Majora's Mask and The Fused SHadows

Introduction.
While playing Majora's Mask it is unavoidable to notice many of the characters that appear in Hyrule also make an appearance in Termina as well. But these persons are not the same as the ones that appear in Hyrule, even thought they may be physically identical. The reason for this is that Termina is confirmed to be a parallel dimension to Hyrule. The LoZ community has denominated these characters "Terminian Counterparts".

Knowing this, some people have wondered about Majora's Mask and it's counterpart(If it truly has one). It is normal to wonder why such a great evil power wouldn't have a parallel. Many people, including myself, believe this parallel is the fused shadow mask from TP. This is what this topic is about.

Recognition: Before I begin, I would like to point out this was not completely my Idea. I was inclined to make this topic when I was reading some very interesting arguments concerning this idea. I then decided to make a well-organized topic that explained this theory with more depth.


Here are some short descriptions of both masks:

Majora's Mask:MM is an ancient artifact that was used by an ancient tribe, but the mask's wicked power became so great that it was sealed away to prevent a great catastrophe.

Fused Shadow:The Fused Shadows hold the magical power used by the Dark Interlopers who sought entry to the Sacred Realm to claim the Triforce. The enormous power of the Interlopers was sealed away within the Fused Shadow by the Gods. The Fused Shadow was then shattered, it's pieces concealed deep within the temples of Hyrule.


Alright then. With these ideas understood, we can begin the theory.

1-"A Tale of Two Masks"
Let's explore the origins of both masks in order to find similarities.

Majora's Mask

Originally Posted by Happy Mask Salesman

"The mask that was stolen from me... It is called Majora's Mask.
It is an accursed item from legend that is said to have been used by an ancient tribe in its hexing rituals. It is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears that mask."

"According to legend...the troubles caused by Majora's Mask were so great...the ancient ones, fearing such catastrophe, sealed the mask in shadow forever, preventing its misuse. But now, that tribe from the legend has vanished, so no one really knows the true nature of the mask’s power…
…But I feel it."

"I went to great lengths to get that legendary mask. When I finally had it… I could sense the doom of a dark omen brewing. It was that unwelcome feeling that makes your hair stand on end.
And now… that imp has it…"

Fused Shadow

Originally Posted by Lanayru

When all was chaos, the goddesses descended and gave order and life to the
world.
They granted power equally to all who dwelt in the light, and then returned to
the heavens.
The lands where the goddesses descended came to be known as the Sacred Realm.
For ages, the people lived at ease, content in mind and body...
But soon, word of the Sacred Realm spread through Hyrule, and a great battle
ensued...
Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared.
Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred
Realm.
It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene.
We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered.
You know this magic...
It is the dark power you seek...the Fused Shadow.

Similarities:
a)The ancient tribes:You may have noticed that the tribe described in MM sounds very familiar to the Twili. In MM it says that this tribe created the mask that had tremendous dark powers, fearing it's power. In TP the light spirits sealed the dark powers of the Twili in the Fused shadows. This story is a little different, but we have to remember these two tribes are counterparts of each other and are not the same entirely. Both tribes have been mentioned in-game to have immense dark powers and both of their powers are sealed in masks. The resemblance is uncanny.
b)Both tribes "Vanished" : Neither of the tribes are seen in their respective worlds of origin. We know the Twili are in the twilight realm, but what about the tribe in MM? Well, considering the Twilight realm is not a part of Hyrule nor Termina, the tribe in MM could have been sent there as well, or to a world parallel to the Twilight Realm. Which raises the question: Are both tribes the same? or are they parallels of each other?
c)Power:Both stories clearly state that both masks award great power to the user.This will be better explained in the next section.



2-Power
As explained in their respective storylines both masks grant exceptional powers to the ones who use them.

While wearing Majora's mask the skull kid was able to accomplish incredible feats such as: Curse various characters, shatter the great fairies to pieces, call upon the moon, etc...

While wearing the Fused Shadows Midna's powers were almost limitless, as she destroys impenetrable barrier guarding Hyrule castle. It is also responsible for creating the huge explosion in the final boss battle.

Both masks are proven to contain dark and ancient great powers. This similarity says a lot right here.


3-Visual similarity.


These two picture show the similarities.
- The most obvious similarity is the eye design. Both mask's eyes are almost identical to each other. This is the best fact as many cultures believe the eyes are the gateway to the soul.
-Both masks present markings and symbols.

3-Pieces and Remains
In TP we see the four pieces of the fused shadows. One is on midnas head and the other three are in their respective temples. In MM we have the four boss remains who seem to have a conection to Majora because of their appearance in the final battle.

We can easily connect the number 4 here in both masks. Yet another fact they both share.


4-Zant and Majora
This may be a coincidence, but you can notice the fighting style of Zant, a Twili, and Majora's Incarnation are the same.


5-Counterpoints
In the same way there is evidence suggesting them to be counterparts there is evidence suggesting otherwise.

a-Most of the counterparts are identical in appearance. Although MM and FS share similarities they can hardly be considered identical.
b-Some people believe MM is simply the manifestation of evil in Termina, the same way Ganon is the manifestation of evil in Hyrule. It is possible majora is Ganon's counterpart.
c-Majora has life of it's own. The Fused Shadow isn't known to share this attribute.

The masks' parallel nature has never been confirmed by Nintendo and is merely speculation and good judgment, as are all of the theories here.

Well, thanks for reading and fell free to post your opinion on this.

This is a very well made theory. I personally thought that the Majora's Mask and the Fused Shadows might have had some link to each other but not in anyway as deep as this.

It is interesting of the information that you have given, showing that both of the mask share similarities of the number 4, the eye being the gateway to the soul and how they both have similar histories of the power being banished from the world.

I'm not really sure myself if the Twilis are the banished Majora Mask tribe that is parallel to Hyrule. It could as well be, even though there seems to be a lot of evidence supporting the matter.

...I feel...cheated on.

Anyways all of this stuff can only help prove that the Fused shadows and Majora's Mask are from the same tribe. It's easy to explain how the two are similar, but there is very little proof to say they are parallel or of the same family. In my first thread I used the Happy Mask Salesman as proof against this. From the little info MM gives us the HMS (Happy Mask Salesman) wasn't from Termina. He was simply following Link and the Skullkid around. (The skullkid is also the one from OoT) And he was the one who found Majora's Mask again after it was sealed, but he never flippin' bothered to tell us where he found it Hyrule or Termina.

From my understanding there is no proof saying that the HMS found Majora's Mask in Termina. But rather since he's from Hyrule he probably found it there too. and stumbled into Termina the same way Link did.

Before I begin, I must point out that the term "Interlopers" was completely made up by NoA. In the Japanese version, the Twili's ancestors are simply said to have risen up among the people of Hyrule.

Originally Posted by The Sheikah

In TP we see the four pieces of the fused shadows. One is on midnas head and the other three are in their respective temples. In MM we have the four boss remains who seem to have a conection to Majora because of their appearance in the final battle.

We can easily connect the number 4 here in both masks. Yet another fact they both share.

I disagree here. The Fused Shadows are literally pieces of an ancient artifact. The boss masks, however, are clearly just creations of Majora's Mask. The only reason there are four boss masks is because Majora's Mask sealed the Four Giants.

Originally Posted by The Sheikah

Neither of the tribes are seen in their respective worlds of origin. We know the Twili are in the twilight realm, but what about the tribe in MM? Well, considering the Twilight realm is not a part of Hyrule nor Termina, the tribe in MM could have been sent there as well, or to a world parallel to the Twilight Realm. Which raises the question: Are both tribes the same? or are they parallels of each other?

The ancient tribe that made Majora's Mask apparently chose to seal the mask instead of having others intervene. We don't really have any proof that the ancient tribe was sealed. They could have simply died off over time, or Majora's Mask could have become sentient while they were sealing it and killed most of them. They also seem to have vanished before the Four Giants decided to become guardians, so I don't see how they would be sealed.

Originally Posted by The Sheikah

-The most obvious similarity is the eye design. Both mask's eyes are identical to each other. This is the best fact as many cultures believe the eyes are the gateway to the soul.
-Both masks present markings and symbols.

While the eyes are similar (though not exact, and the Fused Shadow only has one), everything else between the two is different, including the markings. In all honesty, the only visual connection at all is the one eye. At best, it hints to a Hyrule/Termina parallel connection with Majora's Mask.

Furthermore, Majora's Mask appears to be made out of wood. In the Japanese version of Twilight Princess, Lanayru states that the Fused Shadows are "crystalized stones of shadow magic".

Originally Posted by The Sheikah

This may be a coincidence, but you can notice the fighting style of Zant, a Twili, and Majora's Incarnation are the same.

I disagree. The fighting styles are not the same. Zant often floats in the air, constantly firing blasts at Link. Zant changes the arena, trying to knock Link in lava, drown him, and Zant even becomes gigantic and tries to squish Link. Finally, he pulls out blades and fights in a close, aggressive manner.

Majora's Incarnation, on the other hand, literally runs around in circles for no reason. It does actual dances at times, and it rarely attacks. While it does shoot blasts from its hands, they aren't really similar to Zant's. As for Majora's Wrath, that tends to run away from Link.

While I agree that the Fused Shadows and Majora's Mask are parallels, I don't agree with some of the points you brought up. Overall, this is a very good assessment.

Are diferent artifacts, i can't called parallels, like i call darunia parallel/counterpart of darmani.

In termina are parallel persons of hyrule people.

With a weapon,artifacts is diferent.

We have the bunny hood , the mask of truth fire/light arrows,lens of truth counterparts...etc, and looks as the same,
between fused shadow and majoras mask are a lot of diferences.

Originally Posted by smallville boy

Are diferent artifacts, i can't called parallels, like i call darunia parallel/counterpart of darmani.

In termina are parallel persons of hyrule people.

With a weapon,artifacts is diferent.

We have the bunny hood , the mask of truth fire/light arrows,lens of truth counterparts...etc, and looks as the same,
between fused shadow and majoras mask are a lot of diferences.

What about the ancient tribes who made them...?

You've got a point though. Most items don't have counterparts in Termina. Infact I don't really think Hyrule and Termina are good counterparts. Zelda, Ganondorf and the Kokiri don't have counterparts...and I don't remember seeing a Kafei in Hyrule or Malon's older sister...or Ingo's twins. Although Termina and Hyrule have a lot of parallel things I don't think we should stick by it so closely.

Originally Posted by Zeldablue777

What about the ancient tribes who made them...?

You've got a point though. Most items don't have counterparts in Termina. Infact I don't really think Hyrule and Termina are good counterparts. Zelda, Ganondorf and the Kokiri don't have counterparts...and I don't remember seeing a Kafei in Hyrule or Malon's older sister...or Ingo's twins. Although Termina and Hyrule have a lot of parallel things I don't think we should stick by it so closely.

Romani and Cremia are both parallels to Malon, just one is using her child model and the other is using her adult model. Same for the Gorman brothers, they are all parallels to Ingo using the same model.

When I saw this, at first I was like "crap another thread about the same tribe made both Majora's Mask and the Fused Shadows." But I was wrong. Good theory.

Originally Posted by Zeldablue777

What about the ancient tribes who made them...?

We never see the ancient tribe from termina, and we never see the interlopers(twilli ancestors). so, we never know if they are counterparts.

The only true thing is that majoras mask and the fused shadows arent counterparts,aren't parallels artifacts/items/weapons.

Besides the fact that it wouldn't matter seeing as they are still two different things.
MM doesn't factor into the series intentionally. It's a gaiden after all.

I'm getting quite confused with this theory, but this is what I think:

In my opinion, I doubt that Majora's Mask and the Fused Shadows have any sort of historical connections between the two. It is amazing at the fact that they have so many similarites and similar historical events that happened.

But I doubt that the Twilis had anything to do with Majora's Mask. It might have well been another tribe that died out hundreds of years ago where they mastered hexes and curses to a point that it might have wiped them all out.

All I can say is that it is a terrific coincidence.

An eye is an eye is an eye.

That doesn't mean much.

What does mean alot is the impossibility of there being a connection due to the fact that it's not even in the same dimension.

Originally Posted by Raven Satori

Besides the fact that it wouldn't matter seeing as they are still two different things.
MM doesn't factor into the series intentionally. It's a gaiden after all.

Why do you keep calling it Gaiden? Is it because MM's beta name is Zelda Gaiden? Gaiden is Japanese for "The return of" It doesn't have to do with what you stated, do it?

good theory overall, and I agree with most of the points, except for the fighting styles part.
Zant and Majora's incarnation have similar fighting styles, but one tries to keep away from you, but the other seems to be all out attacking. I can't remember which one.

termina is a kind of parallel universe so everything wouldn't have a double. but we most likely didn't see all of termina so the other doubles (if there is more) could just be in a place that we haven't been in mm.

Originally Posted by cocoaaero

termina is a kind of parallel universe so everything wouldn't have a double. but we most likely didn't see all of termina so the other doubles (if there is more) could just be in a place that we haven't been in mm.

or haven't been born/have died.

Originally Posted by Adam_148

Zant and Majora's incarnation have similar fighting styles, but one tries to keep away from you, but the other seems to be all out attacking. I can't remember which one.

Majora's Incarnation is constantly running away while Zant is constantly attacking. They really aren't similar at all.

Originally Posted by Zeldablue777

Why do you keep calling it Gaiden? Is it because MM's beta name is Zelda Gaiden? Gaiden is Japanese for "The return of" It doesn't have to do with what you stated, do it?

I call it a gaiden because it is a gaiden.

Gaiden means sidestory. MM is a sidestory to OoT. I'm surprised people don't know that.

Wow, this was really well done. I also thought that Majora was Ganon's counterpart, although we never see her... him... it, whatever. I beleive Majora was an entity though there really isn't any evidence of that.

Oh yes, and I have another thing to add. It's kind of pointless, but there's the fact that both masks are used by an imp creature. Of course this fact has no meaning at all, but it's another interesting coincidence.

Probably the only true coincidence, as I don't see masks having eyes as being a coincidence, more like a necessary requirement.

Originally Posted by Raven Satori

Probably the only true coincidence, as I don't see masks having eyes as being a coincidence, more like a necessary requirement.

I have tried to avoid posting here, but I can't stand you. Masks have eyes. But if you notice, MM eye is identical to the Fused shadow's functional eye. Everyone may have eyes, but these are identical.