KHBbS Let's address Terra's so called "stupidity"

[Reversal 53]

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.

[april 0]

I don't think Terra is stupid, he's my favorite character.

[tjm0721 3]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. If he assumed Maleficent and other villains were evil just cause they wore black or something, that would be pretty rude of him. And in Dwarf Woodlands, he knew The Queen was evil and I don't think he was ever planning on stealing Snow White's heart, he probably just left so The Queen would think he's going to and not do anything bad to him, which she did when he found out he didn't go through with it. And Hades, Jumba, and Hook never gave him a reason to distrust him when he met them. And I think what Aqua did to him was really wrong, it's probably the one thing I don't like about her character. And Master Xehanort lied to him up until he killed Eraqus and Terra had no way of knowing that, Master Xehanort seemed like he looking out for him. And sure it was a mistake for Terra to use his darkness during his fight with Eraqua and during his fight with Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard, but he was angry and couldn't really control it, just like how people lose their temper in real life. Overall, he was just lied to and manipulated throughout his whole journey, kinda stabbed in the back by Aqua and Eraqus (when he refused to make him master pretty much just because he was paranoid, which is pretty much what caused everything) and just made a few mistakes like we and a lot of the other characters in the series do.

[FireStorm 162 23]

I don't think terra's stupid, i actually like his character more than Aqua, and he was the first character i chose to use, but in terms of gameplay, he's my least favourite (i realise that has nothing to do with his so called "stupidity") But if i saw Xehanort, i would have run, because he looks like the type of old guy that lets children go to his truck to eat some "Candy, Delicious, Delicious Candy" (But then again, Terra thought he was a good guy, because he was at the mark of mastery exam, and if eraqus trusted him, then Terra probably would have thought that there was no reason not to trust him)

[Eterna 274]

Terra's not stupid, he's just not that smart either.

He's like the Lindsey Lohan of the Kingdom hearts series.

[ventus95 1]

i agree with every word

[KHfan1247 0]

terra was my favorite character > i mean sure he helped the villains but can you blame him he just got rejected in the mark of mastery, his master doesnt trust him, hes fighting the darkness,some creepy old man keeps trying to get you to fall to the darkness, i mean come on give him a break> (i was kinda angry when he shot braigs eye out but i totally forgive him for that). V.V if you were rejected from your home and didnt pass the test i bet you would be pissed off all the time to.....but you know i really liked terra and ven they were my favorites but i HATED aqua she was soooooo annoying she treats ven like hes a little 4 year old!!!! and she was so weak it takes forever to lvl her up. and i played as terra the most im lvl 75 as terra lvl 62 as ven and lvl 43 with aqua. (yep i bet you cant tell which character was my favorite)

[hatok 6,413]

Your Aqua thing resurfaced something I was thinking about when I played through the three stories the first time.

There's not much to sympathize with with Aqua, I played the stories in order, so I first saw her reveal she was spying on Terra, and then from Vens perspective, it revealed she was there to bring him home. I figured that the scenes were slanted in favour of the character you were playing as, making them sympathetic, but when I played through as Aqua I found that nothing was ever given to justify her actions.

Anyways, I overall agree with this, though it's not surprising, Kingdom Hearts fans have an incredible capacity to forget and imagine characteristics of their favourite/least favourite characters in order to make them more perfect.

[Mithurshun 2]

I wouldn't call him stupid. But i agreed with you, that he is naive, and because that, he is easily caught in trouble. He seeks power, but for the good reasons.

[heartless101 83]

I agree. I think it's stupid how others think that Terra's stupid.

[ReAcTioN BbS 0]

personally, i disagree, trying to make it seem liek everything he did was "excusable" well its not. the ONLY thing that wasnt his fault was stealing auroras heart. and anyone would know melificent is evil. the proof u provided says that hes not "shallow" enough to judge her. well, u dont know if terras shallow or not, he never shows that much of his personality.

[JWright 0]

He's not stupid , even I could be tricked by the villains if I never met them before

[Keyblader 325]

I agree with what you said even though I never actually knew what was being said in that cut scene with Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. I have one question though, what the heck does tl;dr stand for?

[Reversal 53]

personally, i disagree, trying to make it seem liek everything he did was "excusable" well its not. the ONLY thing that wasnt his fault was stealing auroras heart. and anyone would know melificent is evil. the proof u provided says that hes not "shallow" enough to judge her. well, u dont know if terras shallow or not, he never shows that much of his personality.

 

Give me one example of Terra judging someone based on their appearances. Considering all the colorful characters he's met on his journey, he was presented with many situations to do so, and yet, he didn't. Case and point.

 

I agree with what you said even though I never actually knew what was being said in that cut scene with Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. I have one question though, what the heck does tl;dr stand for?

 

Too long; didn't read.

 

Just in case you didn't read the freakishly long post under the spoiler tag, here's a short version

[Kishira 2,854]

Thankfully, I haven't seen anyone bashing on Terra...except now. ...And a friend of mine -who I convinced to buy the BbS bundle- who called Terra dumb for being naive and gullable.... x'D

 

But yea, I connected alot with Terra when playing through his story, alot more than I did with Ventus or Aqua. I understood why he did the things he did, and I could see that he was trying to fix what he had done -or thought he'd done- and I mean come on, wouldn't you guys be upset if a long time friend started following you around to make sure you didn't do anything stupid for one little slip up? I would be. Eventhough I could see that Aqua had good intensions. > >;;

[baylaust 2,531]

I would hardly say that Aqua mistrusted him. It was Eraqus that did, and he wanted Aqua to spy on him to make sure he didn't fall to darkness. The reason Aqua accepted was to prove to Eraqus that he was worthy of becoming a Master. It was only until after she had been told by so many people about what Terra had been doing that she became a bit suspicious, and even then, Terra severely overreacted, and even at the Keyblade Graveyard, admitted that he did need to be watched.

[Keyblader 325]

 

personally, i disagree, trying to make it seem liek everything he did was "excusable" well its not. the ONLY thing that wasnt his fault was stealing auroras heart. and anyone would know melificent is evil. the proof u provided says that hes not "shallow" enough to judge her. well, u dont know if terras shallow or not, he never shows that much of his personality.

 

Give me one example of Terra judging someone based on their appearances. Considering all the colorful characters he's met on his journey, he was presented with many situations to do so, and yet, he didn't. Case and point.

 

I agree with what you said even though I never actually knew what was being said in that cut scene with Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. I have one question though, what the heck does tl;dr stand for?

 

Too long; didn't read.

 

Just in case you didn't read the freakishly long post under the spoiler tag, here's a short version

 

Ah I see now! Well I always read your stuff.

[HelpMeRan-Sama 141]

I agree with Reversal and...Eterna /shot

Meh, he's trying to do good stuff to cover the bad things he did, but ended up getting suspected anyway ;<

Reason this would happen? BECAUSE ITS LIKE THIS IRL LOL isn't it? When you're doing something perfectly fine, people suspect you just cuz you did something wrong like...5 mins ago but you don't know about it.

[Zenithia 305]

I would more so consider Terra gullible is anything else. Terra could have at least thought a bit more of "what he was doing". Even though some of the characters did state that there was a "man" here and there, it could have been MX. Also, when MX told Terra about what he did to Ven and ridding him of the darkness, Terra could have gone and consulted ME about this incident, since he technically "found" MX like he was instructed to by ME. Instead of simply assuming that he had no home to go to, he could have went back to ME for help, even though I understand Terra's desire to protect Ven from ME. For Aqua, instead of simply assuming that Terra was doing terrible things, she should have gotten more information on the person, such as the description in appearance.

[hatok 6,413]

About the Aqua thing...

Each world only has like five people in it though.

So it has to be Terra

[Sigrun 1,064]

Terra's not stupid, he's just not that smart either.

He's like the Lindsey Lohan of the Kingdom hearts series.

 

rofl i agree terra is not stupid but gullible because he wants to get stronger and belives MX (because he normalizes darkness not as evil but something you need to take charge of inside of you or it will engulf you completely) then succumbs to the darkness to get that strength but instead becomes MXs puppet by using his body as a vessle to see beyond the keyblade war but failed after the x-blade broke

[Reversal 53]

rofl i agree terra is not stupid but gullible because he wants to get stronger and belives MX (because he normalizes darkness not as evil but something you need to take charge of inside of you or it will engulf you completely)

He trusted MX because there was no reason not to trust him, and having just been "betrayed" by his Master/father and one of his best friends, he was at his most vulnerable.

 

Terra's situation is similar to Riku's. It's just that, Riku had someone who believed in him, and that darkness and light could coexist (Mickey if that wasn't obvious). Terra though, being surrounded by the DURKNESS IS EVILZ! rule for almost his entire life, you can see how difficult it was for him. He longed for the understanding and acceptance of his teacher and fellow pupils, but asides from Ven, who idolizes Terra as an older brother figure, everyone couldn't give it to him.

 

Aqua says it many times throughout her scenario that Terra wouldn't go down the wrong path, but that's just reassurance for her own disbelief. Regardless of how long they've known each other, how strong he really is, she couldn't bring herself to trust that he would be fine, which led their friendship down a rather shaky path. That and with her new appointment as a Master, it goes without saying that she becomes a bit detached from her friends and gains somewhat of an air of superiority, seen by badmouthing Terra when he's only done wrong in one world, and by suffocating Ven and treating him like a 3 year old who can't do anything by himself. And after the battle with Vanitas in Radiant Garden, she takes it upon herself and believes that only she will be able to fix the problem.

 

Though, this entire thread pretty much resulted from too much empathy for Terra, who is the least liked out of the trio for not being a shota or female, and a general annoyance at Aqua, or just a general dislike of her English dialogue. And by that I mean the words that come out of her mouth, not the voice.

[MasterXemnas 2,285]

Well Terra spent his entire life in one place where no one was evil and no one ever tried to decieve him. He just never learned you can't trust someone right from the get go. So he's not stupid, just inexperienced. A noob if you will.

[hatok 6,413]

That reminds me, when Aqua says 'I've been to the worlds you've been to, and I've seen what you've done'

What is she referring to? She seems if anything to gain more faith in him in two of the worlds, and only gets a slight implication from Maleficent.

[FireStorm 162 23]

Terra's not stupid, just naive, very, very, naive.