u/RedDeathSwayOverAll

Screw it, I'm just gonna analyse random characters I like now, and even if they aren't SCD material, I will make them be.

Majora is a major antagonist from the very niche indie gem series called 'The Legend of Zelda', with this particular installment aptly named 'Majora's Mask'. I am praying at least a few people are familiar with it, imo best atmosphere in a video game OAT.

The basic premise of the game is that you're trapped in a three day time cycle revolving around the Moon slowly approaching Termina (the land name) and eventually crashing into it and wiping out all life there. Majora takes the form of (guess what) a mask, that possesses a young Skull Kid and allows him to wreak havoc onto Termina.

I'll probably make a full game analysis one day, but this just Majora's overall plan involving the Moon and Skull Kid for now.

Host Seeking Strategy:

For the entire time that The Happy Mask Salesman travels around Hyrule and Termina, Majora was actually aware of its surroundings, and merely concealed it's evil (proof for this is that Inside the Moon, the Moon Children took on the appearance of the mask salesman, suggesting that Majora is imprinted upon by it's bearers; furthermore, only after Majora's Wrath is defeated does the salesman note that the evil has disappeared from the mask).

At the boundary between Hyrule and Termina, while the mask salesman was travelling, he was ambushed by the Skull Kid. Majora manipulated Skull Kid to put on the mask, meaning that Majora read Skull Kid's insecurities, troubled past and corruptible nature before he even put on the mask, determining him to be an ideal candidate for a puppet. As such, Majora had essentially been using The Mask Salesman as a vector to search for vulnerable hosts while concealing its own malice.

[Concealment, cold reading, EP, indirect manipulation, individual manipulation, strategy effectiveness, strategy efficiency, strategy shielding, prediction, tactics]

Giant Sealing:

Majora understood Skull Kid's troubled relationship with the giants, knowing that while he was vengeful towards them, the giants could also serve to break Skull Kid out of Majora's control if they appealed to his emotions and their friendship. In order to avoid this, Majora sealed each giant in their respective area of Termina. This also served a double purpose: the giants are the only beings that could hold up the Moon and prevent Majora's Moonfall plan to wipe out Termina, so by sealing them away, it is essentially impossible to free all giants within the 3 days Time Limit since Link arrives, so Majora's Moonfall plan would theoretically be impossible to stop if Link didn't have time travel.

[EU, planning aim, planning invincibility, planning coverage, planning intricacy, strategy shielding, strategy resilience, indirect manipulation, tactics, anticipation, trap evasion, situational awareness]

Moonfall Plan:

Majora is a sadistic, childish creature which delights in the suffering of others. Majora's aim by gradually causing the Moon, warped into a disturbing human face, to crash into Clock Town is to induce hysteria throughout Termina. This effectively creates mass panic and internal conflict, particularly within Clock Town, and brings out the individual fears of its residents (i.e revealing Swordmaster's cowardly nature and fear of death, causing him to hide away during the final hours).

As discussed before, this plan is essentially impossible to stop, and by creating such a panic and state of disarray in Clock Town, evacuation orders are heavily delayed and the incoming Moon is even denied by the Builders until it is too late to escape. Majora also primarily lets Skull Kid control its actions during the first two days, acting as a prankster as normal to conceal the true power of the mask.

Majora also has the ability to possess the Moon, which proves effective even against the strength of the Four Giants, despite Link theoretically having no way to free all of the giants in time, meaning Majora specifically chose this plan to ensure his victory even against magical interference. When necessary, Majora can abandon its host when they begin to resist the mask and operate on its own agenda.

[Planning aim, planning coverage, planning invincibility, planning contingencies, strategy alignment, strategic adaptation, EU, EE, mass manipulation, indirect manipulation, emotional manipulation, social engineering, social understanding, fabrication, prediction, acting skills, concealment, lateral thinking]

Understanding of Skull Kid:

As seen from Inside the Moon, the personality of the host imprints heavily on Majora itself, meaning that Majora adapts its own behaviour to form a more cohesive pair with its host. While disconnected from Skull Kid, Majora is able to represent different aspects of his psyche through the Moon Children, asking questions to Link about the true meaning of friendship, morality, what a being is beyond their mask.

Majora plays on Skull Kid's immature mind and feelings of alienation from others, also addressing Link in the matter, perceiving his precociousness through his resolve and the fact that he too, has never been able to live out a comfortable childhood.

[EU, EE, EP, mental flexibility, psychology, metacognition, direct manipulation, emotional manipulation, individual manipulation, analysis]

It is unclear how much of Majora's influence comes from supernatural sources, or from its own merits, so take this with a grain of salt. As such, I wouldn't consider this even in the top 5 of Majora schemes, with his manipulation and foresight of the dynamics in each area, with his Great Bay Temple concealment strategy being the best imo, and involving minimal supernatural manipulation of the people involved.

Hopefully this sub has a few Zelda fans who will appreciate this, Majora actually has really solid potential if analysed properly.