i should talk about how zed Does have an actual brother, and those memories also color how drifter zed treats the operator but that's a whole different can of worms lol.

operator zed does get annoyed with drifter zed treating him like a child, and it's a fairly constant source of conflict for them, alongside contrasting views of the warframes themselves (drifter zed feels Weird about transferrence, operator zed sees the warframes as nothing but tools) +

the company, but isn't as desperate for normalcy as drifter zed is. he doesn't remember his family, so he feels no need to try and recreate it the way drifter zed does. which isn't to say he's emotionless or anything, he's just much more muted than drifter zed is. a little more utilitarian. +

do his best to cover with an air of nonchalance. he wants SO badly to not care about things and people lol.

whereas the operator is, while still childish in nature, much more than emotionally detached. he recognizes that his drifter self has an important role to play, and can appreciate +

greater good be damned. he has asserted himself as the more dominant presence, because he thinks he's doing what's just and merciful. he is very empathetic with a strong sense of justice, sometimes to a fault and to the point that it gets a little self-righteous. which is something he does +

try and protect/preserve what little innocence may still remain in the operator, because he wishes he'd had someone Real to do the same for him. he sees the operator as a baby brother of sorts, and part of him resents the lotus for what he feels is the further dehumanization of a child +