Ikara

Ikara’s relationship in the early days was positive. They originally met shortly before the events at Cartenau in the Quicksands. Ikara had only recently gotten on her feet after her injuries at Varah’s hands and was seeking information on the Miqo’te to hunt him down. She caught Thancreds attention; a very inquisitive Keeper stood out in a city inhabited mostly by fellow Hyur, Seekers and Lalafell. The two spent some time talking, both ulterior motives of trying to gain information from the other but ultimately parted ways uneventfully, not to see each other again for 5 years.

After Ikara joined the Scions, having completely forgotten about her initial meeting with Thancred, the two formed a friendship founded on his teasing of her forgetting him. They would share a drink, banter and in general had a positive relationship. The Bloody Banquet is where the beginning of the cracks began in their relationship. Upon his return to the Scions, Ikara and Thancred butted heads repeatedly. He had a new perspective on the world and treated her like a child; condescending her and making her feel like her opinions were insignificant when weighted against the others - she should “leave the politics to the rest of us and you do what you’re good at - fighting”.

This was further strained during the attempts to liberate Ala Mhigo when he learned that Ikara had been actively engaging with the Viceroy on her own terms. Her grief at his suicide was met with contempt and Thancred took no pity on Ikara, his words scathing.

By the time Ikara arrived on the First, their relationship was entirely professional only; communicating only when needed (excluding occasions where Thancred would throw out the occasional snide comment in Ikara’s direction). Again, he made his utter disdain apparent when he learned that she had befriended Emet-Selch and had developed a mentor/student bond with him. (Comments such as “you’re just working your way through the family tree aren’t you?” were snapped at her)

As Ikara absorbed more and more Lightwardens and her psyche began to fray, Thancred stepped back as he realised he was projecting onto her and didn’t want to lose her like he lost Minfilia. Post ShB-Early EW, their interactions were less strained as the realisation dawned on Thancred of just how much Ikara was hurting as WoL, how much support she needed and how much she was retreating away from everyone. Her emotions fragile, overwhelmed with all the knowledge forced upon her of the Ancients, Azem and the world as they knew it; she needed a support system more than ever even if she pushed and pushed away.

Returning to the Source helped mend their relationship further, slowly returning to their early days of friendship and building that trust and camaraderie again. G’raha was who Ikara turned to when she needed an escape, an adventure and some fun to take her mind off things but it was Thancred who she’d sit up until 2am with, discussing her thoughts and feelings with - thinly veiled confessions of her time in Garlemald without disclosing all the details, completely unaware he had been keeping a close eye on her the entire time to ensure her safety and wellbeing.
Thancred never let Ikara know he was aware of her relationship but was there to support her each time he knew she would be hurting. Only he and Urianger knew the true reason for her unbridled rage after her soul was swapped and body hijacked, calming her and sedating her to ensure she didn’t hurt herself; who knew the true reason why she gave chase onto the Moon; why, despite her injuries, she was crying with grief and not physical pain as she lay bloodied and bruised on the Ragnarok, gripping the only physical item she had left to remember; why she sunk into a deep depression after they returned victorious.

Post EW, their relationship is fully mended and they are incredibly close, Ikara providing him with regular updates on Ryne and vice versa. .

From the beginning, Ikara had nothing but the utmost respect for Urianger and he has always been one of the few people on Eitherys she opens up to and confides in .
He is aware that often, she is not seeking advice or for someone to try and fix things but just wishes to vent and is always willing to lend an ear, and offer insight should she request it.
Ikara’s wellbeing has always been one of Urianger’s priorities and is one of the only Scions to frequently express concern that she is being treated like a weapon with no concern for her as an individual.

Upon returning to the Source, he quickly figured out where Ikara was sneaking off to; whilst concerned, he did acknowledge the positive change in her demeanor and was ultimately supportive, keeping the knowledge to himself.
When Thancred also figured this out, it was Urianger who convinced him to also keep the knowledge privy to himself and to use his skills to ensure her safety rather than breach her trust and potentially sever the fragile ties keeping her with the Scions.
Urianger would keep Ikara grounded, often reminding her of her importance and place in the world, not as WoL but as Ikara.

A modern comparison is needed for this relationship.
They are the Eorzean Steve and Robin. If they could, they’d be wearing sailor uniforms, serving ice cream and stopping Garleans and aliens. A platonic love between two utterly devoted best friends. Comfortable, playful and genuine.

Ikara knew Raha harboured feelings for her at the start when they reunited on the First, when he was still playing the role of the elusive Exarch.
But he was always respectful, never pushed the boundary or pressured her and that’s why she loved him. Even when he realised she was never going to see him the same way he saw her, he accepted this and embraced their friendship instead. They finish each others sentences, have the same mischievous sense of humour and is always a breath of fresh air when Ikara needs the escape from her duty.

He is unaware of her relationship with Zenos; he has his suspicions but is secure enough in their friendship to know she will tell him when she is ready. .

Ikara is incredibly fond of Estinien and gets on really well with him as they actually have a lot in common with similar senses of dry humour and both being dragoons.

He taught her a lot about her class and trained one-on-one with her many times even before officially joining the Scions. .

To Ikara, they’re like younger siblings. She’s very protective of them and shelters them from a lot, always keeping in mind that whilst they are very mature and experienced for their ages, that they are still teenagers and they should have some things they remain unaware of.
Her relationship being one of those things as well as some of the darker consequences of their actions as Scions. Eg they have no idea just what kind of toll the Light actually had on Ikara’s body and made the others swear not to tell as she knew they’d both be overcome with guilt. .

Ikara is quite timid around Krile.
She has the utmost respect for her and part of that intimidation is caused by how much respect and reverie she has for the scholar.

Prior to joining the Scions, Ikara had read many of both Krile and her grandfathers writings about their research and explorations so it was almost a bit surreal for Ikara to suddenly be in a position where they were peers. .

CW: suicide

Ikara was traumatised by what happened on the First. Killing her mentor and friend and hearing his final plea for her to remember him, knowing the truth of the star and the Final Days, almost losing her life to the Light, watching people die to the sin eaters one after another. Her spirit and will to keep going was fractured, crumbling every second as the weight of a world and its people crushed her.

And so she ran.
Back to the Source. And somehow she found herself back in Castrum Fluminis, the memories of Yotsuyu and her fate lingering in the air. She was alone, her only companions a decent supply of alcohol and enough Somnus to help her blackout and pretend her problems weren’t real, even just for a moment.

Having just reclaimed his body from Elidibus and committed Regicide, Zenos chose to further the chaos Garlemald had been plunged into and retreat, allowing Gaius to take the fall for his actions. He found himself drawn to Yanxia, a familiar place where he had once spent many moons whiling the hours away with his only friend, one of the few times in his life where he had found contenment. Upon arriving, he immediately sensed her presence and sought her out, finally locating her in the forgotten remnants of a Castrum. But what he found was not the fierce warrior he had come to revere, that he took his own life for. No, he found a broken and shattered shell of the woman he once respected.
Upon realising she wasn’t alone, Ikara lashed out; eyes bloodshot with tears from the lifetime of burdens she was forced to carry, intoxication making the pain worse not masking it. And in that moment she begged him to end it for her, too much of a coward to do it herself.
“Let me leave you behind. Just like you left me”

Instead of feeling the sweet release of death, she found herself struck across the cheek, red and stinging. She was scolded and berated for the pathetic state she was currently in, told it was unbecoming of someone of her prowess and stature and reminded that she only holds his attention when she’s at the peak of her performance and that he’s ashamed of the sorry state of a woman he found.
That was the reality check Ikara needed; she didn’t care for anyone elses opinion of her. But for Him to be disgusted with her? No, that was too much. Over the coming days they reverted to old habits; talking, fighting, talking more. They were each others confidant, the only one to understand the other and provide insight and support that no other on Eitherys could hope to give.
Their guards quickly dropped, becoming far less formal with each other and their threats becoming far more flirtatious albeit still said with a katana to the others throat.

One evening, they had a particularly heated sparring session. Emotions and stress were tense for both and it was showing in how bruised and beaten each was. Ikara was venting her frustrations regarding Thancreds treatment of her. He’d begun to soften after Emet-Selchs defeat but he had made a particularly biting comment towards her and she was pissed.
Zenos was getting particularly frustrated with Ikara and he couldn’t understand why. He’d never felt jealousy before so this was a completely foreign emotion for him and he couldn’t process it. This was HIS time with Ikara and it was being spent with her focus being on another. Why was she talking about another when HE was right here? HE wouldn’t never treat her like this or speak to her in that way. HE would respect her. Why won’t she notice HIM.
And being someone to always take what he wants, he grabs her by the jaw and pushes her against the cold steel of the castrum and forces a kiss on the stunned Miqo’ra.
It was rough, there was more teeth than should ever be involved and he got his wish, her focus was now fully on him. At first she responded, deepening the kiss and grabbing his hair to pull him closer. But just as quickly, lust turned to anger as the gravity of her situation hit her land she lashed out, laying into him with scratches and punches and pushed him off, crying through gritted teeth of how could he ruin everything.
Zenos tries to argue that her body betrays her words and she clearly wants this too but defiant and infuriated, Ikara can’t even look at him.

And so she ran.

Ikara fled back to the First, refusing to speak to the Scions about where she went and certainly not what happened. She buried herself in research of the Ancients and Amaurot, locking herself in her room at The Pendants for hours, books piled high on her desk towering over her; if there was even a mention of ancient civilisation or culture, she had it. Y’shtola occasionally would check in on her, concerned for her friend's current melancholic and pining state and her quickening descent into the pits of despair.
Ikara continued to spiral further and further, her emotions conflicted and pulling her in every conceivable direction. All her life she had been used and discarded, starting with her father, and as such she’d closed herself off and built walls. Noone could get in. Alone is all she had, alone is what would protect her. And then someone broke that defense and was now permeating every waking and sleeping though. And her biggest struggle was that this was her enemy. Someone who had almost killed several of her closest companions and was responsible for the deaths of many more. This was wrong. It was all wrong.

Several weeks later

A familiar feeling, this emptiness and broken spirit. She’d felt it once before, when Emet-Selch faded away in front of her. And now she found herself here again. The shade of Elidibus kneeling in front of her, clutching convocation crystals to his chest; his comrades. His colleagues. His friends. She understood him in that moment. She understood his goals and his hurt and his wants. But the outcome was inevitable and she wouldn’t allow herself to be responsible for the deaths of one people to save another.
That evening in the Pendants, with the Azem crystal gifted to her by the shade of Hytholodeaus, Ikara’s sleep was haunted. Since childhood she had suffered fractured dreams and nightmares, like a movie with stills missing that she could never piece together. But for the first time in her dreams she was seeing it all so clearly. For her 26 short years on the Star, every time she closed her eyes to rest, she was reliving time and time again her forgotten life from it’s blissful start to it’s painful sundered end. And that broke her.

And so she ran.

At her limits and a crossroads, Ikara found herself once again at the place that had offered her comfort and respite over recent times.
But for the first time in a long time, she was confident and assured in her next actions. And as expected, he was there waiting for her.
Grabbing him by the collar, Ikara pulls Zenos down to her level and kisses him with the same ferocity and intent that he had with her in their last encounter, throwing all of her previous hesitations and cautions to the winds.
Rough, aggressive, violent. Their relationship was like their battlefields. Bloodied and bruised but utterly devoted to the other. Something that found it’s origins in profound dejections and despair was never going to be conventional but they were exactly what the other needed. Someone to care for them unconditionally, flaws and all.

CW: Implied noncon (very minor), psychological abuse....Ikara did not have a fun time

It was the days following her Nameday, he remembered it vividly. She didn’t like celebrating it and he understood that, he didn’t care much for his own.So distraction had been the end goal on this occasion. He took her to the rooftop gardens of the Imperial Palace and rather than spar in the snow, they simply talked. There were still parts of her she was withholding and hiding from him and he wanted to know every part of her. And with some coaxing, Zenos managed to get her to open up. About what was haunting her and playing on her mind. Her fears of returning to life as the Warrior of Light, her hatred of her title and duty and how she could count on one hand how many people saw her for the woman behind the title, present company included in this. How she feared one day not being in control of her life. Of herself. How she was just a good little weapon, pointed and aimed to strike on who the Eorzean Alliance deemed fit. How she was at breaking point. How she almost lost control of herself once before as the Light consumed her and she was powerless as something took over her. How losing control of herself, her emotions and her actions was the one fear that permeated every nightmare and thought.
Yes he remembered it vividly.

The Ascian had plans. Plans that involved stripping the Stars' precious champion of her dignity. Her autonomy. Her psyche. It was perfect; using the technology left behind from previous efforts, he would toy with her and fuel her rage and direct it at his end goal of Zodiark. All he had to do was get the Garlean prince on board with his plans, which would be easy given his past dalliances with the girl. Remind him of how she abandoned him. How she left him. How she crushed him. How she was just like everyone else in his life and dropped him as soon as he was no longer required. All lies of course but the Garlean had such a single track mind that he was easily pliable.

She needed to be punished for what she had done. For her cruelty in making him feel like he was worth something only to tear it away like it was nothing. He could take her darkest fears and make them real. She confided in him and now he was using it against her. Could he come back from this? Probably not but as per the Ascians observations, she had made her feelings very clear. She deserved this. Didn’t she?

It had been easy for Fandaniel to subdue her, catch her off guard. Feeling victorious, the Ilsabard Contingent had let their guard down, including the Warrior of Light. She lost consciousness quickly making the process much easier than anticipated. And he delivered her as promised to the Palace, dropping her carelessly on the throne, discarded like she was worthless.
This enraged Zenos who quickly moved to her; he may hate her with all of his core right now but he would not allow her to be disrespected so. He picked up her lifeless form gently and for a brief moment considered abandoning this plight and crushing the Ascian instead. Fingers tracing her hands, her cheek, remembering how her skin felt beneath his fingers, how her hair smelled as she lay beside him each night, trusting him implicitly. How he awoke to find her gone without a trace, sneaking off in the cover of darkness. Not even a stray hair tie left behind. The only sign she’d ever existed here, were his mother’s rings placed neatly on the nightstand, no longer decorating her fingers. Like she’d never been his. Never promised to be by his side forever. And so the resentment festered again.
Gripping her, he could crush her right now with one hand, easily gripped around her throat. But would it be enough to punish her for her betrayal? Or would something that would linger and stay with her be much more fitting.
In her transportation, her blouse had become untucked from her shorts, exposing her stomach, the burn scars decorating her pale skin standing out in the dim light; she was always so self-conscious about this particular scar and he had always made sure to ease her fears, making it a particularly favourite spot to press his lips to, adding his own markings around it to show her who she belonged to. Her skin, other than her scars, unblemished. This wouldn’t do. As he pressed his teeth to her skin, the Ascian made a snide comment about giving him some time alone. It was insulting. He would never violate her like that whilst unconscious. She just needed to be marked, a reminder that no matter what, she would always be his.

Ikara was disoriented when she came to. Something felt off but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Her eyes bleary, she struggled to recognise her surroundings, everything dull and blurred. A familiar scent caught her - sandalwood and amber - yes, she’d know it anywhere. She’d worn clothes infused with it and fallen asleep surrounded by it many times. Her vision still dark, she whispered “Zenos?”. Wait this voice, it was not her own. Was her voice damaged in the ambush? Where was she even? Her eyes slowly adjusting, Ikara was confused by the surroundings. Why was she at dinner? Why was she with Zenos? Why were her clothes changed? Wait…whose clothes were these? Why did she feel…taller? Wider? Ikara froze in terror as the reality of what was going on sunk in, the Ascians voice grating in her ears, just white noise as she was barely listening, horrified at her situation. And across the table, a piercing stare boring through her; she could see all of the anger, the hate, the hurt, the venom and it burned into her mind. She was frozen, barely able to respond to what she was hearing. This was her nightmare. This was everything she feared. She looked at her lifeless body draped over a throne, it appeared unscathed and for that she was relieved. She prayed nothing had been done to her in her unconscious state; she wanted to hope Zenos would never defile her like that but she also had believed until this moment he wouldn’t have betrayed her trust like this so she was terrified. She didn’t know what to expect.

Ikara felt the unfamiliar eyes of the body she was forced into well with tears, Fandaniel using his arcane powers to bind her in place so she could only watch helplessly as her worst fears became real. Full loss of control. No autonomy. Manipulated by another into actions not of her own. Powerless to stop it. She begged for this to end, sobbing and querying why she was being tortured like this.

The biting cold of the Garlemald night air nipped at her, but it didn’t slow her down. Even if she had to crawl her way through the ice and snow she’d stop this. Even if it took every last bit of strength she had in her, she had to save them.
It felt like an age before Ikara finally made it back to camp and her heart broke as she watched Raha, her most dearest friend, confront ‘her’ and her eyes widened as she watched her spear drawn and pointed at his throat, a Reaper avatars shadow towering over him. With the last of her strength, she threw the useless weapon she had been provided. It might not do any damage but it might cause distraction. And with that she blacked out.

When Ikara opened her eyes, she was on her hands and knees in the snow, her knuckles bloodied and her body frozen to the bone. But they were her hands and knees. Her head was splitting as she heard Zenos’ voice in her head, taunting her and threatening her. Ikara was incensed. She was shaking with rage. Pushing through her weakened state, she was out for blood. She was going to destroy him. Physically and mentally. Tear him down, betray his confidence, break him piece by piece. He would spend every pitiful day of his worthless existence rueing what he’d done to her. She would let everyone know that their tyrannical Prince was so weak minded. That he started a civil war whilst sitting on a steel ground with the enemy of the state, exchanging sorrows and tears over dead mothers.
She found herself lifted off the ground and put over a familiar shoulder, flailing her limbs and screaming to be “fucking put down”, yelling for everyone at camp to hear that she was going to kill Him. Thancred ignored her, restraining her as best as he could and allowing Urianger to administer a sedative to her, putting her into a deep sleep. She needed rest, they knew this. G’raha and Y’shtola were visibly confused; they understood why she might be upset at having her body switched but they’d never seen Ikara so unhinged with rage before. They didn’t know. They couldn’t know. But Urianger and Thancred knew. They knew she was hurting, they knew this had destroyed her and they knew she would kill herself in the process of trying to confront him. They couldn’t understand what it felt like to have someone you loved so completely and utterly betray you. They kept the other Scions away, alleviating their worries and advising that they just want to give her space. In reality, they wanted to give her the opportunity to talk freely when she awoke.
When Ikara eventually woke up, she was numb. The rage was gone and was replaced by a hollow emptiness. Her heart ached but she had no tears left. Her limbs hurt, weary from everything. She thanked Urianger and Thancred for staying with her, reassuring them that she would be ok and that she didn’t need to talk about it. They didn’t believe her but they gave her the space she asked for.
After they left, Ikara dragged herself to her feet and lifted her top, wanting to confirm the suspicions she had about a stinging pain she felt on her skin. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she looked down at the handful of bruises peppered around her stomach, she found one on her inner thigh, on her shoulder, on her collarbone. Just a few months ago, she would have smirked at these and been proud of her achievements to get them. But now they were going to be a reminder of her trauma, haunting her. And even after they healed the memory would linger.

Already you turn to them and away from me.

It pained Ikara to ignore him. But her pain was still raw. She couldn’t even look at him. Couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge his presence even as he walked past her. She resisted the urge to reach out and grab his arm, to beg him to tell her why she deserved to be punished and tortured.
She hadn’t done anything wrong other than love him. HE was the one who pushed her away. HE was the one threatening her family. Fandaniel had warned her of his rising hatred of her, that she should run whilst she had the chance as he couldn’t always guarantee her safety. Fandaniel had urged her to…Fandaniel. The realisation hit her. She’d never heard any of this directly from Zenos himself. She’d been a puppet to the Ascians' machinations. And he’d died laughing, knowing full well the seeds of doubt he’d sown and the repercussions they would have.

Following the traumatic events in Garlemald, Ikara was enraged and out for blood. If it weren’t for Urianger and Thancred intervening, she would have likely killed Zenos or died trying. The next few missions were a blur for Ikara; she found herself on the moon before she knew it. But she’d barely been able to allow that wonder and awe sink in before Fandaniel set events into motion and she was confronting the elder primal Zodiark. This fight awakened her from the almost catatonic stupor she had been in since her body was violated.

Still, she hurt. Still, she mourned for a relationship lost.
“Already you turn to them and away from me.”

It pained Ikara to ignore him. But that distress was still raw. She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge his presence as he walked past her. She resisted every urge and want within her to reach out and grab his arm, to beg him to tell her why she deserved such vitriol, such punishment, such torture.
The only thing she was guilty of was loving him. He was the one who pushed her away. He was the one who threatened her and her family. Fandaniel had warned her of his growing hatred of her, the rising tensions between them. That she should run whilst she had the chance as the Ascian couldn’t always guarantee her safety. Fandaniel had urged her to…Fandaniel…
The realisation hit her like a truck. She’d never heard any of this from Zenos himself. She’d been a puppet to the Ascians machinations. And the bastard had died laughing, knowing full well the seeds of doubt he’d sown and the repercussions they would have.

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Events unfolded at such a rapid pace that she scarcely had time to process her realisations and confront the issue. The end of days was upon them and they were running out of time to prevent the inevitable; matters of the heart would have to wait.
Ikara wouldn’t encounter Zenos again until she returned from Elpis.
In the time they had been apart, he too had come to the same realisation that he had been manipulated and taken advantage of, and that as a result he had lost the only light in his life and likely destroyed any hope of reconciliation.
When they finally were reunited in the snowy plains of Garlemald, Ikara found herself unable to speak freely due to the presence of the Scions. Zenos equally found himself stunned into silence by the young twin who berated him, and spoke to him like only Ikara ever would have but with more venom and vitriol behind the words than playful annoyance.
As he walked away, back into isolation, Ikara hesitated and considered following after him but ultimately found herself being pulled away by her comrades.
Zenos turned back to meet her gaze, a pleading look in her saddened eyes as she mouthed something he couldn’t make out.

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It was almost time to set out beyond the stars. The Scions agreed to get their affairs in order in case this was the final journey they’d embark on. It was symbolic more than anything; failure to succeed almost guaranteed everyone else's impending doom too.
Ikara didn’t have much to deal with. Her brother preferred not to know about her mishaps and adventures until after she was home safe and they agreed she wouldn’t disclose any suicide missions to him in advance.
The only loose end that mattered to her was getting answers from Zenos. She was not content to leave things unresolved and both with the belief the other was filled with hatred towards them.
She’d heard from Lucia that Zenos was seen leaving Garlemald but no one had any indication as to his whereabouts since. But Ikara knew. Call it a lucky guess or call it instinct but she knew she’d find him in the Royal Menagerie; the place where they first pledged respect and admiration for each other, before he committed suicide in front of her.
Ikara found herself nervous, still not fully over her experience in Garlemald. But she wanted answers and resolution. She didn’t want to leave not knowing where things stood between them.
Ikara was the first to break, sobbing as she begged him to tell her why he’d hurt her so, why he’d betray her trust like that and use those darkest fears against her. She couldn’t accept his reasoning; that it was because he had such a deep love for her that he couldn’t cope with the grief of her leaving him and was overwhelmed with anger and hurt from the lies the Ascian had been whispering to him.
Shaking her head, Ikara refused to accept this. Not once did he speak to her about any of this prior; he blindly believed Fandaniels lies and didn’t trust her. He could have spoken to her at any point before she left but he didn’t; he pushed her away to the point where they were sleeping in different rooms and barely communicating.

“Hypocrite”
He called her out. He had certainly gone too far with dealing with his pain but he couldn’t accept her standing here telling him he should have just spoken to her to confirm the Ascians' lies when she didn’t extend him the same courtesy. She too was manipulated. She too assumed Fandaniel spoke the truth, that he would stoop so low to threaten her loved ones without reason.
Ikara was taken aback by this but she was unable to deny there was truth in what he was saying. He was correct and she too at any point could have confronted him.
But her punishment didn’t match the crime and for that, she couldn’t so easily forgive.

After many back and forths, and arguments becoming increasingly emotionally charged, Zenos found his self-assurance to the point of arrogance taking over and stepped towards the miqo’te, towering over her. Talking wasn’t doing anything to resolve this so maybe they didn’t need words. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder and his heart sank as she recoiled at his touch, her entire body tensing up beneath his fingers. As she looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes, he saw the fear she had and he realised he’d done this to her. As she backed away, he finally understood. What he thought was a one-off punishment was what kept her awake at night and haunted her nightmares, was why she felt violated and took a fight or flight stance when even friends tried to show affection towards her. He’d taken her consent and her dignity from her and left her a shell of the woman he’d fallen for.

And so the impossible happened. Amongst the flower beds where they stood, he dropped to his knees and begged forgiveness. The man had never apologised for anything in his life, and yet here he was pleading for absolution for his actions.
A voice in the back of her mind told her she would regret her actions, but despite this Ikara knelt before him and gripped his face between her hands, staring into his eyes; she was taken aback to find them almost welling up. Another thing he’d never done - shed a tear for anyone. Sighing and closing her eyes, she placed a gentle kiss against his third eye and felt his hands claw and grip her back, pulling her into his lap.
If this was to be her last ever night on Eitherys, then there were worse ways she could have spent it. Rather than rough, aggressive and heated like they usually were, it was intimate, it was romantic and it was gentle. Zenos often seemed hesitant, as if he was worried he was going to break her or have her look at him with those fearful eyes again. He never wanted her to look at him like that again.

As morning approached, Ikara had to return to Sharlayan. As they parted, they promised that if she made it back alive, they’d figure things out. They’d make it work. He reminded her of the promise ring that she still wore, once his mother's, and that he still intended to keep true to it.
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Bonus:
Back in Sharlayan, Ikara joined Thancred, Alphinaud and Urianger for breakfast in the Last Stand, sharing one last meal together before their departure.
Exhausted, having gotten little sleep the night before, Ikara slowly nursed a coffee and picked at a pastry.
Alphinaud, always chipper and talkative in the mornings, pressed each of them for what they had been up to the previous day and evening in preparation for their departure.
As he got to Ikara, she tried to brush him off but the young elezen continued to press.
He was dissatisfied with her answer of “stuff” in response to his query of “What did you do?”. “You were gone all day and evening, you must have had a lot of stuff to do!” Alphinaud exclaimed, unhappy his attempts at pushing were failing.
Thancred, always looking for an opportunity to tease Ikara, seized this moment with glee.
“So Ikara, you were doing “stuff” eh?” He winked at the miqo’te who shot him a glare
“Yes…” she said through gritted teeth.
“Alphi is right, you were gone for so long; you must have gotten stuff done many times. Once, twice? More?”
Ikara’s cheeks flushed, feebly trying to kick Thancred under the table as Urianger chuckled into his coffee next to her.
“Three. It was a lot of stuff I had to catch up on. Over a month's worth of backlog to work out”
Alphinaud, having pieced two and two together and come up with five, attempted to join in on the back and forth.
“When we get back from our journey, I recommend you speak to Y’shtola for advice on how to stay better organised and stop you getting such a backlog. I can’t imagine how much stress you must have been under yesterday trying to get it all done in time”
“I believeth our friend hath found her activities to be most pleasurable” Urianger chimed in, forcing a bellowing laugh from Thancred and simply adding to Alphinaud’s increasing confusion. “I think…I’m missing a reference or joke here” he sighed, shaking his head.
“We’ll explain when you’re older” Ikara rolled her eyes, swearing revenge on her two friends even if it meant enacting it in the deepest depths of the stars.

Yes she is but only with her partners. Outside of a relationship Ikara is very restrained and sure she’ll flirt in response or to get what she needs but rarely is she forward and sexual with others and gets quite flustered if someone comments on her appearance in a sexual way.

With her partners though it’s open season. She will tease, she will flirt, she will rile them up and she will be unashamed about it >:3

To answer second question first - she encourages it. She loves the implications that go with it, that you belong to them and the world needs to know it. She would hide more visible ones from the scions tho for obvious reasons.

Her fave places: her jawline, her neck and collarbone, stomach/the little areas on her abdomen where her thigh scales begin, inner thigh, down her spine….many places…😏 .

Aggressive? Absolutely.
Lots of clawing, biting and manhandling; Ikara is very “don’t treat me like I’m fragile” in combat and in the bedroom.

Slapping is a no no - lip biting yes but otherwise her face is off limits. .

Yes she does but her mixed genetics mess it up a bit so it’s less frequent. However when it does hit there’s a marked difference in her demeanour. She’s a lot more forward and direct about what she wants. Her partner thought she was insatiable before? Yeah that was nothing, prepare for a few days of not leaving the bedroom (not that they’d complain). She’s almost feral in her actions, a lot more confident and dominating whilst still keeping her bratty attitude. .

She’s generally quite experimental but draws the line at anything containing bodily fluids (ie anything outwith the usual ones you’d expect during sex) and extreme sadism; she enjoys pain in the form of clawing/biting/drawing blood etc but nothing torturous. Knifeplay is ok tho.
And as you said, nothing illegal. .

Not until she was about 20-ish.
Even tho their relationship was platonic, she had her first time with R’varah and they ended up having a somewhat friends with benefits arrangement. The fact he was her first probably contributed to how badly his betrayal affected her. .

absolutely. She likes the control and dominance behind it, even for something like forcing her to look up at someone, or to have her head forced up into a kiss. She loves it. .

Thancred (one night hook up)
Haucherfant (one time thing again)
Aymeric (friends with benefits where one is hopelessly in love)
Zenos (partner) .

When she’s single not particularly, it’s an occasional itch to scratch.
In a relationship is a different matter. Daily at a minimum. And if she’s in a heat cycle? She’s feral. .

She’s a tease and a flirt and she enjoys tormenting her partners, riling them up but being a brat about it (both in person and using her tomestone phone), especially if it’s not a suitable time and it gets them more frustrated. She never learns her lesson tho and is always taken off guard when her partners demand what was promised to them. .

She and Tseren are incredibly close. They look far less like twins nowadays, with Tseren taking after their father and towering above her at 6ft8 but the bond is still there. He is her true confidant. He knows everything about her life, her secrets, her fears and worries. He occasionally scolds her for her decisions but always supports and is there for her.
She always has a home in Kugane with him, his husband and their daughter should she ever choose to retire.

Torn.
On one hand she was excited to see her homeland and was keen to visit her tribe, however that would come with its own complications of having to inevitably face her father. So she requested another speak to the Himaa regarding the investigations and activities they were pursuing.
She’d always heard rumours of the Oronir tribe but had never met them so meeting Magnai was interesting for her to say the least. He was initially quite rude about her heritage but soon changed his tune and was humbled after seeing her prowess in combat.
Her father saw her during Naadam but didn’t approach her out of shame, seeing the confident warrior his daughter had become despite his actions.

Initially she was stunned. As she heard the familiar voice of her friend and mentor, she found herself frozen in place even though everything in her was desperately wanting to just run up and hug him and make sure he was real, even though she was a stranger to him in this world.
Despite everything that happened with Meteion, Ikara was incredibly at ease and comfortable in Elpis, like she’d found a place she belonged. Hearing stories of her unsundered self from Hythlodeus and gaining a better understanding of her previous life was a gift she would never trade for anything.
The most impactful part of her experience and time there was getting to know Venat; Ikara had long distrusted Hydaelyn but getting introduced to and familiar with the woman who would one day become her helped alleviate some of those doubts and fears she’d long held. The faith and kindness Venat showed her, the reassurance in her as a person, was exactly what she needed to continue her plight and not just give up. .

Her speed in combat. Even as a dragoon she was incredibly fast, like blink and she was behind you as if teleporting levels of fast.
Throw in her reaper ability to use void portals and now it’s just terrifying levels of not knowing where she’s going to appear on the battlefield.
It’s not an ability she utilises much out of combat as she has no real use for it. Her almost unnatural levels of stamina is probably another. It can feel like she’s been fighting or training for hours without losing energy levels or even breaking a sweat really.
I did toy once with a White Violin-esque idea of “Azem can’t use aether magics not for her own detriment but for our protection” and that passed onto Ikara but I’m still cooking on that one!! .

100% with affectionate sarcasm. Especially the “If it comes to it I won’t save you” one. Ikara sought out Zenos in the Royal Menagerie during the Labyrinthos downtime and they resolved a lot of underlying issues from when she left Garlemald and cleared up some misunderstandings (mainly caused by Fandaniels manipulations). So there was no malice or spite in any of her words. .

At first she was furious; not at the fact she was on the First but at the underhanded way she and her comrades were brought there. He clearly was capable of communicating, he almost got her killed doing so as she was fighting Elidibus masquerading as Zenos (that’s a whole other trauma), instead of leaving a cryptic message she didn’t understand. .
But the longer she spent on the First the more she understood their plight. She also figured out his identity fairly quickly but summarised there must be a reason he did not want to disclose it so stayed quiet. .
.
The events on the First traumatised her but she never held G’raha responsible. She never held anyone responsible. .

Those are from pre-Cartenau and before her WoL days. She worked as in information gathering and taking on jobs from the highest bidder. One of her missions was a set up and whilst she and her partner at the time were infiltrating a Castrum to get *any* information on what the Garleans were up to, they place was rigged with explosives and she was caught in one of the explosions. She was severely burned on her torso as well as shrapnel wounds which messed up her insides a lot meaning she’s very unlikely to ever be able to have kids and she also gets a lot of insecurity about the resulting scars. .

Urianger was the first to know and the only one initially to know she was in Garlemald during her brief disappearance pre-EW. He had concern but trusted her judgment and asked her two questions - “are you safe?” And “are you happy?”.
Satisfied with both answers, he promised he’d look out for her and not tell the others.

Thancred discovered accidentally; she returned to the Rising Stones after sneaking away one evening and he had been awake, reading in the bar. From his espionage missions around the Imperial Palace and his own pursuit of Krile during SB, he immediately recognised the scents lingering on her skin and clothes. He didn’t immediately challenge her but confided in Urianger who confirmed his suspicions and persuaded him to keep it to himself.

The two made it their personal mission to prioritise her safety and happiness; never interfering but making sure the others didn’t discover. And always on hand to be at her aid if things went south.
Post-EW, Thancred teases Ikara a lot for it (affectionately) and is incredibly subtle in doing so so others don’t catch on. Urianger helped her through her grief and was a rock for her after she initially left Zenos.

Y’Shtola didn’t learn till much later and entirely by accident. She pieced it together herself after some comments from Zero (which had left ikara mortified and flustered) and was entirely unsurprised having known it was probably inevitable since the moment they’d first met in Rhalgrs Reach.
Estinien, despite being present for the same comments from Zero, has yet to figure it out. All knowing parties have agreed that the twins and Graha never find out. Especially not Alisaie. .

Ikara is generally very comfortable in her body but does get quite insecure about her scarring, especially the burn scars across her abdomen. She will try and hide them with her arms/clothing as much as she can with new partners but she’s always been very fortunate in having partners who embrace them/appreciate them which increases her confidence. Once she’s comfortable with a partner that they’re not going to have issue with them she’s a lot more relaxed. .

She doesn’t have many because she’s generally quite open and unashamed of her interests regardless of others opinions.

That being said….ask anyone who knows her and they’ll tell you her favourite books are non-fiction biographies and also high fantasy adventures and thrillers. That much she will gladly share.
However she is also partial to the trashiest romance novels. Like proper cringey and ott bodice-ripper literature. She hides it inside big biographies so no one sees what she’s actually reading and she would rather die than have anyone find out.
Urianger found out as he appeared behind her one day and caught it over her shoulder and he has remained silent under threat of destroying his favourite deck of Astrologian cards if he breathes a word. She has been a lot more careful since then.
Zenos was also aware as she found a pile of them gathering dust in the palace library; he’d never touched them and wasn’t interested but they had belonged to his great grandsire so they remained.
There was a LOT of teasing her over this including quoting some lines and pretending to roleplay particularly cringy scenes to wind her up and fluster her. His shins were thoroughly kicked for this. .

She did. She first of all went to Kugane to see her brother and his family; she never told them it was a potential goodbye visit as she knew they’d worry and fret themselves something awful so acted like it was just another WoL adventure. Deep down she thinks Antonieux (her brothers husband) knew though and she’s forever grateful he kept that knowledge to himself.

She then went to see Aymeric for a one on one goodbye, away from official titles and duties. She apologised to him for how she had treated their relationship and he reassured her that he’d rather have had that time with her than no time at all. It gave her closure on that relationship and knowing that if she did make it back, she still had a dear friend in her life.

Lastly she went to the Royal Menagerie, just in case.
And her gut instinct was right, he did turn up to dwell upon the verbal smackdown he got from Alisaie.
And for the first time since she left Garlemald, they did what they probably should have done all along - talked.
He realised just what Fandaniel had done under false pretence that caused her to leave; she realised that to him, she had just abandoned him without a word and that all their interactions in between had been based on different optics of what had happened - if they’d just communicated with each other instead of blindly believing the Ascian, they wouldn’t be in their current situation. They talked a lot that evening and resolved so much that had been left unspoken between them.
It was the last thing Ikara wanted resolved before she left and even though they never clearly defined what their relationship was going to be going forward if she made it back, it was still a peace of mind for her .

Markedly improved.
With them disbanding and her no longer considering herself WoL, a lot of the resentment is fading and it’s allowing the relationships that had broken down to repair.
She, Urianger and Thancred spend a lot of time together and regularly go for dinner/drinks to catch up, Ikara goes to the First to visit Ryne and update Thancred on how she’s doing and she spend a lot of time in the Studium reading with Urianger.

G’Raha and the Twins she’s always been close to so there’s no change there.

Y’Shtola and Ikara have gotten closer whilst investigating the Void situation and are more open with each other - their relationship was never strained but they were indifferent to each other and that’s started to change. She quickly figured out why Ikara was getting flustered around Zero and was both incredibly amused by her reactions but somewhat saddened that she was in the dark/not trusted to know about her relationship and wants to mend that so she can be a confidante for Ikara.

Estinien is…Estinien. They always got on well, especially as they were both dragons, and he just presses on baffled and oblivious as to why Ikara reacts the way she does to Zero sometimes and why it brings Y’shtola endless amusement.
>
Ultimately she’s healing and mending her relationships which can only be a positive thing for her. .

I'm gonna preface this by saying I headcanon Zenos as demi (either romantic or sexual, but def on the ace spectrum).

Whilst both do find each other physically attractive, it wasn't really a factor. Ikara (much to her annoyance) admitted that she found him physically attractive immediately the firs time she saw him unmasked (Yugiri absolutely made a comment about the high pitched squeak she let out whilst brandishing a spear), but it wasn't till after they grew closer that Zenos even acknowledged what she looked like; prior if you were to ask him something incredibly simple like what her hair colour was, he wouldn't be able to answer. Hell sometimes she thinks he didn't even know her name.

They both got each others attention in Rhalgr's Reach. He was caught offguard by her absolute refusal to admit defeat. Bloodied and beaten, she stood defiant and stared him down and whilst many had tried, noone had actually managed to make him feel somewhat intimidated before. But her determination and the fire behind her eyes absolutely caught his attention but not in anything other than a platonic "I've taken an interest in this as a worthy opponent" way.

For Ikara, she was fascinated. Noone had ever gone toe to toe like that with her before. Sure she'd had tough challenges but noone had ever beaten her, made her out of breath and exhausted in battle, unable to continue on. And that absolutely got her going "Ok now I'm interested" but she was never sure if it was infatuation or curiousity.

Post ShB as they started meeting up away from the Scions and Garlemald and becoming each others confidante, that's when they started developing an attraction. They had no idea at first; Zenos couldn't comprehend why he was getting annoyed and frustrated with her, sometimes to the point of rage, hearing her talk about other people and that her focus wasn't on him and him alone. He'd never felt jealousy before so this was foreign to him. And ofc he didn't handle it appropriately at all once the realisation hit him and tried to forcibly kiss her because all he knew was how to take. And that pushed her away initially and she ran.

Ikara meanwhile, she'd been trying to ignore the fact that she felt a connection and bury it, pretend it wasn't there. How could she? He was her enemy. Yet he was the only one who saw past the titles, saw past the accomplishments and saw her as an equal. Not someone to revere, to put on a pedestal. He saw the flaws and he accepted them and encouraged her to do so too. She couldn't process her feelings and spiralled a lot going between hating him and loathing him and admiring him and wanting to strangle him and missing him and being infuriated by him until it was like she was hit by a truck and she realised "shit i love him".

Lmao oops super long answer but I'm in a writing mood

100%. She confided in Zenos long before that one of her biggest insecurities and fears was not being in control of her life; that she was a living weapon pointed and ordered. That she had no autonomy.

And he took that fear and made it real. He punished her for leaving him in the cruelest way imaginable, spurred on by Fandaniel who had orchestrated their entire separation from the beginning.

She was enraged when she got her body back but more importantly, she was completely heartbroken that she had been betrayed like that.

It cut her to the core and she had to be sedated by Urianger to allow her to recover as she refused to rest until she had confronted Zenos, her emotions controlling her and making her irrational.

I think all his VAs are fantastic and did a great job but as i only play msq with JP voices, I’d say that’s “canon” for Ikara’s lore.

Yes and no. It’s not their style however they do have mocking/derisive names that they call each other (affectionately….somewhat…if you can call it that).

Zenos is fond of reminding Ikara of her tribal roots by referring to her as “my little savage/beast” etc or goes the opposite direction, and knowing it annoys her, “princess” (this is something Nero *also* does having figured out who the rumoured consort in Garlemald was).

Ikara on the other hand takes pleasure in knocking him down a peg by referring to him as a “princeling” or a mocking “my love” when she’s after something and he sees right through it.

Oh absolutely!
Stolen some text from a WoLShip question thingy I did recently and expanded haha.

As they're both quite reserved indivials in a public setting, a lot of their love language and softer moments revolves around letting each other see different sides; it's a deep level of trust being able to let go like that and they reserve it only for each other. In private, they're very affectionate with lots of gentle kisses and hugs - eg Ikara will flop down on Zenos for hugs and ear scratches, and he's the only one who gets to hear her purr when she's content. She falls asleep on top of him regularly and he’ll carry her to bed.
Likewise, he'll lay his head on her lap and let her stroke his hair whilst he's reading or napping, and occasionally lets her sit and play with it, putting small braids/plaits through it or head scratches with her claws.

She gets to hear his actual laugh, not the front he puts on, and gets to see him relaxed and be playful with her, he gets to see her cry and knows of her guilty pleasure book interests of which he will relentlessly tease her. He also bullies her due to her height by either putting her things in high places or holding them out of reach just to wind her up (entirely affectionately tho).
Rough and aggressive tends to be more for training and bedroom purposes but even there can be tenderness. Second only to leaving his mark on her, one of his favourite things to do is gently line her jaw with kisses and he’ll catch her off guard by leaning in to whisper in that he loves her - he never says the words out loud so it always means a lot to her when this happens. Similarly Ikara will press gentle kisses to his third eye, something considered incredibly intimate in Garlean culture (hc time). There is a lot of passion between them on both ends of the spectrum and that fire fuelled most of their relationship and allowed them to be so completely open with each other.

Many lmao.
I’ll just cover the main ones tho.
Zenos life has always been about routine, planning and sticking to a schedule. Ikaras life has no such thing. And she disrupts his constantly. He wouldn’t mind as much if she didn’t insist on being part of his morning routine - he rises around 6am to do early morning training, usually the more mundane things like cardio/weights etc before he gets ready for the day. Ikara always insists she wants to be a part of that however Ikara is not a morning person. Ikara is not someone you wake up early; until she is ready to rouse, she is out and unwakeable.
This frustrates Zenos to the point of getting pissed off at her because he wouldn’t care if she wanted to sleep in, but she disrupts his morning and throws everything out of routine as he spends time trying to wake her (occasionally just picking her up and dumping her in the bath or shower) - he’d leave her to sleep but then she gets pouty and huffy that he didn’t include her and he doesn’t want to deal with that either. TLDR Ikara can be an eepy princess.

On the flip side, Ikara has always been self sufficient: she’s didn’t grow up with the privilege of maids and servants to answer her every whim so the concept of cleaning up after herself is natural to her. Zenos however, as Ikara affectionately reminds him, is a spoiled little princeling who has people to do all that mundane stuff for him. And even with the Imperial palace having a massive reduction in staff due to the war, he still acts like someone’s going to clear up after him and just leaves everything where he feels. Plates/cups just left where he was using them and likes them up rather than deal with them, clothes dumped on the floor, beds unmade and so on. Why should he do that stuff? There’s always been someone else to do it for him. So Ikara gets pissed off and usually ends up doing most of it anyway which just enables him more.

Cw: abuse
It allowed them, albeit unintentionally, to understand some of their experiences that they weren’t quite sure how to put into words to each other - specifically their abusive childhoods.

They’d touched on it briefly with each other whilst talking but neither ever went into the details, not really wanting to confront or relive it. Their respective echo’s however decided to do that part for them.

Ikara stood in their bedroom one day and found herself unexpectedly and uncharacteristically embraced in a tight hug with no words said and thanks to her own echo, realised he’d had glimpses of her childhood. Of her intervening between her drunken father as he turned violent against her brother, who at the time was the much more timid of the twins. Ikara was usually the verbal and physical punching bag for their father when he was drunk as she was much more likely to stand up to him and protect her brother. Ikara had to beg him not to go to Azim Steppe and deal with her father - he wasn’t worth the risk and she wasn’t giving her father the satisfaction of the guilt he knew she’d feel.

Ikara’s echo manifests in her dreams whilst sleeping and for a period when she and Zenos started spending their evenings together, even before they were in a relationship, she was plagued by visions of the isolation and abuse he suffered as a child and they became increasingly more common when she was living in Garlemald. He’d wake to find her clinging to him subconsciously in her sleep and they fueled her intent to show him all the love he never received even if it meant the world fell apart.

Yes

As a child, Ikara’s mum gave her a bracelet she had been gifted by a seeker tribe during her travels before settling down; it was dotted with symbolism of the sun which became very fitting as Ikara grew up. It’s stored at her brothers for safe keeping but she wears it for special occasions. Before leaving the Steppe, she also raided her mums jewellery box and took some smaller trinkets such as hair barettes, earrings and necklaces as mementos that she knew her father would never let her have.

The main thing Zenos gave her was one of his mother’s rings, gold with black diamond and rubies arranged after the Garlean sigil that had been given to her when she became empress. It was actually given to her as an apology for an argument they’d had and he wasn’t entirely sure how to express his apologies verbally. She also has some more intricate and decorative armour pieces that I guess could constcount too!

Not great lmao. There was tears, a bloody nose and a smacked jaw involved.
The tldr version of it is Zenos felt an unfamiliar emotion - jealousy - and reacted to that emotion with about as much grace as you’d expect.
He wasn’t happy that HIS time with Ikara was being spent with her focus being on someone else. Why was she talking about another man when HE was right there? HE wouldn’t have treated her badly like this ‘Thancred’ was (context, Ikara/Thancreds friendship broke down during ShB).
So obviously the rational response is to growl at her to shut up, pin her to the ground and forcibly kiss her.
Initially she was shocked but responded, deepening it and grabbing his hair but that only lasted a short moment before the gravity of the situation hit her and she came to her senses and pushed him off; yelling and scratching and a swift punch to the face busting his nose.
Her only words as she left him, sobbed through tears was “why did you ruin it?”.

Oh god it's so dumb.
So I've always said as part of Ikara's lore that her toxic trait is she would always choose her stuffed animals over actual living beings in a trolley problem situation.
Then memeing with friends in chat and stuff, that slowly became "Zenos buys Ikara all her stuffed animals, sometimes without even knowing as she stole his credit card" and at some point, "Ikara would domesticate Zenos by taking him to Ikea" got thrown in.
Then the Blåhaj mod got released and I have always loved the Ikea stuffed animals, especially Blåhaj, so it kind of just evolved from there as a one time silly thing to "How dumb/cute can I make this" with a bit of "How many models can my laptop reasonably handle?" (The answer 27 is atm)

Her interest first started in Rhalgr’s Reach as she stared him down defiantly, her comrade lying gravely injured beside her.
Until now, no one had ever kept up with her, went toe-to-toe with her and looked down on her (no not because she’s short lmao) and was essentially her perfect equal. They had a mutual respect for each other built on, whilst they were enemies, also perfectly understood each other.
It wasn’t until after the events of both Shadowbringers and the first Welwyt trial that Ikara started feeling more tho. It was during her lowest moments that she realised there was only one person in her life that saw through her title and saw her as a person. As an imperfect individual with flaws but still held her above all else. And that’s when she went “oh shit I’ve caught feelings” .

Only one other and she didn’t find out til much later (during the Sharlayan section where they are aiding the building of the Ragnarok).
Bloody Nero tol Scaeva.
He’d heard rumours that the crown Prince had a paramour, heard Cid show concern for Ikara’s erratic behaviour of late where she’d disappear for days at a time and also at one point disappeared on her own for over a month. So he put two and two together. He didn’t say anything directly but he made it abundantly clear in Sharlayan he knew by teasing Ikara relentlessly. He’d only ever refer to her with titles like “good morning my lady” “right away princess” or send things like an improved version of her Coffee Maker addressed to “Ikara wir Avalonia”’s quarters.
She was in the predicament as she couldn’t get publicly mad at him as to others, they just sounded like terms of endearment and they’d possibly query why it would upset her so and start to pry.
So she’d just kick his shins under the table or deliberately mix up his coffee order at the Last Stand. .

In the bluntest of terms - he didn’t consider it at all.
He was possessive over Ikara but not in a jealous way. No he was very secure in the knowledge that she belonged to him and only him and anyone else was insignificant in his mind. .

They are incredibly different in many aspects but also have several similarities.

With Aymeric, it's safe. She loves him, but isn't in love with him. He's where she'd go when she needed to be reassured and needed stability. It's not fair on him and she's very much in the wrong for leading him on and never defining boundaries.

With Zenos it's raw, it's heated and dangerous and she is very much in love. There's no safety, she knows he could kill her in her sleep if the notion took him. He's possessive and territorial regarding her. And that's what keeps her going back.

But at the same time; both are fiercely loyal to her, would do anything for her and are passionate about their relationships (albeit express it in very different ways - one healthy and one just a parade banner of red flags).
Honestly she just needs to get over herself and settle down with G'raha. Her most healthy (platonic) relationship .

Brutal/Harsh yes? In line with the character? Also yes.
Zenos is not the type of character to fret and worry about another. He’s possessive and obsessive but not jealous: he’s too arrogant and self assured for that. As I said, he /knows/ Ikara was his and his alone and was secure enough in that knowledge to not even consider rivals.

And no Aymeric and Ikara were never going to be more than a fling. Even before she fell for Zenos, she used Aymeric as a self confidence boost when she needed it. She is wracked with guilt over it and she’ll probably try and make it up to him going forward but she’d never considered settling down with him from the get go. Her love was platonic whilst his was romantic. .

A lot. I need to sit down and write it fully for carrd but I’ll try my best to summarise (I ramble and over explain so I apologise in advance lmao)

Ikara left him just at the start of EW; thanks to Fandaniels manipulations, Ikara thought Zenos had grown to resent her, wanted her gone and also threatened her; meanwhile Zenos thought she had abandoned him without a word. This fuelled the anger and hatred between the two for most of EW and why certain scenes stung so much more. Really everything could have been resolved if they just had an adult conversation but no, Zenos had to soul swap with her as punishment (he knew her biggest insecurity was not being in control of her own life and so In From the Cold was a particularly cruel punishment) and she has to passive aggressively ignore him on the moon which results in his biting comments towards her regarding it. Because that’s how two maladjusted emotionally stunted adults deal with their issues rather than just talking.

They do resolve things before Ultima Thule and their last fight is very much their love language.

Tldr - in Ikara’s canon much of what happened in EW could have been avoided by communicating lmao .

Ah firstly thanks for reading my silly posts about my blorbo 😭

And no they aren’t together during Endwalker. After Fandaniel turned up, they began fighting a lot more; Ikara didn’t trust him - she’d known previous Ascians and generally understood their goals - but something didn’t sit right with her about this one, and it wasn’t just because he wore Asahi’s face.

The tldr is Fandaniel manipulations.
He wanted rid of Ikara as she was a voice of reason in Zenos ear and took advantage of them not being on speaking terms by ordering her to leave, threatening her family and implying the threats came from Zenos. Ikara’s brother is her biggest weakness and only Zenos knew this so it made it all the more real. She fled immediately.
Meanwhile, Zenos was oblivious to this and was told by Fandaniel that she’d left without a word, abandoning him like everyone else - fully knowing that’s one of the things he’d confided in Ikara as a fear. This is what fuelled his escalations towards her until Zodiark is killed - In From the Cold was much more personal for them both; for him it was punishment for her leaving, and for her it was betrayal and violation. .

100% with affectionate sarcasm. Especially the “If it comes to it I won’t save you” one. Ikara sought out Zenos in the Royal Menagerie during the Labyrinthos downtime and they resolved a lot of underlying issues from when she left Garlemald and cleared up some misunderstandings (mainly caused by Fandaniels manipulations). So there was no malice or spite in any of her words. .

For some context, they weren’t together for EW.
They separated at the end of ShB, mostly due to Fandannys manipulations. There was a very real hatred between the two, which hurt more due to how much love they’d had for each other, for much of the story until they had it out and made up just before Ikara left for UT. So until that point Ikara was headstrong in her decision that absolutely not, he’d hurt her too badly during In From the Cold.

And then the bastard said one line to her and she knew if they both made it back it alive then she was never leaving him again.

“I rode the light of the stars to you” .

No. Could he have started afresh and potentially joined the Scions as an ally?
Potentially. But too many people across the star have been affected by atrocities commited by him and his family, including the Garlean people themselves, so it’s unreasonable to expect them to just hand wave that off and and forgive/forget.
If he had survived, he’d need to be held accountable for his actions and Ikara would understand that. She’d obviously advocate to “rehabilitate” him and negotiate some kind of reasonable punishment and be a part of that but she’d fully understand that he can’t just casually stroll around. .

About as well as can be imagined.
She didn’t peacefully teleport back to the Ragnarok. She was pushing through excruciating pain to try and wake him, hysterical and manic and frantically grabbing and shaking him.
As she roused on the ship, she realised she was clutching his pendant having accidentally snapped it clean off his neck between her panic and the teleport. Thancred fixed it for her and left it in her dresser a few days after they returned back to Sharlayan.

She sunk into a deep grief filled depression for quite some time after that; coupled with physiotherapy to try and regain strength in her leg, she was running on empty. .

Probably her reading room.
When she took leave from the scions for a few months after the events of 5.3 and went to live Garlemald, she took few home comforts and travelled light.

Ikara also was quite anxious during this time because she’d never taken the time to process everything that had happened to her including her almost-succumbing to the Light.

Knowing that reading and escaping into a book was her comfort, and that she loved nothing more than to curl up with blankets and tea by the window whilst she read, Zenos set up a room for her with a large window seat overlooking the snowy mountains of Garlemald, ensured there was as many soft comforts as possible (pillows/blankets) and filled with books, many from his own personal library. It was /her/ space and not even he would go in uninvited as she needed somewhere where she could be by herself for quiet time. This meant the world to her not just because of the thought behind it but because he did it himself. He didn’t order anyone to do it for him. He did it entirely on his own for her, and it was one of several times she saw a side to him that was exclusively reserved for her only. .