OK ! no one who wears a mask is straight.
on another note…. on………..CONRAD’S mask…
note that celica and anthiese are the same person if u didn’t know bc she uses the name celica as an alias but later adopts it as more of a true name to herself, but conrad continues to call her anthiese (she doesn’t mind tho)
It definitely began as a way to conceal his identity, because everyone presumed him dead after the fire that burned his original home to the ground. He was told to conceal his identity by his caretaker, Halcyon, as to preserve the idea that he was dead, thus keeping him out of harm’s way. As a prince, he would have been assumed heir to the throne, given that all of his other siblings had also passed away (except celica, his half-sister, who later takes position as heir to the Zofian throne after she reveals her own identity as Princess Anthiese). If Conrad were to reveal himself, it would have led to a multitude of problems, especially given the fact that he was also half Rigelian (the enemy of Zofia at the time). Essentially, he was instructed to wear his mask. He needed to remain in hiding despite his determination to follow his sister and keep her safe. She didn’t recognize him either (after all, it had been like 10+ years since they last saw each other). While he remained this way, he adopted his harsh personality that he had been formulating over the years, and it gave him a confidence to project it without the repercussions of others’ judgement on his person. In better words, it was a way to protect himself from himself. A way to project his negative emotions whilst hiding his true self from any who may cause him harm. It was also the first time he stepped foot outside of his tiny villa since his former home was stolen from him. That was a huge step, and it was scary for him, so he hid himself (personality & appearance) from everyone because he did not trust them.
idk it reminds me of a beak… he has little shutter shades in those black triangles and he can probably barely see out of that shit, but he doesn’t care. I think he was thinking of beginning his venture in keeping Celica safe for a long time, and thus trained himself to be able to perform according even with his limited vision. those things are harder to see out of than the tint of sunglasses over shutter shades themselves. they only give a Very limited amount of sight so he has to use a lot of his other senses when battling (feeling and hearing especially). he’s also quite good at detecting the presence of living things without having to see them there.
i think it smells kinda bad too... like he tries to wash it bc it gets all sweaty and gross but the most he can do is scrub it with his cape in a river or some shit like it’s not great. it’s probably not fun under there, but at least it doesn’t affect his breathing. i still like that it looks like a weird beak. valid. also it stays on with a thin strap that goes underneath his hair, so no one can really see it. his hair is layered and definitely covers it up (and he does it on purpose too. the strap is tacky... unfitting for a cool masked knight personality) also he really likes the mask aesthetic with his cape and feeling like a really cool hero who can assist others with a bold and confident personality bc that’s not him at all naturally but, while pretending is exhausting, he feels that other people will be more receptive to that. im not even going on about the appearance anymore i keep rambling
