Even Before Termina, The Man Was Unsettling, Especially His Ever-present Wooden Smile. Being Only Nine

Even before Termina, the man was unsettling, especially his ever-present wooden smile. Being only nine at the time of their first meeting, Link paid no attention to the salesman’s stranger behaviour. Not to the way his silky voice broke on certain words or how his obsession with masks gleamed in his eyes. Nor to the way spoke to Link as if he were a good friend.

After Termina, the man terrified him. He still does. Nothing could erase the feeling of his tight grip, shaking Link when he lost the mask. Nothing could make him forget the song he played back upon their second meeting in that strange land, the way it tore his wooden face off and threw it on the ground. The way Majora contorted the spirit of a lonely Skullkid- the way the beast could only be killed by a Deity of the moon. The way the salesman had ties to every one of those masks.

Dawn of the first day: 72 hours remain.

Dawn of the second day: 48 hours remain.

Dawn of the third day: 24 hours remain.

“You’ve met a terrible fate.”

Yes, he had, and Link would be lying if he said he didn’t blame the mask salesman just a little bit. Reminiscing on their first encounter, he is sure the stranger knew what was to come. He always seemed to. His masks in Hyrule looked too much like the ones he carried into Termina. Perhaps they were one and the same. Even the Zora and Goron masks.

His similarity to the moon children also scared him. Without that smiling mask, he looked just like them. They still visited him in his dreams- whispered their relentless questions to him. They begged him to answer with their silence. Link couldn’t answer them, he didn’t know. Save one. He knew what he would say to.

“Are you going to become a mask salesman, too?”

No. Although he couldn’t shake the love of masks from his bones, the thought of being taking over his job made Link sick.

*Time walking into a skulltula infested location*

Time: Hello Demons. It's me. Ya Boi.

Just curious, are there any fan fictions out there where Time is now the Happy Mask Salesman?

I am just genuinely so not normal about time omg

A BOTW OC i made. He has a whole ass diary, almost finished lore and story, and many a drawing. His name is Link but prefers the name Light. He was raised in Goron City. I love him with my whole heart.

You know sometimes I think about how Majora’s Mask is a game about helping others first and saving the world second

About how literally the main objective of the game was to help Tatl and the Happy Mask Salesman, and how literally no one tells you that your goal needs to be to stop the moon

About how upon rescuing the third giant, they ask you to help their friend, to which Tatl assumes they mean the fourth giant, when in reality they’re referring to Skull Kid

About how Skull Kid is a perfect representation of a child going through grief and not given the proper resources to cope healthily which can lead to a spiral of destruction, both hurting the ones around them and themself. And how, while the hurt they caused was inexcusable, you also see the effect of Skull Kid’s demonization as everyone thinks it better to simply toss him aside and forget him, but how the Skull Kid truly deserved to be saved just like everyone else in the game

About how, upon rescuing the last giant, they request you to “forgive your friend” to which Tatl goes “Huh? What friend? and then the scene fades out as the player is meant to infer they mean the Skull Kid, and how this isn’t addressed again once the cutscene ends

About how most of the quests where you help others isn’t about magically making their lives better, but rather performing small acts to comfort others and ease their burdens so they can face life with no regrets

About how with the Deku Butler’s son, you won’t realize you discovered his body until it’s referenced later in game, and how by the time you encounter Darmani III, his grave had already been completed, effectively making both of them die before you even had a chance to help them. But you watch Mikau die, and no matter how early in the cycle you go back, there will be nothing you can do and his death will be inevitable, and how the game reassures you that that’s okay. That being there in the aftermath is just as crucial, if not more crucial, than attempting to prevent the tragedy in the first place

About how Cremia does everything in her power to make Romani’s last night as comforting and joyful as possible so her last moments aren’t in fear of the apocalypse, but rather love of her sister, and how one can guess how much Romani unknowingly brings Cremia comfort in her final moments as well

About how Majora’s Mask is a game that focuses on and heavily rewards empathy and compassion, and how simply being selfless is often more important than being some grand hero. About how it’s literally impossible to beat the game without making meaningful, emotional connections. And how as much as you help others, they help you in return; with Deku Butler’s Son, Darmani III, and Mikau being immediate helpers, and the Fierce Deity’s Mask being the ultimate symbol for all the joy you’ve brought to others and how the most daunting threat in the game is an absolute cakewalk when you have so many behind your back. About how the game is about support and being supported, and making the most of the time you’re given

And y’know sometimes I think about Majora’s Mask