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willtolovePlayer nickname: Akino
Player DW:akinoame
Way to contact you:
Email: brittany [dot] akinoame [at] gmail [dot] com
AIM: Canta Akino
Are you at least 15?: Y
Current Characters: Aqua, Kendrix Morgan, Ren Akiyama, Miharu Minato, Masato Jin, Artemis Crock, Kenshin Himura
Character: Will Vandom
Fandom: W.I.T.C.H.
History: This version of Will comes from the animated series only, so no comic details will be included.
In the other dimension of Meridian, the evil Prince Phobos was oppressing the population, draining their energy to fuel his magic and shrouding the world in darkness. To protect the Infinite Dimensions from his evil, the Oracle of Kandrakar created a mystical Veil that sealed off worlds from one another, trapping Meridian under its dictator's thumb. But there was still hope—the Rebellion, led by a teenage boy named Caleb, was determined to bring him down.
But Will Vandom didn't know any of this, since she lived on Earth as a normal girl, having just moved to the city of Heatherfield from Fadden Hills. As the new girl, she didn't expect to have any friends, especially the close-knit group of Irma Lair, Taranee Cook, Cornelia Hale, and Hay Lin. But to her surprise, Hay Lin invited her to join them at her house for an afterschool snack, where they met her grandmother, Yan Lin, who revealed the Heart of Kandrakar and declared the girls to be the new generation of the Guardians of the Veil—magical girls tasked with saving Meridian from evil and protecting the Earth from its darkness. Each of the girls would gain the power of an element: Water, Fire, Earth, or Air, and Will held the Heart to give all of them their powers. Naturally...they didn't believe a word of it, but Yan Lin got them to accept their powers. But as they practiced for the first time, a portal in the Veil opened, and a creature began to come through, pursuing a young man. Will panicked but eventually used the Heart to seal the portal, but not in time to save the boy. As they debriefed with Yan Lin, she revealed that the creature was Phobos's most loyal servant, Lord Cedric. And Cedric wasn't done with Earth. Now that Phobos knew the new Guardians had appeared, he sent Cedric to kidnap Will, but she left the Heart behind, allowing the other Guardians to track her down. She was thrown into the oubliette with the boy, Caleb, and with Blunk, a Passling—a smelly creature that could sniff out portals in the Veil and smuggled junk from Earth to Meridian as mistaken treasures. The Guardians managed to bust them out, and they fought their way free, getting Caleb to Earth safely, where he hid out in the basement of Hay Lin's family's restaurant and worked part-time.
Things continued fairly routine for a good while—Phobos would do something, Caleb would try to stop him, the Guardians would go bail him out of trouble (or vice-versa), and another portal would be sealed. Meanwhile, the Guardians would try to get by in their normal lives. Will ended up with a crush on a popular boy named Matt Olsen, and she figured she didn't have a chance, but he turned out to be more interested in her than she thought. Unfortunately, her duties as a Guardian kept getting in the way of her normal life, creating such problems like affecting her grades. Over time, it became clear that Phobos had a goal—thirteen years before, when he first took power, his infant sister was taken from Meridian to Earth to be raised as a normal girl, away from his control. The Princess had immense power and was considered the true heir to the throne—and Phobos would stop at nothing to ensure that power was his. Eventually, the Guardians learned that Cornelia's childhood friend Elyon Brown was the Princess, and Will made the tough call to keep her in the dark about it to keep her safe. But Phobos manipulated this to his advantage, sending Cedric in human form to Earth to gain her trust and drive a wedge between Elyon and her friends, convincing her to return to Meridian of her own will. There, she lived a fantasy life, believing her brother to be a benevolent ruler while the Rebels and Guardians were anarchists working against her. The Guardians tried to talk some sense into her but failed, until they discovered that Phobos planned a coronation ceremony that would drain her powers from her. By then, they'd planted enough seeds of doubt in her mind that she was able to see what her brother was doing, but she couldn't protect herself—fortunately the Guardians were there to save her, along with Caleb and Matt, who had learned Will's secret and decided he wanted to stand by her and help. The Guardians defeated Phobos, and Elyon took the throne as Queen.
But a new enemy appeared in secret—an old hag with the mysterious power of Quintessence; a lost fifth element that shot electricity and could bring anything metal or electronic to life. The Guardians were summoned to the world of Kandrakar itself, the Fortress at the Heart of Infinity, where the Veil was finally lowered and they were tasked with protecting the Infinite Dimensions. But the witch was out to get them, and Will soon discovered that they shared the same power—Will's powers had been significantly drained to maintain the Veil. Part of the reason why they had been so limited was because the previous bearer of the Heart of Kandrakar, Nerissa, had been corrupted by its power and killed her teammate, Cassidy. She was imprisoned in a cave on Mt. Thanos near Heatherfield, but they learned that she'd escaped—she was the witch who was threatening them! Moreover, she had also used glamours to disguise herself as various allies of the Rebellion, including the powerful Mage and Elyon's cook, Trill. As Trill, she gave Elyon a jewel that drained her powers—the Heart of Meridian—and trapped her inside once she threw it away in a fit of anger. And as Mage, she gained the trust of the Council of Kandrakar and got close enough to imprison most of them. Worse, eighteen years before, she'd disguised herself as Mage to win the heart of a man named Julian, and they had a child who eventually grew into Caleb, the Guardians' friend and teammate. Trickery was Nerissa's game, and she outsmarted the Guardians at every turn, taking the people closest to them—kidnapping Matt and transforming him into Will's personal nemesis, Shagon; corrupting the hearts of her old teammates so that they would rejoin her, including a magical copy of Hay Lin's grandmother; and threatening Cornelia's younger sister, a reality-warper with the power of the Heart of Earth, who gave her powers to a restored Matt to act as her Regent, along with her pet cat and his pet dormouse, enabling them to fight alongside the Guardians.
The only way to fight fire was with fire, so Will came up with the most insane plan possible to stop her: she recruited Phobos for help. With Elyon's power in her hands, the only way Nerissa could lose that power was for another heir to Meridian's throne to take it, and that meant the deposed prince. But Will didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, so she set up a trap, tricking him into making a vow not to double-cross them while knowing he got off on sudden but inevitable betrayal. The vow was made on the Heart of Kandrakar, so if he ever stepped foot in the Fortress, he would forfeit his powers. To ensure he would do something that stupid, Will sent Hay Lin to plant seeds of doubt in the mind of Raythor, one of Phobos's loyal followers who had been bitterly betrayed; once he saw that Phobos lacked the honor to hold to his vow, he readily joined the Guardians and suggested that Phobos attack Kandrakar upon winning Meridian, in order to conquer the Infinite Dimensions more easily. Unfortunately for the Guardians, Phobos had also pissed off more people on his own side, and they were more willing to do their own thing—Cedric and his girlfriend, Miranda, who gleefully betrayed Phobos before he could lose his powers and then took them for themselves. The Guardians were split on two fronts—the Rebels fought Miranda in Kandrakar to prevent her from destroying the source of the Guardians' powers, and the Guardians fought on Earth while the Regents, led by Matt, helped maintain a glamour zone that would keep civilians from finding the battle and shattering the illusion of normality. Within the source of Cedric's powers, Nerissa, the previous Guardians, and Elyon joined forces and got a message to the Guardians, telling them that they could win by awakening their power to its zenith, allowing them to transform into personifications of the elements of Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Quintessence. With this new power, they easily defeated Cedric and freed the captives—except for Nerissa, whose scheming cost her her freedom. Unfortunately, this desperate act cost the girls their humanity, and they had to focus on remembering the battle before they realized what they lost. Listening to the precious voices of their loved ones led them back to consciousness, where they were able to resume their normal lives.
Personality:
Will starts out a little on the shy side, if only because she's new to Heatherfield when the series starts. But once she settles in, her true personality emerges. She's energetic and enthusiastic—a great friend who loves to have fun. But at the same time, she's the leader of the Guardians, and that brings some massive responsibilities that weigh heavily on her as she tries to learn how to cope with it. She wants to have fun, and she's lived in a stable, peaceful environment for all of her life, compared to what's going on in Meridian. So she doesn't always make the best decisions, and she's got to deal with the consequences that come.
"Stubborn" is a good word to describe her. She's brash and prone to quick judgment, and it's really damn hard to get her to change her opinion. If she decides she doesn't like you, it doesn't matter what you do to try to please her; shy of saving her mother's life, you are not going to impress her. She thinks with her heart first, and this is a major problem for her. She's easily outwitted by enemies who know how to take advantage of this flaw; with just a few choice words, someone can bait her into fighting a battle she should by all rights know she'll lose. She does well not feeding Shagon's power of hatred, but then he makes vague threats against her mother or her boyfriend, and she explodes on him, fueling his power. She starts insisting that someone she doesn't like must be an enemy in disguise (the leaps of logic involved be damned), and no amount of sanity will convince her otherwise until she sees it for herself. Sometimes, this stubbornness is a good thing—she doesn't give up easily, and she's extremely protective of the people she loves. But she doesn't think before she acts, much of the time, and her plans are terrible. Even when she finally does learn how to plan ahead, she makes tough calls that understandably piss other people off—not telling Elyon about her heritage put her in Phobos's hands; not telling the Rebels about the whole insane plan to entrap Phobos in his own double-cross almost cost them allies because they had to sacrifice Meridian for the greater good.
As she begins to understand and accept her responsibilities as a Guardian, she eventually goes overboard and starts thinking that nobody can understand that. Part of that is part and parcel with growing up—thinking that adults cannot understand you, but part is because she's fairly easily led and impulsive. She doesn't think; therefore, she gets herself in trouble without asking for help. Some of this also ties into her growing fears that she's doomed to become like Nerissa—she doesn't want to believe that she's anything like her, but even her own friends have to admit she's got a drive to win that's scary because sometimes she doesn't see the cost. The difference is that she's capable of stopping herself and realizing that she doesn't want to do something that will hurt others for the greater good—if she has to, she regrets it, and she wants to set it right.
An important thing to remember about Will is that at the end of the day, she's a normal pre-teen girl. This means she gets mad at people easily, she makes dumb mistakes, she's judgmental, she does things she regrets, she has a hard time apologizing, and she feels awful when she realizes she's messed up. But when she's happy, she's really happy; when she likes something, she loves it with all of her heart; she's enthusiastic; she's helpful; she's friendly. She's everything you expect from a girl her age; she just has much bigger things on the line.
Other:
One of Will's powers in season 2 is the ability to speak to electronics. No one outside of W.I.T.C.H. will be able to hear them, due to the nature of their powers. I'll be sure to ask for permission if Will can talk to other people's electronics, but don't be surprised if there are a lot of one-sided arguments with her phone/calculator/toaster.
Also, following the Veil being dropped in season 2, Will gains the ability to worldhop, or "fold" between worlds other than just Meridian and Earth, using the Heart of Kandrakar. Until that point, the Veil will prevent worldhops.
Additional Links:
Reviews of the cartoon series, by me. Again. Sorry.
Fan wiki and section on Will, which also lists her various powers.
Q&A by season 2 head writer Greg Weisman
First Person:
1. You have tickets to your favorite band's concert tonight, but your best friend asks you for an urgent favor that would make you miss it. Which one do you choose and why?
Well, duh, I'm going to go help my friends. Look, much as I might like Vance Michael Justin or Karmilla, or...or Matt...if one of my friends needs me to do something, it's usually for a good reason. Usually. There have been times when Hay Lin has dragged us into things like the school play, but she wouldn't call me for something like that if she knew I had something going on.
Mom, on the other hand, would, so she can forget it.
2. How do you feel about your hometown? What do you think the people there would say about you?
Guess it says a lot that I already think of Heatherfield as my hometown instead of Fadden Hills, right? To be honest, I really like it here. Sure, I don't know as many people as I did there, but the people I do know are way more important—like the other Guardians, or Yan Lin, or Caleb, or Matt...
...I'm sorry, what was the question?
3. If you have any secrets, how far would you go to keep them from being revealed?
I really screwed that one up recently. I thought it was better not to tell Elyon about her being from another world, or about her having a brother who was completely guano loco evil. But it backfired, and now she's helping fight us and thinks we're evil, and...ugh.
Maybe if I hadn't tried to be so secretive, it would have turned out better. Maybe Phobos wouldn't have been able to trick her so easily. But then, maybe Cedric would be easier to beat if he was a fluffy bunny—it's getting me nowhere. I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it and fix this...somehow.
4. You're doing some spring cleaning. What is easy for you to throw out? What is difficult for you to part with? Why?
Um, actually...I'm really bad at cleaning. Or throwing anything out. I keep everything. Sometimes because I don't know if I'm going to need it or sometimes because I'm really too busy to clean my room—there's a lot going on and everything, you know?
5. If you had the chance to change any one thing about yourself, would you take it? What would you change?
Well, technically, I kinda do that when I transform into a Guardian. I'm taller, I've got powers, I'm cooler, I've got bigger...uh...well, let's not mention that right now, 'kay?
But I think I'd want to be more like my friends—take things in stride more like Hay Lin and Irma. Be smarter like Taranee. Prettier like Cornelia. I'm kinda...plain old Will. And I know that I've got my strengths and everything, but...I kinda wish there was more that stood out, you know?
6. You just caught your best friend making out with the senpai you really want to notice you! What's your response?
Oh, um...well... ...I guess I'd have to be happy for her, right? But...it'd hurt. A lot. I haven't tried to ask him out—I mean, hypothetically, I wouldn't have asked him out, but...I think they'd notice my feelings, right? So...why would they do that?
7. Do you have any dreams or ambitions? How do you intend to achieve them?
I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I always wanted to swim in the Olympics, ever since I was little. So I've been swimming since then—the frog kick was the first thing I learned, and since then, I've loved frogs—and I want to swim for Sheffield's team, but the problem is that my grades are...well, sunk. I'm trying my hardest to pass math, but I'm not getting it. I can do freestyle with great time and I can fight evil, but you put a textbook in my hands, and I'm drowning.
I really, really want this. But between my grades and my duties as a Guardian...it's something I haven't been able to do. I'll never make the team if I can't make the grade, but I can't make the grade if I'm fighting bad guys after school everyday. So I really don't know what to do.
8. Do you believe in fate? Why or why not?
I guess I kinda do. It's not something I ever stopped to think about, but...well, think about everything that's happened—something definitely brought Mom and me to Heatherfield, and Hay Lin just decided out of nowhere to invite me over when she didn't know me, and if none of that happened, I'd never have gotten the Heart of Kandrakar and we wouldn't be Guardians. But at the same time, I don't want to think that the bad stuff that's happened is also fate—Phobos taking over Meridian, everyone there suffering, Elyon falling into his hands because we—because I screwed up and didn't protect her. Caleb tells us horror stories about what he's grown up with, and I know he wouldn't want to think all that's happened to him because of destiny. I wouldn't either. But it seems like everything happens for a reason, like we're all part of some huge thing and everything's going according to plan—which is actually scary and annoying, to think that there's some grand master who's manipulating all of us, but I guess that's the only way to consider both sides of fate here.
9. Do you have a motto? If so, why would you consider that to be your motto? If not, is there a reason that you don't have one? What is it?
Uh, does "Guardians, unite!" count as a motto? I mean, it's a transformation phrase, just like a lot of the other heroes on the community have, but it sounds like it works, right? It's corny but heroic. And it pretty much says what we're doing. We're not just transforming—we're standing united, against the enemy, no matter who it is. We might have completely different elements, but that's okay—we're going to combine those powers together to win. And, uh, yeah. Still corny, but it works.
10. Summer and winter are the most popular seasons, but what about spring and autumn? Which do you prefer and what is your favorite activity to do during that season?
Much as I prefer spring break to the beginning of the school year, I have to say there's more to do in fall. First off, you've got Halloween, and that's always fun—dressing up and getting free candy, can't get much better than that? It's also closer to winter, so it's getting cooler and sometimes it'll start snowing early, though I hear that's rare here in Heatherfield. But it gets cooler in fall a lot faster than it gets warmer in spring, I can say that.
And most importantly, my birthday's in fall. So I'm kind of biased.
Third Person:
Will stormed through the door, marched past her mother, who had her report card in hand, slammed her bedroom door short, and screamed into a pillow.
I tried to tell you the answers, offered her calculator.
"That's cheating, Sammy," Will growled as she turned over. "I've been sent to Knickerbocker's office enough because of you."
Stupid powers. It wasn't her fault everything electronic started talking around her. She'd had to ditch Sammy in her locker for all of her math tests because he kept trying to correct her work—and not just in math, but in history and English too, which seriously got on her nerves. And she wasn't about to cheat because he was so "helpful," so that meant she was doing all of her math by hand, which was hard and causing her grades to plummet.
No, good Guardians didn't cheat. That was the kind of thing done by people like Nerissa and Phobos, and Will didn't miss the way Irma snidely made comparisons between Will and them when she thought she couldn't hear. There was a difference, okay? Nerissa and Phobos were power-hungry. Will just wanted to save Meridian from them, and sometimes it meant doing things she didn't like. Like pushing the girls harder or trying to protect the Hearts from being taken. It wasn't anything about Will personally—she was just doing what she had to do in a desperate situation.
And steadfastly trying to ignore that little voice in her head that said Nerissa probably told herself the same thing at her age.
A knock sounded on the door, followed my her mom's voice. "Will..."
"I'm not hungry," Will answered automatically. "And you can stop yelling about my grades—I'm trying my hardest." You try keeping up in school when you're trying to protect the Infinite Dimensions from the forces of evil, she wanted to add, but that was out of the question.
"I'm not," her mother insisted, slowly opening the door. "I know you're doing what you can, and your teacher says you've stopped bringing your calculator. Is there a problem with it—do you need a new one?"
Please don't throw me out! Sammy begged. Will ignored him.
"No, I'm just trying to do it myself now," she insisted. "You know, actually make sure I'm learning it."
To her surprise, her mom smiled. "That's a good thing, then. You'll get it."
Will sighed, trying to cover up the Quintessence sparks in her bangs. "It's tough. I'm trying, but I'm not getting anywhere."
"That happens," her mom insisted. "Maybe repeating a year would do you some good."
Will raised an eyebrow. "Since when is failure an option with you?"
"Since someone told me that the right thing to do isn't to run away from your problems," she answered with a smirk. "I'm proud of you, Will. Even if it takes you a little longer to master some things."
Will looked down. Mom made it sound so easy. You mess up, you get a redo. Simple as that. But there were no redos for Meridian or Kandrakar or Earth if she failed there.
"Will?"
"I'll think about it," she promised. Really, it was all she could do.
Player DW:
akinoameWay to contact you:
Email: brittany [dot] akinoame [at] gmail [dot] com
AIM: Canta Akino
Are you at least 15?: Y
Current Characters: Aqua, Kendrix Morgan, Ren Akiyama, Miharu Minato, Masato Jin, Artemis Crock, Kenshin Himura
Character: Will Vandom
Fandom: W.I.T.C.H.
History: This version of Will comes from the animated series only, so no comic details will be included.
In the other dimension of Meridian, the evil Prince Phobos was oppressing the population, draining their energy to fuel his magic and shrouding the world in darkness. To protect the Infinite Dimensions from his evil, the Oracle of Kandrakar created a mystical Veil that sealed off worlds from one another, trapping Meridian under its dictator's thumb. But there was still hope—the Rebellion, led by a teenage boy named Caleb, was determined to bring him down.
But Will Vandom didn't know any of this, since she lived on Earth as a normal girl, having just moved to the city of Heatherfield from Fadden Hills. As the new girl, she didn't expect to have any friends, especially the close-knit group of Irma Lair, Taranee Cook, Cornelia Hale, and Hay Lin. But to her surprise, Hay Lin invited her to join them at her house for an afterschool snack, where they met her grandmother, Yan Lin, who revealed the Heart of Kandrakar and declared the girls to be the new generation of the Guardians of the Veil—magical girls tasked with saving Meridian from evil and protecting the Earth from its darkness. Each of the girls would gain the power of an element: Water, Fire, Earth, or Air, and Will held the Heart to give all of them their powers. Naturally...they didn't believe a word of it, but Yan Lin got them to accept their powers. But as they practiced for the first time, a portal in the Veil opened, and a creature began to come through, pursuing a young man. Will panicked but eventually used the Heart to seal the portal, but not in time to save the boy. As they debriefed with Yan Lin, she revealed that the creature was Phobos's most loyal servant, Lord Cedric. And Cedric wasn't done with Earth. Now that Phobos knew the new Guardians had appeared, he sent Cedric to kidnap Will, but she left the Heart behind, allowing the other Guardians to track her down. She was thrown into the oubliette with the boy, Caleb, and with Blunk, a Passling—a smelly creature that could sniff out portals in the Veil and smuggled junk from Earth to Meridian as mistaken treasures. The Guardians managed to bust them out, and they fought their way free, getting Caleb to Earth safely, where he hid out in the basement of Hay Lin's family's restaurant and worked part-time.
Things continued fairly routine for a good while—Phobos would do something, Caleb would try to stop him, the Guardians would go bail him out of trouble (or vice-versa), and another portal would be sealed. Meanwhile, the Guardians would try to get by in their normal lives. Will ended up with a crush on a popular boy named Matt Olsen, and she figured she didn't have a chance, but he turned out to be more interested in her than she thought. Unfortunately, her duties as a Guardian kept getting in the way of her normal life, creating such problems like affecting her grades. Over time, it became clear that Phobos had a goal—thirteen years before, when he first took power, his infant sister was taken from Meridian to Earth to be raised as a normal girl, away from his control. The Princess had immense power and was considered the true heir to the throne—and Phobos would stop at nothing to ensure that power was his. Eventually, the Guardians learned that Cornelia's childhood friend Elyon Brown was the Princess, and Will made the tough call to keep her in the dark about it to keep her safe. But Phobos manipulated this to his advantage, sending Cedric in human form to Earth to gain her trust and drive a wedge between Elyon and her friends, convincing her to return to Meridian of her own will. There, she lived a fantasy life, believing her brother to be a benevolent ruler while the Rebels and Guardians were anarchists working against her. The Guardians tried to talk some sense into her but failed, until they discovered that Phobos planned a coronation ceremony that would drain her powers from her. By then, they'd planted enough seeds of doubt in her mind that she was able to see what her brother was doing, but she couldn't protect herself—fortunately the Guardians were there to save her, along with Caleb and Matt, who had learned Will's secret and decided he wanted to stand by her and help. The Guardians defeated Phobos, and Elyon took the throne as Queen.
But a new enemy appeared in secret—an old hag with the mysterious power of Quintessence; a lost fifth element that shot electricity and could bring anything metal or electronic to life. The Guardians were summoned to the world of Kandrakar itself, the Fortress at the Heart of Infinity, where the Veil was finally lowered and they were tasked with protecting the Infinite Dimensions. But the witch was out to get them, and Will soon discovered that they shared the same power—Will's powers had been significantly drained to maintain the Veil. Part of the reason why they had been so limited was because the previous bearer of the Heart of Kandrakar, Nerissa, had been corrupted by its power and killed her teammate, Cassidy. She was imprisoned in a cave on Mt. Thanos near Heatherfield, but they learned that she'd escaped—she was the witch who was threatening them! Moreover, she had also used glamours to disguise herself as various allies of the Rebellion, including the powerful Mage and Elyon's cook, Trill. As Trill, she gave Elyon a jewel that drained her powers—the Heart of Meridian—and trapped her inside once she threw it away in a fit of anger. And as Mage, she gained the trust of the Council of Kandrakar and got close enough to imprison most of them. Worse, eighteen years before, she'd disguised herself as Mage to win the heart of a man named Julian, and they had a child who eventually grew into Caleb, the Guardians' friend and teammate. Trickery was Nerissa's game, and she outsmarted the Guardians at every turn, taking the people closest to them—kidnapping Matt and transforming him into Will's personal nemesis, Shagon; corrupting the hearts of her old teammates so that they would rejoin her, including a magical copy of Hay Lin's grandmother; and threatening Cornelia's younger sister, a reality-warper with the power of the Heart of Earth, who gave her powers to a restored Matt to act as her Regent, along with her pet cat and his pet dormouse, enabling them to fight alongside the Guardians.
The only way to fight fire was with fire, so Will came up with the most insane plan possible to stop her: she recruited Phobos for help. With Elyon's power in her hands, the only way Nerissa could lose that power was for another heir to Meridian's throne to take it, and that meant the deposed prince. But Will didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, so she set up a trap, tricking him into making a vow not to double-cross them while knowing he got off on sudden but inevitable betrayal. The vow was made on the Heart of Kandrakar, so if he ever stepped foot in the Fortress, he would forfeit his powers. To ensure he would do something that stupid, Will sent Hay Lin to plant seeds of doubt in the mind of Raythor, one of Phobos's loyal followers who had been bitterly betrayed; once he saw that Phobos lacked the honor to hold to his vow, he readily joined the Guardians and suggested that Phobos attack Kandrakar upon winning Meridian, in order to conquer the Infinite Dimensions more easily. Unfortunately for the Guardians, Phobos had also pissed off more people on his own side, and they were more willing to do their own thing—Cedric and his girlfriend, Miranda, who gleefully betrayed Phobos before he could lose his powers and then took them for themselves. The Guardians were split on two fronts—the Rebels fought Miranda in Kandrakar to prevent her from destroying the source of the Guardians' powers, and the Guardians fought on Earth while the Regents, led by Matt, helped maintain a glamour zone that would keep civilians from finding the battle and shattering the illusion of normality. Within the source of Cedric's powers, Nerissa, the previous Guardians, and Elyon joined forces and got a message to the Guardians, telling them that they could win by awakening their power to its zenith, allowing them to transform into personifications of the elements of Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Quintessence. With this new power, they easily defeated Cedric and freed the captives—except for Nerissa, whose scheming cost her her freedom. Unfortunately, this desperate act cost the girls their humanity, and they had to focus on remembering the battle before they realized what they lost. Listening to the precious voices of their loved ones led them back to consciousness, where they were able to resume their normal lives.
Personality:
Will starts out a little on the shy side, if only because she's new to Heatherfield when the series starts. But once she settles in, her true personality emerges. She's energetic and enthusiastic—a great friend who loves to have fun. But at the same time, she's the leader of the Guardians, and that brings some massive responsibilities that weigh heavily on her as she tries to learn how to cope with it. She wants to have fun, and she's lived in a stable, peaceful environment for all of her life, compared to what's going on in Meridian. So she doesn't always make the best decisions, and she's got to deal with the consequences that come.
"Stubborn" is a good word to describe her. She's brash and prone to quick judgment, and it's really damn hard to get her to change her opinion. If she decides she doesn't like you, it doesn't matter what you do to try to please her; shy of saving her mother's life, you are not going to impress her. She thinks with her heart first, and this is a major problem for her. She's easily outwitted by enemies who know how to take advantage of this flaw; with just a few choice words, someone can bait her into fighting a battle she should by all rights know she'll lose. She does well not feeding Shagon's power of hatred, but then he makes vague threats against her mother or her boyfriend, and she explodes on him, fueling his power. She starts insisting that someone she doesn't like must be an enemy in disguise (the leaps of logic involved be damned), and no amount of sanity will convince her otherwise until she sees it for herself. Sometimes, this stubbornness is a good thing—she doesn't give up easily, and she's extremely protective of the people she loves. But she doesn't think before she acts, much of the time, and her plans are terrible. Even when she finally does learn how to plan ahead, she makes tough calls that understandably piss other people off—not telling Elyon about her heritage put her in Phobos's hands; not telling the Rebels about the whole insane plan to entrap Phobos in his own double-cross almost cost them allies because they had to sacrifice Meridian for the greater good.
As she begins to understand and accept her responsibilities as a Guardian, she eventually goes overboard and starts thinking that nobody can understand that. Part of that is part and parcel with growing up—thinking that adults cannot understand you, but part is because she's fairly easily led and impulsive. She doesn't think; therefore, she gets herself in trouble without asking for help. Some of this also ties into her growing fears that she's doomed to become like Nerissa—she doesn't want to believe that she's anything like her, but even her own friends have to admit she's got a drive to win that's scary because sometimes she doesn't see the cost. The difference is that she's capable of stopping herself and realizing that she doesn't want to do something that will hurt others for the greater good—if she has to, she regrets it, and she wants to set it right.
An important thing to remember about Will is that at the end of the day, she's a normal pre-teen girl. This means she gets mad at people easily, she makes dumb mistakes, she's judgmental, she does things she regrets, she has a hard time apologizing, and she feels awful when she realizes she's messed up. But when she's happy, she's really happy; when she likes something, she loves it with all of her heart; she's enthusiastic; she's helpful; she's friendly. She's everything you expect from a girl her age; she just has much bigger things on the line.
Other:
One of Will's powers in season 2 is the ability to speak to electronics. No one outside of W.I.T.C.H. will be able to hear them, due to the nature of their powers. I'll be sure to ask for permission if Will can talk to other people's electronics, but don't be surprised if there are a lot of one-sided arguments with her phone/calculator/toaster.
Also, following the Veil being dropped in season 2, Will gains the ability to worldhop, or "fold" between worlds other than just Meridian and Earth, using the Heart of Kandrakar. Until that point, the Veil will prevent worldhops.
Additional Links:
Reviews of the cartoon series, by me. Again. Sorry.
Fan wiki and section on Will, which also lists her various powers.
Q&A by season 2 head writer Greg Weisman
First Person:
1. You have tickets to your favorite band's concert tonight, but your best friend asks you for an urgent favor that would make you miss it. Which one do you choose and why?
Well, duh, I'm going to go help my friends. Look, much as I might like Vance Michael Justin or Karmilla, or...or Matt...if one of my friends needs me to do something, it's usually for a good reason. Usually. There have been times when Hay Lin has dragged us into things like the school play, but she wouldn't call me for something like that if she knew I had something going on.
Mom, on the other hand, would, so she can forget it.
2. How do you feel about your hometown? What do you think the people there would say about you?
Guess it says a lot that I already think of Heatherfield as my hometown instead of Fadden Hills, right? To be honest, I really like it here. Sure, I don't know as many people as I did there, but the people I do know are way more important—like the other Guardians, or Yan Lin, or Caleb, or Matt...
...I'm sorry, what was the question?
3. If you have any secrets, how far would you go to keep them from being revealed?
I really screwed that one up recently. I thought it was better not to tell Elyon about her being from another world, or about her having a brother who was completely guano loco evil. But it backfired, and now she's helping fight us and thinks we're evil, and...ugh.
Maybe if I hadn't tried to be so secretive, it would have turned out better. Maybe Phobos wouldn't have been able to trick her so easily. But then, maybe Cedric would be easier to beat if he was a fluffy bunny—it's getting me nowhere. I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it and fix this...somehow.
4. You're doing some spring cleaning. What is easy for you to throw out? What is difficult for you to part with? Why?
Um, actually...I'm really bad at cleaning. Or throwing anything out. I keep everything. Sometimes because I don't know if I'm going to need it or sometimes because I'm really too busy to clean my room—there's a lot going on and everything, you know?
5. If you had the chance to change any one thing about yourself, would you take it? What would you change?
Well, technically, I kinda do that when I transform into a Guardian. I'm taller, I've got powers, I'm cooler, I've got bigger...uh...well, let's not mention that right now, 'kay?
But I think I'd want to be more like my friends—take things in stride more like Hay Lin and Irma. Be smarter like Taranee. Prettier like Cornelia. I'm kinda...plain old Will. And I know that I've got my strengths and everything, but...I kinda wish there was more that stood out, you know?
6. You just caught your best friend making out with the senpai you really want to notice you! What's your response?
Oh, um...well... ...I guess I'd have to be happy for her, right? But...it'd hurt. A lot. I haven't tried to ask him out—I mean, hypothetically, I wouldn't have asked him out, but...I think they'd notice my feelings, right? So...why would they do that?
7. Do you have any dreams or ambitions? How do you intend to achieve them?
I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I always wanted to swim in the Olympics, ever since I was little. So I've been swimming since then—the frog kick was the first thing I learned, and since then, I've loved frogs—and I want to swim for Sheffield's team, but the problem is that my grades are...well, sunk. I'm trying my hardest to pass math, but I'm not getting it. I can do freestyle with great time and I can fight evil, but you put a textbook in my hands, and I'm drowning.
I really, really want this. But between my grades and my duties as a Guardian...it's something I haven't been able to do. I'll never make the team if I can't make the grade, but I can't make the grade if I'm fighting bad guys after school everyday. So I really don't know what to do.
8. Do you believe in fate? Why or why not?
I guess I kinda do. It's not something I ever stopped to think about, but...well, think about everything that's happened—something definitely brought Mom and me to Heatherfield, and Hay Lin just decided out of nowhere to invite me over when she didn't know me, and if none of that happened, I'd never have gotten the Heart of Kandrakar and we wouldn't be Guardians. But at the same time, I don't want to think that the bad stuff that's happened is also fate—Phobos taking over Meridian, everyone there suffering, Elyon falling into his hands because we—because I screwed up and didn't protect her. Caleb tells us horror stories about what he's grown up with, and I know he wouldn't want to think all that's happened to him because of destiny. I wouldn't either. But it seems like everything happens for a reason, like we're all part of some huge thing and everything's going according to plan—which is actually scary and annoying, to think that there's some grand master who's manipulating all of us, but I guess that's the only way to consider both sides of fate here.
9. Do you have a motto? If so, why would you consider that to be your motto? If not, is there a reason that you don't have one? What is it?
Uh, does "Guardians, unite!" count as a motto? I mean, it's a transformation phrase, just like a lot of the other heroes on the community have, but it sounds like it works, right? It's corny but heroic. And it pretty much says what we're doing. We're not just transforming—we're standing united, against the enemy, no matter who it is. We might have completely different elements, but that's okay—we're going to combine those powers together to win. And, uh, yeah. Still corny, but it works.
10. Summer and winter are the most popular seasons, but what about spring and autumn? Which do you prefer and what is your favorite activity to do during that season?
Much as I prefer spring break to the beginning of the school year, I have to say there's more to do in fall. First off, you've got Halloween, and that's always fun—dressing up and getting free candy, can't get much better than that? It's also closer to winter, so it's getting cooler and sometimes it'll start snowing early, though I hear that's rare here in Heatherfield. But it gets cooler in fall a lot faster than it gets warmer in spring, I can say that.
And most importantly, my birthday's in fall. So I'm kind of biased.
Third Person:
Will stormed through the door, marched past her mother, who had her report card in hand, slammed her bedroom door short, and screamed into a pillow.
I tried to tell you the answers, offered her calculator.
"That's cheating, Sammy," Will growled as she turned over. "I've been sent to Knickerbocker's office enough because of you."
Stupid powers. It wasn't her fault everything electronic started talking around her. She'd had to ditch Sammy in her locker for all of her math tests because he kept trying to correct her work—and not just in math, but in history and English too, which seriously got on her nerves. And she wasn't about to cheat because he was so "helpful," so that meant she was doing all of her math by hand, which was hard and causing her grades to plummet.
No, good Guardians didn't cheat. That was the kind of thing done by people like Nerissa and Phobos, and Will didn't miss the way Irma snidely made comparisons between Will and them when she thought she couldn't hear. There was a difference, okay? Nerissa and Phobos were power-hungry. Will just wanted to save Meridian from them, and sometimes it meant doing things she didn't like. Like pushing the girls harder or trying to protect the Hearts from being taken. It wasn't anything about Will personally—she was just doing what she had to do in a desperate situation.
And steadfastly trying to ignore that little voice in her head that said Nerissa probably told herself the same thing at her age.
A knock sounded on the door, followed my her mom's voice. "Will..."
"I'm not hungry," Will answered automatically. "And you can stop yelling about my grades—I'm trying my hardest." You try keeping up in school when you're trying to protect the Infinite Dimensions from the forces of evil, she wanted to add, but that was out of the question.
"I'm not," her mother insisted, slowly opening the door. "I know you're doing what you can, and your teacher says you've stopped bringing your calculator. Is there a problem with it—do you need a new one?"
Please don't throw me out! Sammy begged. Will ignored him.
"No, I'm just trying to do it myself now," she insisted. "You know, actually make sure I'm learning it."
To her surprise, her mom smiled. "That's a good thing, then. You'll get it."
Will sighed, trying to cover up the Quintessence sparks in her bangs. "It's tough. I'm trying, but I'm not getting anywhere."
"That happens," her mom insisted. "Maybe repeating a year would do you some good."
Will raised an eyebrow. "Since when is failure an option with you?"
"Since someone told me that the right thing to do isn't to run away from your problems," she answered with a smirk. "I'm proud of you, Will. Even if it takes you a little longer to master some things."
Will looked down. Mom made it sound so easy. You mess up, you get a redo. Simple as that. But there were no redos for Meridian or Kandrakar or Earth if she failed there.
"Will?"
"I'll think about it," she promised. Really, it was all she could do.