History WMG / TheLegendofZeldaMajorasMask

* I always thought that Skull Kid was the Link of Termina.
** Agreed, and this Troper suggests that Fierce Deity Link is likewise meant to be a Termina version of Adult Link. Not sure how all that works out, but it makes perfect sense...[[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs if you aren't entirely sober]].
** ''I'' thought Termina!Link was the Deku Butler's kid, hence the Deku Mask, which he turned into, being the first transformation you get (and the only one you're {{Mode Lock}}ed into).
*** Definitely Kafei. I mean, isn't Anju Termina's Saria? They look an ''awful'' lot alike.
*** Anju is the cucco lady. There is no Terminan Saria.
** I always got the idea that the "Link" in Termina was split between the four corners of the map. Darmani was the goron hero, Mikau was decendant of zoran heroes, then maybe either Deku Link's orginal form, or the monkey, is the hero of the swamp. It gets confusing with Ikana, though. But, Majora/Skullkid takes down the heroes one by one. Link=their combined strengths.
** This Troper believes that no multiples of any person can exist in Termina. Link coming into Termina temporarily cancelled out whatever Link was already there (or the two blended, and the original Link became dormant). The same goes for the Skull Kid. Why him too? Because at one point he says something along the lines of "You smell like that kid who taught me that song in the woods..." from ''Ocarina of Time'' when Link taught Saria's Song to that one Skull Kid. So, of course, they know each other and are both from Hyrule.
* WordOfGod says that Termina is an aftereffect of the Goddesses creating Hyrule. Apparently, there was enough creation energy left to create an alternate/parallel universe that was dangerously unstable and it's a [[IncrediblyLamePun link]] to Hyrule had to close to protect the worlds. And who's a better hero than a person named Link?
* This troper, personally, always saw Kafei as that universe's expy of Link...but why no Zelda?
* ......Majora?
* ...Tingle?
** As absurd as it may sound, there is actually some validity to Tingle being Link's equivalent. When you think about it, Tingle is the Yin to Link's Yang: while both run around in strange clothes, have adventures, and possess strange personalities (*HeroicMime vs *Camp), it is the way that they are treated by everyone around them that makes the two different. Most of the people who meet Link in Termina are very impressed with his precocious behavior, extreme courage, and amazing skills; on the other hand, Tingle is a 35 year old man, a boomerang child of the most extreme variety, and even considered by his own father to be a general ne'er-do-well.
** I think Tingle is basically what Link would be like if he hadn't been a chosen one in [=OoT=]. Growing up still with the Kokiri and no fairy.
*** ...That makes way more sense than it has any right to.

* It seems as thought the demand for masks in Termina would be quite high, way higher than Hyrule, considering how masks seem so important to the Terminians, the town has an enormous mask-related festival every year, and, in general, masks are some SeriousBusiness.

[[WMG: The entire world was set up by the Happy Mask Salesman]]
Think about it. Everyone in this world instantly accepts the powers of masks; some of them react favorably even to insanely creepy masks, and no-one questions why a kid in green clothes runs around with the face of a Molblin. Most of the people look a lot like the inhabitants of the Happy Mask Salesman's previous home, Hyrule. After you chase the Skull Kid down the tree stump, you end up in an arboreal world of hollow tree trunks and giant empty spaces, and then you hit a corridor that sends you to the base of the Clock Tower in Clock Town. You can't get back to that corridor under any circumstances. That tree-trunk world was still Hyrule. Then the Happy Mask Salesman accosts you and informs you that you've suffered a hideous fate and that he can help you.

HE WAS RIGHT THERE. THE SKULL KID FLOATED STRAIGHT PAST HIM. THE GUY THAT STOLE "HIS" MASK FLOATED STRAIGHT PAST HIM AND HE DID NOTHING TO STOP IT.

After that, he teaches you how to take the dying and turn them into faces that you can wear to change shape. Hyrule's magic didn't work that way- it was handed to people by the Goddesses themselves, through the Fairies. But in his little mask world of insanity and torment, it does. All of a sudden Link can heal people's wounded souls through magic.

Who gives you the main quest? He does.

Who knows ahead of time that you'll be able to take on the Skull Kid and his GodModeSue mask on your own within the three day time limit? He does.

Whose evil, conniving, petulant laugh do you hear should time run out and the world end? Not the Skull Kid's. His.

* He then says, "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" as if he's been watching what you've been doing like it was some sort of a live-action movie!

[[WMG: The Happy Mask Salesman is Nyarlathotep.]]
To wit, HMS "teleports" from position to position and facial expression to facial expression in a manner natural only to those who live outside of conventional geometry. Of course, the big clue is the thousand masks, natch...
* It follows, then, that the magical effects produced by the masks Link uses in that game stem from Nyarly's true form- Azathoth; this explains why Link is in such excruciating pain when he transforms (shits and giggles), what the song of "healing" does to the target souls (food!), and why the Song of Time is so much more powerful- he's being helped by an Outer God. Majora is probably then an Elder God.
** After Link leaves Termina, Nyarly probably conquers it, as it has been softened by the fight and Nyarly himself is fresh as a daisy, not to mention in posession of the souls of three very influential figures which he can presumably now use to his own advantage.
** I feel the need to put a small correction here for my own minor form of OCD, Nyarlathotep isn't Azathoth. Nyarlathotep is the gofer of the Outer Gods (Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, and Azathoth) but I can get behind the idea that the Happy Mask Salesman is an avatar of the Crawling Chaos. Nyarlathotep also generally plays the role of the Man behind the Man behind the Man which is fitting in this game as he states that Majora's Mask is HIS mask, meaning that when it was stolen, the Skull Kid literally ripped (or if this is what actually happened, was lent) a part of Nyarlathotep. A being that revels in chaos rather than pure destruction which leads to a non sequitur with the moon, unless the Skull Kid was able to wrest control of the power in the mask for a brief period in order to try and destroy the mask that he knew was going to be nearly impossible to destroy thus calling for the colony drop. This also means that the Fierce Deity Mask is either another of Nyarlathotep's avatars or one that he added to his repertoire when Link finished his adventure in Termina.

[[WMG: The Happy Mask Salesman is Mario.]]
He happens to have a Mario mask, which most probably means that ''Mario is dead''. The Happy Mask Salesman probably found his grave/body (like how Link found Darmani and Mikau) and he turned into a mask, so that the Happy Mask Salesman could continue his legacy.

[[WMG: The HMS is an alien.]]

Specifically, from the moon. You know when you get on the moon? The moon children look like him and have an affinity for masks! Methinks the reason he would leave when the Earth crashes on Termina is so that he can get back home.

** Exactly; it could be a consequence of the game's engine and hardware. An MM remake would answer a lot of questions by virtue of improved animations.

* He's obviously the Terminian counterpart of [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor]]

[[WMG: Termina's temples have four established warrior-guardians from each race to protect them. These warrior-guardians are the masks Link has and Link himself.]]
There are two sets of guardians for each temple. Each of the Four Giants and one chosen warrior to keep evil out of the temple or to free one of the four giants should evil enter the temple. These warriors are:
Woodfall: The Deku Butler's Son
Snowhead: Darmani
Great Bay: Mikau
And finally....
Stone Tower: LINK

The first three should be obvious enough. All of these are able-bodied fighters who were essential in clearing each temple. The last one requires a bit more thinking though. It ties in with the idea that Link may actually be of Terminan descent, possibly of the Ikana. This is supported by the fact that even though there is a transformation mask for each other temple, there is none for Stone Tower. There are also the four moon temples, each based on one of Link's forms. The last one, which also goes along with Stone Tower, is the "Link dungeon", which focuses on Link's abilities as a human.
* Actually, Stone Tower *does* give Link a transformation mask: The Giant's Mask. However, all it does is cause him to grow spectacularly in size, instead of polymorphing him into another person. This might suggest that the guardian there is Adult Link (Link, but [[StealthPun all grown up.]])

* Twinrova and the Composer Bros.
** Testing this WMG by fire: How do you explain the initial rabbit hole, the twisted corridor and the different magic system?
*** The Composer Bros. can easily be the same people as most Poes all look identical, so we can just assume that there are a few variations of what a Poe can look like and that they fit into one of the variations. Twinrova is a little harder to justify them being there but it's still possible, firstly they may have left Hyrule briefly during the seven years as they don't really do much other than fight you as a boss, the second possibility is that after you defeat them in that boss fight (after the fight they have halos, but they still seem very much alive and so could well be) they return to the past and try and live peacefully in a swamp. As for the corridor there are a couple of corridors like this in [=OoT=] in the Forest Temple (perhaps they're just a common think in the Zelda world) and the magic system has changed before in Zelda, it could just change randomly.

* Someone once posited that the Ikana Kingdom is the way it is, because its inhabitants mocked the gods by depicting the Triforce upside-down in most of the architecture in their kingdom. However, now we know (or rather, now Nintendo has decided) that the upside-down Triforce is the Triforce of Lorule (an alternate dimension version of Hyrule). Thus, not only is Termina a parallel universe, it is the same parallel universe that Lorule is in. This probably suggests there was a Hyrule version of Termina, but the events of the game take place in the Lorulian version.

[[WMG: Alternatively, this Termina IS a parallel universe, BUT...]]
The universe Link comes from also has its own Termina, just west of this Hyrule, southwest of TP Hyrule.

[[WMG: In Majora's Mask, Link stays in Termina of his own free will.]]
He continues assisting with the Goron and Zora while wearing the masks with the Zoras' and Gorons' blessing, letting them know that Darmani and Mikau had died, but peacefully. When he is not workign with the Goron and Zora, he is teaching the Skull Kid how to function in polite society (shown when the Skull Kid's lessons are complete and he goes back to Hyrule to carve his image thing) and help Romani get over what happened, if he wasn't able to save her in the last playthrough (which for the sake of the happy ending, I assume he did). He eventually got all of the quests finished that wouldn't be time-sensitive once Link could escape the three days, stole the package back from Sakon, Anju and Kafei were perfectly happy if not in fact the correct ages... Everyone is happy, except Majora and possibly the Mask Salesman, though he may have eventually gotten the Fierce Deity's mask in exchange for not stealing the others? Eh, he doesn't count anyway. Jerk. And the Skull Kid finds Navi for Link when he returns to Hyrule. Or maybe she was Tatl and Tael the whole time, thanks to Majora, and is both happy and less annoying that way. Anyway, good endings all around. ''Not'' [[labelnote:not]]'''''Not'''''[[/labelnote]] a DownerEnding.
* The End Credits imply that Kafei is restored to his correct age. We see Anju approach him from what is presumably his point of view, and he is her height. So it all works out just fine. Except for, you know, the flood that will soon engulf all of Hyrule...
** Wrong timeline.

[[WMG: Termina is the good afterlife and Link got "lost" looking for Navi]]
It's stated that people become Stalfos when they get lost in the Lost Woods. Whether he got lost while chasing the Stalkid (and the Stalkid can jump worlds at will being already a lost child himself) or he was already gone by that point is up for debate. Perhaps that long fall is just what dying feels like. Why is Termina the good afterlife? Think about it, Link is a hero at heart, more or less the avatar of courage, he's plopped straight into a groundhog-day world where people have so many problems he can reset time over and over ad infinitum in order to play hero until his heart's content. He's basically in the premium-member's club of Valhalla. If you want to stretch it you could also wager that all the games that don't have a definite place in the timeline are simply Link getting bored with the old adventure and Ganon being "sealed" effectively amounts to being forced to be Link's bouncy-ball in the afterlife. It also explains why Termina has so many familiar faces, his first afterlife scenario involved people he knew to ease him into it until he grew less dependent on his old life.
* What if Link really ''did'' die in that fall down the treetrunk, and Termina is the "regular" afterlife?
** The Hero's Shade in ''Twilight Princess'' disproves this. He's the Hero of Time and is clearly an adult, and the Link in that game is his blood descendant, meaning this Link lived to adulthood and had kids.
* Of course, if you're in a dark mood and want to twist this...

* Yes, it is explained by the Great Deku Tree (or his sapling) that Link's mother dropped Link off in Kokiri Forest. However, when you go to meet young princess Zelda for the first time, she asks you for your name. When you reply, she states that your name sounds familiar, despite her dream having no speech, as far as she explains. Also, take note of her parents. We know for a fact that with Zelda in the castle is her father, the king, but no queen. Also, if I remember this bit correctly, Link's mother was running from Ganondorf, whose plans were centered around Hyrule Castle because of its proximity to the Temple of Time.

[[WMG: Termina, the world of the Ocean King and Koholinth Island are one and the same]]
The Windfish is the united form of the four Giants from ''Majora's Mask''. Also, the Wind Fish and the Ocean King are one and the same (which is supported by the fact that they are both whale-like gods).

Originally, the Wind Fish / Giants / Ocean King was/were supposed to stay asleep to keep the dream world of Termina existing, but after the Majora incident, this dream world was, after all, infested by Majora's Mask's evil and it would latter manifest as Bellum from ''Phantom Hourglass'', AKA The Nightmare from ''Link's Awakening''. Note how Bellum's full title in Japanese is "Dream Demon Bellum". Also: Bellum's eyes look a lot like Majora's Mask's eyes. So--> Majora's Mask--> destroyed--> essence becomes Bellum: Dream Demon = Nightmare.

First, the Ocean King / Wind Fish was able to hold everything pretty well together, so the evil power was "only" resulting in the flooding of Termina (similar to the flooding of Hyrule, only that it happened in both timelines here) but as time passed, the evil grew stronger and stronger and (in Timeline Number 1) consumed most of the dream world, until only Koholinth Island was left and it wasn't possible to stop the evil anymore without giving up on what was left of that world. Because of the split-timeline, however, a sooner Link (aka ''Wind Waker'' Link) arrived in the dream world in ''Phantom Hourglass'' (Timeline Number 2) and could stop the process, before it was as advanced as in the other timeline in ''Link's Awakening".

So, to sum it all up: The giants are becoming the Ocean King, who is later known as the Wind Fish, and ''Phantom Hourglass'' is basically Link stopping the Ocean King's dream world from becoming Koholinth Island in the second timeline as well.

Supporting this theory: All three of this world have many characters who are considered {{Exp|y}}ies of characters from the corresponding preceding game even in-game. It is common for dream dimensions in fiction to have their population based upon people from "the real world". Then, there's the way Link is entering those worlds in all of the three games: In ''Majora's Mask'', he gets a short sequence that looks like childish doodles on speed, and in ''Link's Awakening'', he, well, awakens on the shore of Koholinth Island. ''Phantom Hourglass'' unites aspects of both of this instances, by having Link wake up on a shore after having a pretty acid-like vision of Tetra's light being swallowed by darkness. Another thing that is supporting this theory: the way the Wind Fish and the Ocean King tend to reward Link's helpers. Marin was wishing for wings, Linebeck was wishing for being able to travel the seas in his S.S. Linebeck. Neither of them was wishing to see the "Real World". Yet, both of them suddenly turn up and get their wishes granted in Link's world, after the quest is completed: Marin flies away as an angel/seagull and Linebeck's ship is spoted on the horizon by Link after he and Tetra return. The Wind Fish/Ocean King probably intentionally rewarded them both with "freedom from the boundaries of the dream world", additionally granting their wishes.

Then, on a related note,

[[WMG: Similarly, masks in Termina are inherently powerful and magical. They gain their power upon creation.]]
Would explain why every mask in the game does at least some supernatural thing.
* They don't though. Some of them are mundane and just give you permission to do things.

* So Termina suffered TheGreatPoliticsMessUp kind of like the Soviet Union. It once was united and whole but it all split up. My guess would be that the Zoras were the only ones who didn't really set up a government, as they don't seem to have a leader or a military of any description. Which of course made the Great Bay a haven for pirates, kind of like Somalia.
** And the Kingdom of Ikana was probably involved somehow in all this, given its current state. Makes sense that few races would want to set up a monarchy after what happened to that one.

[[WMG: Ikana is a parallel Hyrule.]]
Expanding on the Termina as more advanced Hyrule theory, the kingdom of Ikana is Termina's version of Hyrule, with Ikana Castle as Hyrule Castle. There are major differences, with Ikana favoring a more Egyptian look as compared with Hyrule's medieval castle feel. It collapsed in Termina's version of the Great War, meaning it's king is the counterpart to Hyrule's king, and the Redeads are the Market Town's populace.
* Given the theory that the Pyramid of Power in [=ALttP=] is the Dark World counterpart to the Castle, it's not much of a stretch.
* Adding to this: the people of Termina refer to themselves as ''human'', even if they are of obvious Hylian ancestry. In the Terminan version of the Great War, the humans gained the upper hand and won, thus meaning that they didn't have the seemingly "backwoods" station in life (basic farming and such, compared to the far richer and advanced Hylians) that they would have had in Hyrule.

** Alternatively, Termina is one of the ''last'' universes created, with the earliest universes being the ones most identical to Hyrule and Termina being fairly distinct, i.e., relatively more advanced in terms of technology and science,

[[WMG: Termina is part of a Lovecraftian style Dreamworld]]
This is somewhat related to the Legend of Zelda/Eternal Darkness theory over on the Eternal Darkness WMG page. The land of Termina is formed from the subconsciouses of both the inhabitants of Hyrule and the Eternal Darkness universe before it. For example, Ikana could be the Zelda/ED universe equivalent of Sarnath. Koholint Island and the ocean from Phantom Hourglass could be other areas of this Dreamworld.

[[WMG: Lorule's Termina counterpart is a stable environment that cannot be doomed]]
And it's version of Majora's Mask goes around making everyone's life better... before being killed by the equally good Fierce Deity

[[WMG: Majora's Mask takes place in [[VideoGame/ChronoCross El Nido]] in the FAR FAR future]]
Termina has now become the name of the land in place of El Nido. Majora's Mask is actually the face of the Mammon Machine from Zeal that broke off when it was stabbed by the Ruby Knife during Trigger. Furthermore, the dark corruption that tainted the Masamune during Cross was the same dark magic that corrupts the mask's wearer.

Alternatively, Majora's Mask and the Frozen Flame may even be connected. Finally, the Ocarina of Time is either Lucca's Gate Key or another Chrono Trigger created by Belthasaur.

With that WMG in mind, one realizes that every time Link returns to the Dawn of the First Day, he sends the previous three day cycle to The Darkness Beyond Time. Imagine how many Majora's Masks must be floating around from all the aborted cycles.... The Time Devourer is probably the least of everyone's worries.

* I always thought that Skull Kid was the Link of Termina.
** Agreed, and this Troper suggests that Fierce Deity Link is likewise meant to be a Termina version of Adult Link. Not sure how all that works out, but it makes perfect sense...[[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs if you aren't entirely sober]].
** ''I'' thought Termina!Link was the Deku Butler's kid, hence the Deku Mask, which he turned into, being the first transformation you get (and the only one you're {{Mode Lock}}ed into).
*** Definitely Kafei. I mean, isn't Anju Termina's Saria? They look an ''awful'' lot alike.
*** Anju is the cucco lady. There is no Terminan Saria.
** I always got the idea that the "Link" in Termina was split between the four corners of the map. Darmani was the goron hero, Mikau was decendant of zoran heroes, then maybe either Deku Link's orginal form, or the monkey, is the hero of the swamp. It gets confusing with Ikana, though. But, Majora/Skullkid takes down the heroes one by one. Link=their combined strengths.
* WordOfGod says that Termina is an aftereffect of the Goddesses creating Hyrule. Apparently, there was enough creation energy left to create an alternate/parallel universe that was dangerously unstable and it's [[IncrediblyLamePun link]] to Hyrule had to closed to protect the worlds. And who's a better hero than a person named Link?
* This troper, personally, always saw Kafei as that universe's expy of Link...but why no Zelda?
* ...Tingle?
* ......Majora?

They are the parallels to Twinrova, who were one of the major bosses of ''Ocarina of Time'' and attempted to screw with the deities' will. One of the Termina witches refers to the Skull Kid as a harmless little punk, despite his abilities to warp space, travel between dimensions, and potential immortality (or even having conquered death, which is admittably not that big a deal in ''MM'' and other 3D ''Zelda'' games). The only things they do in the game are make potions, remotely pilot a boat, and fly on a broomstick, but their comparison to Twinrova should be enough to suggest they can do more, let alone they're mostly-dismissal of the Skull Kid even with Majora's Mask.
* Beause Skull Kid IS a harmless little punk as far as they are aware. Him attacking one of the sisters is all they know he did.

[[WMG: The goron named "Link-goro" is the Termina counterpart of the Link-goron from [=OoT=].]]
Fairly straightforward, except one is young, and the other is grown.

[[WMG: The Deku Princess and the monkey scapegoated for her disappearance are the counterparts of Zelda and Link]]
Because who else could be Zelda's counterpart? And monkey-Link just because.

[[WMG: Zant is Majora's Hyrulian counterpart]]
it's been shown with the Romani Ranch sisters that counterparts from different times can coexist.

[[WMG:Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" is actually about Majora's Mask.]]
A quick look at the chorus should prove quite convincing:

''If I could fall into the sky''

This line is a reference to the Inverted Stone Tower Temple, in which one slip-up (in the final dungeon, no less) will literally cause Link to fall into the sky.

''Do you think time would pass me by''

Time is a very essential theme in this game. For time to 'pass us by' would mean for Link's short 72-hour limit to run out, causing him to fail his quest. In other words, if Link fails now, nothing will stop the Moon from crashing.

''Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you... Tonight''

And of course, this refers to the relationship of Link and Navi, the search for whom kicks off the entire game's events. Link loses his own horse and main method of transportation at the start of the game, but it doesn't matter! Link will walk the rest of the way if he has to just to reunite with the fairy he once called his friend. The "Tonight" at the end is a most important point as well; Link's journey will end on the night of the third day no matter what, and he would do anything to see Navi before what may be his inevitable demise.

[[WMG: The Elegy of Emptiness could restore people encased in masks to their original body.]]
My group has been discussing it... the Elegy of Emptiness creates another, hollow body that takes the instrument player's appearance. If Link plays it while wearing masks, the bodies resemble the people trapped in them, not (Goron/Zora/Deku) Link's. If you tried to put the mask onto the hollow body, you could potentially unite their 'bodies' and 'souls' and revive them! Well, Link can keep the Zora Band's guitarist away from them forever, f.e.
* You wouldn't necessarily even need the Elegy of Emptiness to make a new body for the Deku Scrub, just put the mask on the stump and possibly use the Song of Healing, if it's possible to get to where the stump is.
* Or, the Masks house their souls and the Elegy of Emptiness summons the bodies. If you look closely, only Link's body has pupils in the eyes; everyone else is, well, empty.
* The 3DS remake makes the statues more obviously artificial, with a wooden texture like a simple effigy. It doesn't look as real or plausible for a restoration spell.

[[WMG: Link I (The Hero of Time) commits suicide after ''Majora's Mask'']]
We know that he doesn't show up in later continuities. We know that he is mortal and will one day die. We know that he's a tough bastard and probably won't get killed any time soon. I don't think he survives to be adult Link, but I can't where I read remember that [[Main.FanWank bit of continuity]] at the moment.

Add to this all the horror that he lives through. This includes, but is not limited to: being forced to tread through dangerous and painful looking dungeons (including two intestinal tracts in O.o.T. alone), being raped by zombies, losing everyone near him (especially with the above), [[Main.BodyHorror painful-looking mask transformations]], and everything else that happens in the game.

One can reasonably conclude that, after giving up the chance that he will find that annoying butterfly, Link wedges his sword between some rocks and hops on. Thank God he [[Main.HeroicMime never]] [[Main.AngstDissonance complains]].
* Oh crap, I'd kill myself too.
* Wouldn't the Triforce of Courage kind of preclude that sort of action? Unless, of course, he lost it when travelling to Termina. Well, regardless, I'm pretty sure he's used to that sort of thing by now.
** If I am not incorrect, the triforce is reformed at the end of O.o.T., leaving the late Link to his own devices.
*** You are incorrect. Ganondorf took the Triforce of Power into the Sacred Realm with him and the mark of the Triforce of Courage is visible on Link's hand when he goes to visit Zelda in the last scene.
** Doesn't matter if he has the Triforce or not, since the cause and effect is mixed up. He's not courageous because he has the Triforce, he has the Triforce because he's courageous. It'd be his very nature keeping him from committing suicide, not any Triforce powers.
** Wind Waker seems to imply he lost it when he went to Termina anyway, if not sooner.
*** If the split timeline theory is to be believed, Link never went to Termina in the Wind Waker's continuity. In Link's point of view, he returned from the Sacred Realm, defeated Ganon, and returned to the past to live out the Majora's Mask/Twilight Princess timeline. In the point of view of everyone in the Wind Waker timeline, the Hero appeared out of nowhere after disappearing for seven years, and after defeating Ganon he just as quickly disappeared into nowhere. The Triforce of Courage must have split into 8 pieces when Link was finally erased from that timeline.
* If the Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess ''is'' the Hero of Time, he either committed suicide much later in life, or not at all. The Spirit is big and burly. I'm just saying.
** This much at least has been confirmed by WordOfGod, so it's most likely that the Hero of Time at least reached adulthood before dying.
* Seconded, if he did kill himself after Termina there wouldn't be 'countless stories' told about him in Hyrule.
** Countless Stories? You mean like how countless stories are told of, say, Saint Nicholas?
* Here's a theory. One of the above theories mentions that the Gerudo were victims of genocide as enacted by the Hylian royal family. Link (with his impressive swordsmanship and connections to the Royal family through Zelda) was made general of the army that went and slaughtered the Gerudo. He then killed himself when he learned that the war was actually a genocide. As punishment for leading a genocide and killing himself, his soul wasn't allowed to move on until it was restored by teaching his descendant the sword techniques that were necessary to save the world.
** No, no. He doesn't show up in later continuities because now that he's realized he has the power to fix ''everything'' around him by rewinding time as many times as necessary, he's still stuck within a few months of the events in the story, desperately racing to make sure that he doesn't let anything bad happen. And of course all of that happens at the speed of time, meaning he hasn't caught up yet.
** Besides, Twilight Princess Link was stated to not be related to the [=OoT=] Link at all. That's why TP Link had to find the Hero's Tunic in the first place.
*** No, that's Wind Waker Link. Twilight Princess Link is Ocarina Link's descendant.

[[WMG: In a similar vein, Majora's Mask is a [[Film/TheDarkKnight Joker-esque]] test to prove that anyone can be driven to madness and suicide.]]
* Just like the Joker wanted to prove that he could destroy Gotham's White Knight, Majora's Mask is a trial in maintaining sanity. To force a kid to witness the same three days over and over is already maddening enough. To force him to go through it without sleep is even worse. Add a shrill, mocking version of the person he was searching for and twisted doppelgangers of his friends and acquaintances, pepper in torture, murder, alien invasion, nightmarish dungeons and a fiendish imp manipulating a world gone mad is enough to drive anyone to suicide. The Happy Mask salesman, probably himself some lesser god or demon, made a bet with the Goddesses a la the story of [[Literature/TheBible Job]] to test Link's strength. So for three days he was [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya stuck in an endless recurrence of time]] while his Courage was tested. We can assume that Link triumphed over Skull Kid's challenges, saved Romani, reunited Anju and Kafei, etc., all while maintaining his sanity. Then, he realized the door beneath the clock tower wouldn't open...
** Link is shown riding ''away'' from Clock Town at the end - possibly to see if there's an entrance to the Lost Woods in the Deku Swamp (there's an entrance everywhere else, anyway).
*** You know what else is in the direction of the Southern Swamp? [[{{Shipping}} Milk Road]]. Also the witches, and possibly Skull Kid, any of whom might be able to help him get back to Hyrule.
*** Pretty sure he was riding towards the southern entrance (it seems he did stop off long enough to play with the Indigo-Gos in the tavern). Which would make this theory even worse if he forgot about the door until he saw it.
* On a related yet (er... somewhat) happier note than the last two

[[WMG: Link is a Stalfos and he's really in Hyrule with everything switched around]]
Same as the above, but in addition to being an undead corpse, instead of being controlled by an outside force while his spirit lives in the afterlife he's just "brainwashed" by necromancy into thinking normal villagers are monsters and sealed-evil-in-a-cans are benevolent giants. When the hero didn't show (or Ganon got out and was subsequently Twilight-banished, whichever timeline the child ending falls under, this troper can never remember) it was just because Link's spirit was controlling a skeleton undoing all the work he did in life.

[[WMG: ''All'' of the masks are trapped souls.]]
Some of them, like the stone mask, are pretty obvious, but every mask with any power is a trapped soul, not just the god masks, the zora/goron masks, and Majora's mask. The inhabitants of the (aptly named) Termina harvest peoples' souls for the Happy Mask Salesman.
* The implications of this are disturbing, when you consider some of the masks. Notably, ''one of the Great Fairies gives Link a Great Fairy mask''. Man, the [=N64=] Great Fairies were disturbing enough already...
** Also, it means that stones, bombs, and weddings have souls (gives new meaning to the phrase "life of the party", eh?), and that Kafei is in a child's body because he's soulless, among other things.
*** I'm not sure who could power the stone mask, but here's some WildMassGuessing to explain the others: The Bomb Mask is powered by the soul of the Old Lady's husband, the original Bomb Shop owner. Kafei- yeah, Kafei's Mask could be his missing soul, or at least tied to his soul without having to actually remove it. It's also possible (but less likely sticking to the spirit of the guess) that the Mayor's Wife sacrificed a small animal to power the mask (maybe the Stone Mask has the soul of a camouflaged rock gecko?), but it's my opinion that it's not a mask of power, just a mask that looks like Kafei, and maybe has "Have You Seen This Person?" stamped on the forehead. The Couple's Mask, now, I have an explanation that could be [[TastesLikeDiabetes sweet]] or [[UnfortunateImplications awful]]: Each Couple's Mask is imbued with half the soul of each of the two people. Kafei and Anju "[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments joining]]" at the end of the third day finishes it, when you get the mask instead of at the wedding the next day. Like the "two hearts join as one" or "two candles light the big candle and then the individual candles are blown out" stuff at a lot of weddings, but less metaphorical.
*** No, only the masks that hold any real power or can easily deceive beings would have souls. Romani's mask, Kafeis's mask, Couple's mask etc would just be masks. Some of the others, though, are very blatantly the souls or emotions of beings, such as the mask that makes you dance and the Captain's Hat.
* When you speak to the Happy Mask Salesman while wearing a mask (aside from the transformation masks), he analyzes the mask you're wearing, telling you what it symbolizes and what it means to the one who made it. That gives this idea a bit of evidence.
* If you want some seriously crawling skin, notice the mask on the top back of his pack. IT'S MARIO'S FACE.
** This is all your fault, player. You failed.
** What about Darth Maul, Elvis Presley, Dr. Doom, and Falco/Dededee?

[[WMG: Majora's Mask or Link's Awakening is a retelling of the other.]]
Part of a guess on the main WMG/TheLegendOfZelda page is that some games are corrupted retellings of others.

* This makes sense. I always thought it funny that Epona would survive through the underground. Maybe Skullkid just let her run off a cliff at some point...

[[WMG: The Bombers (or most of them, anyway) are orphans.]]
They're hanging out around the town at all hours, and don't leave even on the final day, when everyone but essentual staff and a few other people are evacuating. There aren't enough married or widowed/widowered adults in town to account for all of them unless several are siblings, which isn't really that major a point. [[InformedAbility Aside from the three days you spend playing the game]], they spend a lot of time at the astronomer's lab and in an underground waterway with at least three giant, person-killing spiders.
** I thought of this, too. However, one Bomber tells Link that his parents have the Couple's Mask. He's the only one wearing a yellow bandanna, though and stays put in one place (in front of the astronomer's tower). Maybe he's the exception and his parents live nearby and told him to stay close, unlike the other, orphaned bombers who [[FreeRangeChildren wander around all over at all hours.]]

[[WMG: At the end of the game, Link uses the Elegy of Emptiness to ressurect Mikau, Darmani, and the Deku Boy.]]
He makes the statues, places the masks on them, (Song of Healing optional) and they come back to life and go on with their lives. Because I don't see a good reason why not.
* It's been said, but I still like it.
* Possibly makes sense. If you complete the game fully, there are scenes of Terminia celebrating the Festival of Time. One of those scenes has Mikau playing with the band, and Link has already left Terminia. Of course, Mikau is still wearing Link's green outfit, but his diary entry ''did'' say he felt that green was his new lucky color...
** That's not Mikau wearing green, it's Zora Link. If they wanted to provide evidence that Mikau had returned to life, they could've just used his model there instead.
* Unfortunately, the ending also reveals that the Deku Butler's son remains petrified.
** Just a thought, does Link even know that the Dead Deku Tree is the Deku Bulter's son? Does he even know that he that the mask he possesses could possibly contain the Deku Bulter's son spirit? For all he knows he was cursed to become a Deku and when the Song of Healing was played, he could have simply thought the mask was a aftereffect of the song? Deku Bulter did say he reminds him of his son, but Link doesn't have to be wearing the Deku Mask to race him and/or receive the mask of scents so it could it mean anything.

Also, look into the left corner of the official artwork of Majora's Mask. There seems to be a small figure with red eyes hanging from a tree. In another artwork it's not visible but the rope is still there.

[[WMG: The Blast Mask was a weapon for terrorists, specifically suicide bombers]]After the end of the game, he gives up being Link and acts as Darmani and Mikau full-time. It would be very difficult, but not impossible.

Read the article and tell me that it's not really interesting and you don't have too much free time.
* My friend sent me that link a long time ago after saying he knew of a place where people had weirder theories than the Website/GameFAQs boards (I hadn't yet sold my soul to this site and it was back in 2008, before this theory showed up according to the Page History). And yes, I do have too much free time, but still less than whoever the hell came up with that (who has less free time than whoever noticed the penis-shaped columns).
* The 3DS remake removed the butt-Triforces, lessening but possibly confirming this idea by doing so.

[[WMG: Link is a Franchise/KamenRider.]]
He wears masks. He [[HenshinHero transforms]]. He ''rides'' Epona. He takes an evil power (the Fierce Deity's Mask) and uses it for good. He even has a kicking move as Zora Link (though, rather like Series/KamenRiderKabuto, it's not the standard jump-kick). Also, Romani nicknames him "''Grasshopper''", which is a popular theme for Riders.
* This troper shall now use this theory to posit that [[Series/KamenRiderDecade Decade]] [[MemeticMutation is to blame]] for all the Zelda games he doesn't like

[[WMG: The game is one of the many alternate-universe tellings of The Dark Tower.]]
Obviously, the Clock Tower is Franchise/TheDarkTower. It's at the center of everything, it's the key to saving the world, it's a ''tower''. Link is Roland, continually cycling through timelines which are almost identical until he gets it right -- until he manages to free all four Giants. The reason he is able to succeed in his quest is that he retrieves the Horn of Eld, in this case his ocarina. Link left a faraway, magical land he can't get back to and left behind a beautiful blonde lover -- Zelda, this universe's version of Susan who didn't get horribly murdered.

The Giants themselves represent the Beams, which support the tower and keep it safe from harm.

Each of Link's transformations is a version of Rolan'ds ka-tet. Jake is the Deku Scrub because Link/Roland "meets" him first and they're small and young. Eddie is the Zora, a tall, lean rogue. And Susannah is the Goron by process of elimination. Oly is Tatl, the tiny companion with Roland/Link to the very end.

Each of the other masks represent Roland's guns. They're what makes Link special.

Majora is the Crimson King. The arch-villain, uber-powerful, and you never get a satisfying confrontation with the man himself. The Skull Kid is Mordred, the Crimson King's greatest pawn and the character Link/Roland gets to fight. The Mask Salesman is Randall Flagg, a more fortunate soldier in this incarnation because at the end he gets the mask, and as shown in many Stephen King stories, Flagg always survives.

[[WMG: Igos Du Ikana is actually [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames King Harkinian]].]]
He helped you strive for peace like a true warrior. Also...

[[WMG: The King's servents are Gwonam and Morshu.]]
Your sword was enough for them, but they didn't give credit.
* I now refuse to believe this isn't true.

[[WMG: The game takes place in the future]]
Specifically, the First Day is December 18th-19th, 2012, and the Last Day is December 20-21st, 2012. Hey, SOMEONE had to say it.

[[WMG: Building on the 'all masks are lost souls' theory, Kafei's mask is the soul of his real father.]]
It's not the mayor. Madame Aroma had an afair with someone who died/was transformed into the mask. Kafei just looks exactly like a child version of his father.

[[WMG: Tingle is Music/MichaelJackson]]
Think about it: Widely hated in the United States (Not so much since Michael died, but his image was tarnished when MM came out. And when TWW came out, the second round of trials were beginning, which really cemented him as a paedophile in a lot of people's minds)... Behaves childishly... Is strangely fond of Link to the point where people suspect paedophilia... Also manages to be fantastic at something which is overlooked because of his personality (in Tingle's case, cartography. In Michael's, singing and dancing)...

[[WMG: Ben haunts every Majora's Mask game.]]The Majora's mask is the herald of the anti-spirals, when Link came into Termina it pushed the population limit put on by the Anti-spirals to the point where the Human Elimination Device had to be activated.
The Majora's Mask is an Eldritch Abomination, just the same as the anti-spiral
Link is a determinator as big as Simon (post time-skip), he never falters despite all the things he has live through
His Spin Attack is a form of spiral Energy.
The Fierce Deity Mask sword is a double helix, a shape the anti-spiral itself deemed as the natural form of Spiral Energy.
* ... I think some of these [=WMGs=] are getting mixed up in the coding.
* What are you even talking about?

[[WMG:Oni Link is God]]
* Double helix sword = DNA (Inspired by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLHsjuR4f18&feature=related this]]) (Because of the double helix Rainbow)

[[WMG: Tael was a Poe.]]
* I mean, look at the [[https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/zelda_gamepedia_en/b/b5/Poessoul.png Poe's souls]] from ''Twilight Princess'' and [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda/images/6/6f/Tael_artwork_MM3D.png/revision/latest?cb=20150118142133&path-prefix=es Tael]].

[[WMG: The Banker is a [[Series/DoctorWho Time Lord.]]]]
And the cow ornament is really his TARDIS. How else can he hold on to Link's ruppies when he travels back in time?
* Doesn't the guy at the Sword School also have one of those?
** True, but that doesn't discredit the thoery. The Doctor's takes the form of a police telephone box, an object that ([[TheArtifact at one time]]) was common as well. Could be that it took that form to blend in better because, apparently, cow ornaments are common in Termina.
* This one may actually has a pretty mundane explanation: when you open a bank account, the banker stamps your hand with special ink, which seems to both tell him who you are and how much you have in the bank. The ink remains when you go back in time, so the banker only ''thinks'' you've deposited money when really you haven't. So Link is basically robbing the bank.

[[WMG: The Fierce Deity was the one who originally defeated Majora, and also a predecessor of the line of Heroes from which Links spawn.]]

In the Majora's Mask manga, there's a side story about a traveling warrior who wanders into Majora's realm and defeats him with music. This warrior has more than a passing resemblance with Link, and by extension, the Fierce Deity. So, what this troper proposes is, is that the Fierce Deity was a man or God, who defeated Majora. His lack of a hat can be explained as the events of Minish Cap not yet having occurred.

[[WMG: The Deku Butler's son was either a member of the Royal Guard or an Assassin]]
The Deku Scrub that the mask transforms you into is a lot better at combat than any of the other ones that you meet. He can walk on water, he can spit poison bubbles when he's magicked up, and he can perform a spin attack that stuns EVERYTHING and is carrying a very effective shield. You can actually take out most of the enemies in the game (including the Garo Master) using him. His dad also mentions that he and his son would regularly run the obstacle course under the Deku Palace, a course filled to the brim with traps that would be fatal to the average scrub. All this evidence paints a very nasty picture of whoever the Deku Mask used to be. He may have been on a mission from the Deku palace to find the Princess before the Skull Kid and Majora took him out.
* This would make sense, since otherwise the Deku Scrub is the "odd one out" among the individuals who provide Link with the transformation masks. Darmani and Mikau are heroes to their own people, albeit in different ways, whereas the Deku Butler's son doesn't have any claim to fame other than being….well, the butler's son. It seems likely that he was at least athletic, and the butler says he "left home long ago", implying some wanderlust on his part and maybe an adventurous streak.

[[WMG: The Fierce Deity Mask is just that.... an ordinary mask.]]
At the end of Ocarina of Time, we observe Ganondorf using the Triforce of Power to go OneWingedAngel and become Ganon. According to this theory of [[Tropers/EvaUnit01 mine]], the Fierce Deity is, in reality, ''Link's'' OneWingedAngel / SuperMode, using the Triforce of Courage to unleash his full potential at once. The mask, therefore, is nothing more than that - a piece of wood or plastic carved and painted in the shape of a face.... [[ContrivedCoincidence that just happens to be the Fierce Deity's face]]. The reason Link doesn't use this transformation until he gets the mask is because [[BreakingTheFourthWall he's aware of the game mechanics and knows that, in terms of gameplay, he can't transform without a mask]]. In-story, it's because [[GrandFinale until Majora, that was no enemy strong enough that he]] ''might need'' his SuperMode in the first place. Why haven't we seen the Fierce Deity in any Zelda game before or since? Because aside from [[EldritchAbomination Majora]], there's never been a villain badass enough to warrant his intervention. Onox, Vera, Ganon(dorf), etc. ''were'' genuine threats, rest assured, but Majora's the only one whose true aim was TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt purely ForTheEvulz. He/she/it also came much, ''much'' closer than any enemy before or since. As for why, even when facing Majora, Link only transforms while in the mask? Again, [[MediumAwareness game mechanics]]. In-story? [[AssPull Um...]] BecauseDestinySaysSo? [[FridgeLogic Regarding the child on the moon who]] ''has'' a mask that resembles the Fierce Deity's face.... Hrm... possibly the result of either a StableTimeLoop or TimeyWimeyBall. Reason for this theory in the first place? Purely for RuleOfCool.
** To go in-line with actual events that could happen within the univers and not contriving a fourth-wall breaking phenomenon, Link is afraid of his own power and "sealed it away" in a mask he made himself. He carried this with him as a reminder of how truly terrifying and powerful he can be but also as a way to make sure he would never unleash this power. When he's stripped of everything within the Moon, including his collection of masks that were given to him for his various good deeds, he realizes that he needs to use this power and becomes the "fierce diety" he imagines himself to be by putting on a mask, which makes him feel justified in using his full power as well as freeing him of any guilt due to the devastation he might cause from completely cutting loose. Basically, the mask itself functions as Link's WorldOfCardboardSpeech.

[[WMG: The Goddess's created a trio of of Lesser Gods]]
Each one representing there powers.
* Din created Majora
** The one most obsessed with displaying his showing its power.
* Farore created the Fierce Deity
** The one with the courage to stop Majora
* Nayru created the one that uses The Happy Mask Salesmen as an avatar.
** He/She has the knowledge of how to contain the others two power into masks.
As of Skyward Sword, they have hylian counterparts.
* Majora = Ganondorf(Demise)
* HMS = Zelda(Hylia)
* Fierce Deity = Link(Reincarnation of Hyrule's own FD)

[[WMG: The Hand in the Toilet, this is Japanese Zombie]]
THEY COME
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8v9SS2ERBE IN THE TOILET]]

[[WMG: The Great Bay arc is partly a reference to the [[Music/TheBeatles Paul Is Dead conspiracy]] rumors.]]

[[WMG: The Bombers are higher beings related to the Goddess of Time, and their Notebook is what causes all of Link's GroundhogDayLoop shenanigans to converge at the end of the game.]]

[[WMG: Link's Analogue]]
Link in MM is Dave Strider from Homestuck. Both are blonde swordsmen with a bent for time manipulation, and if you subscribe to the theory that the universes are nothing but SBURB sessions...

[[WMG: The whole adventure was a series of trials to get Link to grow into adulthood and Link failed the last one]]
Each section of the Termina was targeted by Majora's Mask or should I say the Happymask Salesman in a specific way in order to teach Link the lessons of Maturity and Time.... Rauru in the form of Kaepora Gaebora also helps teach Link these lessons.

''Trial of Childhood:''In Clocktown Link starts a kid with no respect given to him.

''Trial of the Hero:''He is returned to his original form and gains respect and goes on a quest in the Southern Swamp to save a Princess(Deku Princess to be precise).

''Trial of Adulthood:''In Snowhead Link gains the responsibilities as an Adult including the calming of the Elder's son.

''Trial of Parenthood:''In Great Bay Link gains the responsibilities of a Parent and has to rescue Mikau and Lulu's offspring.

''Trial of Death:''In Ikana Link must face the restless Dead and return them to their rest.

''Trial of Pride:''Final Trial and the one concerned with the Fierce Deity's Mask. When Link died he died ''regreting his loss of being a great hero....'' This is tied to the Hero's Shade's regrets and why he never passed on until Twilight Princess.... He failed the final test...

* Saria's my favorite Zelda character. As much as it pains me to admit, he blatantly forgot about her. He's definitely searching for Navi, everything points to it, everything stated on the matter by devs and in the game manual, and in-game itself, all point to him searching for Navi. I'd absolutely love it if he really was searching for Saria, but there's nothing whatsoever to indicate he is, and rather everything indicates to him blatantly forgetting about the one person he had left to call his friend in a game heavily centered around the theme of friendship. (We don't even know what happened to his Fairy Ocarina. Presumably he kept it, but there's nothing to suggest he still has it.)

[[WMG: Nintendo will up the creepiness BIG TIME in the rerelease]]
Watch the first trailer for Majora 3D. It's spooky and almost soley focused on the game's most creepy moments and music. The friggen Elegy statue made it in (and appeared somewhere it was previously impossible for him to be summoned...). Scarier visuals, higher intensity, a WebVideo/BenDrowned ShoutOut, I saw all bets are off now.
* Actually, you could summon the Elegy statue in Ikana Canyon, not just the Ancient Castle or Stone Tower. I personally doubt they intended it to be a WebVideo/BenDrowned ShoutOut, but it's still possible Nintendo would make it a bit more spooky than it already was.
* It could be that Nintendo focused on the creepiness because that's what WE focus on. Not Tropers, but the big time Majora's Mask fans. They were appealing to the fanbase in the trailer. Whether it will be creepier or not... I think I've heard that the [=OoT=] remake toned down some of the creepiness of the original game. I still haven't played the remake, so I can't say for certain.
* They didn't actually tone anything down, scary content-wise, worry not!

Nobody said Link had to leave Termina on the fourth day, and with the moon no longer falling, he's got all the time in the world to help the people of Termina that he missed the chance to before. That explains why Kafei's wedding happens no matter whether you helped him in this cycle or not, because even if you didn't, Link doubled back and helped Kafei reclaim the Sun's Mask, anyway.

The house seems tailor made for the guy. It's the closest thing to a windmill (his counterpart's residence) seen in Termina, it's located in the resident "creepy ghost area" in both worlds, and it has a connection to the Song of Storms, which Guru-Guru always plays. How'd you like to hear ''that'' tune blaring from the place 24/7?

[[WMG: The "game" in the US commercials is some sort of dimensional artifact, and the kid who "plays" it is directly helping Link in his own quest.]]
Either it was already cursed (by Skull Kid or Majora themself, most likely) and the poor kid who must play it to completion had no idea what he was getting himself into, or Earth's moon began to fall seemingly of its own accord and the cartridge is benign; either way, it's the only way this kid can contact and assist Link. They quickly figure out what went wrong: Earth and Termina "synchronized", and their moons are dropping at similar rates (keep in mind, time passes much faster in-game than in real life). Luckily, while there's no way to rewind time on Earth, doing so on Termina drastically slows down Earth's moon for a few hours.

Since the game ends with Link saving Termina, it's safe to assume that in the commercial's micro-continuity, Earth was saved too.

[[WMG: The five main areas in the game match up to the five stages]]

[[http://www.cracked.com/article_20614_6-insane-video-game-fan-theories-that-make-total-sense_p2.html As speculated upon here]]:
** The HubLevel, Clock Town, is denial - everyone can see the moon is falling, but no-one can actually deal with it. Also an example of ElephantInTheLivingRoom.
** Woodfall, most particularly Southern Swamp and Deku Palace, is anger: The royal family is in search for a scapegoat due to the disappearance of the Deku Princess, and said scapegoat was actually ''helping'' the Princess before her capture.
** Snowhead is bargaining: HoldingOutForAHero, specifically Darmani begging Link to solve the problem of the region's climate since Darmani himself died in the attempt.
** Great Bay is depression: Lulu laments the loss of her eggs, Mikau laments having been unable to retrieve them, and the Fisherman laments that the murky water rendered fishing impossible.
** Ikana Valley is acceptance, because almost everyone there is already dead anyway, and is only waiting for one like Link to ease their regrets and lift the curse that originates from Stone Tower.
** The theory also suggests that Link himself goes through the five stages of grief due to his self-exile that resulted from his friend Navi having bid him farewell (and according to Hyrule Historia and the confirmation that he eventually became the Hero's Shade in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', he is unable to reach the stage of acceptance until that very game, after his descendant learns all of the Hidden Skills).
*** It is quite possible that this is something the developers intended but I think it should be noted that the famed five stages of grief are actually specifically about the grief one feels with a terminal illness and don't commonly apply to other forms of grief. It's still mistaken enough that the developers could have intended it to be relate to Link but I think it's unlikely.
*** The five stages may be more about the world than about Link, as in it's Termina that has the 'terminal illness' until Link arrives to cure it.

[[WMG: Majora's Mask is happening in the Persona Universe]]
Majora's Mask is [[VideoGame/Persona2 Nyarlathotep]], The Moon is Nyx, The Happy Mask Salesman is either Philemon or Igor, and almost everyone in Termina is a Persona User, which would make Link a Wild Card. The Happy Mask Salesman does give you what it essentially your first mask, or in this case, Persona. The themes of Major's Mask and Persona 3 do fit with each other, knowing that death is inescapable.

[[WMG: The game, while also being about grief, is also largely about social perception and relationships à la Rilke's "Faces" and Cooley's theory of "Social Self".]]
The main gist of the game is that by wearing masks, you are treated as if you were someone else, or having certain characteristics- a parody of social standards in real life, like how dressing in more expensive clothing makes you seem more distinguished or successful. But when you look at every character, and the masks you get from those characters, you see that EVERYONE is wearing a 'mask' so to speak. They all hide their true faces behind a persona - Anju tries her best to keep up a warm, friendly demeanor while worried and with a broken heart, the Master Carpenter puts up a front of being angry and boisterous when even he knows there won't be a festival. Often, by resolving their problem and forcing them to drop the facade, you tend to get a physical mask from them. The player isn't just gaining new powers from masks, the gullibility of Termina's social consciousness is so strong that just by looking like a person or concept he gains their powers. The happy mask children at the end, their cryptic words are the summation of this idea presented to you throughout the game- of how your actions influence how other people see you, and in turn how people see you influences your actions to an extent. Majora himself in this world, is an outsider, which befits his wearer- the Skullkid, in that they have no social standing and are utterly alien to the setting. They have trouble building relationships with others, and attempt to force themselves into the community by playing pranks or engaging in mischief. Majora however, is much like a sociopath, unable to understand other people. He can only see their "masks" or the persona they present themselves as, not as the person underneath. Most of his curses are not just cruel tricks, but also him through the Skullkid's perceptions pinning characters to either how they presented themselves or how he viewed them. Link's this annoying Deku forest dweller? Turn him into a deku scrub! That braggart Kafei talking about how he's going to be a man now? He's still just some punk kid. Those big giant jerks that abandoned us? They're just bullies who can't protect anything, let's just turn them into what they really are: monsters that make things worse. The moon children, who are part of Majora itself, are hungry for our masks because they give it a taste of these social connections that it has trouble understanding and unable to grasp- no friends, no connections, no loved ones, and these masks appease that desire. But it also paints a picture of Link to Majora, of this powerful warrior who stops at nothing, and has undone everything he has done. The fierce deity's mask is a mask given by Majora to Link, because just like everyone else, Majora sees Link differently than Link really is. A being from another world, with almost godlike powers and is completely unstoppable. Majora sees link as a "villain" because Majora is incapable of seeing his own actions as wrong, and Link is probably the first thing to ever really scare him, and The Fierce Diety's mask is a representation of how Majora views Link. And in a world where perception is power, that actually makes Link incredibly powerful. The reason why the mask only works in boss fights, is because it only works where Majora's presence is there to perceive him, everyone else views him as merely a young boy.

[[WMG: Pamela's father's name is Tortus, and Pamela and Anju are sisters.]]
Admittedly, this theory came from a dream, but ideas are ideas. Tortus's ever-increasing passion for his study of Ikana and the undead was what drove a wedge between him and his family. He felt restless in Clock Town and wanted to move to the canyon, but his wife and older daughter were firmly settled in their lives, and his mother thought he was being foolish (and was too old to travel, anyway). Pamela was only a baby, so she didn't have much to leave behind, and he ended up taking her with him -- it took a lot of convincing, probably a fair amount of pleading, but his ex-wife ''very'' grudgingly allowed him to take his younger daughter with him to his new life. Anju and her mother buried the emotions and moved on with their lives, but Anju gets strangely wistful sometimes, and her mother is never quite free of an underlying bitterness...
* This is jossed; Anju states at one point that her father died before the events of the game.
** She could be lying. I can imagine the family deciding to tell everyone that he died rather than admit he abandoned them, especially to follow a dream they probably thought was insane. And if you peek into the private room at 9:30 on Night 2 with the Room Key, Anju's mother says (thinking only Anju is listening) that Tortus ''left'', rather than died, while she's trying to get Anju to accept that Kafei may have done the same.

[[WMG: Tael is a pariah among fairykind.]]
It seems odd at first glance that Tatl and Tael were wandering the way they were before they met the Skull Kid. Usually they would answer to a Great Fairy or Kokiri or similar, and incidental fairies are rare. But what if they were fleeing something?

Tatl seems to be generally accepted by others, judging by the Bombers and the Great Fairies and such. But no one other than her and the Skull Kid acknowledge Tael at any point in the story. And he stays with the Skull Kid even when he is at his worst, regardless of how much he knows about the mask. Perhaps... without his sister at his side, he didn't have anywhere else to go?

But why would Tael be treated like this? Well, one answer comes to mind. Have you ever noticed that Tael is the '''only''' fairy in the entirety of the ''Zelda'' series, with the closest thing to a counterexample being the generic item fairies in ''Wind Waker'', to identify as '''male'''? We would have no reason to believe that male fairies even exist if not for him, and it's entirely possible that they are truly genderless and simply present themselves as female, which would make his counterexample less biological and more of a rejection of their status quo, which may not have sat well with the rest of them. His color is unusual, but note that the fairies can change their colors at will (Tatl turns green when targeting and turns red when threatening Sakon, for instance), so it may be a conscious decision on his part. And Tatl is the only character to ever call him her brother...

(No, Tingle does not count.)

[[WMG: Majora and The Fierce Deity are counterparts to two of the Hyrulian gods. The third is missing.]]
Just like the Lowrulians the Termainians started to tamper with the power of their gods at some point but rather then destroy it to keep the peace the Termainians learned how to seal their gods. By binding the gods to objects in the mortal realm their powers could be harnessed and used by the people for their own ends. That being said at some point two of the Gods migrated to the current area while the third was lost.

Majora was passed from person to person in a line of worthy jailers, with the mental fortitude to resist his influence, to keep his immense but destructive Wisdom and thirst to experiment with his magic in check, all the way down to the Happymask salesman. While Majora is evil it's only due to being completely unconcerned with mortals outside of those who oppose him and half crazed from centuries of misuse, tribes using his Wisdom for harming others when that is the last thing he wanted. Now he seeks to use his Wisdom and further the magic that comes from that Wisdom to experiment testing its full capabilities hence dropping a moon on Termina both as revenge and to get a measure of his actual strength in this semi-corporeal form.

The Fierce Deity has a name but despite being sealed has never deigned to share it with mortals. He is the embodiment of Power and a vicious blood knight that seeks only to test his metal with combat against the most powerful foe he can find. Ultimately Majora was the biggest thing he could fight in Termina so they gravitated together when he was given a host. Because of his incredible power but uncontrollable nature the Fierce Deity was sealed in Terminas equivalent to the Sacred Realm out of reach to all but the other two Gods. The Demigods, the bosses, talked Majora into giving Fierce Deity's mask to Link after he proved capable of not losing himself to the others. Majora was convinced it would be a much better test of his powers while the demigods knew that Fierce Deity would wipe the floor with Majora then be satiated enough for Link to escape his grasp without becoming his puppet in the world.

The third Deity who is supposed to represent Courage was lost. At some time in history the item he was bound to has be misplaced and forgotten. This leaves the world of Termina fundamentally out of balance, just like Lowrule, and ultimately doomed to collapse unless the other two are contained. With the gods imprisoned in masks but ultimately alive their power still allows the world to exist without falling apart like Lowrule did but should they get out their inharmonious power means one of the two remaining will destroy Termina even if only by accident. Without his stabilizing influence on Majora, his rivalry with Fiercy Deity, and his own ability to empower others to stand against overwhelming odds the others can't be allowed to gain a host in the mortal world.

** By the same token, whereas Link is of humble origin, never knew his family, and seems to have little time for romance, Kafei is the son of Clock Town's most important citizens, has loving parents, and is passionately in love with Anju. And for whatever it's worth, there are obvious parallels to be drawn between Kafei and Ravio, Link's counterpart in ''TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds''; both wear masks and have purple hair.

* Reminds me of a certain [[ReBoot faceless]] character from a completely different thing then...

*** I'm not sure who could power the stone mask, but here's some WildMassGuessing to explain the others: The Bomb Mask is powered by the soul of the Old Lady's husband, the original Bomb Shop owner. Kafei- yeah, Kafei's Mask could be his missing soul, or at least tied to his soul without having to actually remove it. It's also possible (but less likely sticking to the spirit of the guess) that the Mayor's Wife sacrificed a small animal to power the mask (maybe the Stone Mask has the soul of a camouflaged rock gecko?), but it's my opinion that it's not a mask of power, just a mask that looks like Kafei, and maybe has "Have You Seen This Person?" stamped on the forehead. The Couple's Mask, now, I have an explanation that could be [[TastesLikeDiabetes sweet]] or [[UnfortunateImplications awful]]: Each Couple's Mask is imbued with half the soul of each of the two people. Kafei and Anju "[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming joining]]" at the end of the third day finishes it, when you get the mask instead of at the wedding the next day. Like the "two hearts join as one" or "two candles light the big candle and then the individual candles are blown out" stuff at a lot of weddings, but less metaphorical.

[[WMG: Majora's Mask's spirit isn't Majora, it is [[Franchise/CrashBandicoot Uka Uka]]]]

The Fierce Deity has a name but despite being sealed has never deigned to share it with mortals. He is the embodiment of Power and a vicious blood knight that seeks only to test his metal with combat against the most powerful foe he can find. Ultimately Majora was the biggest thing he could fight in Termina so they gravitated together when he was given a host. Because of his incredible power but uncontrollable nature the Fierce Deity was sealed in Terminas equivalent to the Sacred Realm out of reach to all but Demigods, like the bosses, and the other two full Gods. The Demigods gave Fierce Deity's mask to Link after he proved capable of not losing himself to the others with the knowledge that Fierce Deity would wipe the floor with Majora then be satiated enough for Link to escape his grasp without becoming his puppet in the world.

What else was Link doing in the seven years he was sleeping there? And because time is so flexible in the Temple, he meets people he will be running into as an adult. You can also get a Hook Shot in Majora's Mask--something that only Adult Link can use in Ocarina of Time.

When you reach the inside of the Moon, you witness [[AcidTripDimension a surreal past vision]] of the four Lunar Children, wearing the masks of Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg and Twinmold. They are having fun. While Majora is by himself, under the tree [[IJustWantToHaveFriends and no one will play with them]]. Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg and Twinmold when they were alive were benign gods, though found the mortal realm, Termina far below, both fascinating and perplexing. [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove Never quite grasping human emotion or feelings]]. But Majora's increasing isolation from the others [[StartOfDarkness begets malice]], and eventually murders the other deities, [[DemonicPossession reanimating their remains]]. This brings the wrath of the Fierce Deity down upon him.

When you reach the inside of the Moon, you witness [[AcidTripDimension a surreal past vision]] of the four Lunar Children, wearing the masks of Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg and Twinmold. They are having fun. While Majora is by himself, under the tree [[IJustWantToHaveFriends and no one will play with them]]. Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg and Twinmold when they were alive were benign gods, though found the mortal realm, Termina far below, both fascinating and perplexing. [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove Never quite grasping human emotion or feelings]]. Majora's increasing isolation from the others [[StartOfDarkness begets malice]], and eventually murders the other deities and [[DemonicPossession reanimates their remains]].

[[WMG: The horse Link found in ''Majoras Mask'' was NOT Epona]]
Romani never says that they found the horse anywhere, so it is to assume that it had been there on the farm for a long time. Also, the horses name is never mentioned and there are identical-looking counterpart of almost everyone in Termina. It's just Tatl who thinks, that the horse could be Epona. The real Epona has been killed by the Skull Kid right before he put the curse on Link.

* I mean, look at the [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/images/b/b5/Poessoul.png Poe's souls ]] from Twilight Princess. and [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/images/b/b5/Poessoul.png Tael]].
** Cool story bro, [[FailedASpotCheck but it's not hard to]] [[EpicFail look at the hyperlinks before clicking them; they both link to a Poe's soul.]]]]

Specifically, the First Day is December 18th, 2012, and the Last Day is December 21st, 2012. Hey, SOMEONE had to say it.
* [[WritersCannotDoMath You mean the 20th?]]

** This Troper believe that no multipes of any person can exist in Terminia. Link coming into Terminia temporarily cancelled out whatever Link was already there (or the two blended, and the original Link became dormant.) The same goes for the SkullKid. Why him too? Because at one point he says something along the lines of "You smell like that kid who taught me that song in the woods..." from OOC when Link taught Saria's Song to that one SkullKid. So, of course, they know each other and are both from Hyrule.