History WMG / TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening

* A theory older than the Internet. This is no dream. Koholint is the world of Hyrule's temporary abode for all mortals, animals and monsters whose [[SpiritWorld spirits have passed on and have gathered together in a tropical paradise]]. The Wind Fish [[{{Shinigami}} is the God of Death]]. He is the slumbering guardian of this island. He serves as Hyrule's [[DontFearTheReaper benevolent "grim reaper"]], and when the [[CelestialBureaucracy number of resident spirits have reached a certain level]], he awakens, and everyone disappears into him. [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence They depart with him to an unknown place, known by only the old gods awaiting them themselves]]. The recycle has repeated, and will be repeated, indefinitely. He will not allow [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath any soul to leave this realm and escape back to the world of the living]]. All the deceased here have all [[DeathAmnesia forgotten their previous existences]]. Link however, still retains his memories of his former life. He isn't ready to pass on, he's too young, [[UnfinishedBusiness and Hyrule still needs him]]. He refuses to await the inevitable passing [[FluffyCloudHeaven into the Heavens]]. Link intends to be preemptive [[HijackingCthulhu and awaken the Death God before his preordained time]]. The monsters, inspired by this, become increasingly violent, and don't want to pass on either. They instead seek to ensure the Wind Fish never wakes up to escort them into the afterlife.

* A theory older than the Internet. This is no dream. Koholint is the world of Hyrule's temporary abode for all mortals, animals and monsters whose [[SpiritWorld spirits have passed on and have gathered together in a tropical paradise]]. The Wind Fish [[{{Shinigami}} is the God of Death]]. He is the slumbering guardian of this island. He serves as Hyrule's [[DontFearTheReaper benevolent "grim reaper"]], and when the [[CelestialBureaucracy number of resident spirits have reached a certain level, he awakens, and everyone disappears into him, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence to depart with him to an unknown place, known by only the old gods themselves]]. The recycle has repeated, and will be repeated, indefinitely. He will not allow [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath any soul to leave this realm and escape back to the world of the living]]. All the deceased here have all [[DeathAmnesia forgotten their previous existences]]. Link however, still retains his memories of his former life. He isn't ready to pass on, he's too young, [[UnfinishedBusiness and Hyrule still needs him]]. He refuses to await the inevitable passing [[FluffyCloudHeaven into the Heavens]]. Link intends to be preemptive [[HijackingCthulhu and awaken the Death God before his preordained time]]. The monsters, inspired by this, become increasingly violent, and don't want to pass on either. They instead seek to ensure the Wind Fish never wakes up to escort them into the afterlife.

* A theory older than the Internet. This is no dream. Koholint is the world of Hyrule's temporary abode for all mortals and monsters whose [[SpiritWorld spirits have passed on and have gathered together in a tropical paradise]]. The Wind Fish [[Shinigami is the God of Death]]. He is the slumbering guardian of this island. He will not allow [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath any soul to leave this realm and escape back to the world of the living]]. All the deceased here have all [[DeathAmnesia forgotten their previous existences]]. Link however, still retains his memories of his former life. He isn't ready to pass on, he's too young, [[UnfinishedBusiness and Hyrule still needs him]].

[[WMG: Link [[DeadToBeginWith died in the prologue's storm]]. Koholint is the [[Afterlife Antechamber Land of Dead]].]]

* Levias is a giant flying whale that serves as the guardian deity of Skyloft. In the child timeline, he just happens to be surfing one day when the Nightmares possess him, and he pulls Link in to help him. Or, perhaps, by that point in the child timeline, Skyloft's been abandoned or destroyed, so he's just a wandering spirit that still retains power, but has no official position. And in the adult timeline, Hyrule is flooded up to around the same level as Skyloft, so he's repurposed from a guardian of the sky to a guardian of the ocean.

* Whale with lots o power? Sounds like the Ocean King. He could be sleepy from all that fighting against Bellum and needed a nap. This would also mean that cross-timeline traveling being possible since this presumed to be a sequel to [=ALttP=] and that is stated to be Child Timeline.

** Alternatively because it's a different timeline Bellum is an Alternate Universe Nightmare, or the same entity with a different name. Basically it's Links Awakening from the "Adult Timeline" instead of the "Link Dying" timeline. This would also mean that there might be another in the "Child Timeline" if the "Wind Fish, Ocean King" has a counterpart there.

* Fans that would die to see a Mario/Zelda crossover. After being woke up, the Wind Fish tried to accomplish this turning it UpToEleven and SuperSmashBros came to be.

* There were no real people on the island that disappeared at the end. Everybody was just part of the dream, so that when you wake up no one's really "gone." The Wind Fish just stopped dreaming about them. Marin, who dreamed of being free and who once tried to go wake the Wind Fish, was a part of the Wind Fish's mind that was trying to wake himself up from the dream. The perfect ending was more symbolic than anything.

* The entire game is a dream or hallucination by Link as he's floating out at sea, slowly dying of thirst and exposure. Fresh off his last adventure (since Link's Awakening was designed as a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, so it stars the same Link) it's the only thing in his mind to keep him busy as he drifts. This also explains the similarities to the last game even when they don't make sense- for example, there's a castle on Koholint that no one lives in, and what are the odds both places have a sacred flying rooster? At the end, with the Wind Fish awake, Link dies at sea, alone, but happy.

* How long has been the Wind Fish sleeping? Why can only wake up to music? Simply, he is an EldritchAbomination, although not a malicious one. He lies sleeping in the ocean and was invaded by Nightmare. Link, who was travelling the ocean, encounters a storm (in reality, the portal to the Wind Fish dream) because he is summoned by the deity to help him. Koholint and its inhabitants are simply AFormYouAreComfortableWith for Link that got too real. Marin is "real" in the sense that the Wind Fish made her real, probably knowing the fondness of Link for her, and as a thanks gift for destroying the Nightmare.

* Is generally accepted that LinksAwakening goes after ALinkToThePast, game that is accepted to be in the Child Timeline. So, the Ocean King is simply another version of the Wind Fish; both summon Link to their respective dream realms (Koholint Island/World of The Ocean King) to fight a malicious invasion (The Nightmare/Bellum).

* Levias is a giant flying whale that serves as the guardian deity of Skyloft. In the child timeline, he just happens to be surfing one day when the Nightmares possess him, and he pulls Link in to help him. Or, perhaps, by that point in the child timeline, Skyloft's been abandoned or destroyed, so he's just a wandering spirit that still retains power, but has no official position. And in the adult timeline, Hyrule is flooded up to around the same level as Skyloft, so he's repurposed from a guardian of the sky to a guardian of the ocean.

[[WMG: Link isn't the only one trapped in the Wind Fish's dream.]]
* But the thing is, he's the only one who kept his true form. For example, Marin wasn't reborn a seagull, she was ''always'' a seagull, and Tarin must have been a raccoon in the real world. As for why Link ''keeps'' his true form, assuming this is the same Link from ALinkToThePast, perhaps he still has the Moon Pearl?

* Levias is a giant flying whale that serves as the guardian deity of Skyloft. In the child timeline, he just happens to be surfing one day when the Nightmares possess him, and he pulls Link in to help him. Or, perhaps, by that point in the child timeline, Skyloft's been abandoned or destroyed, so he's just a wandering spirit that still retains power, but has no official position. And in the adult timeline, Hyrule is flooded up to around the same level as Skyloft, so he's repurposed from a guardian of the sky to a guardian of the ocean.

* How long has been the Wind Fish sleeping? Why can only wake to music? Simple, he is an EldritchAbomination, although not a malicious one. He lies sleeping in the ocean and was invaded by Nightmare. Link, who is travelling the ocean, encounters a storm (in reality, the portal to the Wind Fish dream) because he is summoned by the deity to help him. Koholint and its inhabitants are simply AFormYouAreComfortableWith for Link that got too real. Marin is "real" in the sense that the Wind Fish made her real, probably knowing the fondness of Link for her, and as a thanks gift for destroying the Nightmare.

* It'd explain not only why Koholint is a mishmash of elements from previous Zelda games, but also the presence of Goombas, Piranha Plants, malevolent Kirbys, a reformed Wart and a photograph of Princess Peach. Marin and Tarin's uncanny resemblance to Malon and Talon from ''OcarinaOfTime'' may be the result of the Wind Fish having been around during the events of the previous game, albeit not physically present - perhaps the Wind Fish has RealityWarper powers while he's dreaming?

* How long has been the Wind Fish sleeping? Why can only wake to music? Simple, he is an EldritchAbomination, although not a malicious one. He lies sleeping in the ocean and was invaded by Nightmare. Link, who is travelling the ocean, encounters a storm (in reality, the portal to the Wind Fish dream) because he is summoned by the deity to help him. Koholint and its inhabitants are simply AFormYouAreComfortableWith for Link that get too real.
Marin is "real" in the sense that the Wind Fish made her real, probably knowing the fondness of Link for her, and as a thanks gift for destroying the Nightmare.

* How long has been the Wind Fish sleeping? Why can only wake to music? Simple, he is an EldritchAbomination, although not a malicious one. He lies sleeping in the ocean and created Koholint Island, and because of his RealityWarper powers, Link gets trapped in his dream. Or, alternatively, Link is summoned to enter the dream because of the invasion of the Nightmares.

* The entire game is a dream or hallucination by Link as he's floating out at sea, slowly dying of thirst and exposure. Fresh off his last adventure (since Link's Awakening was designed as a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, so it stars the same Link) it's the only thing in his mind to keep him busy as he drifts. This also explains the similarities to the last game even when they don't make sense- for example, there's a castle on Koholint that no one lives in, and what are the odds both places have a sacred flying rooster? At the end, with the Wind Fish awake, Link dies at sea, alone, but happy.

* Seagulls rarely rarely venture far out in the sea, and Marin turns/gets reincarnated into one in the ''Good'' ending.

[[WMG: Tarin's transformation is a reference to the leaf and tanuki suit powerups in SuperMarioBros3.]]

* There were no real people on the island that disappeared at the end. Everybody was just part of the dream, so that when you wake up no one's really "gone." The Wind Fish just stopped dreaming about them. Marin, who dreamed of being free and who once tried to go wake the Wind Fish, was a part of the Wind Fish's mind that was trying to wake himself up from the dream. The perfect ending was more symbolic than anything.

* Hence the ridiculously high prices and killing you if you steal anything: he's doing everything he can to stop you from waking the Wind Fish.

* This game has several other references to the Mario games, and Tarin has some similarities to Mario, so why not? (So, would that mean that the "it sure was fun" line of dialog was self-promotion by Nintendo?)

* Whale with lots o power? Sounds like the Ocean King. He could be sleepy from all that fighting against Bellum and needed a nap. This would also mean that cross-timeline traveling being possible since this presumed to be a squeal to [=ALttP=] and that is stated to be Child Timeline.

[[WMG: Tarin's transformation is a reference to to the leaf and tanuki suit powerups in SuperMarioBros3.]]

* It explains the similarity Marin and Tarin have to Malon and Talon. Plus how some characters reappear in the Oracle games.

* Marin was simply a seagull that was caught in the same dream as Link. The Nightmares are the only actual inhabitants of Koholint, hence why they're the only ones aware of the world's true nature. The NPCs are all merely people and animals that have been trapped in the same dream.

* Whale with lots o power? Sounds like the Ocean King. He could be sleepy from all that fighting against Bellum and needed a nap. This would also mean that cross-timeline traveling being possible since this presumed to be a squeal to ALttP and that is stated to be Child Timeline.

* Is there anyone else who could dream up a world with both Zelda characters and Mario enemies?

* Whale with lots o power? Sounds like the Ocean King. He could be sleepy from all that fighting against Bellum and needed a nap. This would also mean that cross-timeline traveling being possible since this presumed to be a squeal to ALttP and that is stated to be Child Timeline.