Izana's love for Zen
Spoilers up to and including current manga arc!
I am the first to admit I enjoy playing devil's advocate for the characters whom nobody likes. And when it comes to Izana I see a lot of...chilly reception...with regards to his demeanor and temperament.
Which is what makes him so perfect to analyze here!
It is immediately established in the series that, regardless of Izana's behaviour or thoughts on Shirayuki, Zen respects and cares for his elder brother. He goes so far as to apologize for it to Shirayuki, knowing how lowly Izana thinks of her at first. But because he punishes Zen for failing to discipline the soldiers at Laxd, and chastises him for allowing a commoner into the palace and later professing his love for her, I think it is this first appearance at face value which gives the impression that Izana does not love or care about Zen, or Zen's wishes and emotions.
That couldn't be further from the truth.
The flashbacks about Zen and Atri are what ultimately sealed the deal for me as the story progressed. We see Atri and Zen as childhood friends, with Zen openly trusting the lower class boy before Atri reveals his and his group's true intentions. Izana sees the grave consequences of having allowed Zen so much freedom in mingling outside of the nobility - and how deeply broken Zen is from it all, questioning how he can know who to trust.
Every step Izana takes to separate Zen and Shirayuki is a test (which is something Izana admits to!), a test that Izana did not put Atri through. Had Izana separated Zen and Atri early on, it would have become readily apparent that Atri's intentions were far from pure; he was using Zen as a pawn to lure out Izana, after all.
And when Zen goes against his brother's wishes and flees to Tanbarun to protect Shirayuki from Kazuki, Izana's words in Chapter 22 - If something happens to you, and I have to do something about it...- are particularly powerful. Because something did happen to Zen with Atri, and Izana did have to do something about it. And it was devastating to Zen, and by extension Izana.
Izana doesn't want to see that happen again, and his barring Shirayuki from ever returning if such a situation repeated itself is perfectly logical. We as the reader know that Shirayuki has pure intentions, Izana does not.
But as Shirayuki continues to prove herself - as someone dependable, someone worthwhile - Izana does not so vehemently oppose Zen’s involvement with her. A fine example of this is Zen’s marriage interview; Izana approved the list of candidates knowing Zen’s very own aide Kiki was on it. Izana was a man who singlehandedly, at the age of seventeen, run down not one but two corrupt lords and rebuilt their territories, but somehow "overlooked" Kiki's name on the list of marriage candidates, and the fact Zen could stage an interview with Kiki to buy himself time with Shirayuki? Unlikely.
Izana carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and has for a long time. He has to live up to the expectation of others after his father's death and his mother's leaving the castle. He took over much of his parents' work and duties, alongside tending to his younger brother, at a young age. An entire country is depending on him and his decisions; this is far from an easy task for anyone. But when Zen goes through a rebellious streak - understandable for any child coming of age in such a strict context - it must have been especially worrisome for Izana. To think about the trouble Zen might get into, and to witness it happening with Atri.
Yet Izana tells Zen, in the flashback in Chapter 51, that what Zen lacks and Izana has, Zen does not need - Zen has his own qualities, qualities which Izana comes to accept and respect as Zen grows into a dedicated and successful leader, even with Shirayuki in his life. And it becomes very clear that Izana does not want to prevent Zen from marrying Shirayuki; rather, he wants them both to be their best selves before such an event happens. He knows the taboo of a royal marrying a commoner - yet Izana has also seen Shirayuki’s dedication and intelligence, and knows she is worthy to keep in close company.
So, I hazard a guess that, when Shirayuki moved into the castle, Izana knowingly sent her to Lilias before she barely had time to get used to it - and it is so she can gain experience, both book and street smarts, before coming back to settle down for good. And her mission (from Izana) to line the country with Phostyrias further supports this theory; she needs to broaden her horizons of Clarines and its people if she is to one day be at its ruler's side as Zen's wife.
When that day comes, Zen and Shirayuki will both have the qualities it takes to succeed in such a grueling position of leadership - a position Izana knows all too well. And Izana granting Shirayuki and Zen those opportunities is perhaps the greatest act of love I can imagine him giving his younger brother.
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AnS Personality Quiz
Ever wondered what AnS character you match most closely? You can find out with this quiz (made by yours truly)! There are 10 possible characters you can get.
Take the quiz here!
Possible characters: Shirayuki, Zen, Obi, Kiki, Mitsuhide, Izana, Ryuu, Garak, Raji and Hisame.
Reblog with which character you get on the quiz, if you'd like~
This quiz was made to celebrate the AnS Discord's 6th Anniversary. Check my pinned post for a link to the Discord if you want to join, or DM me!
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Would you read this book?
-"Back Off. She's Mine."
A Zen Wistaria x Female Reader
"𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞?!" 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. "𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤; 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬! 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐞! 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐘/𝐧!"
"𝓑𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓸𝓯𝓯. 𝓢𝓱𝓮'𝓼 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓮."
ℑ𝔫 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔠𝔥, 𝐘/𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐙𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬.
Sounds iffy right? Maybe a bit cringe, no? Sorry, I couldn't help myself😭 I started this somewhere in the seventh grade. There are 8 published chapters and I plan on writing more.
If you do plan on reading it, however, the book is on my Wattpad account: Alya4567789.
-Love yall always!
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