Hypothetical: If you had the choice of getting Zena into Diaries, but you also had to get rid of one important character, who would you choose / would you do it?
I was about to say aaron for a second. (there’s a but later!) not as aaron hate, but like.. anybody else could’ve filled in his role! he felt kinda unnecessary to be honest, and whilst I do enjoy him as a character and find him interesting alone, he wasn’t needed. Laurence could’ve had Shad’s relic, be his host, have Alina with Aphmau, blah blah blah. (although I really like Laurence’s spot in the rebellion)
BUT. Zena is not as important as Aaron is. my version of her is a Zena who studies and researches the shadow knights. she’s sweet, gentle, and kind usually- but ever since her sister turned into a Shadow Knight, Zena has strived to understand them. her sister wants to challenge her on how much Zena really knows about her? Then fine. Zena will learn. Zena will understand. and then it leads to this morbid, confusing feeling towards the nether- Zena’s enamored by it, she finds it fascinating and beautiful, and she understands the Shadow Knights’ pain because she’s gone through pain herself, and she loves the history, and it’s this whole new world and.. those are still torturers. Those are still people who bring absolute terror. and it both scares and fascinates Zena at the same time. This, is not as important as the role Aaron had in MCD.
so, I choose Kenmur. I think he could’ve done much better as just a backstory character, like the Princess of Boboros in Gene and Dante’s backstory- maybe hopefully fleshed out a little more, but still there, and she isn’t important to the current plot. He was Sasha’s lover, then he fell in love with Cadenza, then he married Emmalynn. This is like, the only thing that stands out to me about him. I like kenmur- he isn’t a bad character, but like… why was HE, of all people, in the Irene Dimension???? makes me mad just a tiny bit.. & I think Zena could fill in his role as a researcher, as somebody with knowledge. sorry for wall of text!!! THANK YOU FOR THE AAASSSKKKK
HII OKAY so I’m curious…fav version of Zena? so like maybe mermaid tales, or alternates, or one of the SMP videos. And what other series do you think would be fun to see her in ? Sorry if that’s random but you’ve made me a huge Zena fan and I love her dearly in every series she’s in
OH MY GOD BERRY HIII!! DONT FEEL SORRY YOURE ALWAYS A DELIGHT TO TALK TO OMGOMOMG. ok… okay berry.. okay…
my least favorite version of Zena is alternates. Now. This is not hate or even DISLIKE. I LOOKOVEEEE alternates Zena!! but she’s the one with the least.. like.. depth? Everything that drew me to her character isn’t mentioned at all. But I stil love her. I still adore her. And i was very excited to see her when the episodes came out (pretty sure u saw my reaction.. unless that was someone else)
my FAVORITE, your actual question, is mermaid tales. Now, I’d choose SMP; but I can’t choose a distinctive episode- her character is sprinkled out throughout every episode she appears in, and I can’t choose one. But mermaid tales is phenomenal. Not only was it my introduction to her, but.. I just ADORE what’s happening to her. why is she a literal fish inside of a birdcage HELO?? Why does she have the sad backstory to go with it?? Why is it that I immediately was able to catch onto a bunch of complex, complicated details about her character in the minimal time she was on screen. And she’s hinted to make an appearance AGAIN and im just so excited to see what they’ll do with her character omfg..
This is obvious. I’d like to see her Minecraft Diaries!!! I have a whole version for her and everything, backstory fleshed out and shit (which u can read.. in that server..) it’s also just my fav rp series from aph so maybe just a bit bias. I used to entertain the idea of her in void paradox for a bit as well!!
got anything you wanna ramble about?? potentially Zena related?? smiles at you.. also for no particular reason what hair type do you believe she has.
HEHEHEHE HII KRAAYYYY OMG HELLO!!!! I MISSED YOU TOO life is such a butt and I forget to announce disappearances.
zena is such a phenomenon and I think she deserves so so so SO much more love it’s driving me insane. also I wonder how she’s doing?? her exact personality is hard to pin down based off everything I gather overtime but she definitely falls under ‘lively’ more than ‘stoic’ and I’m so sad my other drawings didn’t capture that. But it’s ok. I will draw more and it will show her emotions… also she’s so much more of a pink girl idk why jess chose purple PURPLE IS MY FAV COLOR THO purple-magenta is zenas color but I think a light, soft, red undertone pink is so much better… she was also definitely a weird kid. like our time, our universe, weird kid. She’s so obsessed with making things cute and shiny and sparkle and she gets Reallt excited to help. Especially if her job is DECORATING AAAAHHHHHH!!! I see her as the healer in the group, USUALLY. but I think in mermaid tales she’s turned into more of a survivalist. Well, no, both. survivalist-healer. Yeah. and I’m ranting and none of this is organized OKAY. but to answer your question; wavy! 2B or 2C? I can see her straightening it or curling it though.
I never gave Zena much thought originally, but your posts have persuaded me and made me curious. Can you share some of your thoughts or headcanons on her!! (◕ᴗ◕✿)
oh MY IRENE!! GOSH! you don’t understand how long I’ve been waiting for people to ask ME about MY zena thoughts. I hope this is good entertainment.. I hope this lets you see what I’m seeing. ..through the process that I went through in order to love her character! information under cut. sorry for wall of text!
BAD ANALYSIS, HEADCANONS, THOUGHTS - in that order! please read aphblr i love her i want u to notice she has at least a LITTLE depth . I made it easier by highlighting the key points in pink in each paragraph.. you can only read those..
ONE . THE (typed on a whim) ANALYSIS !
zena is, at her core, a … kinda bad person. Let’s be honest. she’s BAD, disguised underneath soft words and cute outfits. but she isn’t terrible. she isn’t horrendous- she isn’t BEYOND SAVING. she wants to be better. she’s just lonely. and this all shown from her origins; cocomau. yep. the show with like no depth and just video after video with the VAs messing around with a semi-established plot. (with the tiniest breadcrumb from mermaid tales!)
EXHIBIT A : My NEW SISTER controls MONSTER HIGH: THE MOVIE! (her first appearance ever)
zena is shown as a humanoid ghast- the new girl, who’s bit is that she’s terrified of monsters despite being one, and also just trying to navigate her way through the high school. now, what REALLY caught my attention (because I didn’t care for her until I noticed this,) is how desperate zena seems to be for appreciation. the ENTIRE movie she runs around trying to fit in, and the exact thing that makes her fit in is matchmaking. although messily and.. the wrong way. because she’s setting people up with the ‘love of their lives’, people start to adore her- start to talk to her. and zena catches on FAST. soon, she becomes so absorbed in the new attention she becomes greedy. whilst her matchmaking solutions were terrible at first, it only worsens- relationships are toxic, and she sees NO PROBLEM WITH IT. (hint hint: has she been in toxic relationships—friends, family, lovers— before, so she sees this as normal?) soon she rises up to the top of the food chain because of her new popularity scheme. but here’s the kicker: the entire time she seemed to genuinely care for aphmau, no matter how many times aphmau tried to stop her. zena slows down sometimes, goes to ask aph for her opinion now and then. (unless I’m mis-remembering- but I DO know zena cared for aph) by this point, Aphmau goes time and time again to try and intervene and whilst zena may shut down her ideas, she still seems desperate for her approval. Zena’s first best friend. she does not forget who her day ones were, and she refuses to let go of aphmau. zena seems to be loyal person, despite all her other actions. (possibly because she knows what it’s like to be abandoned?? A reoccurring theme with her character??)
EXHIBIT B : You NEED to DELETE that message!
okay, now this one isn’t nearly as bad as the first- we’re back in another high school setting, this time with a bit more interesting plot. all I have to say is: zena is an instigator. at first she teases zane and Aphmau for talking by themselves, implying that they’re a thing . (zanemau crumbs) and then, later on, when aphmau was trying to confront somebody ZENA swoops in and starts pinning the blame on Aphmau, rallying up a crowd of people somehow and getting them to all gang up on her- leaving Aphmau to run out of the library. Nothing noteworthy here, but an example of the lines she is willing to cross.
EXHIBIT… ???? : MERMAID TALES, THE SOUL ECHO! (this is not cocomau, but just an example of how quick she is to harm someone if it means to protect herself.)
I just included this to point out how IMMEDIATELY when zena wasn’t getting the answers she wanted, she went to hypnotize aphmau. Now, from her perspective, I kinda would’ve done the same.. this woman stole the only thing I had left of my family, even if I didn’t have the object originally? SHE ISNT ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS??? I’ll just go to what I’m comfortable doing! but like.. still. hypnotizing someone (implied permanently) is pretty bad. and it was her FIRST INSTINCT, in contrast to many of the other characters who I could confidently say they wouldn’t revert to hurting the other instantly and quick. zena isn’t good forced to be bad. zena is good slowly turning bad due to her being forced to do evil things.. (if that makes sense.) also! how can i forget! “I would give anything for a boring life like yours! Anything to be loved..”
EXHIBIT C : We ADOPTED a HAPPY GHAST in Minecraft!
in this video, zena is the protagonist. ..behind aphmau, who is the happy ghast. zena is time and time again pranked, and gets so upset over it- only to be swooped up and helped by her new friend! now, the only reason I bring this video up is because of this one line that had stuck with me: “Are you leaving me too?..” now- take note that like NOBODY in this video has left zena like permanently. when the hangout(prank) is over, yeah, they leave- but such small things aren’t worth noting for such a BIG line. and it’s dropped out of nowhere. and it’s never to be explored again. zena has abandonment issues, and seems to be quite desperate to latch onto and stay with somebody who appears to loves her. and it IRRITATES ME HOW THIS IS NEVER EXPLORED CUAUSE THIS LINE WAS THE KICKER FOR ME.
EXHIBIT D : NEVER answer an UNKNOWN NUMBER at 12AM..
spoiler alert! zena is an actual yandere. tho I have to admit, jess wanted it platonic no matter how bad i ship zenamau. in this video, aphmaus friends are disappearing one by one, all the while aph just keeps getting creepy text from a number she does not have saved. who has been kidnapping her friends? ZENA! and the REASSSONNN?? “Oh, so now I’M the weird one for trying to spend time with you.” “But no- you were always too busy trying to plan sleepovers with your other friends! I just wanted to play with you..”
CONCLUSION :
zena is desperate for love. Badly. Zena is SO obsessed with the idea of being appreciated and adored, she lets herself get whisked away into her emotions and do whatever she thinks of doing first. from setting up toxic couples, to hypnotizing others permanently, to kidnapping her best friends own friends, from being desperate for a GHAST to stay by her side- zena is, at her core, a very lonely person. she can be surrounded by so many friends and yet still feel ultimately lonely because she has been with that feeling her entire life, even if only just implied. she has bad attachment issues, possibly low self esteem, possibly high functioning depression. (the possibly’s added because those are more headcanon territory. not the first tho)
and, yet, she does all these bad things but she DOES have a moral compass. zena wants ONE thing: love. and it seems that she understands that in order to have that love, she must listen to the others’ boundaries- their thoughts, feelings, because it’s what she has always wanted for herself as well. when Aphmau tells her that something is not okay, face-to-face, clear message- zena gets the hint and BACKS DOWN. (cough cough- ein?? as entertaining as he is..) not because of ulterior motives of “getting their trust”, but because she values the other as a person and wants to see them happy because they bring HER so much happiness. she is actively becoming a better person- she is TRYING. for her best friend, Aphmau. even if zena isn’t aphmau’s best friend. (as shown when aphmau calls KC/nana her bff instead over and over.) she gets jealous but.. she learns to control herself, and tries to be fine with it because she KNOWS that there’s no bond like friendship that borders sisterhood. She’s always wanted that for herself.
TWO . HEADCANONS !
ok.. these are all of the current ones I have. I’ll most likely make more in the future teehee..
1. alternates zena tended to the corn fields the most before leaving with aphmau- she got so used to the corn and most days all she would eat was corn! I think I put this in my discontinued gene x reader fanfic.
2. zena in general has bad abandonment issues. she gets scared at the slightest implication of being left alone again (permenantly) and she’s the type of girl to text you at 3AM asking if u still love her and then apologize for coming off as needy. has low self esteem honestly
3. zena in a modern setting like MID earth, mystreet, blah blah she would’ve liked to be a pilot. she likes the feeling of flight and the sky and she would’ve loved wearing goggles even if not necessary because it would match with the ghasts!!
4. she collects stuff of her interest- mostly things from the nether, but she really adores adorable little objects that she can display on shelves. Figurines, collectables..
5. always thought a farm would be cool. loves animals in general and finds most of them adorable anyway - and thinks maybe with the right tools maybe make a ghast area or just an area for flight creatures in general
6. Likes laufey she’s a lauver. I always think of her when “Too Little, Too Late” comes on.
7. she LOVES traveling. Like adores. you don’t understand he’s OBSESSED, and that includes incredibly dangerous areas like the nether. (as shown when Aphmau said the two could go to the nether together, and Zena got SOOO EXCITED.)
8. loves combining spooky themes with cute in her outfits. on halloween (her favorite holiday), she has the BEST costumes- because it’s fashionable and on theme!
9. if she knew about MCD (not in it)?? would find the shadow knights SOOO COOL. ..but only the idea of them! mostly. she understands that for someone to cause that much hurt, they must be in pain too- but that does not excuse the terrible things she did, even if she can relate on a heavy note. but like.. Zena would also be sooo jelly. shadow knights. KNIGHTS (knights are sworn to protect their lord- she only dreams of being able to keep her loved ones from all danger) in THE NETHER (her favorite dimension of all time.) she’d be hyped and put off at the same time.
THREE . THOUGHTS !
..I really love zena. she, at first glance, is a shallow character- and I understand some people may never be able to get over the fact that she looks SO MUCH LIKE SASHA. But she is not Sasha. she is her own unique person with much depth to her. well- I like to think, considering jess is HIDING SO MUCH OF HER AWAY FROM ME. but what really drew me to her were two things: her reoccurring themes of feeling unloved, and her effort to be better. she was a character that originated from a place with zero depth and just new story after new story- all kinda written in with shits and giggles. and YET. she prevails. she has depth anyway. even if just tiny little breadcrumbs I might have over-analyzed and jess has put zero thought into at all. I hope this convinced some people to be a bit more open to her.. whoever’s reading!
i saw you mention in your reblog that you have some thoughts about zena's backstory in mermaid tales? 🪙 <- here is a penny for them,,
AHHHAAHA WOW. MY first ask FROM YOU OF ALL PEOPLE OH MY GOSH JM SO HAPPY UHM OMG ok. under the cut will have my version of her backstory in mermaid tales (or basically just trying to fill in the gaps until we learn more about it), if you meant my opinions on how little we know of zena’s backstory in general feel free to send in a seperate ask!
Zena, her entire life, had been aware of the great difference between sirens, a human, and a mermaid.
It was clear when she snuck out of bed at night only to be met by the sounds of her mother sobbing, bits and pieces leaving her dry mouth. Zena couldn’t gather much, though when she pressed hard against the door she was hiding behind and listened really closely, the words she gathered were “humans.”, “sold..” and “ate”. From that night onward, Zena stopped asking where her dad went.
It was clear when her sister would speak with so much disgust in her voice when referring to mermaids, Zena was sure that she had just eaten something a tad bit too bitter before talking. Her sister would talk about how much more privileged mermaids were, hiding behind fancy gates and magic walls. Giving them the easy way out of such brutal deaths, both in sea and out, all because they were born a certain species. “No better than humans.” Her sister had told her. Zena never fought back against the claims. How could she? Zena had never met a mermaid herself in her life.
It was most definitely clear when both her mother and sister were taken away from the same nets humans used to capture fish. Fish. Was that all they were to humans? Just another body in the sea- no smarter, no prettier, no better than a dumb, swimming fish? And yes, whilst sirens were half-fish, they were also half-human. Irene, she bet humans didn’t even know the difference between mermaids and sirens. What fools. Thinking they’re above everyone else just for having two legs.
Zena was rightfully bitter, rightfully depressed, rightfully hollow. With each passing day she grew angrier, sadder, shyer, weary. Yes, it was true how empty the family became after her father left. How she’d dealt with that emptiness her entire life, seeing as how her father died when Zena was six. Yes, her mother and sister had treated her like an alien at times; casting rude glances, pushing her to the side, barely acknowledging her. But Zena knew that the two still had warmth in their heart, she could tell from distant memories of when her mother would sing them to sleep and talk about how pretty the girls were when dressing them up.
Those assholes took them away before Zena got the CHANCE to feel the warmth of a true hug. Before Zena could finally give them a reason to be proud of her.
Having to learn to live the world by yourself at such a young age—fifteen, mind you—was.. terrible. And yet, so many animals went through the same thing the moment they were born.
That’s what she was. An animal. Not the kind humans considered themselves- not with superiority, not with luxury, not with sitting on their asses all day and not in constant fear of something bigger and stronger than you sinking their claws into your skin.. the kind of animal that was below them. That was deemed stupid. Un-important. Food, pets.
Pets.
Rose had compared her to a pet many, many times during Zena’s stay (As Rose would call it,) with her. Singing eerie melodies, using passive-aggressive insults to put Zena down. Telling Zena that her purpose on this Earth was to let Rose live in luxury, and finally, maybe Rose would bring her family back from the dead. (That was a lie. Zena should’ve known that, even in her desperate state.)
Rose had put her up and brought her down, giving her highs and then such lows. (At times, more literally. When Rose deemed Zena useless when she got lost in emotions, and made her choke on the same air humans use to breathe.) It made Zena resentful and hopeful. That maybe Zena still had the chance to prove herself. That maybe the grass was greener on the other side. That maybe, the ‘other side’ was Rose’s side. So, Zena did what she did best.
She sung.
Rose applauded, complimented, sung praise and told her of how that was what she was meant to do. “My dear, little, songbird. Do you know what we say about your species? About how terrible you lot are? How singing to manipulate and lure pirates in was your destiny and your only purpose? Don’t you want to follow the very reason Irene put you on this Earth for?” Those stories were the first time Zena had ever heard about the history of sirens, seeing as how they were a supposed ‘extinct’ species under the sea. The first time Zena realized just how in the dark her mother and sister had left her. ‘But that’s fine,’ Zena told herself. ‘I didn’t deserve it. I don’t deserve anything.’
Zena sung, and sung, and even hummed. And with each tune, with each note, Zena swam more and more in her guilt and less and less of the water. She truly was a monster. Forcing people to do things against their will, trapping them for the rest of their lives for someone she didn’t even like. She hated how it was against so many of her morals. She loved how powerful she felt for the first time in a while.
Zena sat against the cold, metallic floor of her cage—no, her hell. Because now that she’s this far gone, she understood how doomed she was from the beginning. She understood how Xavier Irene themself must hate her, the way they’d taken away the world’s greatest thing to offer; love. She understood how terrible she was, and how she’s sick for finding the smallest bit of pride of learning how to get something to work for her for once.
But she was a siren. Just another body in the sea, waiting for misery. You reap what you sow; as her mother would tell her. And Zena would repeat it as many times as she needs to in order to keep a piece of her family with her, even if a certain purple-tailed mermaid implied otherwise.
I see zena as THE ride or die. you don’t even have to know her a lot you just have to have a good few conversations with her and be friends with aphmau (which, aphmau is friends with like everyone) or be aph herself and ssuddenly she’s ready to do whatever
