Emet-Selch Is Not That Tragic

[Enla]

Rolling into the party mega late here but... when does the story ever paint him as a hero?

One of the only times I remember it happening, and please I welcome corrections because it's been four months, was in relation to his fellow ancients. "The victor shall write the tale and the vanquished shall become it's villain," is a line he uses right before the final battle and I think it provides all the context one needs in these regards. To the ancients who willfully agreed to sacrifice themselves and to those who believed that the star should be nurtured for another culling to bring the sacrificed back, his actions would be seen as heroic. Especially considering how self-centered that race was presented to be. Not only because he would be reviving his people but because even if he revived those who disagreed, he and his fellows could present /any story/ they chose to them and be the heroes of this particular tale. A bit of 'history is written by the victors' in that regard.

Not that it'd really matter either because we already know the ancients were pretty self centered to begin with in a sort of 'bless your heart' sort of way. They didn't want to help the other cities when they were facing their own calamities, and those that spoke out in favor of aid did so under selfish pretenses. While a portion did eventually lead to the creation of Hydaelyn to end the potential culling of non-ancient life for Zodiark's purposes they, again, could be fed any tale the Ascians wanted at the end of the day and what would it matter? The sacrifices were already made and the Scions and their ilk trussed up as villains in legend, trying to prevent the undoing of what the ultimate villain Hydaelyn had done to their world.

About the only place the game uses the word hero for him is in regards to his Extreme but that's being presented via the eyes of an NPC who by their own admission doesn't understand what happened and who will simply try to give the tale it's own spin. Yes the NPC is a stand in for Yoshi-P but when the rest of the narrative is practically beating you to death with how Emet is the living embodiment of 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' I can't really go as far as that meaning the story itself is giving that same endorsement.