Notes: Basically this is just a rewrite of Ike and Soren's conversation after Soren's paralogue. The dialogue is great already but you know, wouldn't it be even better if it was longer and even more obvious that they love each other?
Words: 1896
Summary:
The first thing Emblem Soren does when he is awakened is go to battle. The first thing he does after the battle is go to Ike.
Crossposted to AO3.
As soon as the battle ended, Soren went straight to Ike, flushed with the exertion of the recent battle, the shock of seeing Ike, and a not-insignificant amount of righteous indignation.
“You attacked me!”
“Nice to see you too, Soren,” Ike said, unruffled as ever. “I seem to recall that you got some hits in as well.”
“In self-defense because you were hitting me with your giant sword, Ike,” Soren retorted. “And you say that I’m the one who likes making things difficult. You know I would have joined as soon as I knew you were here.”
“Eh, that wouldn’t have been as much fun. I like seeing your strength, and we’ve never been on separate sides before.”
“And never will be again, I hope,” Soren said with the air of someone willing something into existence.
“Of course not,” Ike said. “I would never actually fight you, Soren. You know that.”
Soren huffed, but his overall demeanor calmed. “So we’re Emblems, then. And this is not Tellius.”
“Elyos, it’s called.”
“Hmmm,” Soren considered. “Well, we always said that we were going to leave Tellius someday. This wasn’t what I expected, but I suppose it counts. Are there any other…Emblems from our world?”
“No. Several from other worlds, but none from Tellius other than the two of us.”
Soren considered this. “I’m sorry. I…cared for some of our companions, but not nearly as deeply as you did. You must miss them.”
Ike shrugged. “Sure I do, but I’ve always believed in making the best of a tough situation. And I feel a whole lot better now that you’re here.”
“How long have you been here? In…Elyos, right?” Soren asked.
“A few weeks, by my reckoning,” Ike said. “It’s a little hard to tell time when you disappear into a ring rather than sleeping. Or a bracelet in your case, I guess.”
Soren hummed, considering. “Can you feel pain?”
“Emotional pain, sure. Physical pain? I don’t think so, or at least not in the same way.”
“Interesting,” Soren remarked, going quiet as he fell further into thought. Ike watched him fondly, comfortable in the silence.
“It’s strange,” Soren finally said. “I feel like myself, and yet I am not the ‘real’ Soren. I know it, somehow. And you’re not the ‘real’ Ike, although you’re as identical to him as I am to my counterpart.”
“How do you figure that?”
“It just wouldn’t make sense, otherwise. We function unlike we would if we were simply humans summoned to another world. We’re something slightly different. I have to admit it unsettles me to think that I did not exist before the Divine Dragon awakened me.”
“It is strange,” Ike agreed, “but in the end, does it really matter if we’re the real Ike and Soren? I’m not sure it does.”
“How so?” Soren asked, brow furrowed.
“You know I’m no philosopher, but what makes a person other than his memories and experiences? We have all the memories of the ‘real’ Ike and Soren and all the feelings and lessons that came with them. We act based on those memories and how they shaped us. So even if there’s another version of us back in Tellius, who’s to say we’re any less real than they are? Maybe we’re all equally real, the same people put on two different paths.”
“Are you sure?” Soren said wryly. “I don’t think the Ike I know is smart enough to come up with that idea.”
“But the Soren I know wouldn’t miss the chance to take that shot at me, would he?” Ike smiled. “Come on, Soren. I’m no philosopher, but I’m not a meathead either.”
“Not just a meathead, anyway.” Soren’s smile would have seemed mocking to anyone else, but Ike knew there was no edge to it. “I wonder if we…branched off, so to speak, at the same time. What is the last thing you remember from Tellius?”
“Do you remember all of that business with the goddess?” Ike asked, somber.
“Yes,” Soren replied, “and a little ways past that as well.”
Ike nodded. “We were rebuilding. The last thing I remember…it’s a little hard to recall because I have several weeks of memories here too. Oh! It was the day that Kieran tried to give himself a haircut!”
“And he ended up with a bald patch the size of an apple,” Soren continued.
Ike laughed. “Oscar ended up having to shave his whole head. He never stopped yelling, and by the end of it his face was so red you almost couldn’t see that he had no hair.”
“And then Rolf suggested that Rhys donate some of his hair for a wig.”
“Rhys?” Ike frowned thoughtfully. “I thought it was Shinon.”
A modicum of the tension in Soren’s body went slack. “It was Shinon. I was testing to make sure we have the same memories. It seems that we do. That is the last day I remember as well.”
“And what a day it was. I don’t think Rolf expected Shinon to be quite that mad, but he’s always been a little vain about his hair.” Ike’s fond smile dropped as he remembered where he was.
“You miss them, don’t you?” Soren said. “I do too.”
“Even Shinon?” Ike managed a half-hearted smile.
“No.” Soren’s reply was so immediate and definitive that Ike couldn’t help but laugh. The moment lightened, but they soon fell back into a somber silence.
“If we have the same memories,” Soren said, finally, “does that mean that you remember…” he trailed off.
Ike floated a stride towards Soren, close enough to touch but not touching. “That I love you?” he said, looking down to meet Soren’s gaze. “Of course I do. That’s not the kind of thing that I could ever forget.”
The relief showed so nakedly on Soren’s face that he would have been ashamed if anyone other than Ike could see it. “Ike,” he said, the name coming out like a benediction.
“Soren.” Ike’s voice was firm, solid, exactly the voice that Soren knew.
“Being Emblems, there are clearly limitations,” Soren said. “You mentioned we cannot sleep. But can we…touch?”
In answer, Ike raised his hand to Soren’s cheek. Soren leaned into it, noting that while there was a slight layer of strangeness, it came from the world, not from Ike. The hand was all Ike, all warmth and strength and rough calluses. It felt like home.
Soren’s eyes fluttered shut. He placed his hand over Ike’s much larger one and squeezed with surprising strength. “I didn’t want to live in a world without you,” he said, equal parts vulnerable and fierce.
Ike kissed the mark on Soren’s forehead and wrapped him in an embrace. “You’ll never have to,” he promised.
Timerra is my favorite of the primary royals in spite of her late appearance. Say what you will about her as a unit, but Sandstorm for the win! That, and her canon Emblem is my favorite character in the franchise: Ike.
The main thing I appreciate about her character she plays her role as “the heart” of the Royals very well. When it comes to her supports with them, Timerra’s fun loving personality is used as her means to show her workings as future queen. Timerra embodies Solm’s main creed: freedom.
What separates her from most examples of the trope she fits in is that she is a lot more politically savvy and more pragmatic than you think. In her introductory chapter, it’s revealed that she and her brother Fogado were feigning ignorance to ensure they could trust Alear and Co. And her supports with the other Royals were made for Timerra to understand them through her… quirks…
Timerra and Ike are both narratively perfect for each other as an Emblem Unit pair. And Timerra’s methods of doing her job revolves around that freedom just like Ike. It also helps that she is one of the few people that Soren doesn’t talk badly towards as a result of protecting Ike’s Emblem Ring.
For me, the big reason why I love Timerra is because she and Merrin have my favorite Royal and retainer support. It’s to the point where I actually ship them, and as a straight shipper, that should tell you something. Their support was just that great.
Engage spoilers below, this was a jambled rant I wrote the day after the Soren DLC map came out that was in my drafts for a while.
Okay, so, Soren being added as an Emblem is the funniest thing to me. When he and Alear first meet, he makes it very clear that there is only one person he is loyal to and provides help to by simply asking, and if Alear really has to have his help, then they're going to need to prove themselves worthwhile.
I don't know how all the mechanics in Engage work, but I brought Ike’s Emblem on Alear, and had her attack Soren. It is only at that time that Ike shows up to Soren, teasing him a little at first. Immediately after the battle, Soren basically says to Ike, "You could have just said you were here and saved everyone the trouble."
Which is really funny to me, because Ike was with Alear. Ike could have just popped out at the beginning (but also not, because then we wouldn't have had the battle map).
Ike doesn't respond to that in any real way, but I think he wanted to fight against Soren. Ike enjoys testing himself against people stronger than him, and he constantly says (in the Tellius games and in Engage) that Soren is one of the strongest people he knows, so obviously he'd be eager to face off against Soren.
But also the fond/tired line of "You always did make things difficult, didn't you?" first before "Let's see if this is good enough for you," knowing damn well that Soren thinks the absolute world of him. I'm dying. (Also matches the JP script of their RD Base Conversation, you know the one, where Ike calls Soren a pain.)
Also, I'm never going to recover from how well delivered "Stop! You don't have to prove yourself to me!" is. The absolute panic.
