The Speaking Squid

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, July 12, 2026

The Minish Cap: Azure Transformo

Azure Transformo

Joy Butterfly: These rare butterflies can only be discovered after Link fuses Kintstones with the three traveling oracles visiting Hyrule. Fusing Kinstones with each unlocks a unique breed of butterfly that confers a speed bonus to a specific skill when caught. Link must go out into the Castor Wilds and catch the butterflies to gain the bonus.

The only reason this butterfly is rare is because it was hunted to near extinction for its lustrous blue wings. The butterflies’ iridescent blue wings have no special properties, but were a fashion must have for a few seasons. Tastes change and fads fade, but the astronomical demand for butterfly wings was an almost permanent end for the delicate creatures.

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Getting heavy handed with my save the planet subtext. Go read the Lorax, but make sure to get it used, there are enough copies out there for you to find one.

Drewly continues, but so does out normal Sunday posting. I post an item card representing an item from a Zelda game every Sunday. Right now we are working on The Minish Cap. Come back tomorrow for more Drewly posts and check in next week for more Zelda items.

What is Drewly?

Drewly is the month-long art challenge where you don’t make any new art. Just celebrate all the art you’ve already made, finished or not.

How do I join?

Share whatever work you’d like, however you’d like to share. Tag your posts #Drewly #Drewly2026 #Drewly26.

You can also join me on reddit at /r/Drewly

See all my Drewly posts here.

Get your official Drewly stickers here.

How to support me:

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, July 5, 2026

The Minish Cap: Undeniable proof of concerning the existence of the divine

Undeniable proof of concerning the existence of the divine

JabberNut: Eating this special nut allows a person to instantly understand and speak the Minish language of the Picori. Link can find it in the Minish Village, allowing him to speak with the small folk discreetly living throughout Hyrule.

This strange fish feeds on subconscious mental emanations and excretes universal gestalt meaning radiation. Practically this means that if someone were to put one of these in their ear, they would instantly be able to understand any language spoken near them by sentient beings. The chances of such a creature evolving into such a specific niche on its own are so astronomically low that some evolutionary philosophers point to these fish as undeniable proof that God exists, but others disagree.

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I have still not read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe. I have a few friends that would probably throw a copy at me if they knew.

Normally, I just post a new item card every Sunday. Right now I am posting the item cards I drew based on the items in The Minish Cap. Once Drewly is over, make sure to check in every Sunday for a new item you can add to your game.

What is Drewly?

Drewly is the month-long art challenge where you don’t make any new art. Just celebrate all the art you’ve already made, finished or not.

How do I join?

Share whatever work you’d like, however you’d like to share. Tag your posts #Drewly #Drewly2026 #Drewly26.

You can also join me on reddit at /r/Drewly

See all my Drewly posts here.

Get your official Drewly stickers here.

How to support me:

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, May 17, 2026

The Minish Cap: A nest of golden eggs

A nest of golden eggs

Gold Kinstone: Like their more mundane counterparts, golden kinstones are broken into two halves and give some reward when the matching pieces are fused back together. Unlike the less luxurious kinstones, Link fuses the golden kinstones exclusively with pedestals and doing so u locks forward progress in his journey to the sky peoples’ cloud top homes.

The gilded goose lays golden eggs when listening to the songs of the enchanted harp. The giant that keeps the harp and the goose has no use for the solid gold eggs, but they do love hearing the harp play and they love their evening chats with the goose. The eggs are unceremoniously tossed in the giant’s midden which is the most valuable room in the realm, if you value gold more than friendships.

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"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

I finished the line work for all the items in Twilight Princess! It took more than two years to get that hunk of inking done and I finished it last week! Now I get to color every piece and then I’m done! Finding moments to celebrate throughout long projects is the only way to finish long projects.

How to support me:

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, April 26, 2026

The Minish Cap: A little clock with a big personality

A little clock with a big personality

Compass: Link can find a compass in each dungeon in The Minish Cap. Like most Zelda games, the compass shows where treasure and bosses are located within the dungeon where the compass was found. Finding the compass is usually the reward for solving a puzzle or succeeding in a difficult combat encounter.

The story goes that this clock is from the estate of a noble who died while under a witch’s curse. Apparently, the noble was cursed with a beastly form, but the servants were all transformed into furniture and housewares, ever bound to the fate of their master. This clock is probably just a regular clock, but it does seem to linger on 3:41 and 8:18 when the hands seem to make a mustache on the clock’s face.

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The first time shows a mustache, why do you think I picked the second time I did?

As I write this I am almost done with the line art for the items from Twilight Princess. That set of drawings has taken me more than two years and I am so close to being done I can actually sense progress. I’ll still have to color all the drawings, but we are almost through and that is an amazing feeling.

How to support me:

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, March 22, 2026

The Minish Cap: A hut perched atop a chicken leg

A hut perched atop a chicken leg

Big Wallet: Big wallets are upgrades to the total amount of rupees Link can hold at once during his adventures in the Minish Cap. He can buy one, earn one through kinstone fusion, and is given one as a reward from a Great Fairy. After Link gathers all three, he will be able to carry a total of 999 rupees.

All the people living along the edge of the forest know the story of the witch and her hut that stalks through the woods on a great pair of chicken legs. When the hut settles on a new roost, it settles down onto the ground, hiding its great legs and appearing like an unassuming refugee nestled in the darkness of the deep woods. While the witch is not necessarily evil, she is rarely kind, and her gifts always come with conditions, so it is often wisest to avoid the house entirely if you spot it in your travels.

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If you were to randomly draw this from a loot deck, I’d probably say it was a carved token in the image of the hut or I would say you haven’t found any item, but something or someone has noticed you and then find a way to introduce the baba yaga or another witch or hag into your game.

I love hags as characters and influencers. Ravel Mazewell was one of my favorite parts of Planescape: Torment. I always look for ways to sneak hags and covens and witches into my games and worlds.

Speaking of hags, Kristi Noem did immeasurable harm to families, one very impactful way to help ease some of the suffering she directed is to donate funds to rental assistance programs helping people pay their bills while hiding from the government. You can donate to a community assistance fund supporting neighbors in Minneapolis here.

How to support me:

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, January 4, 2026

The Minish Cap: A suspiciously friendly radish.

A suspiciously friendly radish.

White Picolyte: Picolytes are consumable supplements that grant a brief boost to the chance for finding various items based on which picolyte is eaten. White picolyte increases Link’s chances of finding kinstones. These picolytes are available as soon as Link can clear a space for Beedle to open his shop in Hyrule Town.

The rightful leader of our kingdom has been usurped and replaced by a villainous changeling. The true heir has been cursed with the shape of a radish headed scarecrow carved with a simpleton’s grin. This time of year, every farmer, gardener, and rancher has put up a radish topped scarecrow to greet harvest spirits, which makes finding our prince almost impossible.

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The USA illegally invaded Venezuela after illegally attacking Venezuelan ships all while illegally arresting those they deem undesirable. We are the villains of our own story. The Trump administration is a blight that illustrates just how vile America can be.

How to support me:

Ko-fi: Donations and Digital shop

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Jackie Chan Adventures: A pair of chi magic wands

A pair of chi magic wands

Lizard wand: A dried salamander perfect for focusing your chi magic into blasts or directing your energies into breaking curses.

Fish wand: A preserved puffer fish inflated with your life’s breath. The resonant energies of the fish and your breath make this a powerful amplifier for your chi magic.

You can download the complete set of talismans here (pay what you want) or here ($3).

You can also get a sticker of your favorite talisman here.

How to support me:

Patreon: Sustaining support and Digital shop

See my newest releases on Linktree

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, October 19, 2025

The Minish Cap: Grandma’s glasses

Grandma’s glasses

Dog Food: Link can sneak behind the counter at Stockwell’s shop to find this bottle of dog food. When confronted about taking the merchandise, the shop owner says Link can keep the bottle if he can just feed the man’s dog. Feeding the dog opens up a new empty bottle to help Link on his adventure.

“Oh, Grandma, what big eyes you have.”

“All the better to see you with, my dear.”

“But your glasses are on the table, how can you see me Grandma?…Grandma?”

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Grandma got eaten by the wolf. She was food for a dog. That’s how we got dog food being glasses. Don’t feed your dog glasses.

How to support me:

Ko-fi: Donations and Digital shop

Patreon: Sustaining support and Digital shop

See my newest releases on Linktree

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Sunday, September 21, 2025

The Minish Cap: The Octavo is restless

The Octavo is restless

A Hyrulean Beastiary: This is one of three overdue library books Link must find and return to the Royal Hyrule Library. Link needs to return these books to gain access to the second floor of the library, where a retired Minish adventurer lives who knows the secrets of entering the Temple of Droplets. Link can find this book in the home of a Hyrule Town cat owner, who borrowed the book to learn more about her new pet.

The Octavo, the eight great spells of the Disc. Actually, it is currently the seven great spells of the Disc, as one has been missing for quite a few years. Speaking all eight spells is supposed to grant the power to create or destroy worlds, but no one we asked had actually tried to cast all eight.

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I have not read deeply of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, but I have really enjoyed most of the few books that I have read and all of the mini-series I have watched.

The Hogfather is a must if you haven’t read or watched it yet.

How to support me:

Ko-fi: Donations and Digital shop

Patreon: Sustaining support and Digital shop