#notes. ( “CONQUEST” );

[thebrainrotsreal]

FINALLY! Stopped myself from making even more, honestly, and it'd take 20 years to only write the thought behind all the design choices by proxy, so take some visual notes instead of just word vomit lol. There's so many directions for a darker look to take inspo from!!!

Begging to keep the blue-black-yellow, or add red, because Nolan's red visually demonstrates how fitting blood looks on him, while Mark's og suit visually screams how much it stands out on him, by sporting primary colors. Like red gloves = bloody hands, y'know?

[stormypip7]

can you see me now?

[eyeballplanets]

a tale as old as time!

[silkhy-john]

What you might not know is that nowadays I only ever draft Lukethan because my hands seem to be forgetting the craft of pulling them apart and putting them together

[conquestable]

some episode notes (on conquest) from my first re-watch when i was doing a vibe check to write the fic:

the first time mark and conquest touch, theyre struggling in a double hand hold. conquest has been intimate with him and playing with him from the get go, just touching him and measuring his strength and enjoying the thrill of being challenged in a satisfying way

"the truth is… i want you to resist." sick, evil, twisted, he wants to devour you mark

him and anissa were playing good cop bad cop with him in a way. she tried to reason with mark, conquest is here to beat it out of him. he is not a preacher, he doesnt need to use his words to tell you how much fun a good fight can be, how superior it is to be a viltrumite, he will use his hands, he will let you taste your own blood and let you decide how you feel about it

conquest making a frozen heart out of his own blood to blow at mark is unhinged behaviour, hes loving this so much, he knows mark can keep up with him if given a little push, and he will push as hard as he can. hes hisoka but worse, at least hisoka took a step back and let gon grow up on his own

"are you still sure this is going to go your way?" "absolutely certain." omg hes so perverse mark doesnt even have any idea, i want to slurp him through a straw

mark begging conquest to stop and conquest giving the illusion that he will and then laughing in his face, classic "you think im going to give you a chance to surrender?" ugghhhghghg

"where is your viltrumite heart? until i see it beating in my hand, i wont believe you have one." hes so fucking sexy i cant stand it please god just have mercy please please

"almost there" when invincible punches him harder, sing songy and drawn out, so pleased with his progress, praising mark for starting to let loose, urging him over the edge

the way he lets mark gain a little confidence, lets him get a few hits in, before abruptly weaponizing their power difference and laughing while doing it, ICONIC KING

and then "so far ive been playing with you, breaking in a new toy" he gets to have his real fun once hes worked mark up into a frenzy. this is the equivalent of a little boy pulling on a girls braids so she will chase him

he calls mark easy, and then says it AGAIN hahaha, he knows exactly how to play that boy in his hands, its all just a game to him

i literally have to skip the oliver parts, i care about him too much, hes too pure for conquest to touch him that way, i dissociated watching this the first time HAHA…

conquest using mark to charge people to death the same way nolan did just gives it that extra sick twist, symbolic of the way hes finishing grooming mark where nolan left off, and being a hundred times worse

"kitten" am i hallucinating, is he real, hes prone to using sweet pet names for his prey

he literally gives a speech about how much hes enjoyed grooming and playing with mark, and he calls mark "child" when hes taunting mark for not being threatening enough, can he get any sicker, go directly to jail

mark asking him "is this what you wanted?" when he finally snaps and kills him… girl YES

[notmoreflippingelves]

So in the middle of my rewatch, I suddenly got really distracted by Francisco's black-with-gold-accents "formal" court attire, specifically in regards to the leaf accents on the sleeves. And I could help but think of the *other* black-with-gold-leaf accents look that we see on a Flores family member--Esteban's in "Elena and the Secret of Avalor." Although the designs between the two suits are distinctly different, there is enough of a similarity to make me want to think about them as a set and how the differences actually reflect the differences in the characters/their roles as well.

Although the silhouettes are similar overall, I would go far as to say that Francisco's look creates more of the classic "storybook prince" vibe than his grandson's. His costume is ornate and grand without seeming ostentatious. Think of how Prince Charming is costumed in pretty much any Cinderella adaptation. He must look striking and appropriately heroic--but specifically in a way that enhances our heroine without overshadowing her. And in nearly every adaptation, Prince Charming is more than okay with this, and the same is true of Francisco. He is at some level aware that he is on a show called "Elena of Avalor"--not "Francisco Flores of Avalor" and has no desire to pull the spotlight away from where it rightfully must be. In fact, he is far prouder to be the grandfather of Elena (and of Esteban and Isabel as well) than he would hypothetically be as the protagonist of his own story.

(Esteban meanwhile exudes "main character energy" and I mean that in both the complimentary and derogatory sense. In his mind, he is on a show titled "Chancellor Esteban of Avalor and His 41-Year-Old Guilt Complex That Not Even Tres Leches Cake Can Heal." But like if I had four decades of trauma to process and no one else seemed to notice, I would probably feel uncomfortable when we are not about me as well. And fittingly, his black-and-gold outfit is much more attention-grabbing than Francisco's, but much more on that later).

Two big parts of what leads to the "fairy tale hero" look in Francisco's outfit (and also to his "default" blue version) are: 1) the two medals pinned to his chest and 2) the epaulettes at the shoulder (I believe this is still the correct term even if they lack the tassels we normally associate w/the term, but like fashion historians can feel free to correct me).

Either epaulettes or medals of honor --or both-- are often seen on characters of his type. (Pick any Disney prince and you have a 50% chance of seeing one of these. Heck, King Roland's main outfit in SoA has both as well). A large part of what leads us to associate these particular sartorial touches as "hero-coded" are their association as part of typical military dress uniforms throughout history. (And yes, I recognize the problematic nature of such a trope, but just bear with me and accept it for now).

By including these as part of Francisco's costume (and its original blue equivalent), the animators are implying that he has a long, proud of history of serving his country and that at least some of this service came as a soldier and/or commander on the battlefield. And that he won honor--military and practical alike--in doing so.

Esteban's ensemble, obviously lacks the military touches (the epaulettes and medals) of his grandfather's. Because for all that he too served Avalor for decades, his service was of the bureaucratic rather than the military variety. (Shuriki obviously won't let Esteban wear a sword with his uniform--even he wanted to. Hardly surprising considering the whole "I killed your aunt and uncle. Doesn't that make you want to go apeshit?" thing they've got going.) But I digress.

The arms (esp the shoulders) and trousers of Esteban's ensemble are also much more form-fitted than Francisco's,as befitting a younger, more athletic man who wants to better show off his physique. (The real "secret of Avalor" is how Esteban singlehandedly managed a country for 41 years and somehow did so without skipping "Leg Day"--am I right, folks?")

Compared to Francisco's much plainer jacket, the design of Esteban's coat is also more ornate (the leaf accents are larger and more detailed) and colorful with the red collar, cuffs, and lining. This makes sense given that Esteban is established as much vainer and more flamboyant than his grandfather and that he has as mentioned, a much stronger need to grab attention.

However, the elaborateness of Esteban's jacket makes even more sense we consider it in the context of his role in Shuriki's court. He is a skilled diplomat, yes, and a capable administrator. But like every courtier, his primary function is to be ornamental first and everything else second. His looks, his charm, his attentions are expected to always be in service to the Queen first and foremost--not even in service to his duty or his country but specifically to the Queen herself. Certainly not (!) in service to his own will. (And damn, that must sting extra hard for someone who has only ever wanted to be seen and listened to and valued for himself.)

As such, Esteban is treated as an extension of the Queen--yet another pretty-if-powerful tool in her Almighty hands and fundamentally little different from her pretty crystal wand.

And yet, we see little tiny little hints in Esteban's SoA costume that he remains more than just Shuriki's shiny little Avaloran ornament. Let's go back to the red accents--shall we? Obviously, the show as a whole establishes red as Esteban's "signature color"--an honor he shares with Elena (and Mateo..but like he's less relevant tbh). Moreover, red, along with yellow/gold (and blue but again less relevant here), is one of the official colors of Avalor. Indeed the jaquins on the royal flag are red against a gold backdrop. So we can see an subtle wardrobe-related foreshadowing of where Esteban's loyalties truly lie and of the decision that he will make at the end of the episode.

And finally, as the artists among you will attest, red's complementary opposite on the color wheel is green. As in Shuriki's signature color, and this is reflected in nearly everything about her--from her eyes and eyeshadow to her dress and earrings to her green magical smoke, to her Emerald City-core dressing room to the teal background on her little silhouetted flag redesign. And complementary colors are often paired together so that the unique, striking shade of each is shown off to its full potential--and such is the case here. (Often, the effect is even achieved by using the "opposite" color as a key part of adding "shading" to the object).

A string of red lights wrapped around a Christmas tree may be overshadowed at first by the massive green boughs that it is entangled around. But nevertheless, it is because of the contrasting green that we are fully able to grasp just how bright and red those lights are able to glisten in the light. And so it is with Esteban's red collar shining forth like a beacon through Shuriki's haze of green smoke.

But when it comes down to it, red is still green's perfect, natural opposite. Red is a primary color, a true chromatic original unlike the artificially-created secondary shade of green. Moreover, red is Avalor, red is Esteban. The little dab of invading, interloping Shuriki green that has been added to the red paint only serves to heighten its fiery, crimson hue all the more.

[vacantgodling]

i think all of this research of shit is honestly just making me want to make such an aggressively large worldbuilt wip — the conquest wip or whatever that i keep mentioning in passing

earth is cool but i wanna do weird shit

[teh-nos]

loki/william rufus fic, where bill explains that as the second son he has inherited england while big brother bob only got the duchy of normandy, ha ha ha.

[mx-lamour]

Happily grazing through I, Strahd again and taking things, I imagine, only slightly out of context. As a treat. :3

Alek Gwilym stood with them. His eyes flickered as he looked me over. . . . . . handsome Gunther Cosco. Though the oldest in the group by some ten years, he still cut a dashing figure. . . Could he be the one? Of course he could, I impatiently answered myself. Alek glanced at me as though he'd somehow heard my thoughts.

[lululeighsworld]

holds a mic up to FE14 characters who have interesting dynamics with Gunter and asks them what they think of his relationship with Leigh ❤️💜

blank template can be found here!! GunterLeigh art is by @/pinkprincessia-art, everything else is cipher + 4koma!

[optiwashere]

obsessed with ur works. thank u for feeding the under-appreciated bg3 lesbians fans (ur alfira/lakrissa and dame aylin/isobel fics have me feral). i love asheera and shart too. blessed fanfic writer. the transfem rep is soo good. love u

And I'm obsessed with your lovely words, anon. Truly. It means a lot to me to hear stuff like this, and I'm happy to help in feeding the girls 💜

Delighted to hear you like all these fics! Big hugs all around. I'll be bothering the tags with my scribblings for a while, if my past fandom obsessions are any indication.

[nokingsonlyfooles]

Kropotkin's solution to this was a phalanstery with a community kitchen, but it's still pretty obvious he expected the women would WANT to cook, especially once modern technology made it super easy for them. Revolutionaries have been treating "but who will do the cooking?" as an afterthought and a chore for a long time.

Look, without artificial scarcity of food, materials and time, cooking is an activity that humans (of all genders!) enjoy, especially if you let them do it together. Thus:

🌈For the love of god, stop trying to blame systemic faults on individual choices!🌟

Cooking is fun. Everything that exists around cooking, including needing to get it done so you can do the rest of your jobs, both paid and unpaid, is NOT fun. Will cooking my own food change that? Well, it hasn't so far. Will going to restaurants change it? Nope!

Grab a paring knife and go peel a capitalist if you want a cooking revolution right now. Or, instead of developing increasingly bizarre purity tests for your fellow socialists, put that energy into volunteering at a food bank or homeless shelter.

dialectics

[highly-opinionated-nerd]

I've gotta say, I don't go here, but the music in Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail is really, really good. I have a private lessons student who has brought me nothing but Hoyo-mix for like a year and a half and I can't even complain- she's had to expand both her high range and her low range, learn how to read crazy keys, and do a bunch of speedwork just to be able to keep up with this stuff, it's awesome.

[conquestable]

yall liked all my rewatch notes so heres my initial reactions while watching the fight for the very first time, when conquest took my virginity

literally the way i felt it in my dick when he stopped when mark asked him to, time itself stopped, it was the quiet before the storm, what a good good good moment followed by "you thought i would give you the chance to surrender?" UUGHGHHGHHHHHHHHHH bruh

conquests screen presence is so violent lmfao god he came back after that lil break and i wasnt READY

my big brain moments during this episode finally starting to put all the pieces together were so satisfying after watching three whole very frustrating seasons

WHEN HE TOLD ME HIS NAME WAS CONQUEST I FELT LIKE I GOT HIT BY A TRAIN, THERES NO WAY HE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE SUCH A HORNY HORNY HORNY NAME free me

me literally losing my mind and the ability to form coherent sentences

"miguel could never" was in reference specifically to conquest whispering in marks ear, smacks of miguel pinning down miles and whispering in his ear turned up to 11,000

rip KING you truly changed my life (and marks) neither of us will ever be the same

thanks for coming to my ted talk

ps you can add me on discord if you want, we can have watch parties when season four premiers (will also be watching rick and morty when it airs next month)

[wanderer-chronicles]

Canada and Mexico are both softer* targets, so you'd be better off trying to invade through them.

[ur-favoriterecord]

Getting closer to my favorite food, Silas. Still not on it but I believe in you!