cabin boy arose multiple times, and despite Xander’s decision, he was outvoted.
It wouldn’t have mattered anyway as Xander was slowly but surely won over by Mergan’s cuteness and charm.
🌶️Spicer, 🗺️Pyet and ⚔️Sweetums
Despite being from vastly different regions, these gorons traveled together - and together they added their colorful bunch to the Blackfish crew. It didn’t take them long to show Xander what they were capable of, and over time they earned their roles on the BlackFish.
Pyet, being a rare Alae goron, has the unique ability to float in water! With their nautical know-how of the Great Sea’s currents, they took on the role as Sailing Master, charting courses and sailing the BlackFish herself! Their vast collection of charts became a valuable asset to the crew, something Pyet takes great pride in.
Pyet, while having no definitive gender, prefers to take on a female identity. They’re friendly, studious and always willing to talk someone's ear off about their adventures alongside Sweetums and Spicer.
Sweetums is slow-going, but that feature is perfect for their fastidious nature, which earned them the role of Master Gunner. They are responsible for maintaining the artillery of the ship; its cannon-, weapons- and gunpowder quality are thanks to their discerning eye. With the help of Pyet and Jack, they even designed a fat, stout cannon, capable of firing a goron like a cannonball to reach rival ships. They lovingly refer to this weapon as “Mama Thunder.”
Spicer is the bossiest of the goron trio. He means well; being the larger of the three, he naturally takes on the role as leader. Spicer didn’t know what to do with himself at first when joining the crew’s ranks; while trying every job he could to see what worked, he instead found himself guiding others to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Jack noticed this, and after speaking with Xander, he made Spicer the Boatswain, putting him in charge of the ship’s maintenance, all its goings-on, and reporting it all to the captain.
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Extra Info
⚓ Originally Xander was going to be a twin to either Luna or Lurona. I decided against it, but its Lurona he's closest to due to their closeness in age and both being the middle children of their family.
⚓ The whole crew was originally from the Final Fantasy universe, Xander was a sky pirate who ran a ship called the Black Shark. I changed the name to BlackFish because that's a name used for killer whales!
⚓ Some of the names of the crew originated from The Muppets Treasure Island roll call scene; One-Eyed Jack, Sweetums, Clueless Morgan (Mergan), Big Fat Ugly Bug Face Baby-Eating O'Brian (Obryan). The others such as Pyet and Spicer had filler names when I was looking to throw in random npcs during my chat roleplaying days such as Pirate Jim and Pirate Pete 😂😅
⚓ With permission from @semirampant-dwickery, Pyet comes from the same isles as Danmalaak. Spicer is also a goron like Dwick with the zonaite rocks on their back. He's just not as wide or trollish as Dwick can be!
⚓ I dont have any "BIG" story plots for this group, I just want to play with them in the sandbox. For now, Xander is only one open to shipping. He can be a shameless flirt but he's also a guarded individual so I'm interested in finding fun and interesting ways to have him lower his guard around someone he starts having feelings for 👀They'll definitely have the whole crew watching everything unfold like its their personal novella!
⚓ Lastly, a size chart for funsies:
