A fanclub for Terra Branford; the leading heroine and central character of Final Fantasy VI.

Fighter, magic-wielder, living weapon, half-esper, lonely girl, courageous heart, selfless warrior, strong friend, loving mother...and a true hero.

I think a lot of you have guessed by now that I'm quite a fan of hers, and it just now occured to me that she doesn't have her own fanclub here - and very much deserves one! She's so underappreciated these days. In my opinion, she's absolutely awesome; admirable, sympathetic, fascinating and very likeable. And as she's one of my all-time favourite FF characters, I thought it was high time I started a club for her.

Please join, and give a great heroine her dues. ^_^

Members:
Hyper-Ballad
Materia Thief
Anastar
Cloud Gainsborough
Seii_Monogatari
Marionette
Andina
Usagi Mamoru

TERRA! I am such a Terra fangirl.

I'd like to join please. ^_^

With pleasure! Welcome! ^_^

::Terrafangirlness::

I sometimes think Terra is much too underrated sometimes. Everywhere I go, I always see all this stuff about Celes, but in my opinion, Terra is the true hero of the game. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Celes fan as well, but Terra's story and character in general has always touched me more.

Terra is a truly independent girl. She doesn't need a man to survive and she finds 'love' in a different way, through the Moblizite Kids. Celes on the other hand, while independent in her own right, often feels the need for a guy at times. She needs someone strong to lean on, when she doesn't have the strength in herself. She becomes really dependent on Locke during the game as well. (Wow...Celes really does remind me of Tifa. xD)

I completely agree. I loved Terra in VI. I also thought she was the main female character, and I've always thought she was underrated, too.

Will you sign me up as a member even if I can't write the name in my sig because I have no more room?!? :lol:

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to sign up. I haven't been able to fit club names into my sig for a LONG time. :lol:

I think it's also nice that Terra is actually the lead character in general. It's so rare to have girls in a definite lead/main character role. Sure, X-2 has 'girl power', but it also has a massaging game and a scene in a hot spring comparing the girl's chest sizes. <_<

Wow, can't believe I missed this. Terra PWNs. You gotta sign me up.


Just to start some conversation, what'd you think of her esper form? It owns, I say.

I love it although it is a bit 'lacking' in the clothes department. However, I can live with it as...well...espers don't usually wear clothes? :blink:

The stat enhancements do help quite a bit though. ^_^

JOINJOINJOINJOINJOINJOIN!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with everything you said Materia Thief I remember going to forums, shrines, etc..having to do with the ffvi characters and almost everywhere I went everyone was talking about how spectacular the GENERAL Celes was. But when I played the game I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, don't get me wrong I don't hate her, I do in fact like her I just think that Terra deserves more attention! Oh, well...
Anyway, I would like to join she and Cyan were my favorite characters.

Well Terra was the last true female lead in Final Fantasy game. I hardly count X-2 in this as it was somewhat different, yet a good game though. I would give my left arm (well, not really) to have another female lead like Terra. Not that I have anything against angsty, cute, young boys...but I like girls just as well, and besides it would be very refreshing. ^_^

So in other words, count me in. :lol:

Here are few picturs of her from the net. These are all sketches, by Yoshitaka Amano I believe.

http://www.fflegacy.com/image.php?ff6/images/terra-19.jpg
http://www.fflegacy.com/image.php?ff6/images/terra-21.jpg
http://www.fflegacy.com/image.php?ff6/images/terra-29.jpg
http://www.fflegacy.com/image.php?ff6/images/terra-24.jpg

There's something about her that reminds me very much about Aerith, but I can not quite put my finger on it at the moment...I need to dig up the script of FFVI one of these days. :)

Whew, so many posts! Thank you everyone for joining! :huggle:

Of course, Aly! I've ran out of room for all the clubs I'm a member of too! :sad:

Okay, getting to the stuff you brought up...

Girl Power in FFVI and FFX-2
I agree that Terra's clout as a heroine was far superior to that of the X-2 girls. I remember being very excited when I first heard rumours about FFX because there were a lot of speculations that Yuna would actually be the main character in the early days, and I was very much looking forward to seeing another female heroine. But it never happened, and I never got the same impression of "girl power" in X-2, on account of how airheaded it could be. Terra managed to avoid that and be a heroine without the fanservice-factor. I love how she was a character and hero first, and a girl second, in that respect.

Underrated
Egads, don't get me started on this. Terra deserves much more attention and credit! There was a time when she was considered very cool, but I see Terra getting ignored by a lot of fans nowardays, or written off as something she's not. I loved how she was so independant in her own right, and how the love aspect of her story didn't hinge on romance, and how she doesn't need a man to feel complete (as fun as it is to pair her up...). So many people seem to ignore the fact that she develops and grows as a character, and can't seem to scratch beneath the surface when it comes to her. And it irks me so much after years of hearing Terra's decision to care for the Mobliz orphans as "cheesy" and "corny"; and then the minute we hear news on FFVII: AC, it's all: "Tifa's sooo great for looking after the orphans! It's so beautiful! What a wonderful person she is!" <_<

Terra and Celes
As much as I love Celes, I can't stand it when I see fans go: "Terra is such a wimp and a damsel and always whining about love! Celes is much cooler! She never whines! She's such a badass! Terra's nothing next to her!" Ugh. I like Celes very much, but she does have her weaknesses and frailties (most of them emotional). I hate seeing people turn Celes into this awesome independant woman and Terra as a crying little girl. Both girls are brilliant in battle, and can take care of themselves in that respect, but emotionally I think Terra is much better off. Emotionally, Terra is much stronger and more capable. She was vulnerable at the game's beginning because of her confusion and innocence, but she develops and changes throughout the course of the game, and learns to stand alone in no time. I find it very interesting actually; that while Terra gains full independance, Celes learns to lean on and depend on someone other than herself. While Terra "outgrows" her inital reliance on Locke, Celes comes to rely on him very much. It's one of the many ways the girls' stories and personal journey contrast each other.

Terra's Esper Form
Well, I never really had a problem with this. :lol: Most espers/eidolons/aeons/summons wear very little as a rule, and she's tastefully covered up by some gorgeously-shaded pink-white fur. It always looks very cool in fanart as well.

Amano Artworks
Ahh...Amano's images of Terra are some of my all-time favourite pieces of his. I think they're absolutely beautiful (even if she does look anorexic in some). The use of colours and her poses are so striking. And I love her polka-dot tights. So eccentric and bizarre!

I think I've covered everything you (very chatty!) people brought up. :lol:

Oh, I'd like to add one more thing, though...Terra's Theme. Amazing beyond words. :sad:

Terra's theme is one of my definite favorites in accordance to song choices. ^_^

Has anyone else heard the remix, "Terra in Black"? If you haven't, LISTEN TO IT NOW! You can find it on a site called "Overclocked Remix". :)

Unfortunately I do not have the official soundtrack of FFVI, but was that the opening scene music where they are walking towards the town by any chance?

Oh yes - it's brilliant. I'm crazy about it. I absolutely love this, to the point of envying people who haven't heard it yet and are going to have their first ever listen to it (seriously, it's that good - you have to download it). It's an amazing remix... ::worships::

Almost! ^_^ Terra's Theme is actually used as the Overworld music during the World of Balance. But it's essentially the game tune as the piece during the opening credits, though. There's another alternate version of it in the game called "Awakening", which is a sadder version of it. Terra's Theme (or parts of it, anyway) also turns up in other pieces like "Save Them" and "Metamorphosis" too. ^_^

:fangirl:

This may be a little off-topic, but we are talking about the music. Anyway, did you notice that the song Celes sang in the opera house sounded quite a bit like Aerith's Theme?

The beginning of Aria de Mezzo Carattere (which is the opera song Celes sings) does sound a lot like Aerith's Theme, it sounds almost identical.

MT is right, CloudG. The first few (I think three) notes of both pieces are exactly identical. ^_^

Anyway, to steer the topic back to Terra...do you prefer her as green-haired (as in the game and SD atrwork) or blonde (like the Amano artwork and new FMVs)?

Personally, her hair will always be green to me. Not only does it compliment her pale skin and red dress really well, but I think it empahsises her unusualness and uniqueness, the fact that a part of her isn't fully human. And I like green. I love the Amano images, but making her "officially" blonde (as we see in the FMV's) just seems really wrong to me. Her hair is green, dammit! Green! Plus, with blonde hair she looks nearly indistinguishable from Celes.

What do you think? :rolleyes:

What is in hair colour? To me it doesn't matter as I dye my hair all the time, so so can she. ^_^
Although I find her whole lot more attractive with green hair. *huggles Terra*

Good point! :lol: But can she, though? Does hair-dye exist in the FFVI world? :rolleyes:

I wonder how Gau's hair became green...maybe from smearing staining-plants all over it...or eating lots of grass...? :huh:

But Terra's hair is a nice, natural kind of green! It's why she's (imho) one of the prettiest FF heroines out there! :fangirl:

Hmm...another topic...Terra or Tina? Which do you prefer? :whistle:

(Terra, all the way!)

Ah, come now! It's the world of magic, machines, dragons and mysteries. What makes you think they wouldn't know how to dye their hair? :P

That is not even an issue, Tina is just some silly translation (a beautiful name though!) and I have no idea why Terra wasn't used in all version. Perhaps they didn't want our poor heroine to feel so alien. Bah! Terra is the only name she has in my eyes. ^_^

I love her green hair a lot more then her blonde hair, but she still looks absolutely gorgeous in the Amano artwork. :wub:

I'd have to go with "Terra", that'll always be her name to me. ^_^

The game introduced her to me as Tina so I got used to Tina plus I think Tina sounds cuter then Terra in my opinion but I end up using Terra because I don't want people saying "OMG stop trying to be Japanese you poser, we're in AMERICA!!1 her names is TERRA!!1" Yes, I had a couple of people say that to me when I use Aerith instead of Aeris. <_<

Ah, you got me there. After all, I think Edgar might have dyed his hair during his Gerad days. But I don't see Terra as the type to dye her hair, no matter what colour it may be. :D

But then again, hair-dye is more to do with chemicals than any kind of magic. Maybe they haven't discovered it yet. After all, FFVI's world isn't entirely modern. They've only just stepped into the industrial age (and Kefka tearing the world apart has probably set progress back a great deal), so it's possible that no-one's even thought of changing their hair-colour yet. If they did have hair-dye, wouldn't Kefka have dyed his hair a more exciting colour? :P

[/anal-retentiveness]

Ugh, what a silly attitude these people have. If she's Tina to you, then it shouldn't matter what they call her in America, or anywhere else. And the Aerith-thing is ridiculous, because everyone knows why there was a mix-up with the names, and that both Aeris and Aerith are correct (even if I do think that "Aerith" makes the girl sound like a brand of soap :lol: ).

Now, must think of topics...oh, this club started off so well, but everyone's ran out of thoughts... :sad:

I'll get back to this later, hopefully with something to stir things up a little. ^_^

ACK! CLUB MUST NOT DIE. >_<

Ooh, here's a topic of discussion:

1. Terra's Backstory. What do you think of it? Could it be better?

2. Terra's mother is literally named Madonna. For those who don't know, Madonna is another name for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. Thoughts, opinions on this?

I'll post my thoughts later. :)

*throws Phoenix Down on thread*

How have I missed your topics of discussion, MT? >_< Those are great ideas! ^_^

1. Terra's Backstory. What do you think of it? Could it be better?
I actually like it very much as it is - it was very well handled in the game, I think (seeing Madonna's interaction with Geshtal still sends shivers through me), and Terra's past is one of my absolute favourite aspects of FFVI to speculate over. I like that we have 18 years of ambiguity to think over. There are so many unanswered questions, and I find it really interesting to wonder what her life was like back then, under the Empire. I think there are probably a few nightmares in her past, but I think Terra's the sort of character who would want to remember anyway.

Some of the main questions I hear is was she raised, similarly to the way Celes was, or was she treated like an experiment, like the Espers? How often was she in contact with other people, like Geshtal, Leo, Celes, Kefka, Cid or others? How long has she been wearing the Slave Crown? From childhood? If not, what spurred the Emperor to want to enslave her mind?

In answer to these (if anyone's interested in reading this), I think that initially Terra was raised the same way Celes was - not as a "normal" person, but more normal than being raised solely as an experiment. The reason for this is that keeping Terra constantly enslaved is a drain on resources, and it would probably be much more preferable if she could be a willing and loyal servant to the Empire. This is why I don't think she'd have been mistreated or enslaved as a child...why enslave someone straight away when you might be able to win their loyalty? So I think she was raised similarly to Leo, Kefka and Celes, but at the same time being aware that she was different to them, that she was unique. It's possible that she had plenty of contact with the other major characters involved - Leo mentioned wishing he'd done more for her which means he must have been somewhat familar with her. Celes tries to be friendly with her and reaches out to her when she's still acting cold to others, and Celes displays the most concern for Terra at the end, so it's possible that they might've been friends once. It's not unthinkable that Celes would simply choose not to mention it and keep it to herself, for Terra's sake. And it's clear that Terra spent a lot of time with Kefka being groomed into a killing machine; whether or not she spent most of this under the Slave Crown is uncertain. :unsure:

I think that Gesthal did have some kind of mindset he raised his three generals into that he was hoping would rub off on Terra - Leo, Kefka and Celes all display some corresponding behaviour patterns. Loyalty: Celes is reluctant to betray the Empire, Leo is so loyal that it allows him to be partly responsible for many wrongs and his personal loyalty to Gesthal allows him to drop his guard and make possible his death. Pride: Kefka and Celes are both - initially, in Celes' case - extemely proud and arrogant; Celes scorns help and advice from Locke and Edgar and is generally rude to everyone at first, whilst Kefka pretty much spits on everyone "beneath him" and has total contempt for his underlings - ie: the sand-on-my-boots scene. :lol: Emotional confusion: Kefka doesn't believe in love at all, Celes is at first extremely contemptuous of the concept and says as much to Terra, and Leo feels that he has no real understanding about love, having never experienced it).

Anyway, massive tangent aside, the three Generals do display similar behaviour and share similar ideals which can be attributed by their upbringing in the Empire. It's not impossible that Gesthal thought the same "programming" would produce similar results in Terra. I think that it failed and that's what led to her being enslaved - at age 17 or 18 she might've become very rebellious, refused to use her powers on soldiers, or tried to run away. This could've resulted in the decision to take her free will away from her.

I think I kinda drifted off your actual question, MT...sorry! Do you have any thoughts of your own on this you'd like to share as an answer, though?

2. Terra's mother is literally named Madonna. For those who don't know, Madonna is another name for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. Thoughts, opinions on this?
There's actually quite a bit of Christ-symbolism going on with Terra - Madonna, her unnatural father, the "crown of thorns", Terra's sacrifice of life, her teaching of love, "let the children come unto me"...that's all I can think of right now! But there's quite a bit of Christian symbolism surrounding her!

Any other thoughts on this? ^_^

Terra rocks. I wished that they'd elaborated on her romance with Edgar. Everyone said Edgar would flirt with everyone, but in the game Terra is the only one he was shown really flirting with. It would've been nice for an Edgar and Terra subplot.

*bumpbump*

Can't let this club die! :no:

Very true, Usagi. ^_^

Well, Edgar also flirts with Celes, the women of Figaro castle, and a maid in Vector. :lol:

But EdgarxTerra is actually one of my favourite Terra-lovematches. I do agree with you that he showed the most genuine interest in Terra, not to mention that he blew his cover to Kefka so he could protect her. He was also very supportive of her and he readily helped her to overcome with her uncertainties. When Terra was asked to help the Returners, Edgar was the one who assured her that she has a choice, and she didn't have to help them if she didn't want to. I think these two would be very good together - Edgar isn't just a shallow flirt, he's a deep and loving character under the surface, who's willing to make sacrifices for the sake of a loved one, much like Terra herself. I guess the biggest obstacle is the lifestyle differences - Terra is very dedicated to the Mobliz community, and Edgar lives way off in Figaro, and is far from the simple life. So I don't think it'd be a spontaneous relationship - some outside factor would have to work into it and help them overcome those differences. ^_^

Anyway, does anyone else have a favoured Terra-pairing. Talk about them here! :wub:

I'm all for single Terra. :P But my favorite pairing is Terra x Leo I think they had potential. They only had one conversion but it seemed like they connected. During Leo's funeral Terra says "I wanted to lean so much more from you" is he had lived I think they whoul've of been great friends and perhaps over time, lovers.

During World of Ruin Terra was the only one who mentioned Leo does anyone remember the exact quote? Anyway, I thought it was sweet she hasn't forgotten him. :cry:

Anyway, Leo was great guy (Wise, gentle, strong, caring, full of honor and had a strong sense of justice) and would have been perfect for Terra. IMO. ^_^

Welcome to the club Marionette! ^_^

Honestly, while I do believe that Terra x Leo is cute, I can't imagine her in a pairing. I prefer her single and find it lovely that she found 'love' somewhere else besides a man.

::Club ressurection!::

How did I miss this club? I'd love to join. Terra is one of my favorite Final Fantasy characters.