#30dayswitchversary

9. Treasure -

So, since I already did an entire WoT on Wills leadership, I will, instead, focus on two other leaders we see throughout the series. More specifically: two rulers.

And the question whether Elyon is truly an improvement over Phobos.

Let's look at Phobos as a ruler: he's disinterested, and in the comics, disinformed. Cartoon!Phobos seems to actually try at some points, while in the comics, he just l leaves Meridian to itself.

In both installments, Meridian seems to be wet, dark and cold under his rule, which is explained by him leeching power. Interestingly, this also seems to be the dominant problem of his rule. Crops die, people go hungry and cold, wet seeps into buildings...and this all stops when Elyon takes the throne, making lives better.

But looking at just her rule...she gets transferred to Meridian on Halloween, which is her birthday, and is crowned Queen shortly after. In the Elyon special, on her birthday, so at least a year later, she hasn't even learned the names of the council members or how to read the clock.

That doesn't exactly scream investment to me. As is the case for the lesson in writing we see her get before Caleb is returned to Meridian, which she's hostile about, too.

Then, there's her refusal to hand over the crown when Endarno asks for it, before she even sees him and finds him to be giving off suspicious signs.

So, do I think she's as bad as Phobos? Yes and no. I do not think she's as bad as the Phobos described in the comics, the insane psychopath who hungers for power. But I do think she's a bit egotistical and childish, and I think she is, in fact, just as bad as the Phobos I headcanon, being more of a bad ruler, not a bad person, with the difference being upbringing and her resulting world view, which is much more optimistic, kind and run by a desire to help. Because I think she does want to help, she just doesn't have the maturity and self sacrifice ruling an entire queendom demands.

Now, do I feel this is represented cleverly in the taking vs giving of magical energy and subsequent state of Meridian? Maybe. But I like taking another approach to that:

Because an uncontrolled influx of energy is just as bad. Just look outside if you want to know how heating up an entire planet too much sucks.

And the same goes for life. Because not only people, live stock and crops are alive, but so are weeds, parasites and predators.

Is this something Elyon is doing wrong? Probably.

But I, personally, would have gone for a different approach: have Elyon and Phobos be like Yin and Yang, their powers something they were born with rather than a calculated decision. Usually, princes remain quiet and seated, and stay in Meridian along the queens, so it does not become a problem and no one ever noticed how the queen's giving powers demand a cycling of the power back to herself. But with Phobos and Elyon split, the damage a single one of them does becomes apparent. Maybe a responsible leader could rule without the balancing power, but these two idiots with zero self control need each other for that.

13. Personality -

Without further ado, let's get into the heart

On this one, I feel a little hesitant to talk about. This is, largely, because I have never really been in love and therefore don't know if some of my criticism with the relationships displayed is valid or due to a lack of understanding from my part. As to not make anyone feel judged or offended, because that is not my intent, I'll instead mainly focus on writing decisions and the people I ship and would have brought together as a writer.

Obviously, there's Phobos and Cedric. I'll spare you yet another essay on them and move on.

Second, I'd go for Irma and Cornelia. I love their energy together, and the bond they have. I think the moment that sealed it for me was in New Powers when Irma came running to Cornelia first thing upon realizing something had changed and their powers were gone, and Cornelia just talked to her in the sweetest way.

Taranee and Nigel. Maybe someone else later on if she treats Nigel decently and in character and doesn't suddenly turn into an emotionally incompetent bitch without any consequence or resulting character growth. I do feel teaching children that you can truly love first one person and then another without a big breakup prior or even when you should feel indebted to your prior partner could be quite important, as I feel many childrens media portray real love as a once in a lifetime thing. I'd not have gone for Luke, however, rather that girl she becomes friends with for one issue who teaches her rollerskating.

I also feel like Peter and Nigel could work out somehow.

Hay Lin and Eric are just so wholesome and sweet. I do wish they had kept their long distance relationship because I feel it could have worked. At least I wish we'd been shown how it ended because to me it felt like Eric was just forgotten somehow.

Dean and Susan. I'd just have kept them as is, because Susan deserves all the happiness she can get.

I'd have kept Orube without a lover, but maybe given her some sort of queer platonic relationship or a close friend.

Also, let Ludmoore be younger and hit on Matt, please. Give them some sort of interesting dynamic, as they are stuck together for quite some time.

Nerissa and Yan Lin or Cassidy. I honestly can't decide on one, as the comics gave me more Yan Lin vibes but the cartoon was so gay toward Cassidy I can't unthink it...

Also, I kinda crack-ship Phobos, Cedric and Caleb (if whisperers were not basically Phobos' children or if he were not a former whisperer), but this is very deep into own interpretations of characters. I'd still likely at least alude to some sort of attraction there, even if it didn't ultimately end up making any sense for the characters.

Martin and Michelle, that french girl who came to visit him during the Ludmoore arc.

So, I keep escalating on this post more than my usual amount, and I've started over from scratch two times already.

My final decision is to mainly walk through each villain one by one and try to keep it short. I won't, we all know that. It's an excuse for throwing statements out there I don't want to explain.

Have fun!

So, beforehand, I'd just like to briefly state that, in general, I felt the comics were misbalanced in terms of power and the cartoon did a lot better in presenting them consistently and in a way that made the villains seem worthy adversaries. That said, for the rest of this talk, I will focus mainly on the character writing and less on the power levels, just keep in mind that I feel all sorts of fighting - physically and mentally - in general could use a level up.

- Phobos. He's the first major villain, and I already dropped a boatload on what I'd have made of his story, but let's have a look at why I do not actually like him as a villain in W.i.t.c.h. In my opinion, Phobos' main shortcoming is that he doesn't go far enough into any direction. He's too ridiculous to be a hate sink villain or perceived a real threat, but not ridiculous enough to be iconic. He's fabulous enough for it to be fanon, but it's never used. He doesn't do enough mean things for the reader to root for his downfall, but too many mean things for the reader to root for him without a proper backstory. The lack of which is a whole new minus all on its own. I personally would have him and Cedric be in rehab after their villain arc and later join the guardians' support team thingy they never had but totally should have.

- speaking of: Cedric. The pinnacle of show-doesn't-fit-tell. Don't make the omniscient narrator rave about the cruel king of lies when all said king does is simp around. Also, if you want to make a villain more sympathetic and grey, don't make everyone treat him as a villain and just alzheimer his death five minutes after it happened without any sort of consequence.

- Elyon and Vathek. I like side changes, but please try to keep them realistic. I'm not expecting full Zuko, but a bit of nuance, especially for someone as major as Elyon, would do well. Especially especially since both Elyon and Vathek seemed to enjoy being cruel or antagonistic somewhat, and seemed to carry a lot of personal anger that just dissolved. I would have gone for a more level approach, making them less intense on the villains side and less innocently sweet on the protagonists side.

- Nerissa. Somehow just never stuck with me, despite being one of the most accomplished and threatening villains. She started off promising, but then became just evil. So many things, like her connection with Yan and Hay Lin, went all kinds of nowhere. I'd have liked for her to be more of a grey villain who's specifically against Kandrakars system, and might even pair her up with Ari and (or instead of) Yua. I also somehow always felt her character was lacking just that little special something, but I can't put my finger on it.

- Ari. I loved how he was more of an antagonist than a villain, but hated his conclusion, which draws him down. He doesn't have to learn anything or grow as a parent, and only changes sides once he's handed what he wanted, despite it being disrespectful to say the least toward his child. Which is sad, as I feel he could have realistically had the necessary personal growth while staying in character.

- Yua. Is where the arc went overboard with the sudden desire to use more grey villains, as she switches randomly between being an evil man eating creature and a victim of abduction. I'd have been fine either way, but feel they should have decided on one and stuck with that. I did always find her kind of attractive and even sensual, so I feel she definitely could have given of the right vibe (either as being misunderstood as a sinful lure or being one for real) to be memorable.

- the secret agents. One of the more clever antagonists who required quite some change in tactic, but were rendered utterly boring by the solution to their threat. I think they could have been more fun as either a very serious threat weaved in with Takeda and the magical children or more comical villains who could be used for b-plot.

- Ludmoore. The book was the real memorable villain, just let the guy be an idiot scientist who failed at life. As an idiot science student myself, I can say it's so much more realistic than one would like.

- Tecla. I loved the Ragorlang idea, but the delivery was lacking. Somehow, after a strong start, it became yet another "we beat you by the actual magical power of our friendship" story. Which is a pity, because the potential of having to actually fight through apathy, overt compliance or split into two people like Uriah could have had the same theme in a so much stronger way. I'd have used her as a true threat, a woman so obsessed with her own youth and beauty that she becomes a monster more and more, with Karl having to work out of their toxic relationship as she destroys more and more of their friendships for personal gain like the world's deadliest hunbot. I'd also totally make her powers affect Phobos or Cedric so the other can rotate in panic.

- Dark Mother. Such a strong opportunity for a villain who spreads quietly from the very beginning if only she'd been planned out. And if she'd actually been consistent in her power level. Imagine a near apocalypse only the magical people in Heatherfield c 8 an see, in which everything is invaded by an evil plant being, and no one feels save. That said, while Dark Mother would make an excellent peak villain for a halfway change like a power upgrade or even the finale, everything else on that arc was the beginning of the end and should be changed.

- Takeda. Was well enough. Nothing exceptional, but rather well done and consistent in himself. I liked the way he did not get a 180° redemption but rather a more in character conclusion that showed how life can be very complex and dissatisfying. As previously stated, I'd have worked him in with the secret agents if I had used him at all. Also, I feel his research might be either set in motion by Dark Mother or include hints to her existence.

- the white queen. Was lame and unnecessary like the entire fast world. Just let Takeda interact with something we already know for fucks sake.

This is the point where I'll likely start forgetting people.

- Nihila. I liked the zodiac theme and powers, but the entire challenges thing was shit and she felt like a weird throwaway emergency plot because everything was so hasty and vague. I'd rather have given her powers to some harmless, neutral citizen who just happens to write some horoscope for a fun filler issue or two.

- the ladies. Had interesting powers but with every single one she appeared op at first only to be nerfed during the second half of the issue, and none stayed longer than one issue, making them feel ridiculous. I might have given them a full arc or made them servants of Dark Mother, as their powers of tapping into nets of some kind (traffic, electricity, magical power) seemed similar to hers.

- the Runics. Just...either make it self aware how similar they are to the W.i.t.c.h. by adding in equivalents to other characters or give them a connection to the Astral Drops. Any other approach makes them ridiculous. Also, don't have male Will fall in love with female Will, it doesn't even make sense as a joke, honestly.

- Orristurr(?). The shark king from that one issue by the sea. Just delete the whole thing, it felt like a parody of a Barbie movie.

- the evil Santa. From that Christmas special. I actually liked the guy. Christmas specials are allowed to be cheesy and on the nose with their message, and he fits right in. Just use the opportunity for character building or a bit of fluff instead of focusing on people we don't know and will never see again.

And I think that's it for the canon villains. Now, any regular on my posts will know that I would also add in Kandrakar as a villain, and I think that the Dark Mother arc would fit nicely to be the moment the guardians and their team return to Kandrakar despite everything and save the day, after which the Oracle finally agrees to a trial. It could be a nice commentary on how too much power into any one person's hand might lead to them viewing themselves and their opinions as superior and forcing their ideals on everyone. It could serve to discuss what should and should not be dictated and controlled, where using powers is infringement and where not using them is neglect.