What Zero Could've Been

[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.