@hermeswol Made an Ancients friendship/relationship template, but I didn't want to derail the post I saw, so I made a new post. Blank template at the bottom, and anyone who sees this and plays FF14 (or daydreams about it enough to have a WoL/Azem) should add to this post or make their own and tag me :D
Anyway, this is how I see Inky's relationships with these characters post-6.55, post-Panda. Explanations under the cut ^_^ [Edited in Apr. 2025 to reflect some rewrites]
So, the easy ones:
Inky and Meteion mutually like each other very much and wish they could have been closer before Meteion became the Endsinger. If they'd had more time together, that might have developed into a sisterly relationship, but as it stands, they're just close friends who wish they had more time.
Inky and Hyth get on like a house on fire. Inky's resemblance to her version of Azem is tremendous, which obviously Hades also picked up on at various points, but where it infuriated and confused Hades, Hythlodaeus was willing to accept it. The feeling is very mutual. The two of them definitely wish they could have spent more time together, but the caveat here is that Hyth is very tired and very ready to return to the star post-EW, so it's a nostalgic, passive desire on both ends.
All incarnations of Azem don't get along with Lahabrea. Full stop. Even despite Panda, Inky is unwilling to forgive Lahabrea for what he put Thancred through, and Lahabrea is unwilling to accept Inky's philosophies. [EDIT: Inky canonically never completed Pandaemonium, so she has absolutely no sympathy for him.] There's a begrudging respect there, but no love lost whatsoever.
Now slightly more complex:
Inky and Venat are interesting in that they both see their relationship as familial, but not the same kind of familial. Inky sees them as sisters, but Venat sort of sees Inky as a daughter in a very matronly way, given what she ultimately learned about who Inky is and where she comes from. Still, there's no tension as a result of the difference. They both think of each other fondly.
Inky and Eric are definitely close friends and allies, from the moment they met to the moment Inky finished Panda. If they'd had a little more time together, this relationship could have gotten complicated, though, since I think Ericthonios may have been developing some feelings for Inky...which is a real issue because they never properly got into the specifics of what Inky is and what that means relative to the "personhood" as defined by an Ancient's worldview. It's possible they would have balanced out into the familial zone, but I think it's more likely they would have fractured apart a little under the stress. So it's probably a good thing Inky isn't going back to the World Unsundered any time soon. [EDIT: Inky never met Ericthonios because she never did Pandaemonium.]
Inky and Hermes were definitely friends for the brief time they knew each other in the World Unsundered, and I think Inky felt more pity than dislike for him by the end of Endwalker. Inky wishes she could have been closer to Hermes, especially because she recognizes how lonely he was and doesn't think anyone deserves that. In turn, Inky's kindness and empathy was so similar to Hermes's original way of thinking that it was comforting to him, but also a bit frightening given that Inky was "just" a familiar. Also, particularly as Fandaniel, he was definitely unnerved by her in the way that many people are unnerved by clowns.
Inky and Hades are definitely a relationship that's extremely shadowed by Azem, and they're both painfully aware of it. Inky thinks of herself and Hades as having been fairly close, but Hades is more hesitant because of Azem's lingering presence. There's no way in which he will ever be able to see her as just Inky rather than "a shard of his soulmate." Because of that, Hades was always a little more reticent with Inky, even if he would begrudgingly acknowledge her as at least a friend by the end of things. Inky thinks of Hades with more clarity, having come to accept him as someone very platonically important to her. She may only be part of Azem, but the core of what made Azem and Hades soulmates is still very present in Inky, and she's able to enjoy that bond with a much less angsty clouded mind. Probably because she doesn't have millennia of trauma about it or something...
And finally, Inky and Themis. Inky thinks of Themis as a close friend after the events of Panda and what she learned about him in the World Unsundered. She and Themis and Eric are like The Bros, in her mind. She wishes they could have been closer because she genuinely enjoys Themis's personality and drive and subtle wit. He's still young enough when they met in Panda that Inky's lightheartedness wasn't totally lost on him, and she really enjoyed cultivating that friendship. [EDIT: Inky did not complete Panda, so she and Themis only have the relationship as revealed by ShB and the events leading up to it.] That said, I think Themis is also a much more reserved person who probably really struggled with accepting unconditional friendship from someone older than him (and, at first, someone who wasn't entirely a person in his eyes). Gifted kid syndrome and all that--the advanced young protege with too much on his shoulders wasn't quite ready for the concept of someone wanting to be around him even if she didn't need him. And, I think in the end, Themis was a little resentful of the life Inky got to have. Some of that resentment stayed with him, all the way up to their final confrontation in Shadowbringers when he realized--despite her not knowing him at that point and therefore having no reason to care, again--Inky was just Like That.
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