#And the longer he's in his monkey form the more monkey features he gains (aka the nose for that one shot)

[imminent-danger-came]

Hello! I just recently watched LMK and predictably immediately got brainrot and I've been Loving reading your meta and theories! Love your takes and analysis, they all feel very well though out and well supported by canon and i can't help but chomp them up like a little goblin.

I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on something that i've noticed and feel could make for intriguing developments and/or conflict later. Something I've noticed is every time after MK comes down from his monkey form he seems wildly drained (most obvious in s4e8 and tew special), and i was wondering what you make of it? Is it just the effect of him constantly pushing it down, does it seem like it's too much for him to physically handle? some other third thing? More importantly, if it's a Thing that's gong to be a constant symptom of his monkey form how do you think it's going to come into play in future episodes? Especially relating to any of your theories (eamk, mk vs wukong, mei hero mk warrior, etc...)? Just thinking how MK could be convinced or manipulated into a position where he's at risk of hurting himself from power overuse or maybe how in a direct fight against monkey MK the win condition might not be overpowering him but out lasting him.

Aw thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the show!

Anyways *inhales cigarette* I wish I knew what was going on with MK any of the time anon. It seems like he can't help but flicker into Monkey Form at some points, yet prolonged use leaves him weak. During his fight with Azure he starts off feeling very un-MK-like, but halfway through he begins to act more like himself. At the end of 4x13 he's practically thrown out of his Monkey Form by reality fraying apart. And, despite his monkey form being his true identity (maybe), it hurts him. It causes him pain whenever he starts flickering into it. Like, what. What is going on here

So at this point, it seems like MK's Monkey Form is too much for his body to handle...but why. I've drawn a connection between Monkey Demon MK, Samadhi Fire Mei, and Jade Emperor Azure many times before, like the way they're all containers for uncontrollable power, but MK's case is particularly strange.

My first thought would be that it's tied to the way MK views himself and his identity. So maybe it's part him pushing it down, part it being too much for him to physically handle, and part secret third thing.

But yeah, I'm super intrigued to see how all this will be implemented in the future! I really like the idea of outlasting MK to beat him

[emuftw]

Dreamboy Fan theory (Part 1)

TW: mentions of physical abuse, animal abuse and depression

Quick intro! - So with the next episode being the season 1 finale, I thought it would be a good time to share my theory of what is going on at PepperHights. I wanted to share now before the finale comes around and totally proves me wrong but for once I oddly don’t mind. It also goes without saying it is just a fan-theory and it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. With that being said however, I do talk about the themes as tagged so be mindful whilst reading. One key note, going forward when I use “Dane” I will be referring to character Dane in the show. When talking about the real Dane, I will be referring to him as “Producer Dane” when talking about all things outside of the podcast.

Also, this is LONG! When I started this I was hoping for a post similar length to my transcription of the Instagram live. As I keep typing however I realise that to make this flow easier I have split this into two parts. Part 1 will talk about the general theme of “what’s going on” and my guess at how Season 1 will end. Part 2 will carry on with the key points that were mentioned before, but with focus on the characters and how it all links together along with their individual theory’s.

Dreamboy has been an amazing podcast from start to finish. From the music, Character Danes sex drive to the sheer horror which is woven in every episode, it is clear you can see why it was picked up but Night Vale Presents. However, after seven and a half episodes (and a holiday special) there is still a lot of mystery of “what” is going on in the show. As fans we know that there has been a build up to something big happening and with hints of Aliens, magic and the super natural taking place in most episodes. For me though, there seems to be one clear overriding theme that is taking place and that ISNT the idea of there being a giant fish, the fear of giant family corporations going to Jupiter and finding something, the dreams of death or even the sharing of dreams between two strangers.

It’s the horror that comes with mundane life and everyday people itself. For more clarity, I don’t think there is anything supernatural, Syfi or horror going on. Instead, I think this is a tale of people and the hardships of life and how it is perceived via tone which I am hoping to break down in this fan theory! Key themes here are things I have picked up though my own life experiences, what has been said on and off podcast, livestreams, and assumptions from what took place in the original off Broadway production/BTS episode and people who work on the podcast.

At the start of the podcast we are introduced to a morbid way of thinking with Dane’s idea of a supermarket is just one giant morgue of animals and dead plants. This creepy tone is continued throughout the whole story. It’s captivating, it’s engaging and its part of what makes the podcast great but there isn’t something that would count as a big “horror” or “bad guy”. Instead, it’s how Character Dane talks about the supermarket which makes it scary.

This use of Tone and description is used a lot to make us the listener gripped in the moment along with how we imagine and perceive what is being described to us, however, we havn’t yet seem to encounter one key thing which is actually “evidence” of something paranormal. Instead, a lot of what is happening can be put down as as the struggles of life and its affect on ones own personal mental health and personal life experiences that come with getting older as well as how we cope with the events around us. These can be seen in all our “main” characters Dane talks to such as Dane himself, Luke and Critch, all of whom I will talk about more in Part 2. (Note:  I don’t include Characters such as Carol and Dan in this as whilst our leads have spoken to them, unfortunately they don’t seem to have a big impact on the story outside of the episodes they are featured in.)

A good example however, of how Danes descriptions of characters and tone can be seen as “something supernatural is going on” is how we perceive Jennifer and the Non-Girl Scouts. When we first meet Jennifer, Dane describes her as a “child who looks like she has been raised by her grandparents”. She is also later described as a “girl scout” and is frequently referred to as a “child”/ “kid”. In a cultural context, when talking about girl scouts, being from England I associated them with our equivalent, who are ages from 7-10 and when she mentions that she and the other two had a “slumber party” it furthers this idea of a young girl. This tone/description sets us up to believe she is very young, which is even more jarring once she opens her mouth and speaks about complex issues such as feminism and equality in their complexity but sophisticated manor. All these Ideas, and Tone, leads us to think that she is “creepy” and “up to something big” in a supernatural sence. However in episode 7 our perception of how we view Jenifer changes.

In the episode Dane asks “what is she twelve?” to which she corrects him and tell us she is actually 13. This greatly surprised me when she told us this, and yet at the same time, for the first time made her human. At 13, we instantly gain between 3-7 years of life experience, meaning by now she is starting to form her own personality and ideology, which is something we expect from a teenager. A teenager talking about toxic masculinity is less jarring than a child talking about it. Whilst people would perceive her as a “child” still, there is a big difference in maturity level and complexity thinking, which means we no longer have a “creepy child girl scout” on our hands, but rather a “young teenager who is making their own choices though understanding social situations”. In this episode have a very human moment of a teenager asking for help as well as frustration break down when Dane won’t give her the keys as he “knows” they won’t open the door. I get the impression this is not easy to do for her,  and from the live stream we know she doesn’t like to be messed around. For the first time we have a very human moment where we see her struggles and vulnerability, rather than the creepy tone which has been set by Dane and his narrative.

So with the Idea set that we are dealing with real life instead of a big horror taking place, I would like to also address one of the key areas this applies to as well as what I believe is taking place. I would like to talk about Zoe the Zebra and what has actually happened.

For me personally, I believe that Zoe is already dead, but not for the reason you believe. Early on, in the first episode, we are told that Zoe is an old Zebra who is the Zoos start attraction. A bit of Basic googling shows us that in the wildlife, a zebra can realistically live for 10 years whilst in captivity they can live up to 40 years on record. If we assume that Zoe has never seen the wildlife and was bred in captivity, we can assume she was born into the Zoo around 1990 at the EARLIEST, meaning she’s a pretty old Zebra nearing 30 if Dreamboy is set in 2019. With the Zoo being popular but struggling for funds, and based off the other animals such as the monkey who needs to listen to opera to sleep, we can assume that Zoe did not have a suitable enclosure for her. An unsuitable environment along with being the “star” of the Zoo, it means she was also frequently surrounded by load noises, no enrichments/toys and could have been alone despite being a heard animal. These factors are all key contributors to animals developing some form of Stereotypical behaviour during her time at PepperHights.

(Quick definition break: Stereotypic behaviour is defined as a repetitive, invariant behaviour pattern with no obvious goal or function. Stereotypic behaviour is not seen in animals in the wild and is understood to be abnormal and is therefore a negative factor in conservation captive breeding. Common Stereotypical behaviour includes habits of repartition such as noise making, pacing in the same location and self-mutilation as a result of over grooming AKA not nice!).

Based on what I learned in my time working with animals, this behaviour can also lead to aggression when behaviour patterns are interrupted or the animal is dealing with something they are not familiar with (such as someone breaking into their cage late at night). This sadly what is likely lead to the death of Ian. Whilst in the story it has been said that Zoe’s fate is still to be decided via the judge later in the week, I  believe Zoe is actually already dead due to Zoo’s protocol’s that occur in these situations. It is very common when there is an active risk of the safety of the members of public in regards to wild animals, whether they have activity hurt a member of public or not, is too shoot the animal dead on the scene.

I have seen this happen when animals have killed members of staff in Zoo’s, to just lynx’s escaping from enclosures and going into the country side with no interactions with the public at all. If we are to assume that the person who reported Ian’s death also knew the Zoo’s procedures, we can assume that Zoe, who in in a scare fit killed Ian on accident, was shot on the scene to prevent anyone else being harmed. It is also worth noting that currently we do not know if we have seen Zoe since the incident, only that we have heard her cries which could have easily been recorded and played over the speaker system. It is also easy to believe as since Critch has requested no one to be present at her death, Zoe is already dead but Critch wishes to hide that so that people still visits the Zoo to see Zoe one last time before she goes as so many people love’s her. As well as this, it would also explain why there is such a big push for the lost ocean, as their main attraction is already dead.

Going back to the original discussion of theme, This idea of an animal who is kept in a poor enclosure, driven crazy by the noise and consistent lack of respect to then only be added on with her death on the scene is obvious a lot more realistic than the “murderous Zebra” or even the “drag Queen Zebra” which is frequently used to describe the situation. Its sadness of the situation, from an animal never being kept in its natural environment which lead to a young persons death, to the fact that there is no formal closure for this animals death, which leads to the finale being less of a supernatural horror to more of a real life situation which we as society become numb to as we exist day to day.

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For now, this is all I have for part 1. The idea of nothing supernatural going on is something which seems to be something which is only slightly touched on with the “plot” of Dreamboy. In Part 2, the idea of personal hardships, challenges and how these can link to a more telling story is what I am hoping to cover as well as my own personal theories.

Will hopefully get part 2 up within the next couple of days but till then stay groovy!

[elsbethvanparidon-blog]

As commonplace as holding an umbrella in one of Shanghai’s typhoon-esque rain storms, pollution-preventing face masks are a frequent sight in every large metropolis in China. Time to take a moment to stop and think about masks throughout Chinese history and culture, it is. The question beckons… How exactly have these facial accessories evolved to become an expression of fashion and art? Temper Magazine’s Emily Aspinall goes on the prowl!

Beijing opera’s monkey mayhem. Photo credits: China Culture Tour

A phenomenon long seen in East Asian countries, the wearing of surgical masks originated in 1918 Japan. A vast and fatal pandemic of influenza spread through the country, killing between 20 and 40 million people worldwide, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. With that, the love affair with face masks sparked; covering the mouth became a preventive and essential measure carried out by fearful citizens around Asia. A few years later, in 1950s Japan, post-World War II industrialization saw a huge surge in air pollution, turning masks from a semi-permanent flu preventer into a fixed facial accessory worn on a daily basis — without question. Most notably, this one moment in time is when China adopted the practice.

“Masks: A covering for all or part of the face, worn as a disguise, or to amuse or frighten others.” Temper duly thanks The Oxford Dictionary

British fashion designer Nina Griffee — of the FaceSlap label — showcases couture vogmasks at 2014 Hong Kong Fashion Week. Copyright@Nina Griffee for FaceSlap

Masks, A China Daily Tradition

Masks, arguably somewhat of a fascination of the Chinese people, have gradually become engraved in Chinese daily life. They make up part of the rich cultural history of the country. When I first thought of masks and China, my mind skipped to the Beijing opera masks which symbolize, for me at least, the quintessence of China. Beijing opera first took off in 1790, where the complex and intricate masks featured in the shows gained fascination worldwide.

Opera masks, the style most widely recognised in the West, are in fact painted onto the actors’ faces. The tradition of face-painting was prevalent among warrior tribes and, as with war paint, the spirit of each character’s mask in the opera is colour coded to symbolise their personality. For example, a black mask would mean the character is neutral and indicate impartiality and integrity.

On that note, we must not forget China’s more “festive” masks, used during national celebrations, chiefly the dragon masks — the iconic Chinese symbol of prosperity. Flaunted at Chinese New Year, the rich red colour symbolizes excitement for a new year and new beginnings.

Gone are the days of the plain white surgical masks; China now “happily” welcomes Thee to the dawn of haute couture smog filtering!

Nina Griffee & FaceSlap vogmask design at 2014 Hong Kong Fashion Week. Copyright@Nina Griffee for FaceSlap

Nina Griffee & FaceSlap vogmask design at 2014 Hong Kong Fashion Week. Copyright@Nina Griffee for FaceSlap

Nina Griffee & FaceSlap vogmask design at 2014 Hong Kong Fashion Week. Copyright@Nina Griffee for FaceSlap

Masks, A Tale Of Contempo China

Moving forward into 21st century society, masks are more of a routine in large Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Pollution masks are no longer for health purposes, they have become an expression of feelings or mood – just like the ornate opera masks. So, as previously explained, each colour used in the Beijing opera masks correlates to a mood. Similarly, now the same could be said for the contemporary Chinese audience, pollution masks are reaching into fashion subculture, with Lolita girls boasting pink masks, and heavy metal fans wearing black studded ones.

Just as the Beijing opera masks can hide the identity of the actors, so do the pollution masks. For the young Chinese generation, the mask is like a social firewall, hiding the ‘self’, signalling a barrier to communication, just as sunglasses or headphones would. Certainly, riding the metro through Shanghai at rush hour the pollution masks worn indoors suggest more “don’t talk to me” than “I’m really worried about pollution on this train”.

In more recent years, masks have made movements in the fashion world. With the market for high end masks growing rapidly, Beijing based designer Wang Zhijun became an Instagram phenomenon creating smog-filtering masks from the entrails of trainers. His designs became a platform to highlight and discuss the issue of air pollution. Yet, with one mask selling for as much as USD 700, we must ask if this is the younger Chinese generation longing and lusting to flaunt foreign designer brands in a more obvious place than the foot.

Models for the QIAODAN Yin Peng sportswear collection in 2014 paraded down the catwalk wearing high-end smog masks, the latest in environmental fashion statements. Topical art at its best.

QIAODAN Yin Peng Sportswear at 2014 Mercedes-Benz Beijing Fashion Week. Copyright@QIAODAN Yin Peng

QIAODAN Yin Peng Sportswear at 2014 Mercedes-Benz Beijing Fashion Week. Copyright@QIAODAN Yin Peng

QIAODAN Yin Peng Sportswear at 2014 Mercedes-Benz Beijing Fashion Week. Copyright@QIAODAN Yin Peng

The Topical Meets The Environmental 

China’s smog also inspired masks at Beijing fashion week, as they slowly seep into high culture. Models for the QIAODAN Yin Peng sportswear collection in 2014 paraded down the catwalk wearing high-end smog masks, aka the latest in environmental fashion statements. The collection was released just two weeks after the runners in the Beijing marathon had to don masks to cope with the unbearable smog, making worldwide headlines. Topical fashion at its best.

The futuristic masks acted as a less than subtle reminder to Beijing dwellers of increasing pollution levels. Besides, the collection made me question… Is it actually possible to make smog look sexy? Not in my book. Nonetheless, the futuristic masks, robotic in their colour and shape are a nonetheless troubling reminder of the environmental hazard lingering around China.

Extending through fashion, and now art as well, one thing is for sure, there is no lack of environmental problems in the East to inspire the Chinese art scene.

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A Matter Of Health… And Taoism

Wu Di, 41, left his job in order to become an environmentally engaged artist.��He pictures a young girl outside the famous Temple of Heaven, wearing 445 white masks. This is arguably his most prevailing shot. As the masks form a giant and disturbing trunk, his enigmatic model stands amid a city shrouded in smog. The number of masks is calculated to be how many she will need between now and 2030 – the year Zhongnanhai (a term referring to both Beijing’s political core as well as the cigarette brand, how ironic) has set for air quality to meet international standards.

Di’s art acts as a platform for the discussion of the use of pollution masks. Here, fashion and art become a political issue, with the country’s artists freely expressing their anger towards the daily threat of pollution, finding inspiration in the environment and the ‘everydayness’ of it all.

Lest we forget traditional Chinese medicine, in which breathing is an essential element to overall good health. “Qi”, a central concept in cosmology, translates to “air” and Chinese doctors say that when our body does not contain sufficient Qi, disease will develop. With Taoism still relevant amongst today’s Chinese society, perhaps these traditional ways of thinking explain why the use of Chinese face masks is so widespread.

Shenzhen-based MeHow in November 2017 launched its new range of “upscale silicone mouth masks”; smog is trending and trendy. Copyright@MeHow

China seems to be winning its war on pollution now as the government crackdown on the use of fossil fuel has blue skies spreading across Beijing once again. Nevertheless, embodied in Chinese culture, the masks show no sign of going anywhere, be it for health or fashionable reasons.

Who knows, as pollution, sustainability and climate change are boiling hot topics (get it, get it?) amongst today’s global society, it might not be long before we see those lung-protecting thingamajigs swaying across runways stretching all the way from Europe to the U.S. 

                              Written by Emily Aspinall for Temper Magazine

About Aspinall: A twenty-something living and working in Shanghai, who recently graduated from Sheffield University — with a degree in English Literature. Add to the mix a pinch of fashionable love and behold… A tempestuously quirky Temper Magazine contributor is born!

Edited by Elsbeth van Paridon

Images: Courtesy of China Culture Tour

Copyright@Temper Magazine 2018. All rights reserved

Post-World War II industrialization saw a huge surge in Japan's air pollution, turning masks from a semi-permanent flu preventer into a fixed facial accessory worn daily. Most notably, this is when China adopted the practice. As commonplace as holding an umbrella in one of Shanghai’s typhoon-esque rain storms, pollution-preventing face masks are a frequent sight in every large metropolis in China.