I’m somewhat surprised at myself for not going in depth about the masks sooner. I’ve discussed them, of course, but I believe I’ve only briefly hinted at their sole significance. As always, everything I’m about to say is nothing new to me personally, it’s been festering in my mind for years and it’s finally time to pick at this scab.
I believe that masks are quite substantial to Me and Kei’s tribe and culture, whether as an accessory or ornament. The evidence for that is lacking, other than it’s one of only two factors in Me and Kei’s character descriptions, purpose, and collective syzygy. The masks are acknowledgeable, at all. They’re questioned unlike the horns, so we know for certain that the masks are indeed strange. What we also know is that the mask itself is the burden, a cursed item that whence worn, the curse is set upon the wearer. That’s evident.
Now let’s theorise. Important question : did Lord Cusu-Cusu make the masks or were they already made and it put the curse onto them? An insane thought [all of this is] but it does align with what we know. It’s a rhetorical question, though, so let’s move on from it.
But of course Cindy and Sahara thought the masks were strange, all masks are strange !! Just look at Texas’. And If the idea of the ‘cursed mask’ is so set in stone then it can be believed that Me and Kei don’t usually wear un-cursed masks, so their friends coming upon their mask wearing selves is immediately suspicious. That’s why Cindy and Sahara referred to a Cusu-Cusu tribe elder because it’s out of their realm of understanding [more on that later].
Thanks to that elder, we know that Lord Cusu-Cusu was angry with Kei and Me, something happened and it only involved them two specifically. There’s an implication that they had done something; It was an action that caused their god to seek punishment against them, rather then the choice to curse them being completely random. The curse was premeditated and decided. If a mask could be used as a way to protect themselves from being cursed by their god, that would mean that they knew that their god would’ve had reasons to curse them. What they had done, if they even did anything, is entirely speculative.
I don’t fully believe that the masks are wholly intended to be a shield from evil since Lord Cusu-Cusu isn’t shown to be entirely evil - still keeping in mind that its only aspect that we know of is a god that curses. Lord Cusu-Cusu is a respected sovereign, we know that from the team’s descriptions and, most obviously, that they named their dance team/ friend group after it, despite half of the members being damned by it. It’s likely to be a very tumultuous relationship. They might be totally unaware as to how bad of a god Lord Cusu-Cusu is. If the two saw the masks as a shield, then it’s possible that it was a conscious trick set up by Lord Cusu-Cusu. It knew they would put a mask on to protect themselves, so instead it set up trap-masks. If so, Lord Cusu-Cusu would not be scared of those so called “shields”, it wouldn’t be scared of anything that its followers created unless it could be considered sacrilegious. Evidence shows that Me and Kei made it angry, not the masks. If the curse lies within the mask, I do not think the masks go against Lord Cusu-Cusu in any way. Unlikely that masks inherently protect from Lord Cusu-Cusu’s evil.
Sahara’s epilogue is the backbone for that, it’s the only way we know that someone could put on a mask not thinking about it causing harm. Also, considering Me’s epilogue, once the curse is lifted, the mask comes off; the mask coming off is what separates the wearer from the curse. The mask being a cursed object but without the wearers knowledge is just as confirmed as the mask being a cursed object at all. Their epilogues are the only tangible proof of the masks being a vessel for the curse. Every other mention only states that the masks are unusual, not straight up deadly, and will come off when un-cursed.
Anything could be a vessel for the curse, not just masks.
—Even if you consider the mention of Me’s wild dancing not affecting the masks position at all, it is unrelated to the curse, as its stability is unusual because it doesn’t have any literal way to hold onto her head. Which is shown with Dragon’s and Micro’s having lacing at the back- Texas’ seemingly being made of a much more flexible material with a secure hold, example: latex [I don’t know about Utan, though]. Jumbo Max’s mask’s attachments are obscured and Shogun and Tomoe are definitely just wearing helmets [again, don’t know what’s going on with Hamamatsu].
Sahara’s whole character is that she’s lighthearted, she’s definitely innocent and young so she’s likely to decide to wear any random mask just because she thinks it looks cool. Obtusely disregarding that she just saved her friends and definitely should be weary about wearing weird masks that showed up randomly. We may want to assume that Kei and Me are more responsible and wore the mask with clear intent, but assuming that might be unreasonable since we know no aspect of their personalities [but we don’t know anything anyway so whatever]. Sahara’s reaction to the mask she found is partially reasonable if you consider that she is unrelated to Kei and Me biologically and geographically, which I always have. Therefore she - and Cindy - wouldn’t be as well versed in their tribe’s customs, which seems to be already true, based on the whole team’s descriptions and the aforementioned need of help from a Cusu-Cusu tribe elder. Sahara may not know the circumstances as to how they got cursed in the first place, the reaction that she and Cindy had is proof of that: confusion and heavy denial, the latter being more obvious and more important when being used as evidence of their lack of knowledge.
In her epilogue, Sahara’s mask may be revenge from saving the two. Lord Cusu-Cusu knew of Sahara’s obliviousness and played into it by planting a mask in her whereabouts. That would be quite easy since, still following her epilogue, she now lives in the wilderness with Me and Kei.
Separately, It’s possible that Me and Kei had a plan. Once again, maybe they indeed were running away from Lord Cusu-Cusu and - however they found them - wore the masks, understanding them as a way to protect themselves. But that’s assuming they would even have a sense of urgency to keep themselves safe as it’s very likely that they had no reason to fear Lord Cusu-Cusu at all. The masks could have been gifts, willingly worn as a way of respecting their god. We’ve already established how important Lord Cusu-Cusu is to them, they could very well have no suspicions at all.
Granted, what if they did suspect that Lord Cusu-Cusu felt a resentment towards them ? I don’t want to omit that because what IF ?? What if they realised that their God was evil and could curse them whenever it decided to so they made a plan to escape and what if that is what provoked Lord Cusu-Cusu ? But did they even willingly put the masks on themselves ? Because, yes, what if they weren’t running away ?? That they had no idea they were going to face Lord Cusu-Cusu’s wrath ? Meaning, it was a completely unexpected force. Did they wake up one morning to find a mask stuck to them ? And Is it that once the mask touched the skin of their faces, they instantly became affixed to it ? Is that the only way the curse can develop ? Was the curse’s development imperceptible, gradual, or quick ? Can they even see ?? Does everything around them only show up as images in their imagination ? If so, what if they have aphantasia, so they just, can’t ?? There’s no way they can eat, so how do they gain sustenance ? Is that a symptom, a conscious decision by Lord Cusu-Cusu that the masks make them starve ????!!??!!! That’s terrifying. I’ve sat with that thought for years, I can’t be the only one who is vexed by it. This is the really curious thing that we can’t properly discuss without theorising a timeline but we’re working with singular sentences here, and nothing is exactly clear. Let’s just lighten the mood a bit and talk about the design of the masks…
I’ve always loved their designs, that should honestly go without saying. Barring that they may not feel as idiosyncratic in the grand scheme of masks in this game, as they are as obvious as Discos Estrus’ [when it’s comes to how the designers implemented the individual teams aesthetics]. Far East Commander’s are particularly unique; Tomoe’s feels totally unexpected with its exaggerated cartoon alien/ insect shape rather than an angular, traditional Samurai helmet [see: Shogun]. Me and Kei’s masks are quite tame when it comes to African masks, at least from what I can tell. They don’t exaggerate any facial features, they aren’t invoking any animal, not even their respective ones, surprisingly, just a vague idea of eyes. Howbeit Me’s green stripes do look like whiskers. The designs are, in my opinion, a key part of the dream that is their individual personality traits. Kei’s is almost entirely symmetrical, adorned with an angular border and solid coloured pointed “eyes” which can give her an inscrutable look when compared to Me. Me’s mask’s “eyes” are almost entirely asymmetrical and are reminiscent of targets. The eye similarity is more apparent with the rings implying a sclera, iris and pupil. She can look aghast, nettled or rakish. It’s quite acerbic. That’s not to say that Kei’s is total humdrum, her formality in comparison makes them stand out perfectly from each other, she comes off as more thoughtful rather than direct. She isn’t staring at you with wild eyes, she isn’t even staring at all. Kei is framed, she is obfuscated and yet in her most candid moments, she could still be found stylish. Even their horns continue that idea, Me’s are stark white, stiff and the point is harsh, Kei’s are more tanned and curve in multiple directions. It’s a Kiki and Bouba thing. Character design 101.
The last thing that I directly want to reply to is that the specific sentence: “Hell, we literally know NOTHING about Kei and Me other than the fact that they are possessed by Lord Cusu Cusu, and Cindy and Sahara are trying to help them break free of it.” felt SO surreal to read. I do not need to keep repeating that I’m pretty much their only fan but hearing my defence of them, words that have been said for years, not come from— well… myself, felt so strange.
