What Zero Could've Been

[Xavier_Firbold]

They should be.

Keep your hateful ideologies out of this game.

Thanks.

[Theodric]

They should be.

As a gay guy who likes masculine men, that doesn't make much sense to me. Men are inherently masculine by nature - the extent varies, but the men who aren't masculine to some degree are very much a minority. If they became the majority, why should those of us who enjoy the 'default aesthetics' so to speak, miss out?

I think it's important to remember that the majority is under no obligation to revolve around the whims of the minority. I think everybody's entitled to their individual preferences - within reason - but when the pushing goes too far, I don't think it'll be pleasant when the pendulum inevitably swings in the opposite direction as it has many other times throughout human history as it'll likely result in eroding away a lot of the patience and sympathy towards different perspectives and preferences.

[MagiusNecros]

Yshtola is actually visually appealing. Magical Girl Froth and Foam Yshtola is much more fun to be around then "I seeketh the knowledge" Yshtola. Her shift in personality just makes her insufferable at times.

Kind of annoying they want her to cosplay as Lulu from FFX while having Vivi's existential crisis at the same time.

[TheMightyMollusk]

I'm also wondering why a thread about Zero turned into a thread about Y'shtola.

I mean, I know OP won't answer me, because the poor snowflake seems to have me on ignore for daring to disagree with him. I'm just curious.

[Kes13a]

OP rest easy. I am sure she wont eat hamburgers

so not sure why you are already complaining about someone we basically just met, but its not a surprise since you hate everything FFxiv and just want it YOUR personal version of "better"

[Vahlnir]

OP rest easy. I am sure she wont eat hamburgers

so not sure why you are already complaining about someone we basically just met, but its not a surprise since you hate everything FFxiv and just want it YOUR personal version of "better"

Meanwhile as Graha sits across the table from Zero: "I procured a delicious burger for you. Eat it. EAT IT! *heavy breathing*"

[Lustre]

One thing I will say is while I liked Zero in comparison to a lot of my feelings on the main cast, I found the circumstances surrounding her being purified by the crystal to be extremely convenient and contrived, much like 6.0 and 6.1 in general. I also think that the whole "ingratiating her into Eorzean society" is highly unrealistic and seems to be going... a little too well. You'd think someone who's been in the void for hundreds of years, fighting demons for survival, siphoning their lifeforce wouldn't all of a sudden be strolling around Radz at Han like a generic tourist.... but then again this is XIV so not sure what I expected there.

I like her style, and I think she provides some much needed grit into the scions, even if it does border on "13 year old emo darkness" vibes sometimes. Wouldn't surprise me if the hat is constantly down to hide the fact she's listening to Hawthorne Heights in earphones lol

As for her image, I have no real opinion. Just looks how you'd expect a reaper to look. I will say I would've preferred her with longer/long hair though. Classically feminine traits and imagery are not a sign of "weakness" and so I don't know why this game constantly tries to make the feminine masculine when it comes to portrayals of a character's strength.

[SannaR]

One thing I will say is while I liked Zero in comparison to a lot of my feelings on the main cast, I found the circumstances surrounding her being purified by the crystal to be extremely convenient and contrived, much like 6.0 and 6.1 in general. I also think that the whole "ingratiating her into Eorzean society" is highly unrealistic and seems to be going... a little too well. You'd think someone who's been in the void for hundreds of years, fighting demons for survival, siphoning their lifeforce wouldn't all of a sudden be strolling around Radz at Han like a generic tourist.... but then again this is XIV so not sure what I expected there.

I like her style, and I think she provides some much needed grit into the scions, even if it does border on "13 year old emo darkness" vibes sometimes. Wouldn't surprise me if the hat is constantly down to hide the fact she's listening to Hawthorne Heights in earphones lol

As for her image, I have no real opinion. Just looks how you'd expect a reaper to look. I will say I would've preferred her with longer/long hair though. Classically feminine traits and imagery are not a sign of "weakness" and so I don't know why this game constantly tries to make the feminine masculine when it comes to portrayals of a character's strength.

We don't know how long she was forced into being Zenos's avatar since you know the game plays fairly loose with how much time has passed. But could you imagine what it must have been like to be living in a world where it literally is an eat or be eaten only to end up being tied to a dude who's main thought and obsession was a said friend? It's not that she doesn't know how to behave like we do on the source as she made it come off as though there was a little bit of peace before the memorians started to become corrupted. So how to eat and everything else was forgotten. Even the meaning of what friendship is. Also she showed us around her domain so why would she not want to know about Vrtra's? She clearly has memories about what the 13th looked like 10,000 years ago so as I said I don't know why she wouldn't have had leftover fragments of "normal" life.

You're correct that women who look like Amy Adams in Enchanted or even a Jessica Rabbit type shouldn't inherently be seen as the character being weak. Society and various media however has for decades at least in the West (more likely NA than European) have dictatedthat if a woman looks that way or is demure should be instantly be read or seen as the classical fairy tale princess trope. Ie your Snow Whites, Auroras, or Buttercup during the fire swamp section before Humperdink shows up in the Princess Bride. Also it's how women have been told they should look and behave for a few decades if not a few millenia. That they should behave like the June Cleavers, or a Stepford Wife.

[SentioftheHoukai]

We don't know how long she was forced into being Zenos's avatar since you know the game plays fairly loose with how much time has passed. But could you imagine what it must have been like to be living in a world where it literally is an eat or be eaten only to end up being tied to a dude who's main thought and obsession was a said friend? It's not that she doesn't know how to behave like we do on the source as she made it come off as though there was a little bit of peace before the memorians started to become corrupted. So how to eat and everything else was forgotten. Even the meaning of what friendship is. Also she showed us around her domain so why would she not want to know about Vrtra's? She clearly has memories about what the 13th looked like 10,000 years ago so as I said I don't know why she wouldn't have had leftover fragments of "normal" life.

You're correct that women who look like Amy Adams in Enchanted or even a Jessica Rabbit type shouldn't inherently be seen as the character being weak. Society and various media however has for decades at least in the West (more likely NA than European) who looks thar way or is demure should be instantly be read or seen as the classical fairy tale princess trope. Ie your Snow Whites, Auroras, or Buttercup during the fire swamp section before Humperdink shows up in the Princess Bride. Also it's how women have been told they should look and behave for a few decades if not a few millenia. That they should behave like the June Cleavers, or a Stepford Wife.

I don't know about you, but I love classically princess-looking women who can yet kick major amounts of ass in all their finery. What I don't understand is why they have to move away from "classical femininity" looks just to be strong and exceed and surpass the expectations men have set upon them. Would it not send more of a message to take the looks of classical femininity, kick ass in those looks and make it their own? To evolve beyond what society has grown to expect of women possessing those looks and free more dated looks from the shackles laid upon them?

As for Zenos and Zero's "relationship", it really came off as a cheap and lazy way to make Zenos look even worse than he already was amongst the fandom. Especially with how some treated his body-jacking scene. Probable enslavement as drama is such a trite, lazy plot point that denigrates the character involved. It also makes the player character look more "heroic" for saving Zero from her plight, and in turn she "rewards" us for it with her assistance against the denizens of the 13th shard. It's disrespectful to her as a character, it's tired and really needs to stop being so venerated. It also clashes thematically with the WoL's demon/summoner relationship. If Square is going to put so much effort into making the pact between Zenos and Zero look so sinister and abusive, why did they fail to inject any such nuance into our relationship with our Voidsent? Why is ours just magickally consensual? Are we supposed to believe this Voidsent in particular is happy to be shackled to a mortal's will? Was it just to make us look more heroic than Zenos, or dissuade those still clamoring for him to return? Because if so, it falls flatly on its face. We're still a demon summoner who lets our little Voidsent pal eat souls for power.