Because I need to stop going to certain places on the internet even though I know they're going to piss me off. But anyways, every so often during info droughts, I'd like to post up general questions surrounding a specific character, and ask for everyone's opinion on the matter. First was Repliku, so why don't we do Terra this time? I'll leave my opinion actually in the opening post this time
"Terra is stupid. He's a naive, gullible fool who believes anything people tell him even though you can tell just by their appearances that they're obviously not supposed to be trusted. Everything that happened to him was a result of his own foolish mistakes, and he damned the universe because of it. I hope he rots in video game hell."
That's a general summary of many people's opinion of Terra. Discuss?
Just my opinion on the matter ;D
Point #1: A naive, gullible fool
We can't start without first going to the source of the problem. In this case, it's undoubtedly Eraqus. As you all know, he is openly biased for the light.
"Remember that darkness lurks in every heart. Darkness is our foe. Would that we could be rid of it. You must destroy it. Push the darkness down - give it no quarter in your heart."
See my point? Anti-darkness teachings, which bring forth the concept of pro-light. But what exactly makes up pro-light teachings? Well, generally things that are associated with positive ideals, one of which would be believing in the good of all people, regardless of who they are or what they've done.
The example I'll use here is Maleficent, one of the first of many villains he would meet, and also the first resident of Enchanted Dominion he met upon entering. A green lady with horns, dressed in black; the first thing we, the players, would think upon seeing her is that "OMG she's a villain." Does Terra see that? No. He didn't watch a plethora of Disney movies as a child. He's not shallow enough to jump to conclusions based on her attire. She has given him no reason not to trust her, so why exactly is he a fool? She has information he seeks, and it just so happens that, while trying to obtain said info, he was used to commit a terrible act. Is that his fault? No, not really. Should he be blamed for it? Nah, but he ends up feeling guilty anyways.
Point #2: No respect for those trying to help him
I didn't mention this before, but this is an excuse primarily used by, you guessed it, Aqua fanboys. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against Aqua, nor fanboys in general, but it goes without saying that she gets a lot of unconditional love just for being a "developed female fighter with certain attributes". As for what exactly this argument is based off of, that would be the scene called "Walls of the Heart", where our three heroes meet in Radiant Garden and the truth about Aqua's actions are revealed.
Both Terra and Ven (but since this is about Terra, let's ignore Ven for now) are often blamed for being all around jerks to Aqua for absolutely no reason whatsoever even though all she's trying to do is help. Bias aside, why don't we look at the bigger picture?
Shock. It was pure shock and betrayal when he found out what Aqua was doing, spying on him for his Master, his father, just because of one mishap. She said that he had done wrong in all the worlds he's been to, and he couldn't understand why, or how she even found out. Really, the only place he actually did something wrong was in Enchanted Dominion, but he was under the control of Maleficent, and wasn't acting of his own will. He knows what he did, and even now, he still beats himself up because of it, but what she, one of his best friends, did was just adding salt to the wound.
Aqua's his friend. They've been together for who knows how long, and after all this time, isn't she supposed to give him the benefit of the doubt? Isn't she supposed to trust him? But she didn't, and it hurt all the more so knowing that. [
b]Point #3: Mistakes that damned the universe[/b]
Um...what exactly?
- The darkness in his heart?
That's something everyone (sans Princesses of Heart and Ven) have.
- Using the darkness?
So it's perfectly fine for Riku to use it, but not for anyone else?
- God of the Underworld + Shady Pirate = .
You know, you can't deny that being emotionally drained does have an impact on your better judgement, which would apply in Hades' case. As for Hook, well, Neverland was around the height of Terra's scenario. At that point, he was desperately trying to do the right thing, even moreso than he already was. When he heard Hook say that there was a previous light in the treasure chest that was in danger of being stolen, he felt it in his heart not so much as a chance to redeem himself, but to do what he was unable to do before; protect it.
- Listening to a balding old coot feed him lies, and then believe them?
What Terra longed for most was acceptance and approval, regardless of darkness or light or anything else. And when he was at his most vulnerable, the only person who was able to satisfy his yearning was none other than Master Xehanort. Yes, it was a mistake, but it's a human one that anyone can make.
- Meeting with Riku which would lead to him falling prey to Ansem SoD?
Yeah, way to bring in future plot points that would be impossible to foresee 10 years before they even take place.
tl;dr - He's made some mistakes in the past, mistakes that any of us could've, maybe even would've made, if we were in his shoes. It's not because he's an idiot, but considering what's he been through, I'd say it's perfectly excusable.
Because I need to stop going to certain places on the internet even though I know they're going to piss me off. But anyways, every so often during info droughts, I'd like to post up general questions surrounding a specific character, and ask for everyone's opinion on the matter. First was Repliku, so why don't we do Terra this time? I'll leave my opinion actually in the opening post this time
"Terra is stupid. He's a naive, gullible fool who believes anything people tell him even though you can tell just by their appearances that they're obviously not supposed to be trusted. Everything that happened to him was a result of his own foolish mistakes, and he damned the universe because of it. I hope he rots in video game hell."
That's a general summary of many people's opinion of Terra. Discuss?
Just my opinion on the matter ;D
Point #1: A naive, gullible fool
We can't start without first going to the source of the problem. In this case, it's undoubtedly Eraqus. As you all know, he is openly biased for the light.
See my point? Anti-darkness teachings, which bring forth the concept of pro-light. But what exactly makes up pro-light teachings? Well, generally things that are associated with positive ideals, one of which would be believing in the good of all people, regardless of who they are or what they've done.
The example I'll use here is Maleficent, one of the first of many villains he would meet, and also the first resident of Enchanted Dominion he met upon entering. A green lady with horns, dressed in black; the first thing we, the players, would think upon seeing her is that "OMG she's a villain." Does Terra see that? No. He didn't watch a plethora of Disney movies as a child. He's not shallow enough to jump to conclusions based on her attire. She has given him no reason not to trust her, so why exactly is he a fool? She has information he seeks, and it just so happens that, while trying to obtain said info, he was used to commit a terrible act. Is that his fault? No, not really. Should he be blamed for it? Nah, but he ends up feeling guilty anyways.
Point #2: No respect for those trying to help him
I didn't mention this before, but this is an excuse primarily used by, you guessed it, Aqua fanboys. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against Aqua, nor fanboys in general, but it goes without saying that she gets a lot of unconditional love just for being a "developed female fighter with certain attributes". As for what exactly this argument is based off of, that would be the scene called "Walls of the Heart", where our three heroes meet in Radiant Garden and the truth about Aqua's actions are revealed.
Both Terra and Ven (but since this is about Terra, let's ignore Ven for now) are often blamed for being all around jerks to Aqua for absolutely no reason whatsoever even though all she's trying to do is help. Bias aside, why don't we look at the bigger picture?
Shock. It was pure shock and betrayal when he found out what Aqua was doing, spying on him for his Master, his father, just because of one mishap. She said that he had done wrong in all the worlds he's been to, and he couldn't understand why, or how she even found out. Really, the only place he actually did something wrong was in Enchanted Dominion, but he was under the control of Maleficent, and wasn't acting of his own will. He knows what he did, and even now, he still beats himself up because of it, but what she, one of his best friends, did was just adding salt to the wound.
Aqua's his friend. They've been together for who knows how long, and after all this time, isn't she supposed to give him the benefit of the doubt? Isn't she supposed to trust him? But she didn't, and it hurt all the more so knowing that. [
b]Point #3: Mistakes that damned the universe[/b]
Um...what exactly?
- The darkness in his heart?
That's something everyone (sans Princesses of Heart and Ven) have.
- Using the darkness?
So it's perfectly fine for Riku to use it, but not for anyone else?
- God of the Underworld + Shady Pirate =
.
You know, you can't deny that being emotionally drained does have an impact on your better judgement, which would apply in Hades' case. As for Hook, well, Neverland was around the height of Terra's scenario. At that point, he was desperately trying to do the right thing, even moreso than he already was. When he heard Hook say that there was a previous light in the treasure chest that was in danger of being stolen, he felt it in his heart not so much as a chance to redeem himself, but to do what he was unable to do before; protect it.
- Listening to a balding old coot feed him lies, and then believe them?
What Terra longed for most was acceptance and approval, regardless of darkness or light or anything else. And when he was at his most vulnerable, the only person who was able to satisfy his yearning was none other than Master Xehanort. Yes, it was a mistake, but it's a human one that anyone can make.
- Meeting with Riku which would lead to him falling prey to Ansem SoD?
Yeah, way to bring in future plot points that would be impossible to foresee 10 years before they even take place.
tl;dr - He's made some mistakes in the past, mistakes that any of us could've, maybe even would've made, if we were in his shoes. It's not because he's an idiot, but considering what's he been through, I'd say it's perfectly excusable.