Cfrock
Keep it strong
This section could do with a speculative tag for new threads so I could avoid this opening paragraph about how this theory is, well, largely speculative. I have evidence, of a sort, to support the theory. It would be more accurate to say I have things which I can show you that led me to this idea. The point of this thread is simply to discuss a possible connection between the Stalchild and the Mogma because remember when theorising was about having fun talking about Zelda games and not about being right or wrong?
In that spirit I propose that there may exist some possible connection between the classic enemy Stalchild and the Mogma from Skyward Sword. One of the issues Skyward Sword raised for theorists was the existance of three races we had never seen before: the Kikwi, the Mogma, and the Parella. Since Skyward Sword is at the very beginning of the timeline and none of these races appear in any of the games which follow it, chronologically, it's understandable that people would want to know why. Were the Kikwi the precursor to the Deku Scrubs? Did the Parella die out following some calamity? Who knows?
Before I get into this, I want to establish that evolution is a know thing in the Zelda universe. We know this because of The Wind Waker, and because Aonuma specifically used the word "evolved" at one point:
You've probably gathered by now that I'm going to say that the Mogma evolved into the Stalchildren. Should I just move straight on to presenting why I'm saying that?
First off, take a look at these images (spoiler tags to keep page from looking messy):
When the Mogma emerge from underground they pop out head and arms first. Well, head and arms only for the most part. The point is, the Stalchildren rise from the ground in the exact same way, except they bring out the legs as well. While it may be a coincidence or just the way you would climb out of a hole in the ground, it stood out to me and got me to thinking. That was when I noticed a couple of other similarities between the two.
Both Mogma and Stalchild have long arms. Like, really long arms. On the Mogma it's immediately noticable. It's not as obvious on the Stalchild since they almost always have their arms held up, but just look at how they're proprtioned and imagine them held loose at the sides. Their fingers would be about an inch or so off the floor.
Both creatures have mammalian skulls. Maybe that's not the best word to use there. Let's try again. Both creatures have snouty faces. Is that better or worse? The Mogma are clearly based off of moles, which have snouts. As in, their faces are long and stick out. The Stalchildren's skulls are also long and stick out. While they don't necessarily look like moles, their skulls obviously aren't human. They're much closer to what the Mogma skull would look like and it at the very least suggests that the Stalchildren would look like animals if they had flesh.
They also both seem to enjoy being underground. The Mogma love to dig for treasure and you only ever see two of them completely above ground. Even then, one of them operates a digging amusement while the other only emerges fully so he can go dig somewhere else. The Mogma are burrowers and it seems clear that digging and tunneling and whatnot is essential to their way of life. While the Stalchildren might not enjoy being underground they certainly seem to spend a lot of time down there. In Ocarina of Time they emerge from beneath Hyrule Field at night time from almost any location. In Twilight Princess they tend to live under the sands in the Arbiter's Grounds until ready to attack. Even in Majora's Mask they live in a canyon and are typically found in a graveyard, a place used to bury people. The ground, being underground, digging, dirt, earth, Mogma and Stalchildren have all of these associations in common.
I hope it's understandable at this point as to why a connection between these two creatures could be tentatively argued. I'm not here to say that they definately are, or even that I agree with this theory myself. I just think it's something that could be fun to consider. I'll leave it at that for now since I don't want to dry up discussion this early by putting down everything I have to say on this subject. There is more, of course, mostly to do with possible reasons as to why the Mogma changed, but for now I'm much more interested to hear what everyone else thinks, whether this is nonsense from the start, whether it makes sense, and mostly whether there are any other connections other people have noticed. So have at it
In that spirit I propose that there may exist some possible connection between the classic enemy Stalchild and the Mogma from Skyward Sword. One of the issues Skyward Sword raised for theorists was the existance of three races we had never seen before: the Kikwi, the Mogma, and the Parella. Since Skyward Sword is at the very beginning of the timeline and none of these races appear in any of the games which follow it, chronologically, it's understandable that people would want to know why. Were the Kikwi the precursor to the Deku Scrubs? Did the Parella die out following some calamity? Who knows?
Before I get into this, I want to establish that evolution is a know thing in the Zelda universe. We know this because of The Wind Waker, and because Aonuma specifically used the word "evolved" at one point:
He may have used it as an adjective instead of a verb but the point is he acknowledged the process of evolution. Judging by The Wind Waker, evolution also happens faster and has more dramatic results than in the real world, seeing as how fish turned into birds in a few centuries instead of a few millenia. I think it's fair to go ahead from this point accepting that some races in the Zelda universe evolve when need be, and that the result of that evolution is fairly dramatic."We created the Rito as the evolved form of the Zora that appeared in 'Ocarina of Time' and the Korogs as what the Kokiri became once they left the forest. They appear different, but they have inherited their blood." —Eiji Aonuma
You've probably gathered by now that I'm going to say that the Mogma evolved into the Stalchildren. Should I just move straight on to presenting why I'm saying that?
First off, take a look at these images (spoiler tags to keep page from looking messy):
Both creatures have mammalian skulls. Maybe that's not the best word to use there. Let's try again. Both creatures have snouty faces. Is that better or worse? The Mogma are clearly based off of moles, which have snouts. As in, their faces are long and stick out. The Stalchildren's skulls are also long and stick out. While they don't necessarily look like moles, their skulls obviously aren't human. They're much closer to what the Mogma skull would look like and it at the very least suggests that the Stalchildren would look like animals if they had flesh.
They also both seem to enjoy being underground. The Mogma love to dig for treasure and you only ever see two of them completely above ground. Even then, one of them operates a digging amusement while the other only emerges fully so he can go dig somewhere else. The Mogma are burrowers and it seems clear that digging and tunneling and whatnot is essential to their way of life. While the Stalchildren might not enjoy being underground they certainly seem to spend a lot of time down there. In Ocarina of Time they emerge from beneath Hyrule Field at night time from almost any location. In Twilight Princess they tend to live under the sands in the Arbiter's Grounds until ready to attack. Even in Majora's Mask they live in a canyon and are typically found in a graveyard, a place used to bury people. The ground, being underground, digging, dirt, earth, Mogma and Stalchildren have all of these associations in common.
I hope it's understandable at this point as to why a connection between these two creatures could be tentatively argued. I'm not here to say that they definately are, or even that I agree with this theory myself. I just think it's something that could be fun to consider. I'll leave it at that for now since I don't want to dry up discussion this early by putting down everything I have to say on this subject. There is more, of course, mostly to do with possible reasons as to why the Mogma changed, but for now I'm much more interested to hear what everyone else thinks, whether this is nonsense from the start, whether it makes sense, and mostly whether there are any other connections other people have noticed. So have at it