my Ionia interpretation/headcanons as pasted from my google doc
(sorry it gets a lil weird but I warned you)
-Ionia likely got most of her baby raising advice from Alec, who she befriended after a chance meeting in the mountains. This friendship helps Ionia strengthen her bond with humans and understand them on a deeper level. They discuss raising daughters, even if Alec doesn’t remember all of Hinawa growing up.
-Of all the Magifolk, Ionia is the only one that I draw with breasts—it’s a symbol of the fact that she is the only one who became a mother. Typically, in my interpretation of the Magifolk, they would never need them, but after taking in infant Kumatora, Ionia’s body adapted to her needs. It’s a subtle way to show how a close bond with a human can quickly change a mystical being.
-Ionia never got young Kumatora accustomed to calling her “mom,” as she believed that “mom” solely referred to the one who birthed her. (This might be because she did not know of or comprehend the idea of adoptive parents at the time, as the closest thing she was familiar with was pet ownership, like Lydia did.) Instead, Kumatora simply referred to her by her actual name as she grew up. However, even though the name “mom” was not used, Ionia very much took the role of a mother for Kumatora in every sense. Due to this, Kumatora comes to accept later on that Ionia is the only mother she has, and refers to her as such.
-As a whole, the Magifolk show curiosity, but indifference to the fate of the world and who will pull the Needles, like a form of nihilism. Ionia is the exception: she is the only one who actively wishes for Lucas and friends to succeed. She wants to see the best for humanity and for these few people, because she has developed a more human-like sense of optimism and love for human beings. She has broken out of her innate sense of aloofness that comes with being near immortal and transformed into something more human.
-She is a direct foil to Locria—both of them have “snapped out of it” and realized they do not need to be passive, but can directly influence the narrative with their own autonomy. However, they have chosen opposite sides to support. Ionia has been influenced by connection and direct interaction with humanity, while Locria has been swayed by the allure of Porky’s plans. Ionia is motivated by love and understanding the connection between living things, while Locria is motivated by boredom and the desire to be something more than what he is. They both sort of want to be human in their own way: Ionia to understand their way of life, and Locria because he wants to live out the fantasy of gaining power over people.
-Because she takes on so many human characteristics, Ionia is also the only Magifolk (besides Locria) to experience negative emotions (besides maybe minor inconvenience and disgust). While the others brush off their deaths, Ionia feels many different emotions. While she knows it is bound to come eventually, she also feels uneasy not knowing whether Kumatora will be okay, and sad that they won’t see each other again. This sensation is surprising to her.
