#venoma scorpia

[libertyeveningsun]

Willow textposts part 16

Part 15

Part 17

images are mix of Willow stills from imdb, stills edited by @/KomixBro on twitter, and screencaptures by me. Tanthamore hugging by @/joesttaylors on twitter

[adragoncalledcat]

Willow textposts 4/?

[littleblackraincloudofcourse]

I've been wondering for a while now why out of all the premature cancelations of any show I've ever watched Willow was the most upsetting to me. I finally understand why. This felt more than any of the others like a betrayal. I have been a fan of Disney since I was three. I watched and loved so many stories but never felt quite like I was apart of them. Characters like me were always sort of on the periphery of epic tales. It was rare to feel included and when I was the story often left others feeling as I normally did. They could enjoy the story but where not quite part of it.

Then last year, Willow premiered and finally there was something bringing us all together. Women, people of color, queer people, and people with disabilities where all equally apart of the story. They weren't a liability, villans or even helplessly waiting for rescue. They were the heroes. We were the heroes in a world of fantasy. Even better, the "straight" white male was the one in need of rescue. It was the kind of story I never thought I would see on screen. Best of all, it was good. Willow is funny, dramatic, action filled and romantic. It's a well written story full of love of all kinds for all of us. Watching it filled me with joy and hope.

Then Disney announced it was canceled and I was heartbroken. Then they claimed it was not canceled but on hiatus. It was like emotional whiplash and before we could recover, Willow was removed like it never existed. After more than three decades of being a Disney fan, after people like us have been Disney fans for literally 100 years, they erased our stories and acted like nothing had changed.

I didn't understand what I was feeling before because I've never felt it outside a personal relationship before. I had never been this connected to a series before. I believed Disney cared about our stories, that they cared about us. In hindsight, that was a bit naive for someone my age, but again this all new to me.

The fact is, this was a betrayal. This was worse than being sidelined or excluded. This was saying our stories weren't worth. That our stories didn't matter to them. It wasn't just a show and they knew that, they know that. The entire cast expressed how important Willow was to them for the same reasons. We saw that in Behind the Magic. Fans have been campaigning every day since they announced the cancelation to show how much the series mean. Over the last six months, I have found some the kindest, most inclusive and respectful people not just on the internet but truly in the world. I have never been apart of a fandom so filled with love that there's no room for hate.

I haven't been able to enjoy Disney the way I use to since Willow. I canceled Disney+ immediately once it was removed and now that more and more of their content has moved to Hulu, I've had to canceled them as well. I haven't even watched any movie they've put out this year. It feels like going back to an ex-lover that mistreated me because I did love them. I loved Disney but they don't love any of us. I still hope to get Willow back some day and for their stories to continue but I don't think I will ever feel the same about Disney.

[minettas-ploy]

[hazelcallahan]

WILLOW (SEASON 1) - SOUNDTRACK

[bberry005]

ALRIGHT EVERYONE guess what insane thing I did? I made a really rough concept for if the universe of Willow got the full Star Wars-esque saga treatment. I will say it's a lot more focused on characters and general plots than themes, but for anyone who wants to see it, here it is.

The Willow Saga (chronological order)

Kymeria, movies: movie series (maybe a trilogy?) about the fall of the Kymerian Empire and the creation of the Kymerian Cuirass. Could contain all kinds of narrative parallels to the Willow (2022) show.

Elora Danan Origin Story (Movie): A movie about the origins of the myth of Elora Danan and the past Elora Danans and all that fun stuff.

Paladins of Cashmere (series): TV series about the Princess of Cashmere and how she went missing, followed by the Paladins of Cashmere trying to find her. Provides a lot of cool worldbuilding about the other kingdoms in the realm.

Lands End (movie or 3 season series, depending on importance/vibes/plot): a tv show/movie about the war leading up to the fall of Bavmorda. About Madmartigan’s time as a knight of Galladoorn. Emphasis on the Battle of Land’s End because that’s mentioned multiple times.

The Princess (movie, working title): The story of Sorsha Tanthalos, from child to queen.

Willow (1988), movie: Nelwyn farmer Willow Ufgood finds a baby in a river and embarks on a quest to protect her after learning she is Elora Danan. He teams up with rogue swordsman Madmartigan and eventually together they defeat the evil queen Bavmorda and save the realm.

Tales from the Wildwood, TV series: Follows the story of teenage Venoma Scorpia and Thraxus Boorman as the Bone Reavers establish themselves in the Wildwood and the pair seek to find the rest of General Kael’s thirteen children.

The Cuirass, movie: Madmartigan, Allagash, and Boorman on their quest to find the Kymerian Cuirass in order to prevent Elora Danan from having to save the realm alone. Also shows some of life in Tir Asleen immediately after the war. Opportunities for tiny Kit and Airk. Willow (2022), 3 season TV series: Set approximately 20 years after the original movie, Willow (2022) follows Elora Danan as she undertakes her quest to stop the Withered Crone. She is joined by washed up sorcerer Willow Ufgood, a timid prince Graydon Hastur, valiant knight Jade Claymore, criminal and rogue Thraxus Boorman, and a cocky princess Kit Tanthalos.

[ace-geographer]

The never ending saga of text post memes continues!

Enjoy these ones fresh from the photo editor :)

Part 12/?

[knight-princess]

Kit and Jade’s quiet and private (at least until the trolls interrupted) love confession and the general conversation around it is the best and sweetest and I know they needed that privacy to be as open with their feelings as they were but every day I think about what it would have been like if they hadn’t gone quite so far and people had still been in earshot and specifically how dismayed Scorpia would probably have been to hear that the bratty princess daughter of her enemies beloved of her long lost sister wants to move in and I feel robbed of watching her reaction to the moving and emotional “I’d give up adventuring and come and live here with you forever and ever if that’s what you wanted” and having to smile for the occasion and obviously she’s happy for her little sister finding love but also gritting her teeth like fuck me Jade did it have to be this one my political problems just got significantly more dramatic

[libertyeveningsun]

Willow textposts part 18

Part 17.5

Part 19

[spyskater]

The quotes I believe are every characters' thesis statement in Willow (2022) and why. Elora: I believe that love is the most powerful force in the universe. Kit: You're afraid. So am I. But you know what? My fear, it doesn't get to decide. It doesn't get to, to define me. I'm not giving it the power. I'm giving it to you. I have never believed in anything my whole life. I believe in you. Jade: Yeah, and when you love someone and they need you, yes, you jump off the edge of the world to go and get to them. Graydon: One day you and I are gonna be in charge. And when that day comes, we don't have to do things the way our parents did. Boorman: I finally figured it out. This isn't my story. It's yours. You're the one. And all you gotta do is believe in yourself, and you'll be unstoppable. Willow: You know, it's taken me a long time to learn, it's okay to fall, to make mistakes. I've made lots... The trick is to embrace your defeats as well as your victories. You pay for both in the end. Be decent. Be fearless. And know this, wherever the adventure leads, I'm with you. Airk: You know, defend the realm and just be the best brother, and husband, and father, and son that I can possibly be. Because that is what you do when you have honor, right? Scorpia: All we have ever wanted is our freedom. That our children would not have to live in fear. They'd serve no master... We have no barrier to hide behind, no army to defend us. All we have is the fear our masks evoke, the determination to survive, and each other... Freedom, rebellion, passion, joy. To the break of dawn! Sorsha: Everything I've done, I've done to protect the people I love. It costs a lot. Madmartigan: It was the hardest thing I've ever done. But love is sacrifice. You've gotta be willing to give up what you want for what you believe in.

Elora's is extremely obvious. As the heroine and chosen one of our show, her quote not only represents who she is and what she believes, but the most important message that the show wants to leave us with. At the end of the day, love above all things. Let that be your guiding force. It's what all of our characters come away with. Jade lets go of her ideals of duty to follow her heart to Kit. Kit learns to love and gains courage through it. Airk is saved by Kit through the power of love. Graydon becomes who he's always dreamed of, partially due to his love of Elora. Elora is able to fully grasp her power through her love of Graydon. And Elora tells us throughout the season that love is the most powerful thing in the universe, at first taken as a joke by Airk, Kit, and the audience and evolving into the hopeful statement we're meant to latch onto.

This is Kit's big moment. She spends the entire season having everything she thought she knew stripped from her. When you have nothing left, it'll make you reevaluate what you truly want and what you believe. We know that all Kit has wanted is to be brave and loved and I would argue that quote is part one of the thesis of Kit. It's Jade's love that gives Kit the bravery to take the leap of faith. As she stares at the edge of the world, she's probably at her most fearful. But she's spent her whole life giving into fear, fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of abandonment. She knows what it means to give fear power, so she chooses to give the power to Elora, to love, to hope, to finally believing in something greater than herself. And by choosing not to give into fear, she also inspires Elora to do the same. Fear no longer gets to control Kit and we shouldn't let it control us either.

Like Kit, Jade is completely stripped of everything she knows about herself. Her honor, her duty, her history, her beliefs, her identity, it all comes into question. But she had to lose all of the things that she thought made her Jade Claymore in order for her to truly follow her heart. You don't jump off the edge of the world out of duty. You do it out of love. Jade does it for Kit. Graydon does it for Elora. Elora and Kit do it for Airk. And while I don't think Jade fully knows what any of what she's learned means for her and her future, the one thing she does know for a fact at the end of the season, which was the only thing that she was uncertain of at the beginning, is that she is totally, ridiculously, desperately in love with Kit and that love is returned. It's like Elora said, love is the most power thing in the universe and Jade now knows that.

Graydon's quote, I find, is one of the most important quotes of the show. This is the story of the next generation learning from the previous one’s mistakes and trying to do better. All of our younger characters are forced to confront the mistakes of their elders, especially Willow, Sorsha, and Madmartigan’s. Kit as Elora’s protector and learning that love comes before dutiful sacrifice (her parents). Jade learning love before duty and honor (Ballantine). Boorman facing the mistakes he made with the older generation and making the better choice with the younger one. Going on this adventure with the others, Graydon is able to find his true self and make his own choices. Just because his father wants him to be one thing, doesn't mean that Gray has to be that. He gets to be his own man. You get to be who you want to be, not what your parents want.

Boorman desperately wants to be the hero of the story and that’s probably the source of a lot of his bravado. He feels shame for leaving Madmartigan for dead, for lying about his escape from Skellin, because it’s not a heroic tale. He was a teenager/young man when he went after the Cuirass with Mads. He was Jade once upon a time, a squire in service to Tir Asleen royalty. The problem is that Boorman thinks the cuirass is the only way he can be a hero and being a hero is the only way to make up for his mistakes. But the cuirass is not meant for him; it’s not his story. The way for him to come full circle and become whole is to make up for his sins against Mads by giving the cuirass to his daughter. He’s not the hero of this story, but I do believe he’s the hero of another.

Willow gives us another important message of the show that we've seen throughout the season. Our mentor's journey over the course of the season is to let go. Willow can't seem to accept the consequences of the past. The loss of his wife. The departure of his son. The loss of Elora. The fact that he never became the sorcerer he thought he was meant to be. All of this causes him to be incapable of training Elora with any sort of true openness or understanding. Where Elora needs freedom and a safe place to fail, Willow only provides restrictions and pressure. The world can't afford for Elora to fail. And if Elora fails, she dies. But in the end, it's only his ability to accept his failures and victories that allows him to help Elora grow to become the hero she needs to be. And it's an important lesson for us.

Airk is a character that could have easily played into his own trope of charming playboy prince without a care in the world, but this quote helps separate him from stereotype. In episode one, I'm sure we would all admit we all believed, like Kit, that Airk didn't know Elora's public name. But he did. And throughout his time resisting the Crone, Airk proved time and time again that he truly was honorable and that all he wanted was to be good. Madmartigan's departure and Kit's future ascension left Airk looking for his purpose and trying to prove to his family that he was everything his absentee father couldn't be. He does everything he can to be a good boyfriend, a good brother, a good son, a good diplomat, and, in episode seven, he does everything he can to be a good man.

Scorpia is an inspiration. She has lost so much, but still finds the strength to care deeply in the face of her grief. She's lost her mother, father, and several brothers and sisters, but finds it in herself to keep loving. She may be mostly concerned about her people, but it's their philosophy of life, of freedom and liberation (another analysis yet to be written) that sends her on a crusade to save all of those people in Skellin. Not just her people, but all people. And I think that will be important in the war to come. As much as Scorpia will want to avoid war, her belief in freedom for all and rebellion will convince her that it's necessary. The entire Wildwood episode shows us the joy and passion and freedom that's a stake, what's worth fighting for. There is no freedom under the Wyrm and Scorpia will not accept that.

I think it's important to discuss Sorsha and Madmartigan's quotes together, because they explain their mistakes as well as layer them with complexities. One of the things that kind of irritates me is when people paint Mads as saint and Sorsha as awful, because they're cut from the same cloth (Kit, I love you, but I blame you for this). At the end of the day, they were willing to make the hard sacrifices if it meant protecting their kids and saving the world. Neither one of them could have foreseen the harm that their choices would have, but they did what they thought was right. They are one and the same, united in their cause and parenthood. But every single choice also cost them so much sacrifice, the biggest one being their chance at parenting Elora, and I think a lot of people forget that, especially when it comes to Sorsha.

[minettas-ploy]

[totally-correct-willow]

Straight friend groups be like: *blonde girl* *chad* *the funny one* *kyle* *brunette girl* *frat boy*

Gay friend groups be like: *arrogant lesbian* *orphaned knight turned princess* *empress of the whole realm* *prince of shadows* *disgraced squire of the king* *powerful sorcerer with confidence issues* *slutty prince* *scary warrior queen*

[lowkeyed1]

[ID: screencap from willow 2022 of scorpia sitting on boorman's lap while he is tied up in her tent. she is grabbing his beard and making a severe face while he looks up at her with wide eyes. superimposed text from tumblr user trashdogultimate reads: please be nice to me unless youre being mean in a hot way /end ID]

[littleblackraincloudofcourse]

Scorpia called Graydon pretty, Boorman offered to make out with him. If things don't work out with Elora at least he has a pretty good shot at a three-way or becoming part of a RougeReaver polycule.

[ace-geographer]

If you think it's been months since I last posted one of these, no it hasn't <3 (yes it most definitely has)

Part 19/?