Wanda's "Character" Rework

[Beetrice]

I'm going to be honest. Wanda does not exert any sort of personality or character. There is no talk about who she is or what she used to do, possibly out of some mysterious time magic, but the writing team has given basically no bones to chew on. Most of her dialogue is really bland, and feels like a really impatient Wilson without the memorable mad scientist-ness. It's pretty easy to compare her to a Mary Sue because of it, especially due to her being possibly the strongest DPS character in the game. I can hardly recall her talking about time or clocks more than complaining about not having the time for something or some kind of strange clock pun (No one actively says "A tick" or "Botheration", it's unthematically silly for a character who seems to be more serious like Wickerbottom)

Most of her quotes concerning things like the Celestial Champion and other plot/lore-related things are something along the lines of "Oh botheration, not you/this..". It just feels like she is meant to have some kind of knowledge, but it's so incredibly vague that there's nothing to be discerned (For example, compare quotes from Chadwell such as "It speaks with the shadow" for Nightmare Amulet with Wanda's "Keep that thing away from me!"). She feels like a character designed with powers first, then design, THEN personality, which the most identifiable trait being that she doesn't like the shadows (despite her magic requiring nightmare fuel..?).

Maybe I am just being judgmental, and we're going to see a lunar side to Wanda's perks, but right now she is less interesting of a character than Walter, who has actually gotten some glowing up with the recent short. Wanda needs better dialogue, but better dialogue will only come from a more fleshed out character. Instead of an ability rework for Wanda, I want a character rework.

[zhangsheng]

Wanda is a very mysterious character, both in terms of her background and motives for her actions. In her trailer, when her clock loses control, we can even see all versions being updated. In the trailer remade by Maxwell, she is still not on Charlie's chessboard. She is more like a contradictory character who relies on shadows but repels them, and more like a "Maxwell" who successfully breaks free from shadow control.

So I think her conversation should be extremely impatient (because as a time traveler, she may have experienced such conversations many times), and her attitude towards shadows should be both excited and afraid.

[Catuna_]

5 hours ago, Beetrice said:

I'm going to be honest. Wanda does not exert any sort of personality or character. There is no talk about who she is or what she used to do, possibly out of some mysterious time magic, but the writing team has given basically no bones to chew on. Most of her dialogue is really bland, and feels like a really impatient Wilson without the memorable mad scientist-ness. It's pretty easy to compare her to a Mary Sue because of it, especially due to her being possibly the strongest DPS character in the game. I can hardly recall her talking about time or clocks more than complaining about not having the time for something or some kind of strange clock pun (No one actively says "A tick" or "Botheration", it's unthematically silly for a character who seems to be more serious like Wickerbottom)

Most of her quotes concerning things like the Celestial Champion and other plot/lore-related things are something along the lines of "Oh botheration, not you/this..". It just feels like she is meant to have some kind of knowledge, but it's so incredibly vague that there's nothing to be discerned (For example, compare quotes from Chadwell such as "It speaks with the shadow" for Nightmare Amulet with Wanda's "Keep that thing away from me!"). She feels like a character designed with powers first, then design, THEN personality, which the most identifiable trait being that she doesn't like the shadows (despite her magic requiring nightmare fuel..?).

Maybe I am just being judgmental, and we're going to see a lunar side to Wanda's perks, but right now she is less interesting of a character than Walter, who has actually gotten some glowing up with the recent short. Wanda needs better dialogue, but better dialogue will only come from a more fleshed out character. Instead of an ability rework for Wanda, I want a character rework.

(I need to clarify that we are definitely never getting a whole character quotes overhaul, there's so so so so many quotes and that's extremely unreasonable.)

Wanda is a very well written character, and it's really unfortunate when people think otherwise because I feel like they miss the point.

Wanda's past is supposed to be vague, just like Woodie is. She's on the run from her doom, she's hopped through so many timelines that it's messing with her memory. She talks about her forgetfulness as a result. Her impatience is explained as she's, again running away from her doom, she can't afford to waste time because she fears her potential death and what comes after. You can't really expect to act any different. She's also a lot more realistic and grounded than a lot of the cast, and I think it adds to her charm. And no, she doesn't make nearly as many puns as Wilson does.

Wanda talks about her skills in clockwork technology, several times. She criticizes more modern technology (Winona's generator) and says that her technology is more reliable, and she talks about its reliability enough."

Botheration" is a term that used to be a lot more popular in the 1800's, it could just emphasize that she's a lot older than the rest of the cast and that we don't know how long Wanda has lived and been on the run. "Wait a tick" is a term that just exists because it's in-theme with her character, I don't understand what's wrong with that.

To add to this, Wanda tries to act as young as she can. She says she doesn't need a walking cane yet, she is very fond of silly looking hats and she has a sweet tooth and a knack for other related things because she doesn't want to feel old and that her time is almost up.

It's expected for Wanda to comment about how she's seen things before, that's a part of her character. But the thing to note is how she always tries to convince herself that shadow magic is "just a tool, right?". And she fears anything that brings her closer to death, the nightmare amulet for example leaves her vulnerable. She's also extremely desperate for a way out, commenting on how lunar magic is bursting with potential and asking herself if making a deal with Alter would be pushing her luck.

I really don't understand what's not to like, she's one of the game's most well written characters in my opinion. It's so easy to compare any character to Wilson but it's so pointless. It feels like disregarding what's actually there to like about her character completely. She's an effective concept with effective execution in my opinion.

Also I don't understand your Walter comment? Are you implying that he's badly written? And if he is, then what glow up did he get? Swine and Dine Walter is literally just how Walter already is. Walter's personality is great, and his quotes are a gold mine.

[PunkShark]

 

5 hours ago, Beetrice said:

Most of her quotes concerning things like the Celestial Champion and other plot/lore-related things are something along the lines of "Oh botheration, not you/this..". It just feels like she is meant to have some kind of knowledge, but it's so incredibly vague that there's nothing to be discerned (For example, compare quotes from Chadwell such as "It speaks with the shadow" for Nightmare Amulet with Wanda's "Keep that thing away from me!"). She feels like a character designed with powers first, then design, THEN personality, which the most identifiable trait being that she doesn't like the shadows (despite her magic requiring nightmare fuel..?).

When Wanda had broken into the Constant's timeline by accident she put herself into a perpetual timeloop. Messing up how she was supposed to get into the constant in the process, leaving her as an enigma in the stream on the timeline. She has experienced things before she initially knows it and knows things before it initially happens. Survivors always react to things as if they've seen it for the first time, giants and the sorts. But Wanda acts like it isn't her first time seeing it. Because she already has seen it many many times before. But the problem is she forgets it, because she is constantly hopping through timelines of the Constant and experiencing alternate timelines leaving her all forgetful until it hits her right in the face of the moment.

Wanda is deathly afraid of.. death. She's the only character who age because of her circumstances, leaving her desperate and hasty. Nightmare fuel is a "necessary evil" as she claims but is required for her will to survive and escape death hence why it's so necessary.

[The Starver]

5 hours ago, Catuna_ said:

Wait a tick

I use that all the time!