Board Thread:Clean up Concerns/@comment-366087-20160505210321/@comment-1969141-20160507122725

Sorry to insist, but "Destroyers of Innocence" and "Corrupting Influence" are nothing alike.

Destroyers of innocence means trauma, Corrupting Influence means morality shift. The category definition of Destroyers of Innocence clearly states, "a villain causing an event that brutally shatters the hero", and we are to stick to the category definition, not the title, or worse one's interpretation of what the title means, source of sooooooooo many category abuses.

Trauma is not morality shift and vice versa. All traumatized do not become evil, otherwise Harry Potter would have replaced Voldemort as soon as the end of the fifth volume. Many villains turn to evil due to a trauma, true but not all. The One Ring does not traumatizes Frodo, it slowly twists his thoughts. Darth Sidious does not traumatizes Anakin Skywalker, he gradually manipulates him, subtly playing on his fears and trusts...

There is indeed a loss of innocence when exposed to a corrupting influence, but as long as the character's morality does not change, it has nothing alike. Frodo will bear the Ring's toll all his life, but its destruction freed him of his influence. A corrupting influence can be lifted, hence the final redemption of Darth Vader, Tobi, Koren and many more, but a traumatic event lasts. The best you can do about it is to heal and move on.

Please only consider merging the categories that can be merged.