What Zero Could've Been

[SentioftheHoukai]

It's entirely in character for Zenos to use people who are useful to him and then discard them when their usefulness is over. I didn't think his treatment of Zero any different from his treatment of Fordola, or Aulus, or Fandaniel, or anyone else around him.

How is this any different from the transactional way Zero and the rest of the Voidsent conduct their lives? The way they live according to Zero's own admittance and words. The issue is that they've given us no narrative reason to hate Zenos for his mistreatment of Zero in particular, beyond a very particular current society trend. Zero herself has no real justification for taking issue with how Zenos used her, as she has openly professed to doing the same herself and that her world literally works that way. She near immediately proceeds to demand payment before she does anything for the Scions, and I don't doubt the Voidsent she crystallizes take major issue with her morphing of their forms so from whence does her mighty apprehension stem? It just makes her and the Scions who condone this come off as hypocritical.

(Not that that's anything NEW for the Scions.....)

[TheMightyMollusk]

How is this any different from the transactional way Zero and the rest of the Voidsent conduct their lives? The way they live according to Zero's own admittance and words. The issue is that they've given us no narrative reason to hate Zenos for his mistreatment of Zero in particular, beyond a very particular current society trend. Zero herself has no real justification for taking issue with how Zenos used her, as she has openly professed to doing the same herself and that her world literally works that way. She near immediately proceeds to demand payment before she does anything for the Scions, and I don't doubt the Voidsent she crystallizes take major issue with her morphing of their forms so from whence does her mighty apprehension stem? It just makes her and the Scions who condone this come off as hypocritical.

(Not that that's anything NEW for the Scions.....)

You are literally the first person I've seen who's made any kind of statement about Zenos's treatment of Zero. I'm just pointing out that it's not some new effort to vilify him, it's just how he's always treated everyone around him.

Personally, I've found Zenos boring since Stormblood and nothing since has really changed that. But at least he's always been consistent, for better or worse.