#nurpayahras of the masks

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2023 - Wednesday #2 - Question #2

Nope, still lazy.

The second question for today: Which of the following characters from the Masks is the odd one out and why? A: Qusata B: Nuhqanya C: Tyatxungo D: Nurpayahras

You will also know the answer next Wednesday.

[suth-sardian]

the one with the mind-clearing voice: Nurpayahras

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Monday #1

Today, we welcome back the "unpopular opinions" project. As I said back in June, said opinions might or might not actually be unpopular; it is difficult to know for sure in a fandom this small. But the name remains just as catchy, and perhaps that is all that matters.

The obligatory disclaimer: if you feel there is the chance you might be even the slightest bit offended by any opinion expressed in this post, you are of course entirely free to avoid it entirely. To quote my June self, perhaps some of my other SDC month projects (or other SDC-related posts) will be more to your liking.

(Cut for content and spoilers for roughly the entire series, just to be on the safe side.)

And now, for my maybe-controversial statement for this fine day: The main impact of the difference between SDC years and ours when it comes to characters is making Aurum's feats for his age seem even less plausible.

Let me emphasise one thing: by no means do I think that said difference is an unnecessary worldbuilding aspect or anything of the sort. No, actually I do very much find it an interesting part of the world as a whole, though for the most part, I think that it does not impact the story and in-universe events all that much... and on that note, what I wanted to address here is how it intersects with out-of-universe perception of the characters (well, one in particular).

This said, the above may be a bold statement still, but think about it. Regarding the really young characters (Ykorenthe, Leaf, Poppy when we're first introduced to her, etc.), the difference the conversion makes is so small as to be (in my humble opinion) practically negligible. Then we have the characters who start the series in their teens, 20s and even early 30s, for whom, yes, there is a bit more of a difference, but is your view of, say, Carnelian as a character changed that much — or at all — when you consider him to be nearly 16 rather than nearly 15 at the start of the series? Or Molochite and Osidian being closer to 15 than to 14? Even the likes of the older Keal, Jaspar, Vennel and Grane are only gaining a couple of years at most via the conversion. (And sure, there can appear to be a big difference between, for instance, 30 and 32 when it is your age that is personally involved, but when considering fictional characters from an outside their world perspective? Not so much.) We do start seeing more of a gap when it comes to the characters over 40, but even then, I'd say it's not the sort of thing that would tend to change one's view of any of them all that much? An age gap is less significant the older a person (real or fictional) is, after all, and I have to say, the actions and motivations of these characters, and the general way I view them, remain the exact same when I take into account that Ykoriana's 41 years at the start of the series would be 44 in our world, or that 42-year-old Sardian would be the equivalent of 45, or that Akaisha's 51 years would correspond to 54 of ours, and so on. And then we get to the characters who are already considered elderly in-universe. To me, Legions and the rest of the centuries-old Wise remain just the same when accounting for their age in real-world years: unbelievably ancient. Others might disagree, but seriously, is someone being closer to 748 years old, already unimaginably old (not to mention, well, impossible in reality) by human standards, that different than them being closer to 700? Within the limit of normal human lifespans, Nurpayahras and Nayakarade's ages at the beginning of the series (81 and 76 respectively), for instance, do become more impressive in real-world years, but then again, we never see them do anything that would be too unbelievably physically strenous for someone the equivalent of 87 or 81 years old? (The staves could help with any mobility issues, for one, and travelling from the Masks forbidden houses to the Chamber of the Three Lands for the election could be completely atypical in terms of their usual day-to-day physical activity, for all we know).

But now we get to the Ruling Lord Aurum, the clear outlier, who — don't be fooled by his birth year on the family tree — has been confirmed by the author as indeed being supposed to be 80 (SDC) years old at the start of the series. And yes, I know that people who are in remarkable physical shape in their 80s and 90s do exist in real life, but in those cases, said people usually maintained constant levels of significant physical activity throughout (most of) their lives. The fact that Aurum endures a cross-continental journey (and the return back not too long after) at that age — and bear in mind that no matter how much he might try to keep physically fit and active, this is for all intents and purposes a pampered nobleman that most likely had never left Osrakum before — is nothing short of mind-boggling. This is a man who keeps up (or at the very least manages to keep up appearances in that regard) with people four to six decades his juniors. And all this, to be quite frank, does already stretch my suspension of disbelief quite a bit — now add to it the fact that at the start of the series, Aurum is supposed to be the equivalent of a real-world 85-year-old. Let me tell you, my fellow fans, either this (fictional) man was blessed with exceptional good fortune and genetics... or at bare minimum, something does not quite add up here. (But fun as that would be, let us leave conspiracy theories for another time, shall we?)

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Friday #5

"I know you not"

IX. Xibia

My son, she wants to say, I missed you so, but the words collapse upon themselves inside her throat, choking her. The truth — the bitter truth — is that she cannot bring herself to fully mean them, not even after an absence of seven years. Not when the youth standing before her is a stranger bearing the perfect likeness of the man who became the Gods, — They who took her from her child, her children — save for his widow's peak, the only trait fully her own. For an instant, she pictures a younger boy, softer of face and features, paler-eyed, running happily in her direction, laughing, and sighs wistfully.

Notes

Xibia is our eighth fanon character featuring this month (if you're displeased with how this month's canon-to-fanon ratio turned out, just remember the randomiser is by nature unpredictable — the situation could be reversed next June, for all we know). She was a non-main line, blood-rank two daughter of Qusata (and thus a half-sister to Nuhuron, Nurpayahras, Nayakarade and Tiye) and his purest-blooded child outside the main line. Due to this fact, she was seen as a highly desirable potential bride by many lords of the Great, but no matches ever materialised while her father was still God Emperor, due to a variety of reasons (bad blood between the Masks and the House(s) in question, better-regarded lords ultimately giving up because the match would be too costly and settling for other brides, etc.). She did, however, have two children within the Masks, two sons both sired by Nuhuron — Olenus, born in the waning years of Qusata's reign (-37/60 Qusata, more precisely), and Laren, born in the later months of the first year of Nuhuron's (-32). And yes, despite the two boys being full brothers, the timing of their conceptions made all the difference when it came to rank; Olenus was at the purest end of blood-rank two, true, but Laren, while still not exactly comparable to his main line kin, had a blood-rank of three. Unfortunately, Xibia's expected happy years with her sons (before they grew old enough to join the world of men) were cut short by Nuhuron's decision to finally arrange a match for her, with his lifelong friend and mentor, Kirinya Prase (yes, this would be the one mentioned in a few epigraphs in the books — @suth-sardian and I decided he would be from the same generation as Qusata, and around a decade his senior). By this point, Xibia, already 30 years old, had become convinced a match with a lord of the Great would never come to pass, and endured being separated from her sons quite bitterly, her only comfort being the fact that Prase was an old man (nearly 77 at the time of the marriage) and unlikely to live much longer. However, the separation would prove permanent in the case of her younger son, when an outbreak of disease struck the Isle less than a year after Xibia's departure, and Laren, then only two and a half, became one of its victims. His death proved to be a traumatic event neither Xibia nor Olenus ever truly recovered from — the former hating Nuhuron, Prase and herself for having been away from her child at the time of his death, the latter (who had been a favoured non-main line son of Nuhuron until Kumatuya's birth) thrown even further into isolation by the loss of his only full sibling. Much like Jord in the matter of Nahanya's naming, but in the context of far more serious a situation, neither could truly turn against the main perceived culprit for their misfortune, so all negative feelings were channelled towards others, including each other — and inwards. Ultimately, Xibia would return to the Masks once Prase finally died in -23/10 Nuhuron. By that point, however, the damage was done; much like Ykoriana in canon (even if their respective circumstances were still quite distinct), Xibia found in then-teenage Olenus a stranger she could no longer bring herself to love. They did both make attempts to repair their relationship during the following years, but it remained extremely strained for the most part, the two forever driven apart by their common trauma. Like so many others in the Masks, theirs was a story with a tragic ending, but I believe that what came next is a story better left for another day, as it is of limited relevance within the context of this ficlet — and remember, Olenus himself has not featured in one of these yet; we need only wait and hope the randomiser chooses him sooner rather than later.

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Wednesday #3

Today, on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, we return for the third instalment in this project. The true question — can I keep the posts in this series from getting ridiculously long? (I think you can probably guess the answer to that.)

(Cut for not only length but spoilers for The Masters through Dragon Fire.)

Not His Sister’s Keeper

(Yes, the title is a biblical reference.)

And I imagine that means you can already imagine what is going to be our topic of discussion for today... Presenting: what if Flama had not been murdered by Molochite and had been around for the election?

Now, let me just make one important point clear: I am convinced Molochite would still have attempted to murder Flama, but any attempt(s) would have been unsuccessful (I feel it's not that wildly implausible a premise; we do see several unsuccessful assassination attempts in the actual books), that being our main point of divergence between canon and this scenario. After all, we do know for a fact his situation was quite desperate:

(...) she had underestimated her other son. Molochite had known that his sister's votes would neutralize those his mother cast for him. His brother was more popular than he—not only in the House of the Masks but among the Great. He had murdered his sister.

So, if everything else remains the same (which is what I'm going with for this scenario), it would just feel out of character if Molochite didn't still at least try to get rid of Flama.

That said, what else does change? According to the chronology for Kumatuya's reign from the old website, Flama died on the 25th day of the 9th month of 14 Kumatuya. The events of The Masters start on the 23rd day of the 9th month of 15 Kumatuya — so we are looking at almost exactly an entire year's worth of potential changes brought about by this divergence. And while Flama herself might be a posthumous character we know little about, in my relatively humble opinion, we do still learn enough about her (mainly, from Ykoriana's POV chapter) to make some good enough guesses (which wouldn't be the case if we were trying to speculate about, say, Aurum's late son). We know Ykoriana was Flama's main adult influence ("Flama she had kept as close as the Law permitted"), so, much as in the hypothetical case of female Carnelian and Urquentha, Flama's personality was likely shaping up to be much like her mother's. We know she was strong-willed and stubborn, and absolutely determined to vote for her favoured brother Osidian (who she was also quite close to according to both Ykoriana and Osidian himself), regardless of how her mother felt about it:

‘Flama promised to vote for me.’

Carnelian caressed Osidian's jaw. 'I'm sorry.'

'We loved one another since we were children. When I am the Gods...'

Headstrong, the girl had fought her over who would succeed Kumatuya. Given enough time, Ykoriana would have been able to gentle poison Flama's love for Nepheron.

In my view, the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt(s) (though I'm leaning more towards there only being the one; Ykoriana was taken by surprise by the murder in canon, I am certain she would act to prevent any additional attempts in this scenario, where the failed attempt would alert her to the danger, and she likely wouldn’t be the only one doing so) would have had a significant impact in Flama's relationship dynamics with her main line relatives. (Well, those we have enough information to speculate on, at least; we have nothing to go on to consider Nurpayahras, Nayakarade and/or Tiye's relationships with anyone within their family that's alive during canon, let alone Flama. How Kumatuya might have felt about her is also a complete mystery (like many other things involving him): my guess is that they most likely rarely if ever interacted (which would also mirror Ykoriana seeing Molochite and Osidian as strangers), as I imagine might be the norm for most Chosen men regarding their daughters.)

No, let's instead focus on the relationships we have actual information to go on. How Flama felt about Molochite is not exactly known, but considering his reputation within (and outside) the Masks and the fact that she so strongly seemed to prefer Osidian, I feel it is a fair assumption that at best, she likely disliked/mistrusted him (if not outright hated him). The fact that he tried to murder her would naturally only intensify these feelings (and possibly make her somewhat paranoid about the possibility of further attempts).

Regarding Osidian, I think this incident would only draw her closer to him — not only would he probably have been left as the only family member she had complete trust in (more on that in a moment), ensuring he won the election would have become even more of a necessity. (And this is Ykoriana's daughter and Osidian's sister we are talking about — I do think she would feel vindictive joy at personally witnessing her would-be murderer's grisly demise at Osidian's Apotheosis.)

Her relationship with Ykoriana would suffer from the attempted murder, I believe. Even if she wasn't at all involved, Molochite would still be her favoured candidate, who she intended to rule through — no matter how close mother and daughter might have been, I can't see this incident not leading to feelings of pain, betrayal and anger from Flama's part, and thus creating a rift between the two. (Now, I don't think it is impossible their relationship could have been repaired to at least some degree eventually (we do know acts of betrayal, intended or not, are not uncommon among the Masks, and who's to say how, for instance, Nayakarade's relationship with Ykoriana evolved before and after Kumatuya's election), but I do not see that happening in the short-term, which is what we are looking at here.) And I think Osidian would take advantage of that (and it is possible Kumatuya would also actively advise him to do so? This would be consistent with how terrible the state of his own relationship with Ykoriana must have been... but again, it would still be dependent on his dynamic and frequency of interactions with Osidian, and involve many factors we have far too little information to go on), despite his love for his sister being genuine — after all, we do know he had apparently always feared Ykoriana, despite the two having had very few interactions throughout his life:

Osidian frowned. 'I've seen little of her: mostly, I fear her.'

So I believe that he would see getting Flama away from their mother's influence as being in the best interest of both of them. For Ykoriana herself, however, this would be a terrible blow on both a personal and a political level: the only one of her children she had ever genuinely loved now deeply mistrusted her, and any chances of that plan of gently poisoning Flama's love for Osidian having a chance (even if remote) of ever working would be gone. No, I feel that despite the situation now looking quite dire for her/Molochite's faction, she instead would cling to the same pragmatism she did in the aftermath of Flama's death in canon, and double down on trying to ensure Molochite's victory, because ruling through him would quite possibly be the only thing she now felt she had left. Osidian would be, if anything, even more determined to have her neutralised and left completely isolated in the depths of the forbidden house, and now Ykoriana wouldn’t even have the slight hope that Flama might try to persuade him to be more lenient towards her (as she might have had they still been on good terms).

(And regarding the possibility of Ykoriana being seen as the culprit in the case of Flama's attempted murder as she was with her actual murder in canon — I feel that Flama herself, unlike Osidian, would know their mother well enough/have a different enough type of relationship with her to be certain that it had been Molochite behind the attempt and not her... Though that said, who can know for sure? While for this scenario, I am going with the idea that Flama did know who was responsible, and told Osidian (and possibly others in the Masks close to her, if she had those bonds) because it feels like the most plausible option to me (and the rift between mother and daughter would already arise regardless), it is also possible that the doubt was such that it led to this even deeper feeling of betrayal, and that Flama actually believed (or came to believe) her own beloved mother had tried to have her killed. A far more tragic sub-scenario, I think, and one where their relationship would likely be left beyond any hope of repair.)

About the election proper, let us consider the state of Osidian's faction as well. The situation by the time in which the faction representatives would have left Osrakum in canon would certainly be much better, with Osidian's victory and not Molochite's now seeming assured... yet I think that said representatives leaving with the intention of persuading Sardian to return could still very much be a definite possibility. Yes, Flama's survival and the added 8000 votes would make an immense difference, so Sardian's support would be far less of a necessity in this scenario, but I do think that (as mentioned in the last what-if post) was never Kumatuya's main goal when first deciding to discuss it with Aurum — he mostly wanted to see Sardian one last time (though that said, even given the very favourable situation of his faction, it's not like what-if!Osidian wouldn't benefit from having further support). How might Flama have felt about her father trying to put this plan into motion? Well, she’s unlikely to have had a positive opinion of Sardian given her (until recently) close bond to Ykoriana, but then again, considering their now-strained relationship, it’s possible she would be more conflicted, and maybe reconsider previously-held views at least to some degree. Though perhaps we should also take into account the fact that despite her young age, she would still be a very pure-blooded (and adult by their standards) lady of the Masks, and so might feel some resentment towards others becoming important players within Osidian’s faction because she wanted that to be her role, and this her time to finally come into the spotlight, away from the shadow of her mother and her status.

And the faction's far more comfortable position regarding the balance of votes makes it even more likely that we would see someone other than Osidian himself in the place of main faction manager/faction leader by proxy. (Flama, despite most likely not being old enough to have to be legally confined to the forbidden house at this point — she would only be 10 (almost 11 in our years) — would, I think, be very much her mother's daughter in this regard and consider it beneath her to handle any negotiations in person. And, of course, she could definitely afford not to show herself.) On that note, I feel like, once again, Aurum would see Sardian's support as a plus; his reputation and abilities would all be beneficial for the faction as a whole, and his lack of ambition/opportunism would make him an ideal partner in faction management in Aurum's eyes, as that way he could reap any rewards solely by himself.

When it comes to the representatives' identities, I feel like those might be changed in this scenario in the cases of Aurum and Vennel (we know little if anything about the Ruling Lord Imago and his motivations, so no reason to believe he wouldn't send Jaspar to the Hold as in canon). As the position of Osidian's faction is significantly more secure, Aurum would, like in the first what-if scenario we considered this month (if for different reasons) be less desperate, so it’s not impossible he might want to remain in Osrakum to further ingratiate himself with Osidian — and thus ensure maximum gain from his eventual victory — and send some lord he trusted well enough in his stead. Ykoriana and Molochite, meanwhile, would be in the reverse position of greater desperation, so I feel the former might not underestimate the representatives' mission as much as she did in canon, and so would want to take greater care when it came to settling on an adequate representative, instead of the canonical half-hearted selection of the first candidate that seemed good enough (my apologies to Vennel, but as I have said in the past, he did not exactly prove himself competent).

I do think the group's journey and its outcome would mostly go as it did in canon, especially if Aurum still decides to go himself — as we know Jaspar did not have the necessary knowledge (or was even old enough) to figure out Carnelian's parentage, and odds would be good that Aurum's hypothetical replacement and Vennel's would not either, there would be no one capable of putting the pieces together and forcing Sardian's hand in the sub-scenario where Aurum stayed at Osrakum. But again, it is possible Sardian still decided to return* just to see Kumatuya one last time, as we considered for last week's scenario... And who knows, it could really go either way with Aurum; the heir-related desperation would still be at play, after all, and he could have thought the risk of the journey worth it just to ensure he got Sardian on his side, and so there would be no other, less-desirable faction management partner potentially taking advantage of any existing power vacuum. (And yes, one could have done so in his absence, but since as far as we know that did not happen in canon, I'm willing to believe it didn’t here either.)

So, assuming the representatives' journey still happened and Sardian and Carnelian did return with them, then I think it almost certain Ykoriana's assassination attempts did as well — why, she has even more motivation for them in this timeline, as the last thing she needs is Osidian gaining even more support, and getting rid of both Aurum and Sardian could be her last chance at dealing his faction a significant blow.

(*Yes, I am aware I've now had three distinct what-if scenarios where Sardian's return still occurs even given the changes at play. What can I say? Maybe it just happens to be something akin to one of the fixed points in time from Doctor Who in the SDC universe.)

There is much more I could speculate on within this particular what-if scenario — particularly involving what happens after/if the entire group makes it to Osrakum unscathed (well, four-fifths of them, anyway) as in canon, and how Flama being alive might or might not affect Carnelian and Osidian meeting and the development of their relationship. As this post is already too long, however, I think I'm going to do the same as I did for the "A Daughter Can Oft More Fates Decide" scenario and potentially have a second part for it during a future SDC month. I will see you all next week for the fourth and last what-if scenario for this month.

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

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

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Four-Sentence Fics, Day 12

On the twelfth day of ChristmasSDC Month—

XII. Urnya

As her boys grow older, Cypris, and Iolus most of all, come to bear an almost-painful resemblance to their father. It fills her heart with sorrow at first, though even that is muted by the passage of years. At the news of Their death, she finds herself mourning dutifully, part of her grieving what could have been, but no more. Her grandmother, she now knows, had been right all along, even if it has taken her fourteen years to realise it.

Notes

Do I even need to say it? Anyway, we have a character from the Nuhuron, Nurpayahras, Nayakarade and Tiye (NNNT for short) generation featured today. Urnya is much younger than these main line Masks, though (actually closer to day 2′s Yarexira in age), and she happens to be the mother of day 9′s Iolus (plus his two full brothers) and the granddaughter of yesterday’s Onara. Being far more sheltered than the average Masks lady (mostly due to her family ties to the well-respected Onara), she was somewhat atypical in the treatment she received as one of Nuhuron’s concubines. At one point in her early twenties, she fell in (unrequited) love with him, something that dominated more than a decade of her life, despite her grandmother’s best efforts to put an end to her impossible dreams (the fourteen years referring to a specific warning at the time of Iolus’ birth). For her fic, I chose to depict the end of these feelings of unrequited love. In keeping with the theme present in many of the previous fics, this would be the moment at which she was set free.

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

Word’s correction suggestions for SDC characters’ names will never not be hilarious. A few examples:

“Korean” for Ykoriana

“sardine” for Sardian (okay, that’s one everyone could see coming, still funny though)

“taxing” for Tyatxungo

“nonpayers” for Nurpayahras

“sneakered” for Nayakarade (I think this has to be my personal favourite in terms of sheer wtf-ery)

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Drinking Game! (TC Edition)

In honour of the soon-to-come 2nd edition! (So, yes, this game applies to the first 2 books of the 2nd edition, for everyone keeping track at home.)

(Cut for length.)

In General

Drink every time:

An epigraph is changed or actually replaced by something brand new

Drink twice if, whether new or old, the information contained in the epigraph is not particularly helpful to better understand the events of the story

Finish your drink if said information raises more questions than it answers

A description is much shorter than the original 1st edition one

Drink twice if it’s actually about the same or even longer

Finish your drink for Carnelian describing the Creation Window

A character’s name is spelled differently in the 2nd edition

A memetic line or scene comes up

Drink twice if it’s changed for the 2nd edition

Finish your drink if it’s cut altogether

There is foreshadowing for later reveals

Drink twice for foreshadowing of Carnelian’s parentage

SKY (Sardian-Kumatuya-Ykoriana) backstory is mentioned

Drink twice if immediately followed by something far less compelling

Something potentially interesting is brought up but never mentioned again afterwards (aka #SDCMissedOpportunities)

A frankly bizarre theory/practice is brought up, either by the Wise or other characters

Finish your drink if it’s the infamous twin theory

Someone mentions the Law-that-must-be-obeyed

Someone’s blood-rank or blood-taint is mentioned

A character acts/speaks cryptically for no apparent reason

Someone showcases their poor decision-making skills

Drink twice if it’s Sardian, Carnelian or Osidian

Finish your drink if it’s a truly catastrophic bad decision that will impact the rest of the series

House Suth & household-centric

Drink every time:

The household’s chameleon tattoos are mentioned

There is a sad scene involving the people being left behind

Carnelian stands up for one or more members of the household

Carnelian has/remembers a sweet moment with Ebeny

Drink twice for mentions of Ebeny’s Little Mother

Grane and/or Brin have to step in to set someone straight

Crail bonds with his nephews

Drink twice when the dragon story is mentioned

Keal is generally awesome

Tain and Carnelian’s close brotherly relationship is shown

Tain is hyped about something they’ll see in Osrakum

Tain is a bit of a troll towards Carnelian

Krib or Poal are mentioned (#KoalOTP)

Fey and Sardian talk about each other fondly

Fey and Carnelian bond

Urquentha complains about Sardian’s excessive honour/lack of golddigging skills

Urquentha badmouths Spinel

Spinel is set up as the Token Evil Teammate of House Suth

The second and third lineages’ betrayal is remarked upon

Finish your drink when Spinel's plan of having Opalid join Osidian’s faction completely backfires

Sardian-centric

Drink every time:

Sardian is described as beautiful

Sardian is described using a strange comparison or metaphor

Drink twice if it happens more than once in the same chapter

Finish your drink if it’s the convulsing fish comparison

Sardian’s eccentricity/patrician virtue is mentioned

A passage contains a strange indirect Sardian POV

Drink twice every time Sardian thinks of himself as “Suth”

Finish your drink if Sardian randomly starts judging himself/his own actions

Sardian says “my son”

Finish your drink if he’s not referring to Carnelian

Sardian cries

Actually, maybe finish your drink for this one because it doesn’t happen very often

We realise Sardian didn’t do that great of a job teaching Carnelian

Finish your drink if he himself admits it to some extent

Sardian mentions Kumatuya

Drink twice (and cry) every time we see him grieving for Kumatuya’s death

Sardian underestimates Ykoriana in some capacity

He-who-goes-before!Sardian has an epic line/moment

There is shipping fuel between Sardian and another character

Drink twice if it’s for the official canon ship Kumardian (Kumatuya/Sardian)

Drink thrice if it’s Aurdian (Aurum/Sardian)

Carnelian-centric

Drink every time:

Carnelian is unaware of information he really should have known

Drink twice if another character actually points this out

Finish your drink if the other character calls Carnelian an idiot/a fool/stupid/etc.

Carnelian finds out new information about their exile

Drink twice when he calls Sardian out on it

Carnelian is shocked/disturbed/traumatised by some aspect of Chosen society

Carnelian fails to put the clues to Osidian’s identity together

Add one drink for every increasingly crackpot theory

Finish your drink when he gets to “divided sybling”

Carnelian fails to care much about any of his relatives

Finish your drink if the relative in question is Kumatuya

Carnelian is completely mesmerised by any random architectural detail

Finish your drink if his fanboying over architecture goes on for more than a page

Carnelian takes an absurdly long time realising someone (other than Osidian’s) identity

Drink twice for “wheels in his head turning” passages such as noticing Kumatuya’s plural pronouns, counting Ykoriana’s rings, etc.

Carnelian easily notices family resemblances between Sardian and Keal, Brin and Fey, etc. but fails to notice his own resemblance to Osidian and Molochite

Baran Bunch (BB)-centric

Aurum booms

Aurum commits arbitrary excessive acts of violence

Drink twice if it’s setting ants on fire

Aurum is angry about something

Drink twice if it’s related to Carnelian’s idiocy

Aurum acts smug due to his blackmail of Sardian

Drink twice if he actually gives foreshadowing/hints about Carnelian’s parentage

Vennel is snubbed because of his higher blood-taint

Drink twice if it’s Jaspar doing said snubbing

Vennel acts overly self-important

Finish your drink when he refuses to accept Ykoriana would have had him killed

Vennel is mentioned to have a woman’s voice

Jaspar says “neh”

Jaspar’s idol smile is mentioned

Jaspar shows far too much patience for/is amused by Carnelian’s cluelessness

Jaspar provides Masks Exposition 101

Drink twice if Carnelian is shocked by this new information

Masks-centric

Drink every time:

Azurea is mentioned

Drink twice if actually mentioned by name

Drink thrice if Carnelian is said to look like her

Kumatuya actually has a line

Drink twice when he cries

Finish your drink when he messes up his own pronouns

Ykoriana is mentioned in fearful tones

Drink twice when she actually appears on-page in all her epic glory (this is my blog, you all knew this was coming)

Ykoriana is described using violent imagery

Drink twice if it the description involves mentions of blood

Drink thrice if her red eyes are mentioned and/or she’s wearing red

Ykoriana expresses anti-Sardian sentiment

Nurpayahras, Nayakarade and Tiye are briefly mentioned but we never actually meet them (aka NNT-baiting)

Flama is mentioned (much like in several cases above, it’ll help with the sadness)

Molochite is described as beautiful

Drink twice when Carnelian gushes over him

Molochite’s weakness/vices/cruelties are mentioned but never elaborated upon

Osidian’s eyes are extensively described

Drink twice if compared to jade

Osidian acts smug about something and/or actually acts his age

Osidian is mentioned as sneaking somewhere/stealing something/disguising himself as someone else

Osidian is frustrated at Carnelian’s stupidity

Osidian fails to refer to Sardian as “Uncle”

The Hanuses act somewhat creepily around Carnelian

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Family Tree Musings #1

Neat parallels from the family trees: Angqanye appears to have been the only Masks lady (that we know of) that was Empress to two different God Emperors aside from Ykoriana. Yes, we only know for sure who past Empresses were for the 2 generations before Ykoriana’s (see here and here), but I think this is a safe guess (given a combination of factors such as blood purity, age, order of marriages, etc). Interestingly enough, Angqanye’s first husband was her half-brother (well, and uncle, but Masks family relationships are never simple due to all the inbreeding) and her second husband her son, much like in the case of Ykoriana.

Angqanye is also one of the longest-lived people in the available family trees (and the longest-lived person in the Masks tree, with the possibly exception of Nurpayahras). Her life spanned the reigns of four different God Emperors (and the entire reigns of three of those, two of which lasted several decades!), and she lived (possibly? she died that same year) to see the turmoil Osrakum would have been plunged into during the Qusata succession crisis. This is a character I really wish we knew more about besides the details given in the family tree, she likely led a fascinating life, and there’s just so much she must have been witness to.

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Four-Sentence Fics, Day 18

Six plus six plus six, the number of the beast?

XVIII. Tiye

She has always stood between her sisters, in temperament if not in age. Now, as their House is split in two, as her world crumbles, she casts the role of peacemaker aside for good. What Nurpayahras and Nayakarade might resort to in order to save their sons no longer matters. Her child is gone, and she will not rest until she has avenged her.

Notes

Canon has returned in the form of Tiye. Honestly, there is so much that I could say here in terms of headcanons, but I’ll try and keep this short. I have always imagined Tiye as being a calm, practical, sensible sort (though very much a troublemaker in her childhood), often assuming a role of mediator in conflicts between her two sisters, with their more strongly opposing personalities. Azurea’s marriage to Sardian would have put an end to what peace she might have known, though even then she would have clung to the hope of having this marriage dissolved in the future (a scenario far more likely to occur if Tyatxungo were to succeed Nuhuron), and her daughter returned to the Masks. The death of Azurea in childbirth would have been the cruellest blow of all, rendering everything else insignificant in comparison. With Azurea gone, only the hope for revenge on Kumatuya and Sardian mattered, and driven by this one remaining purpose, she would (as per canon) have joined forces with Ykoriana. Unlike her niece, Tiye would for the most part be successful... though of course, to paraphrase Ykoriana herself, vengeance pales in comparison to joy.