LET US REVEL

Let's start with the very basic which is the Emperor's attire:

This one seems to be protocol as between Varis and old man Solus here there aren't many differences really. You've got the usual Garlean armor underneath the big imposing cape and pauldrons, but what makes this whole thing special is the draconic motifs. Looking back into the background for Garlemald itself, I'm curious if it's always been chosen as a symbol for the royal family, or it had been incorporated after the Dravanian Horde skirmish. As far as I can tell, however, it seems like it's a Wyrm adorning their crowns and cape fabric, and oddly enough only Varis has the Garlean sigil, as Solus's front piece reminds me of someone else....

These are vines, no grapes on them yet, however in the EW outfit, the pauldron got proper grapes growing between the vines:

There's apparently symbolism regarding grapes when it comes to transformation and death, rebirth, victory over death, as well as reaping rewards after a long wait. This is opposed to the usual symbolism related to intoxication and merryment that usually comes from its association with Dionysus.

I feel though that even with EW he didn't reach his full potential, but achieved that sort of rebirth and transformation still, right at the end of it all.

I know that i'm a broken fucking record on this shit at this point and everyone's probably bored of my hyperfixations BUT!! I just find him so interesting. I can totally see WHY ppl don't "get it" (and i mean that - i'm not trying to be condescending or w/e ) and find him dull and boring and one note and like WHY is he getting ALL of this attention from the story?? who the fuck is this guy? And I think what we're presented with in the game can feel very confusing at times, because some of the best pieces of Zenos lore and insight into who he is, is (for whatever reason??) in a short story, in a book you'd have to pay for to be able to read. (COUGHS ...) " One might think it a blessing to be born into the ruling family of a vast and powerful empire, but for the young Prince Zenos-great grandson of Solus zos Galvus, revered founding father of the Garlean Empire-it was a curse.

From the beginning, Zenos was alone." and a couple of lines after that:

"Indeed, it could be said that he was never a child at all. Innocence and playfulness were quite alien to him, the former expunged by his earliest schooling and the latter afforded no outlet. His days were uniformly joyless, and he went about his scheduled tasks with apathy." AAAAAAAAAND way past that we get these 2: "Zenos continued. “Second, battle offers no euphoria, despite what the tales may claim. Deep down I had always known this, yet I find myself disappointed nonetheless.” "

( This completely goes against the WIDELY ((STUPIDLY)) SPREAD 'Combat sexual' shit ppl will repeat over and over and O V E R again ) and finally: "And he settled into bed, he prayed as earnestly as a boy of his years might that one day he would cross paths with a worthy foe and feel such exhilaration as the heroic epics promised. " At the start of Endwalker he's doing everything in his power to put the warrior of light in the role of the hero, and himself as the villain. Like from his stories. It's also why he never really forces the wol into a fight, it's not what he wants out of them. He wants them to come for him. The closest we get to him FORCING the wol to do anything is "in from the cold", and it's very clear that he's basically desperate at that point. WHY are you not doing what you're supposed to do? I've read like 29873429 stories and you're not following the rules!! BUT!! After the wol fights Zodiark he realizes that he went way too fucking far, that the wol is genuinely tired of his bullshit and he walks off. And like, the next time we see him he's moping around in Garlemald. Talking about how he's "waiting" for the wol to change their mind. And Alisaie gets pissed off and talks some sense into him, lol. And like - Idk if she even knows that she's one of the few ppl in the whole world who is able to see through his bullshit (in a way - I don't think that even he knows what he wants.) and really GETS what he's after:

"Yet if you only pursue your hedonistic pleasures, and pay no heed to the plight of others, then no one will give you the time of day.

You will never get what you want─not even the battle you pine for so dearly. You'll be alone for an eternity, and you'll deserve every agonizing second of it."

WHICH IS!! one of like 3 times from what I've seen in the game where they've animated Zenos with this worried/sad look:

And later he goes back to Ala Mhigo, to the Royal menangerie, to really think about himself and the wol. "You will never get what you want...not even the battle you pine for so dearly.... In that transcendent moment, what was it that I sought in you? And what was it that you sought in me? " (sidenote: He looks up at the moon when he says this. The warrior of light. Zenos and looking up at the moon while thinking about each other: name a better duo. ) And WE KNOW!! that he cares about the wol, *SO MUCH*, later on when Zero shows up she confirms this. She knows what he felt and she flat out tells us that to him, the wol is genuinely the one important person in his life. We know that Zenos risked everything to get to the wol in ultima thule. We know that in his final moment, he reaches his hand out towards the wol. We know that there's a huge implication in the story that he's the one who wished for the wol to live on and helped get them return to the Ragnarok.