Fierce Deity - Page 2

NorthApple · 11-08-2009, 04:08 PM

Personally, I don't really buy too much into the "demonic possessive god" thing, at least not in the same literal sense as other people.

Majora's Mask is a game based around Faith vs Doubt; everything in it is designed to be a test of faith, of courage. Majora is the ultimate symbol of Doubt, acting often between the extremes of a lost child, and someone who has lost their sanity. It takes the Skull Kid as a host, when he is consumed by doubt- his friends the giants have left him, and the skull children are children who became lost in the forest. It symbolises a lack of faith, of doubt in ones self, like when one losses their way in life.

Therefore, it makes sense for the Fierce Deity to be the ultimate symbol of Faith, in order to keep the balance. If you have enough faith to gain all of the masks, and then complete all 4 moon mini-dungeons; where you have to give those hard-earned masks away without knowing what will happen or if you'll need them, then the game rewards you with the Fierce Deity Mask.
Note all the dialogue that says Fierce Deity is evil is said by Majora, or the rest of the moon children- from their point of view to have so much faith is to be evil, it is the complete opposite of the chaos and doubt they worked to enforce- Faith is the enemy of Doubt.

However, the "narrator" textbox just says "Could its dark power be as bad as Majora?" What this means is it is detrimental to have too much faith in things- you can become blinded by your faith. Hence Fierce Deity's pupil-less eyes (a 'blinded' metaphor also used in Lanayru's lesson in TP) So in a way, having too much faith in things, to much faith everything will always turn out alright, is just as bad as doubting everything, thinking nothing will ever turn out alright.

"Oni Link" spawned from an ironic play of words- the person who is "pretending to be the oni" in a game is the Japanese way of saying the person who is "it" in a game (say of tag). At the end, Majora asks you to play a game (of "good guys and bad guys"), where you're the bad guy- so in japanese you're the oni, hence "Oni Link".

But hey, it's fun to theorise about possible backstories for him, but personally I think in the end, Fierce Deity and Majora are just ment metaphors, trying to teach us that neither true faith or true doubt are the answers- you must be somewhere between the extremes. The Zelda Team didn't necessarily need to give them backstories backstories in order to convey the message~

(It was kind of hard to explain, but I hope you guys understand it xD)

Luminary · 11-14-2009, 01:41 PM

I completely agree that they (and all Zelda characters) have no backstory beyond what they need to tell the story, but for fun I'll say this:

The game claims that Majora's Mask was used in dark rituals by a tribe that lived in what would become Ikana Canyon.
Nothing shows they were Twili or Shiekah but they may have been a mirrored version of them, who knows?
It began to feed on negative emotions and took on a life of it's own. Then some time just before the death of the tribe, or the tribe becoming part of the Ikanians at else, it was banished.

So thats the only canon on the mask.

My thoughts: It was used for rituals, rituals as in a religious act, and religions need a god to work. Right?

So if Majora's Mask was used by priests of the Fierce Deity, Majora would only be a by-product of the Fierce Deity religion.
Now the Fierce Deity mask itself might just have been made by Majora within the three days or it could be ancient, but I think it could be worse than Majora or at least represent something worse.

Oh, one more thing, The Happy Mask Salesman must be the last of the tribe. I think we can agree on that.

zants follower · 11-18-2009, 11:23 PM

That would explain all dah lil happy mask children living in the moon dancing around the tree. And fierce dirty wouldn't have had his own religion. Diety means MINOR god.

Luminary · 11-19-2009, 12:26 PM

Since when did deity mean minor god? Did you read that in a Dungeons & Dragons book?
Anyway, all gods or deities must be part of a religion, it stands to reason, otherwise they wouldn't be gods at all.

zants follower · 11-19-2009, 11:23 PM

Nope. I don't even like dungeons and dragons. The online version maybe though. I have a pretty big vocabulary, especially for my age ( but my spelling suck :p) and I'm almost certain that minor god is atleast a secondary meaning.

11-08-2009, 04:08 PM	#16
NorthApple Elharc the Healer Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The ceiling. Posts: 133	Personally, I don't really buy too much into the "demonic possessive god" thing, at least not in the same literal sense as other people. Majora's Mask is a game based around Faith vs Doubt; everything in it is designed to be a test of faith, of courage. Majora is the ultimate symbol of Doubt, acting often between the extremes of a lost child, and someone who has lost their sanity. It takes the Skull Kid as a host, when he is consumed by doubt- his friends the giants have left him, and the skull children are children who became lost in the forest. It symbolises a lack of faith, of doubt in ones self, like when one losses their way in life. Therefore, it makes sense for the Fierce Deity to be the ultimate symbol of Faith, in order to keep the balance. If you have enough faith to gain all of the masks, and then complete all 4 moon mini-dungeons; where you have to give those hard-earned masks away without knowing what will happen or if you'll need them, then the game rewards you with the Fierce Deity Mask. Note all the dialogue that says Fierce Deity is evil is said by Majora, or the rest of the moon children- from their point of view to have so much faith is to be evil, it is the complete opposite of the chaos and doubt they worked to enforce- Faith is the enemy of Doubt. However, the "narrator" textbox just says "Could its dark power be as bad as Majora?" What this means is it is detrimental to have too much faith in things- you can become blinded by your faith. Hence Fierce Deity's pupil-less eyes (a 'blinded' metaphor also used in Lanayru's lesson in TP) So in a way, having too much faith in things, to much faith everything will always turn out alright, is just as bad as doubting everything, thinking nothing will ever turn out alright. "Oni Link" spawned from an ironic play of words- the person who is "pretending to be the oni" in a game is the Japanese way of saying the person who is "it" in a game (say of tag). At the end, Majora asks you to play a game (of "good guys and bad guys"), where you're the bad guy- so in japanese you're the oni, hence "Oni Link". But hey, it's fun to theorise about possible backstories for him, but personally I think in the end, Fierce Deity and Majora are just ment metaphors, trying to teach us that neither true faith or true doubt are the answers- you must be somewhere between the extremes. The Zelda Team didn't necessarily need to give them backstories backstories in order to convey the message~ (It was kind of hard to explain, but I hope you guys understand it xD) __________________ Completed: LttP, OoT, MM, OoS, MC, WW, TP, PH \| In Process of Completing: LoZ, AoL, FSA, OoT MQ, OoA \| Hesitant to play: LA \| Can't Play: FS Currently Working On: OoA (1st time: locating dungeon 6) "Anyone can draw. Anyone can attempt to recreate what they see in front of them - or a scene they imagine - by making marks on a piece of paper. If you hear someone say "I can't draw", slap them for me. As long as they have a moving part to which a pencil can be taped, they can draw." ~spoonbard

11-18-2009, 11:23 PM	#18
zants follower underling of the dark god Join Date: Nov 2009 Age: 13 Posts: 18	That would explain all dah lil happy mask children living in the moon dancing around the tree. And fierce dirty wouldn't have had his own religion. Diety means MINOR god. Last edited by basement24; 11-19-2009 at 09:28 AM.. Reason: Removed language

11-14-2009, 01:41 PM	#17
Luminary Happy to be Here Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: England Posts: 22	I completely agree that they (and all Zelda characters) have no backstory beyond what they need to tell the story, but for fun I'll say this: The game claims that Majora's Mask was used in dark rituals by a tribe that lived in what would become Ikana Canyon. Nothing shows they were Twili or Shiekah but they may have been a mirrored version of them, who knows? It began to feed on negative emotions and took on a life of it's own. Then some time just before the death of the tribe, or the tribe becoming part of the Ikanians at else, it was banished. So thats the only canon on the mask. My thoughts: It was used for rituals, rituals as in a religious act, and religions need a god to work. Right? So if Majora's Mask was used by priests of the Fierce Deity, Majora would only be a by-product of the Fierce Deity religion. Now the Fierce Deity mask itself might just have been made by Majora within the three days or it could be ancient, but I think it could be worse than Majora or at least represent something worse. Oh, one more thing, The Happy Mask Salesman must be the last of the tribe. I think we can agree on that.

11-19-2009, 12:26 PM	#19
Luminary Happy to be Here Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: England Posts: 22	Since when did deity mean minor god? Did you read that in a Dungeons & Dragons book? Anyway, all gods or deities must be part of a religion, it stands to reason, otherwise they wouldn't be gods at all.

11-19-2009, 11:23 PM	#20
zants follower underling of the dark god Join Date: Nov 2009 Age: 13 Posts: 18	Nope. I don't even like dungeons and dragons. The online version maybe though. I have a pretty big vocabulary, especially for my age ( but my spelling suck :p) and I'm almost certain that minor god is atleast a secondary meaning.