#kuqenthe

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2023 - Saturday #4

Better to have loved and lost—

XI. Ikoriane

"There will be one for you one day," she fondly tells her granddaughter, as the child examines the doll made in Ikoriane's likeness. They all represent Empresses past and present, but for one. Gently, longingly, Ikoriane touches the face of the doll next to her own—the one bearing the face of her lost beloved. "I miss you," she whispers almost inaudibly, her pain softened by the years but never gone.

Notes

Yet another canon character featuring, though a far less developed one this time. With this fic, I wanted to showcase two important headcanons relating to Ikoriane's character in fanon. One is her close bond with her granddaughter Nayakarade—@suth-sardian and I see her as the main line adult closest to the latter and a formative influence on her. The other is her love for her sister Kuqenthe (already discussed in some detail in Kuqenthe's feature fic), and how older Ikoriane would have been affected by her loss, as she canonically outlived her sister for over two decades. I feel it would have been something Ikoriane never fully recovered from, but that, as she herself thinks here, she learned to live with in time. Kuqenthe would be gone from her heart and life, but would live on in her memories, in mementos such as the doll, in the stories told to Nayakarade and her sisters.

[suth-sardian]

the one who laughs without restraint: Kuqenthe, “three rainbows”

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

Continuing the impromptu Masks resemblance headcanons series: Nurpayahras looking almost exactly like Kuqenthe

[suth-sardian]

love winsヽ(；▽；)

@ykoriana-imperatrix

[suth-sardian]

no because playing three or monopoly with this gang would be the worst experience ever. literally traumatising

@ykoriana-imperatrix

[suth-sardian]

the one with the perfectly steady hands: Qataqenthe

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Four-Sentence Fics, Day 28

And so the fourth week is done.

XXVIII. Kuqenthe

Ikoriane is weeping, she realises, clinging on to her. I thought I was going to lose you, she whispers, the words she has yet to say so clear. Carefully, Kuqenthe wraps her arm around her sister, pulling her closer. At last, she knows all will be well.

Notes

The canon side of the Masks has returned for today in the form of Kuqenthe. This fic is based on a series of headcanons @suth-sardian and I have regarding the possibility of Kuqenthe and Ikoriane having had a romantic relationship for most of their lives. (Yes, they would be half-sisters, but as we all know, that’s far from uncommon for the Masks.) According to these headcanons, they would have spent years in the denial/oblivious stage, despite their respective groups of friends’ numerous attempts to get them to realise each other’s feelings. After Kuqenthe nearly died giving birth to Yalasa, Ikoriane visited her as soon as she was allowed to... and cue angsty confession. Happily ever after? Well, despite the tragedy still to come in their lives, I’d say so. Kuqenthe and Ikoriane would have remained at each other’s side for decades, supporting one another after the deaths of most of their closest relatives, and later taking on the joint task of ruling during Qusata’s childhood.