HSHQTASK023: KARYNA & INNA
karyna considered inna as a gift. her late birthday or christmas present. a sister she can dress up, make up and use as a little servant or maid. the one who would look up to her most! yes, she could do all those things with petro, but it’s not as fun when he follows too blindly to her antics without showing any real interest. with inna it’ll be different, with inna she’ll feel complete.
her dreams do come true up until inna turns two and she develops to be the most self-sufficient two year old. she says no to almost everything karyna suggests or asks. it’s as if she clued in on how to poke fun at her sister. and why did she always follow leon around? he’s a boy! using her problem solving skills, karyna thinks of alternative methods to get her way. inna doesn’t want to walk to karyna’s room for tea time? no problem! karyna would bring the tea time to her. inna doesn’t want to play dress up? no problem! karyna will force the clothes on her tiny toddler body. inna doesn’t want to get her makeup done? no problem! karyna will apply it for her when she’s taking her midday nap.
karyna mistaken inna’s calm and stoic demeanour as being lenient and nonchalant. it doesn’t take long for tea times to turn into a disaster when inna quite literally tries to make karyna’s stuffed animals drink by forcibly pressing the cup to their faces while allowing the liquid to soak into the fabric while dripping onto the ground. dress up would turn into inna repurposing karyna’s dresses into her own custom designs with scissors and markers. and makeovers weren’t fun simply because inna was never asleep! it’s like she was staying awake on purpose to irk her.
the final straw was when inna traumatizes her by cutting off all the hair on her dolls. karyna cries to their mother and asking if inna is broken or if she’s adopted and that they should get an exchange. their mother laughs and comforts her, but then she says the most bizarre thing! “inna does this because she likes you.” those words only cause karyna to sob harder. “why would you do this to someone you like!” she yells.
karyna held hope. mother is always right! the most determined child to train her younger sister to become an extended version of herself.
inna did like karyna. her sister is so fun to play with! she lets her make a mess, she lets her draw on her dresses and she’s always with her when she’s awake! and when karyna raises her voice and sometimes cries, inna is puzzled, confused! they were having so much fun! their mother asks inna to be nicer to karyna and to stop terrorizing her. inna simply responds by saying “no.” it’s not her fault they have different ideas of fun. karyna crying in response to whatever inna did became routine. why would inna want to be around someone who cries so much! petro was easier to be around and more fun. he didn’t cry and he let inna do whatever she wanted which included unlimited piggy back rides and pushing her on the swings. he also provides snacks!
karyna tried retaliating many times. one time she cut a hole in what she thought was inna’s favourite shirt. inna does not have a favourite shirt and she did not care, which annoyed karyna enough to start another crying fit.
they fought a lot throughout the rest of their childhood and into their teens. mostly karyna reacting to what inna says or does and inna rolling her eyes at how sensitive her sister is. their idea of "making up" would be ignoring each other for half a day and then acting as if things are normal before their next argument. this method of resolution was slowly taking a toll on karyna. not because of how often they'd fight, but because she doesn't understand her sister. she found it impossible to accept inna for the way she is. there must be a deeper reason, something that makes sense. inna finds no issues in their relationship. siblings fight, sisters fight even more. karyna is the way she is and inna would never change anything about her. yes, what her older sister does is questionable at times and incredibly infuriating, but without any of those traits, karyna wouldn't be complex. karyna wouldn’t be karyna.
with karyna leaving to boarding school in switzerland, it remedied some of those thoughts and concerns. the need to feel in control of inna and their relationship slowly eased once she took control of the student body. bossing people who worshipped her is how it should be. everything was right in the world until she'd go back home and see inna and leon closer than ever. it didn't matter how many people she had wrapped around her finger in school when she still hasn't figured out her baby sister. she's jealous leon has. she's jealous inna always follows him and not her. for inna, it was boring without karyna. no one to bother, no one to bicker with. even if they didn't spend a lot of time together, she liked their comfortable silence. she missed the absence of the sound of her heels clicking on the floors, her shrill voice echoing through the halls and her horrible cooking. karyna made the days go by faster.
their differences become more apparent when inna graduates high school. inna is decisive, logical and prides herself on being rational. karyna is not, karyna is selfishly ambitions and lives more for the moment. how karyna tries to control inna, inna unknowingly tries to do the same. the difference is, karyna only wanted to control inna to do what she asks for her own benefit. inna wanted control since she felt like karyna was making bad life choices. the fighting only stops when karyna starts dating the crown prince of france. of course she would. she wouldn't expect her sister to want to date anyone of a lesser status. inna never liked arnauld. then again, if karyna was a stranger, she wouldn't like her either. overall, the relationship doesn't bother her, it doesn't affect her. and unless if arnauld does something seriously hurtful to karyna. inna will continue to not care.
after karyna's break up with arnauld, inna tells her sister she deserves better and it's better to let someone else suffer through arnauld’s bullshit. the break up is still fresh and karyna takes inna's words as an insult. she gets defensive and inna walks away before an argument occurs. she gives karyna her space. it’s not as fun to fight with her when it’s about something so serious. then someone worse than arnauld comes around. and by worse, not in personality, all men karyna chose are just as bad as the other in their own right. he's worse because he lives farther away. with arnauld, inna still saw karyna, she was still around. with francisco, karyna was no where to be seen.
when their parents pass, the dynamics between the soletsky siblings shifted. especially between karyna and inna. inna apologizes to karyna for assuming the worst from her leading up to the funeral and coronation. she tells inna she understands and there's no need to apologize since out of all the times inna has been sharp with her, this time was different, this time didn't feel like an intentional attack and this time she understood inna. this breakthrough was a turning point for karyna. it nearly broke her to see inna crying and so full of remorse. it took this tragedy for karyna to see and accept inna for who she is.
when francisco proposed, inna disapproved. she told karyna it was a bad idea. by then, it was already too late, there was no telling karyna otherwise, she was set and focused on making this work. a part of inna felt like her sister was being stolen from her. she should already be used to karyna being gone, but this time feels final and she actually felt sad. this doesn’t strain their relationship. with the distance, inna now only takes between three days to a week to reply to a text and sometimes she’ll pick up a call. if she’s feeling generous, she’ll be the one to call first.
the divorce happens ( it was long overdue ), karyna brings marya to ukraine and now they’re all in tokyo. inna sincerely means it when she says she doesn’t want her in the program. she’s trying so hard to prove she’s not the stereotypical divorcee when in fact she appears as exactly that. inna thinks she’s spiralling and she doesn’t want to see marya hurt in the process. protecting marya is the priority, she only hopes her sister shares the same sentiment.
