#and before that also a quick ‘welcome to canada’

[goldenhypen]

beloved em 🫂 i was so worried but i figured u just needed time to urself !! i hope ur doing okay, and if it doesn't feel okay just yet, that's alright too </3

hi beam !!! <3 thanks for being so understanding :( this is actually rlly nice to hear and i’ll keep this in mind cuz it’s possible i will disappear again v soon tbh 😭 but rn i’m doing ok after taking some time off for myself and it was rlly nice :’> hru doing lately? 🥹

[flemingsfreckles]

Physio’s Daughter Part 13 (epilogue)

Jessie Fleming x Reader

The whole series is here!

Warnings: none

WC: 2.5k

A/N: I’m not even sure what to put here, thank you to everyone who read this. I never expected people to like it as much as you all did and I never expected myself to be writing 13 parts but here we are. I appreciate every single person who’s left a like or reblogged or commented or send me asks about this series, I wouldn’t have ever had the motivation or ideas to write this series. Thank you 🥹

I’ve thought about writing some little blurbs/headcannons type things if you guys wanted to hear the details of how I thought the middle 20+ years that this went through would go. If that’s something yall want just feel free to send requests and I’ll write them. (I’m not quite ready to let go of this series of you couldn’t tell)

“You ready for this?” You squeezed Jessie hand tightly, trying to reassure her and give her peace of mind.

“As ready as I think I can be.”

That’s when you hear the announcement.

“And for her final time representing and leading Canada, please welcome Jessie Fleming.”

Jessie looks over at you one more time. You give her a nod and a tight squeeze on her hand before letting her go and she walks out onto the field. The cheering for her is deafening and you hear it for a moment before it all is drowned out by your ears ringing as your brain goes fuzzy at the realization that you’re watching your wife walk onto the field for the last time ever.

You watch as she walks out, looking around and making her way to the middle where a ceremonial framed jersey was waiting for her. You had both cried enough tears over her retirement decision, you had pinky promised that today was going to be a celebration, no tears.

“Mommy!” You feel the tug on your arm and look down to see your and Jessie's four year old daughter tugging on your hand while her other arm waved wildly toward the field. “Can we go with Mama?”

“Just a second baby.” You look down at your daughter, she’s just excited to see her Mama play, she hasn’t quite been able to grasp the idea of Jessie’s retirement. You knew she’d probably be asking when she can go watch her play again in just a few days.

You look back out to watch as Jessie makes her way down the line being hugged by all of her teammates before she gets to where the jersey was. You watch her look at it, then take a second to look around the field, taking in every second. She then takes photos with the coaching staff before she motions to you.

“Go run to Mama.” You let go of your daughter's hand and she runs ahead of you to Jessie. Jessie squats, grabbing your daughter under her arms and lifting her up around her hip. You make your way out onto the field before standing next to Jessie to take a few photos.

You give Jessie a quick peck to the cheek before taking back your daughter and walking off to the side of the pitch. You stand for a minute watching Jessie continue to absorb the moment around her.

“Look at this!” Olivia comes rushing up next to you holding out her camera for you to look at. It’s a photo of your wife from the side, she’s got a big smile on her face and is squatting down, arms stretched out toward your daughter who is also smiling big, running toward Jessie. “You two seriously have the cutest kid.”

“Soon to be cutest kids.” You whisper to her putting emphasis on the ‘s’. Olivia turns to you, mouth wide before looking down at your stomach.

“Are you?”

Her face lights up as you give her a nod, “We just found out a few weeks ago.”

“Oh my gosh! Congratulations!” Olivia pulls you into a hug. She then passes you a piece of paper with a note before giving you a wink. Her eyes get really wide for a second and she says “don’t drink the champagne,” before heading back to take more photos of the pregame ceremonies.

You make your way up to the reserved box, all of Jessie’s family attending the game as well as many of her former teammates. Your daughter was quick to run to her grandparents, excited to see them.

“Not working today?” Janine says coming up beside you. She hands you a drink and you give her a look questioning what was in the cup. “It’s just cranberry juice. Congratulations by the way, Jessie told me so we could make sure we have non-alcoholic stuff at the retirement party.”

“Thank you and yeah, I took the day off, thankfully Canada Soccer understood the importance of attending my own wife’s retirement game.” You had finished up school nearly 14 years ago, getting hired back immediately by Canada Soccer. That’s when you and Jessie had to be upfront with your relationship, disclosing it to HR and management before you signed the contract. Your relationship meant you were no longer able to handle Jessie’s treatments yourself but you were able to keep your job and still work closely with her.

The two of you had been dating for just over a year at that point, the first few months of long distance were hard, having to figure out communication expectations along with both of you juggling busy schedules. But you put in the work and effort and managed to figure it out together. You visited Jessie when you could and she’d visit you, FaceTime was your saving grace being able to see her face most days. You did silly little dates where you’d read together on FaceTime, not speaking but still as if she was in the room with you. You’d cook the same meal and eat together, you watch TV series together, she’d help quiz you for exams, the two of you made it work.

When you first told your Mom you were still talking with Jessie she didn’t think much of it, to be fair you didn’t give her the impression the two of you were together. You had planned on it, but chickened out and made it seem like a friendship. It wasn’t until almost six months into dating that you finally told your Mom. You and Jessie had talked about spending the holidays together, back in your hometown with your Mom. When you asked if your girlfriend could spend a couple days, your Mom was confused, never having met or heard a mention of a girlfriend on your end. She insisted she meet the girl first, to which you had to explain she had met the girl, she actually worked with her. Your Mom was able to put together the hints and realize you and Jessie were dating. She still scolded you just as she had when she caught the two of you kissing. Worried about the age difference, worried you’d never find a job if people knew, worried about the traveling and long distance, she went on and on for a while. But with some extra begging, she agreed to let Jessie come for the holidays and you formally introduced her as your girlfriend. Your Mom was quick to come around on your relationship once she saw how you and Jessie interacted, how happy she made you, it only took a couple hours before your Mom was getting out the scrapbooks to show Jessie embarrassing baby photos of you.

You started as a trainer with the Canadian team just after graduation, in a similar role as you had been for the team that one summer. You stayed in that position for a while before your Mom retired. Your Mom had previously taken over for Mark when he retired and you were given the promotion to that same position as the head of staff. This meant less hands on work and more administrative business, while a little less fun for you, it meant you could work from home whenever you needed to or just wanted to. You’d come in when the team was in or when you needed access to the facilities but when the girls returned to their club teams, you’d often follow Jessie to Portland and the two of you would live there.

Within the past few years you had been offered the opportunity to create a new position to oversee the physio and training staff as well as working with the player performance team. You loved your new position, you worked with the coaches, the nutritionists, the team doctors, the players themselves, all to work on creating training plans that made your players better while keeping them healthy and safe. You were going to continue to work after Jessie’s retirement despite how much she tries to convince you that you could both retire now, you loved your job too much to leave it quite yet.

It was five years into your relationship when you finally proposed. You had known for a long time that you were going to marry Jessie, but the two of you weren’t in any rush, the commitment to each other was always the same, married or not. You had taken her on a picnic to a wildflower field you found. Picnics became a staple date in your and Jessie’s relationship ever since your first one. You had waited for her to look away, to get distracted by a flower and you quickly scrambled to get on one knee, ring box open and facing her. She of course said yes once she recovered from the initial surprise and the two of you got married a year later. You had a small ceremony, only a couple people in attendance, keeping it easy. You instead hosted a large reception, with Jessie’s teammates, your coworkers, both of your friend and family, you couldn’t have asked for a more perfect start to your married life.

It was just a year into your marriage when the idea of having a baby started to float around more and more in both of your minds. You had talked about kids while you were dating but it was all talk, you both not quite ready to settle down with a child yet. But after seeing Jessie with her teammates kids weekend after weekend at Portland you couldn’t help but long for that to be your kid in her arms. So one day you simply asked Jessie. You asked if she’d be interested in getting a consultation together to see what your options were as far as having a kid. She agreed happily and you two found yourselves quickly in the seats of a fertility clinic, getting started with the IVF process. It took a couple rounds before you got the positive test and nine months later the two of you had a healthy baby girl.

The sleepless nights and traveling with a baby was not easy. It was especially hard when Jessie would be away from club games and you were left to parent alone. Thankfully your friends and family were always there to help out, knowing how crazy Jessie’s travel can be. All the chaos and exhaustion was worth it everytime you got to watch your daughter totter around wearing your wife’s jersey, just as you got to see today as she ran to Jessie for her final game.

Jessie’s decision to retire hadn’t been easy but you both knew it was time and she was settled with her decision. So now you stood watching the last few minutes of her career play out in front of you. You had been ushered back down to the field sideline by security so you could greet your wife and as the final whistle blew you watched as Jessie moved to the center of the field before sitting down. Her hands move to her boots and she slowly unties them before sliding them off her feet and you can practically see her heart break. She’s taking deep breaths the way her shoulders and chest are rising, most likely trying to keep her emotions at bay. Her teammates and the opposing team’s players made their way to her congratulating her, giving her their praises. You walked to her, your daughter in your arms. She stood up to greet you and you could see the tears in her eyes, quickly causing your own to well up.

“I’m so proud of you.” You whispered to her as she pulled you into an incredibly tight hug. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

“You okay?” You say when you pull back from her, you let your forehead rest on hers, not caring about the sticky feeling of her sweat.

“Yeah, it’s just weird, that was it after 24 years on this team. I’ll never do that again.” She seems to be in a state of shock, not quite believing that she would never play for Canada again.

“I know.” You rub her back gently as your daughter blabs on about a bird that’s flying overhead.

Jessie is quickly swept away for interview after interview. You and your daughter make your way around the pitch talking with Jessie’s teammates to kill time before everyone heads back into the locker rooms and the stadium crowd clears out.

You find Jessie’s parents, who graciously offered to watch their granddaughter for the night so you and Jessie could have the evening to yourself. They knew their daughter would likely need an evening of relaxation and reflection after the long day of celebration which might not be possible if she was being asked to build legos or color or play dress up.

“Hey, she’s the last one in there, I’m not sure how long she’ll be. She’s just standing there, you might want to go in and check on her.” Jordyn says as she and Julia exit the locker room and see you waiting for Jessie.

“Thank you.” You take Jordyn’s suggestion and enter the locker room. There’s Jessie, she’s changed, wearing sweatpants and a shirt, standing in front of her cubby staring at the name plate above it with her name, number, and a large C on it. You come up and hug her from behind, not saying much, just being with her. It’s quiet but finally Jessie grabs the name plate, sliding it off the cubby and puts it in her bag.

“Alright let’s go, I don’t want to keep people waiting at the party.” Jessie says. Janine and Sinc had organized a small retirement party for later that night, you and Jessie had both put heavy emphasis on it being a small party, thankfully you still had a couple of hours.

“There’s something I wanted to do first, if you’re up for it. The party isn’t for a couple hours. We have time.” Jessie nods. Youre happy that she’s agreeing and that she trusts you aren’t going to make her do something crazy after playing her last ever game. You take her hand pulling her from the dressing room, down the hall, and back in the direction of the pitch. You walk with her until you come to the middle of the pitch. “Sit.” You point to the grass before taking off running to one tunnel, the one Olivia had written on her note and grabbing the basket she had left for the two of you. You make your way back to Jessie and open the basket pulling out a bottle of champagne and a single glass.

“Olivia didn’t know I was pregnant when she set this up, I told her today though. She got a really cute photo of you and Emery.” You say to Jessie before pouring her a glass and getting out some of the snacks she had packed.

Jessie laughs to herself. “Remember when I thought the two of you were together.”

“I still can’t believe you thought that.” You shake your head thinking back to the screaming match you and Jessie had in the hotel, all because both of you were silly, immature, young adults who didn’t know how to talk to each other about your feelings. “You were so jealous.”

“Was not!”

“You so were.”

“Fine I was, but it turned out pretty great for me.” She crosses her arms across her chest pretending to be mad.

“Yeah, we turned out alright.”

The two of you fall into a silence, you wait for Jessie to speak. You want to let Jessie have the time to think through all of her thoughts, feel all of her emotions, take her time sitting on the field.

“I love you.”

“I love you Jessie.” You respond as she plops her head onto your shoulder.

“This is just like our first date, when you brought me to the field in Paris.”

“I know. And I knew how much you appreciated that. So I just wanted to make sure you were able to soak it all in for one last time.”

[diejager]

hii!! Im new to your blog and i have been obsessed ever since~ i have a little req about the reader using contacts in the field but the task force doesn’t know she uses glasses so i’d like to know what would their reaction would be it can be also the monster au~

No pressure thoo, take the time you need. Keep up the good work love your stories 🥰

Oh! Then a very late welcome!🥰 I wore contacts before and I can promise you that your eyes dry out real fast, especially in dry and cold temperatures in Canada. Though they are more convenient than glasses.

Pairing : Monster!Task Force 141 x fem!reader

Cw: men simping for you, fluff. Wc: 1082

For a human, you had good eyesight, even Gaz had said yours might’ve been one of the best he’s seen, especially for a sniper. You took down enemies within the blink of an eye as if you were born to build a nest and stay perched up for hours, scoping and hunting the enemy. You, for all the embarrassment you felt from the constant gush of compliments from them, wore glasses, needing them to see if you wanted to see anything at all. Faces blurred and shapes deformed without them, but wearing glasses while deployed was a danger. You’d had prescribed contacts ever since you started your training, paid by the military health assurance (contacts were expensive depending on the brands and the bests were exceedingly so). 

You got into the habit of wearing contacts even off duty since it made life easier to not worry about readjusting your glasses or cleaning them. The last mission in the arid desert of Urzikstan dried your eyes, even with the protective goggles, they weren’t impenetrable from the heat and dry atmosphere. You took your contacts off and showered, discarding them in the trash before you used your glasses, thick, squared lenses glued to a black frame. 

You went about your day as you usually did after that, wiping your foggy glasses before leaving your room (protective Price gave you a room with a bathroom included, he didn’t want any men or women following you into the public showers to spite them since you were the weakest link to the TF. Mostly from others peeking or watching you shower, he’s protective and possessive of his hoard.) to meet your brothers-in-arms in the Mess Hall.

Soap did a double take when he saw - smelled - you walk into the Mess Hall, blinking his wide eyes, mouth agape in shock. He took the time you spent reaching them to stare at you, adorably confused by the thick glasses over your nose. Shock followed his confusion, that their amazing sniper wore glasses. Had your eyesight been that great because of the contacts you wore? Or had it contributed to your reaction time and quick trigger finger? Passed his confusion and shock, was appreciation. You looked adorable in your black-rimmed glasses, it framed your face so well that he felt like snagging you to himself to stare and admire until you got sick of him. It made him wonder how well you could see without them.

Gaz, the harpy who praised you for your eyesight, was seemingly as shocked as Soap. He, however, recuperated faster, blinking away the questions before you sat down next to Ghost. He had questions but thought it better to leave it until you were both alone. He found you pretty in glasses, the square shape with rounded corners made you look younger than you were, resting on your nose with a slight droop. He did feel betrayed though. Learning that the person he praised so much wore glasses made him increasingly confused. You had one of the most precise aiming and timing he’d seen while being conscious of your handicap, and it never stopped you from performing well. 

Ghost knew you wore contacts and needed glasses to see outside of combat. Of course, he would, he’s searched your name on the database, he’s seen your file and read through it to find anything inconspicuously dangerous to them (a background on monster hunting or hate for monsters and hybrids). He hadn’t bothered to look up when you came in, striding to sit next to him with a schooled face, the corner of your lips threatening to curve upwards at Gaz and Soap’s shock. He, unlike you, could smirk outwardly, and he did. He’d never seen you with them, this was his first time, but you looked fine with and without glasses, cute even when you tried to adjust your slipping accessory. 

Price heard from them you wore glasses at super, Soap gushing about it like a lovesick, pubescent high schooler. He was the first to recommend you to Laswell after the higher-ups wanted to incorporate a human into the Task Force. He liked your history and you, you wore your older glasses in your picture, from years ago. They were rounder and made you look childish compared to the rounded square ones you currently wore. It was a mix between adorable and professional - the added factor that he found you increasingly sexy when you were deployed made him biassed on his beliefs of you being an eye candy for him and his boys - and you wore it well. Although he wished you’d wear them more often than on your late visits to turn in your mission reports, tired and posture slightly relaxed when you dropped by. 

Alejandro hadn’t searched your file when he knew you were a part of the Task Force he recently joined, he preferred the personal approach, to getting to know you firsthand before reading your file. He liked you as you were: efficient, warm and witty. Then your file made his eyes open, you wore glasses! He’s never seen you with them until this afternoon, striding in confidently with those warm eyes under the glistening lenses of your clean accessory. He realised you’d changed them, better suited on your face than your older ones. Corazón, that’s how he greeted you, smiling salaciously, the light gleaming over his dimpled cheeks. He was the beauty in your talent and your being, a true treasure to have on the TF.

Rudy, good ol’ Rudy, nearly blushed, as softhearted as he wore his heart on his sleeve. He tempted glances your way, starting pointless conversations to get to look at you. He admired your fluttering laces, gleaming eyes under the scope of your glasses and the lazy, yet appealing, drooping of your dark-rimmed accessory. Mija, he was tempted to call you, the words nearly slipping off his tongue as Alejandro had. He was more shy, his ears flushing lightly on the edges when you smiled at him (at all of them) when you sat down between him and Ghost. He didn’t question why you had glasses or how you performed so well with sight-related issues. He just wanted to see you wear them more often.

[scrubbinn]

Mimic HRT: 17 months “Sea legs”

“Did you really need to bring a recorder here? It's an aquarium hun. Do you really plan on interviewing yourself here?”

“It's not that, Abi. I just, with how bad my memory is, I want to make sure I have something to remember this moment.” 

“And you chose a recorder instead of a video camera because…?”

“I really want to eat the fish. This way I get to focus on your beautiful voice when I listen back.”

“...Gay.”

“Yeah, what are you gonna do about it? Kiss me maybe?”

“Maybe later. Come on, I want to get to the underwater tunnel before it closes! I know it's Hyper city, but it's really cool to see so many therians here. Back in Canada, I'm lucky if I see one in a week.”

“There's a lot of us, yeah.”

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing, just a little sad is all… Ok ok, I’ll talk, stop making that face, haha It’s just that, yeah there are a lot of us around. Still feels like we never get treated properly. We’re either freaks or walking tourist spots. I know things will get better eventually, but it's. I really wish I could figure out how to shapeshift into a more convincing human."

“You spent how long on this medication and now you're trying to look human again?”

“It's just useful, that's all. Besides, it's not like I have the right to call myself otherkin… Ow! Don't flick me hun, my skin is sensitive, and you could lose a finger!”

“stop overthinking things. Enjoy your time here and if anyone calls you out, then I'll kick their ass.”

“Thanks, but please don't fight anyone for me. No offense, but you're not exactly capable of doing damage to people hun… ow, ok ok stop it, ah! Haha, cut it out!”

“I'm not gonna stop until you start treating yourself better. You're my mimic girlfriend! You get to decide what you are and no one gets to tell you otherwise. Also! You have a bunch of other people here who would defend you like… is that a werewolf over there? Next to the robot and… um.”

“Pretty sure that's a cyborg, and also that looks like a black arms member?”

“Wait, like the-

“Abi, we're currently having a date in an interdimensional dead end, looking at fish that do not exist in our universe, and I'm pretty sure that fish over there is a badnik. It's really not that strange.”

“That's… fair.. I guess… Hey hun, I'm gonna go grab some ice cream real quick.”

“We're half way through the tunnel already. You sure you want to go all the way back?”

“I'll be quick, just stay put.”

Bzzzt, crackle, Welcome to the wonderful world of Hyperquarium! Thank you for choosing us as the one and only place that can bring fish together from around the worlds in perfect harmony! If you look to our left, you'll see our trained feeder get a chance to show off those gills and show you what only a shark therian can do, he's a professional so don’t worry about being bitten kids. This therian knows how to take care of others. This is also a reminder not to touch the glass as you may spook our feeder.

“Ugh, great, just what I needed, feeling insulted over an intercom. Why does getting second hand insulted have to feel worse? I'm definitely cutting this part from the recor- OW, OH STARS, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE… slithering, um, miss, are you ok?”

“Oh- I’m so sssorry I didn’t mean to, I sswear! This tail just gets sso long by now it’s… difficult for me to control at times. I uh… You haven’t seen any other Lamias around by chance? Or some people in brown uniformss?”

“Uniforms? You’re not on the run or something right? And no, I haven’t seen any other Lamias around, You’re actually the first I’ve ever really had a chance to see. I kind of thought I’d see more with how popular you guys are. But seriously are you alright?... 

Is- is that a shock collar around you?”

“Well… Yes and no- Yes thisss is a shock collar… okay uh- we’re not suppossed to call them that uh… It’s a.. “behavioral correction device”... But yess it’s a shock collar. And no, I'm not on the run… quite the opposite actually… I had a bit of an episode and lost myself in some instincts when watching the fish… and the next thing I know my group is gone and I'm.. I’m not supposed to be away from the group and… if I don't get back soon I might be in a bit of… ah ssscrew it they’re gonna be mad at me anyway… “

“So then… I know a good hiding spot to watch the fish if you want to hide a bit longer. I mean, if that’s ok, and I won’t get in too much trouble, and you won’t get in too much trouble, and I think I’m stumbling over my words, You want to just go hang out in the jellyfish room? It’s pretty dark there and they don’t allow any kind of outside lights in there.”

“Y-yeah that sounds nice! Low lightss could help with that headache. Uhm, what’s your name if i may assk?”

“It's Mayday, and what about you? What's your name?”

“Ah my name-.. It’s uh… oh wait.. I…hmm…Right! Aria… I think. I… am still not sure if I should change it… it’s uh.. complicated.”

* * *

“The jellyfish are really cool, just floating around with not a care in the world. I guess I get why humans find them so boring, but I think they're just not seeing how nice it would be. You know?”

“I totally get what you mean. Just being able to be you… going with the flow of thingss.. Not a care in the world. But that’s just something that therians like us can fully understand… other than the other animals of coursse right?”

“I'm guessing you're past your own crossroads then, like me, based on your words at least. You wouldn't mind if I asked you some questions would you? It's a bit selfish to ask after dragging you here, but I need to know something.”

“Ah well-... i am still “crossssing” it… doc said it will go on for another month or three… maybe longer they are all very vague about this stuff. But sure, I can try to answer to the besst of my ability.”

“So, what do you think of those that don't take that next step? Like the ones that decide they want to stay human in some way, aren't they cheating or something. Like they got to have their cake and eat it too, isn't it a bit unfair? I mean, look at you, you're getting escorted around in a collar by guards, and then we- they get to walk around with not a care in the world.”

“I don’t think that it’ss cheating… It is my choice to go through with it… and in the end I will be what I alwayss wanted to be… fully in both mind and sspirit. This of course will come with quite a few burdens… I am already forgetting so much that I would have loved to remember… But I alsso gain so much more which is just hard to desscribe. All I can hope for is that I ssomehow end up remembering all the faces of the ones that helped me get sso far… or at least ssome other kind of connection.  Those that however stay human to ssome degree have their own struggless to live with. For some it’s never being able to fully control yourself, alwayss having that bit in them that shines through and reminds them that they are sstill “incomplete” which can be a lot on their mind. In the end we all go our own ways, face our own struggless. No sside has it any easier I think than the other, it’s just… different, and you have to choose for yourself which sstruggles you want to deal with in the end. What you yourself think you are able to handle better. For me it was that I was just afraid that I couldn't control the animalistic sside of myself… I could just not live in this sstate i was in, i wanted to fully become me, hoping that it will set me free of the fearsss and anguish that my humanity brings me. But I know what it can cosst me… what it already has… still I weighed my options and decided that this is the best option for myself.  But if you think that where you are now is what is the best option for you, then no one should hold it against you, not even yourself… Does that make ssense?

“Wow, call me out huh. I guess I'm not as good at hiding these sorts of things as I thought. I technically went too far before I lightened my dosage. It left me, broken. Things don't feel right for either side, and I have things I just- there are things I can't let go of no matter how much I want this. It's like I'm splitting apart and I can't figure out how to be anything correctly. I'm not really Mayday, I lost all my memories in my first year. It should have been the perfect excuse to continue forward, but then I got to know Mayday's friends and family. And... I liked them, I liked them alot, I love some of them. I barely know them and when I met them for the first time it just felt right and they were crying like I died and. I can't put them through that. Not a second time. This human side of me just won't let go. I'm putting others before my own happiness again. I'm undermining your sacrifice, being a coward. Sorry I'm ruining your trip aren't I. I'll get out of your scales for you.”

“No wait! It’s okay, I’m used to doing thisss… sort of. Uhm sso… before I got put with the other Lamia’s… I was part of a group that… helped each other… there iss someone there that's a lot like you… multiple actually.. While they did not lose their memories… they stayed partly human too.. They did not continue like I did. Anyway, you’re a lot braver than me, I think.  You… lost your memoriess and still decided to stay with the ones that love you now and before, I don’t think I could have done the ssame. You’re still happy with them now aren’t you? I mean… the way you said it, it’s not just others happiness at stake but your own too. Sso… heh.. I don’t really know where I'm going with thiss but I think you’re brave.”

I can't believe I'm talking about all this with a complete stranger, solidarity is a powerful thing. Who knows, maybe we did know each other at some point and just forgot. But thanks. It doesn't fix how I feel, but it's a good bandage for now. In the meantime we can watch the Jellyfish together until you're ready to go back… Did you hear that announcement a little while back? Nice to see therians getting hired here but way to not only turn it into another tourist spot, but also insult all of us at the same time. Can you believe they actually said all that?”

“Oh my god yesss! How do you actually manage to be ssupportive and a total a-hole at the same time!? Urgh… It’s not just here though… god the way they sometimes announce our exhibit is just… urgh something about staying on the paths and not getting too close without sssupervision… like-... As if they don’t almosst OVERFEED us before so we aren’t even in the mood to hunt… and then these stupid collarsss too.. Sigh I thought this stuff is to make us get away from the negative ssstigma.. Not FEED into it..”

“Wait, I'm sorry, did you say exhibit? Like as in… you're part of a zoo attraction? Y'know, if I was still human, I would be throwing up at that. Is that why you're wearing a collar?! That can't be legal. Like when you say exhibit, you mean like they put you in walls that you can’t ever leave without people acting like handlers? That's disgusting!”

“Ah-... y-yeah? Well okay, it ssounds bad when put like that but… okay that's uh kinda the best option? It was either… have ssome other person keep me like a pet.. Definitely no, be put into the wilds far away from civilization and be not allowed within a certain disstance of any human civilization… also big nono in my eyes.. or… Join the lamia exhibit in the zoo. I’d still be allowed to see my friends… or, well, have them visit me at leasst… I can help fix the kinda negative view people have of Lamias ssince most think of the evil folklore… or video games…  I get to live with others of my kind in a gated community… food is taken care of… healthcare too… kinda… Honestly it was the besst of the options I was given… All I gotta deal with is people looking at uss all day… the stupid collarsss, handlerss… yeah… Maybe one day laws change, that we do not have to sign some legal ownership document stuff and can be free in the city as well… but until then… that’s how it hass to be.”

“I guess I understand, but that just sounds horrible to me. You can put up with a lot, if that’s what you're handling every day. Speaking of, are you going to be ok? Either your guards find us and something bad happens to you, or I jump in and take the blame for essentially kidnapping this zoo's pet. Either option doesn't sound particularly fun. Stars, I thought after finishing this transition I wouldn't have to deal with all this negativity. Somehow Hyper city ended up being just as bad as back home, only it's bad in different ways. This sucks. Is there really no other option that's better? I thought that lamias had intelligence comparable to humans, are your instincts really so strong that you'd endanger humans around you?”

“Don’t worry, they are gonna be quite mad at me, and i’m probably going to have to wait quite ssome time before they allow me my next outside trip… but as long as I sstay put, and don’t get in any situation that could be interpreted as me being a danger… they will probably not use the shock collar when they find me.  Well… the besst outcome would have been if at least they put my legal ownership to one of my friendss but… I wouldn't have wanted them to see me sslowly forget who I was and all the other legal stuff it brings with it… not to mention that most of them are therianss on HRT themsself so the state probably would gatekeep that somehow too. And please don’t put the blame on yourself, that would probably give a hefty fine if not jail time… rather leave the option open to see you again at the exhibit than have you banned from it. At leasst then I get visitors I know and like! And as for our insstincts… It’s difficult… yes they can be overwhelming but they get more manageable after the crossroads… At least that's what I heard from a friend. Ssomething about being more aware of them subconsciously. But for our intelligence being comparable to humans, that's true but mix it with our statuss being non human… and laws haven’t developed that far yet… we are basically categorized as animals. And with people being afraid of our fangs, ssnake parts and all that, I don't see it changing soon.”

“Oh that is so gross, I can't believe the universe would let something like that even happen. Sometimes I wish I could just bite anyone who ticked me off. But you're probably right. About everything I guess. I hate the idea of a place like that existing, but I'd rather not get in trouble and not have the chance to talk again. You're strangely nice to talk to, also I don't think I could afford bail if I got arrested. I probably would lose my chance to work with Erian if that happened. Maybe I can do some protesting in front of city hall instead… I also want to ask about that old support group of yours, and also… hm, maybe I shouldn't chew your ear off right. If you don't get into too much trouble, we could meet up to chat more? I'll make today up to you, if the zoo allows it I could get you a plush at the gift shop.”

“Ah-.. uhm… no… trust me that you do NOT want that… it’ss… no… you’ll not forget the taste… ever… *sigh* Anyway thank you that’s nice to hear, you’re also a lot of fun to talk to. A nice change of pace. Protesting could help! Make our voice heard~  I’d love a visit and another chance to talk too! The plushie would be lovely. As for my old ssupport group.. Yeah they are nice, you should really go and talk to them. We have an online presence so jusst look for… Therian THEMS support group!  There’s… a… white tiger… her name… uh… damn come on i know thissss… white tiger… and… brown… nghhh… come on COME ON I KNOW their… their namessss i know them…”

“Don't worry, it's fine. I live at THEMS actually, I didn't realize they had a support group. I sort of never checked around, and don't worry, I don't actually bite people… usually. Come on, we can try to sneak over to the gift shop and… um hey Aria, sorry if it's rude to ask but, well it's just a thought is all. Have you had a chance to see what you look like?”

“I-... I’m sssorry it’s… yeah. Yeah let’ss get there… Wait what i look like?... Now that you mention it… I kinda forgot my own face… not really any mirrorss around in the enclosure… we usually help each other with hairstyling and so on. Why do you ask?”

“Would you like to see yourself right now?”

“I… I mean sure? Iss there like a mirror around here or…”

“Supplemental: I had Erian’s help splicing the tapes together, He’s good with old stuff like this. I wanted to add this to better describe the scene. I want no possible chance I will forget this..

Ok, here goes. Descriptor: Morphing like that felt nice, I’d never done anything like that before, but, it just worked out. It felt like body and mind actually agreeing for the first time since I became a mimic. The faint pale glow of the jellyfish felt like it was a radiant sun illuminating not just the room but my shifting form. My mind felt complete. Sharp. Morphing into something with my human remains and mimic self in agreement for the first time. This state of change I went through, this was what I was meant to have. I could feel my legs twist and fuse into a tail that grew longer and longer. Teeth moved from my body and incorporated into fangs and claws. I could feel the chemical reaction inside of me as poison turned to venom. I never looked away, I didn't close my eyes. I just kept looking back at Aria, understanding every crease and shine in her scales. It was then I finally realized how much I had always wanted to be a mimic. This felt correct. The feeling faded eventually, but I knew I had morphed myself into a perfect copy of Aria, because when I looked at her I felt happy. Did the medication somehow know this is what I truly needed? I need more time to think. End supplemental.”

“Thisss- You’re- I- woah! This is uh- I’m sssorry I’m blown away by thiss! This is what I look like!? Wait before that- You’re a shapeshifter? I- Oh my. Thank you! I-... this feels a bit weird to asssk someone that currently looks like my exact twin but-... can i… you know… give you a hug for thisss!? I mean… looking at you it’ss… looking at everything i ever wanted to be I-... sssorry that wass a weird thing to asssk someone i jusst met earlier I-... Thanksss”

“You can give us a hug if you like. We don't mind being ssstrangers. Oh, we do that too, interessting. Eheheh, but yesss, you may hug.”

“Yeah you get usssed to it~ Okay then uh-... here we go. Thank you.”

“I think I hear people coming. I need to change back before any of those guards see two of you. Glad you enjoyed getting to hug a squishier version of yourself. I must feel like a marshmallow. Oh wait, I think my partner is gonna kill me if I leave her waiting any longer.”

“Haha~ I guess we both are going to get our ears chewed off by ssome people. It wass very nice getting to meet and talk to you Mayday, and I hope to see you again! Just… don’t take it to heart if I end up having to assk your name again or… worsse okay? Oh- and if you meet the people from the ssupport group… tell them i sssaid hi.”

“Will do, you better stay safe then, and don’t you dare end up regretting your choice, you got that! Enjoy your new life, and hopefully it won’t just be within a zoo someday. If you ever need to ask my name again, then I’ll be sure to ask yours as well. I look forward to meeting you again Aria the lamia.”

“Yes, I will do my besst to do that. I look forward to meeting you again too, Mayday the Mimic.”

* * *

“Abi, I’m back!”

“Oh my god where were you! I called like eight times! I thought something might have happened to you!”

“Sorry, sorry, I got caught up in a weird situation, I met a new friend I guess. You’d like her. she was really nice… Ok, yeah I’ll make it up to you. Really sorry for making you worry like that. Let’s go out to eat. This place kinda sucks. What about that sushi place you wanted to go to a couple months ago! I’ll pay for it.”

“You seem awfully cheery all of a sudden

“I just figured out who I am. That’s all.”

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Start - Prev - Next

Hey, hope you enjoyed what I think is the longest chapter by far. Normally I try to stick with two pages of text to get something that most people can keep their attention on. Not really possible here.

I'd like to take this time to thank @ariathelamia for collaborating with this chapter. She's so cool and you should go follow her right now. Do it right now. Do not finish reading this part until you double check you are following her and reading her Lamia HRT story!

Anyway, I'd also like to point out the cameos/mentions for Tiger HRT and ??? HRT by @tigergirltail and @home-sweet-hive, respectively. Both are extremely good and give me the inspiration to continue writing this story every single day. This story would have probably stopped around the fifth or sixth part without them. So you should go read those stories right now as well. Do it. Seriously though, thank you so much for reading. Have a wonderful day.

-Navi

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Mention list: @a-shramp, @calliecwrites, @be702, @respectfulevil, @hyacinthdoll1315

@aster-is-confused, @bloodandbrandywyne, @glitchgloop

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 5, Episode 6. Agatha All Along Spoiler Review

Down, down, down the road, down the Witches' Road we go! The Stereo Geeks were surprised and awed by Agatha All Along, the spin-off of WandaVision. What did Ron and Mon love about the show? What would they have liked to see? Who were their favourite witches? Tune in to this spoiler-filled review as we travel through many miles of tricks and trials.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Intro

Mon: Hello and welcome to a witchy episode of Stereo Geeks. We’re reviewing Marvel’s Agatha All Along. I’m Mon.

Ron: And I’m Ron.

Ron: This episode is full of spoilers. So, please, watch Agatha All Along and come back to listen to our episode.

Mon: We’ll also break up this episode in two parts. The main section is about the first 7 episodes. And then we’ll dig into the two-part finale. 

Background

Ron: Agatha All Along is the 2024 spin-off of Marvel’s hit Disney+ show, WandaVision. Agatha Harkness, played by Kathryn Hahn, was introduced in WandaVision as Wanda and Vision’s quirky neighbour, Agnes. Near the end of the series, Agnes was revealed to be Agatha Harkness, a powerful witch and custodian of the only other copy of the Darkhold. Full disclosure, I had to do some quick research to figure out the Darkhold stuff because I remember we encountered it in the Ghost Rider season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Anyhoo! Back to Agatha. To our immense surprise, the song ‘Agatha All Along’ got so popular that Marvel announced a spin-off series soon after.

Mon: I was shocked and surprised that people were calling for an Agatha show. Partly because I’m not all that into witches and occult lore. But also, I couldn’t figure out what the Agatha show could be about. A prequel set before WandaVision could turn her into a one-dimensional villain. One set after? She’s depowered, what’s the point of that?

I was sceptical about this interest. And even more so when Marvel announced the show was definitely happening. I was least interested in watching Agatha All Along. But, this is Marvel, so I was definitely going to check it out.

Ron: I was listening to something which reminded me that it’s been three years since the show’s announcement. Honestly, I forgot it was even going to happen. The turmoil at Marvel and Disney? Seeing so many promising projects cancelled for no reason? There was no reason to think this show was going to get a chance. Especially not if it was set to focus on female characters.

Mon: Yeah. It fell off my radar, as well. And then I heard about the 2024 Fan Expo Canada surprise panel about Agatha All Along. Followed by an invite from the Disney PR team to attend the activation at the event. 

Ron and I have written about how meh the activation was over at WWAC. That didn’t enthuse me to the show, but I began to feel that familiar pull of intrigue and excitement. Listen, this is the MCU – this is our childhood dream come true. Superheroes every year, every week? You know I’m down for it. So, my spidey-senses were tingling well before we attended the panel.

The Agatha All Along panel recap is also at WWAC. It was at the panel that my interest was piqued.

Ron: Agreed. The activation at Fan Expo didn’t really excite me. It was three outfits and we could barely see them because of the dark lighting. The witchy volunteer who surprised us was the most fun part of it. But the panel started to change my mind. Jac Schaeffer and Kathryn Hahn talked about the othering of witches by the patriarchy and how Agatha All Along will see the coven reclaim witchiness. Feminism. Witches? I was definitely intrigued.

Expectations

Ron: Agatha All Along picks up three years after the events of WandaVision which left Agatha powerless and living out a fantasy in Westview. The pilot episode of the show sees Agatha living out a true crime parody of Mare of Easttown. Agatha is able to break out of the fantasy with the help of Teen, played by Joe Locke. He’s not actually called Teen, but his identity is hidden by a sigil so nobody can hear him say his name.

Ron: Teen wants to travel the Witches Road to get power and guess who else doesn’t have power? Agatha! They team up to access the road, they’ll need a coven with specific witchy abilities. Agatha is the powerless Spirit Witch. Among her reluctant recruits are the Divination Witch Lilia, played by Broadway legend Patti LuPone. Then there’s Powerless Potions Witch, Jennifer Kale, played by Sasheer Zamata. Next, Protection Witch, Alice Wu-Gulliver, played by Ali Ahn. And randomly Mrs Sharon Davis, aka Mrs Hart, played once again by Debra Jo Rupp. Mrs Davis is recruited as the Green Witch, although she is not a witch, but a regular Westview citizen.

Ron: That’s an amazing cast. And it’s rounded off by Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, the actual Green Witch of the coven, who has a ton of history with Agatha. That history is romantic and bloody. Teen also gets to go as part of the coven but not as a witch. He accesses the road as Agatha’s familiar. This is how I find out humans can be familiars. How fascinating.

Mon: I know nothing about witchy terminology. So I’m fascinated by everything.

Ron: I had no idea what to expect from Agatha All Along and I really wasn’t as invested in this show as so many Marvel fans. But that first episode was so entertaining, I was instantly in love. Though I am a bit sad that the first episode confirms that Wanda Maximoff is dead. Boo to Multiverse of Madness for killing Wanda like that.

Mon: Ufff, do not talk to me about Multiverse of Madness! As mentioned, I was not sure about the show at all. But that first episode was like… what am I in? Because I love it and I want more. I love that Agatha All Along continues the same theme of WandaVision – each episode is a different genre of television. I didn’t expect that on Agatha, but it’s a great way to tie the two properties together. And showrunner Jac Schaeffer makes the genre changes on both shows make sense.

Ron: The best thing about getting different genres every episode is that we also get different sets, different costumes, and a whole new vibe. 

Mon: This show looks so good. The sets and costumes, my word. Love, love, love the look of this show. After all the boring CGI Marvel’s been throwing at us, Agatha All Along is a nice change of scenery. 

Ron: Not to mention, this show was basically an adventure-of-the-week show. I don’t know why we don’t have stories like that on our screen anymore. I love adventure stories. Between Agatha All Along and the new Tomb Raider show on Netflix, I finally felt like someone had got the memo that adventure stories are the best.

Mon: See, this is what I like about Agatha, and it was a huge reason why we all loved WandaVision. These are serialized stories, but told in an episodic fashion. So you get that half-hour of fun, while knowing there’s more to be revealed later. 

Mon: And, I want to point out that one thing I loved about Agatha was how each episode stuck the landing. You ended on a high. This has become a huge problem in today’s streaming age. Studios want tv to be one long movie, so they don’t know how to make short-form stories that have an ending or a cliffhanger. Disney is particularly guilty of this. Like, I love The Acolyte – best Star Wars show out there, in my opinion – but that show has to be watched all at once, not weekly. 

Agatha, on the other hand, even if the episode had some slower moments, it knew how to get you excited while the credits rolled. What do you mean Agatha doesn’t know who Sharon is? Wait, is the whole coven dead? Is Teen a witch? You’re left asking so many questions. And you’re pumped. That’s how you end an episode – or seven.

Ron: You’ve hit the nail on the head. WandaVision and Agatha All Along know they’re TV shows. Each episode needs to tell an entire story while also giving you teasers for future stories and arcs to come. We got cliffhangers every week and that made me desperate for every Wednesday. And with every episode, I was satisfied and exhilarated.

Disappointments

Mon: My one big disappointment in Agatha is that I wish the show had been more obvious and direct about why women have been condemned and cast out as witches. Now, in the universe of the show, witches are real. But, keeping that in mind, why were they hunted, mistreated, killed? Jac Schaeffer had hinted the real-life vendettas against women declared to be witches informs the show. It’s there in the show, but doesn’t play a big part. 

After all, women who have broken the so-called norms of society have always been punished. The coven in Agatha has as well. I wanted to see more of a through-line between reality and fiction.

Ron: I agree with you. And I think I know why we didn’t get to see these backstories of the witches. The show is only nine episodes long. If it was a 22-episode series, we could have delved deep into the coven’s lives before this show. We could have seen how they were wronged by their societies, communities, and the patriarchy. But in nine episodes? There just isn’t time.

Mon: That being said, I’m glad they didn’t show us a ton of violence against the ladies. We didn’t need that to understand what they’d been through.

Ron: Yes. Just listening to Jennifer Kale talk about how her powers were taken by a man she’d trusted as her mentor? That was enough to make me squeamish.

Favourite moments

Mon: There were so many great moments in this series but what are our favourites?

Ron: Am I going to sound insane for saying I loved watching the witches fly on broomsticks. 

Mon: Not going to lie, despite the janky CGI during the flying scene, I loved that moment of profound joy the ladies were having. 

Ron: The coven was being rather disparaging about having to ride sticks but that shot of them flying across the moon on their brooms warmed my heart. For the witches in the MCU, that’s become a derogatory image because witches have been so maligned. But they get to reclaim the power of flight and pay homage to their true witchy selves. It was quite an empowering moment. Also, I really need to see someone, anyone, reclaim the witches from that TERF in the UK.

Mon: Absolutely! 

Ron: Also, I really loved the part of episode six where we see Teen’s point of view of his meeting with Agatha. It was so funny. 

Mon: So dang good. Like, this is what I love about the show – it’s unpredictable, but so perfectly acted. And executed. Black hearts everywhere. 

Ron: Also, so eminently rewatchable. I already can’t wait to rewatch this show because of episodes 1 and 6, but also episode 7, and all the easter eggs that we have most definitely not clocked.

Mon: Oh, Agatha demands a rewatch.

Ron: There were also some characters moments that I can’t stop thinking about. Like Jennifer shoving everyone out of the way to escape the first trial. Every witch for themselves! 

Mon: Oh, Jennifer’s so much fun to watch. That woman’s a survivor for a reason. Get out of her way. 

Jennifer also gets some really funny lines. Like in Episode 7 when Lilia goes, ‘we are not cool, teenager’ and Jennifer retorts ‘ooo, using the full name’—the dialogue delivery, the expression, the line. Jennifer’s memorable. 

Ron: And, this shouldn’t be a funny moment, but when Teen announces that Sharon Davis is dead, Agatha’s only comment is ‘who’s Sharon’? That was hilarious! It’s supposed to be a sad moment. We’ve lost a coven member and someone that Wanda meanly tortured for no reason. But Agatha just has to be Agatha and straight up forgets Sharon’s name. The entire coven calls Sharon Mrs Hart for so long. I love a good running gag and this one worked for me.

Mon: Oh, Agatha. You are the worst. We love you.

Mephisto

Ron: I feel like we need to talk about Easter eggs. But there are so many we’ve missed. We need to rewatch it. Obviously, the biggest one is Mephisto. I don’t know what the obsession is with Mephisto but MCU fans have been predicting Mephisto’s appearance for years. So many people thought he’d be the big bad in WandaVision. People were greatly disappointed and are now very excited that Agatha All Along has confirmed his presence. I don’t really care about Mephisto but he’s apparently such a big deal to fans that I had to mention him.

Mon: This Mephisto thing is so annoying. I get it; he’s an integral part of the boys’ history. But these shows and stories about female superheroes – like WandaVision, She-Hulk and Agatha All Along – they aren’t just vehicles to introduce dude characters from the comics. It frustrates me that people will tune into watch these amazing ladies and their fabulous stories, just to find out which man is going to swoop in to steal the show. 

Of course, I’m about to eat my words, aren’t I? I want to be mad at all the people invested in Agatha All Along because of Joe Locke’s addition and the identity of his character. The show was much more than that, but they were right. 

Teen

Ron: We should probably talk about Teen’s real identity. In a way, we all knew Teen would turn out to be Billy Maximoff because of the amount of speculation online. Sometimes I wish people would share their theories with their friends’ groups instead. Literally the moment Joe Locke was cast, everyone was screaming he was Billy. It probably doesn’t help that there are so few gay characters in Marvel that casting an out gay actor was a dead giveaway. But having said that, until Teen’s spotlight episode, I was still unsure. He could’ve been Nicolas Scratch, Agatha’s son. But Rio was pretty categorical when she told Agatha that Teen wasn’t hers.

Mon: Yeah, they set up the mystery of his identity well, but all the speculation ruined it. It’s a no-win situation. If you make a story assuming everyone knows who he is, you’ve lost a sense of mystique around Teen’s appearance. But, they went with all mystery, and well, so much for that. 

Mon: Despite the lack of a surprise, I must say, Joe Locke has been impressive. His performance is superb—he’s the right amount of campy, adorable, and emotional. 

It’s rare to see a film or show with a bunch of adult and older ladies with one young dude, so I was intrigued by how Agatha All Along would work that dynamic. Unlike a property where the genders are reversed, there is no ewwww or creepy factor to Billy being a young man amidst a bunch of ladies. He’s also not automatically mothered by the ladies — he has a different relationship with all of them. 

I have genuinely enjoyed watching Locke on the show. Which is a relief because it’s obvious that Marvel is setting up the formation of the Young Avengers. 

We have a solid group of characters played by a mostly great cast of actors. Now, if they can strike the right balance of introducing a young generation of characters without alienating us older fans, that would be amazing. 

Let’s talk about Agatha

Mon: So, the grande dame herself. What do we think of Agatha Harkness?

Ron: She’s a bad guy. And she’s the best! I cannot believe how much I’m loving Agatha. Hahn was fun as Agnes in WandaVision but in this show, incredible. Agatha is mean and she isn’t afraid to lean into the meanness. The way she refuses to call Sharon by her name but the fake Mrs Hart name she got used to in Wanda’s hex. And she’s dripping with sarcasm, which I’m pretty sure is her way of hiding her vulnerability. That scene in episode two when she’s hallucinating her child’s cradle. There’s deep pain and loss and trauma in Agatha. And she’s hiding it all under layers of sarcasm and caustic wit. Just shows you how tough the witches of the MCU have to be, I guess.

Mon: I’ll start with one big criticism—what’s up with Marvel screen adaptations turning old, white-haired ladies into younger brunettes? I said this about Madame Web, and Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine, and now I need to say it again about Agatha. Don’t get me wrong, Kathryn Hahn is amazing, but I wish Hollywood would cast older women in roles that are literally made for them. Notice how the ‘comic-accurate’ crowd never complain when a younger, hot lady is cast in the place of an old woman? Oh, but try and make comics more inclusive, and everyone loses their minds! 

Ron: Yes. That’s a good point. Agatha in the comics is much older. She’s also kinda stoic which is not like the MCU Agatha, who is hilarious. That’s what you get when you cast a seasoned comedic actor like Hahn. The expressions. The comedic timing. You get everything with Agatha. And she’s delightfully queer! Now that Marvel has cast a younger Agatha, that just means we should be getting more Agatha stories till Hahn is 90. 

Mon: I agree. We could definitely do with more of Hahn’s Agatha. I genuinely never thought I’d be saying that. She was fun on WandaVision, but Hahn gets to flex her evil side here on Agatha All Along. What I love about Agatha is that she’s good with being bad. She’s mean, and nasty. But she’s not cruel. Agatha is looking out for herself, which is what all the witches in the coven are doing. I found her compelling to watch; especially because she’s a baddie. 

Best episode

Ron: Let’s talk about favourite episodes. What’s my favourite? Can I say all of them? How can you make me choose? Oh wait, I’m the one making us choose. 

Mon: You’re so dramatic! Oddly enough, the episode that confounded me the most is also my favourite – it’s got to be Episode 7, “Death's Hand in Mine”. 

Ron: I love Lilia’s episode. I might cry. It was so beautiful.

Mon: Yes, it was the one episode that made me super emotional. The melancholia of losing oneself, of trying to find oneself. And Patti LuPone is a legend for a reason. She carries that discombobulation so well. The way the episode was edited and structured, we feel lost like Lilia, but we also feel rewarded for having gone on this journey with her. 

Ron: I mentioned this to you while watching Lilia’s episode but it made me think of the first season of Castle Rock. The seventh episode of that season gave viewers the point of view of a character with dementia. And the episode fills in all the moments that the character had been losing through the show. It was heartbreakingly beautiful. Sissy Spacek got a lot of accolades for her performance and I hope Patti Lupone gets the same. She was so stunning in Agatha but Lilia’s spotlight episode was everything.

Mon: Episode 7 there too? 

Ron: What a coincidence, right? I must check whether there’s a connection between these two shows. I learned that the reason Agatha All Along’s first episode was a parody of Mare of Easttown was because the showrunners of the two shows are good friends. And they both have an Evan Peters connection.

Mon: Interesting. I was reminded of the fifth episode of The Haunting of Bly Manor. In that episode we also follow a character losing time and place. And we experience a similar sense of melancholy and loss as we do with Lilia.

Ron: Also, I don’t know much about Tarot, but the way Lilia’s episode leaned into tarot was really interesting. I love the way the Tarot deck tied up so many plot threads from earlier episodes. What a treat. Lilia stole my heart in that episode. But who is your favourite witch?

Favourite witch

Mon: ALICE! I love her so much. I’m so predictable, eh? Give me a silent, brooding morally-ambiguous protagonist with a bleeding heart and heart-breaking backstory, and she’s my queen. I’m still angry at Agatha for killing Alice. And Ali Ahn portrays Alice with so much pathos – I couldn’t stop watching her. Plus, Alice is the only one in the coven who’s looking out for someone else. Alice is protective of Teen, but not in the usual maternal way. She’s a kind person; she’s been burned before. She’s been a cop, and she’s literally the Protection witch. Of all the coven, Alice seemed the least selfish. The friendship she and Teen formed was adorable. I could have watched more of that. New fav. Unlocked.

Ron: I really loved Jennifer Kale. Maybe I’m biased because I’ve been listening to Sasheer Zamata for a while on the Best Friends podcast she does with Nicole Byer. But I was pretty hyperfocused on Jennifer in this show. She’s sarcastic, she doesn’t take Agatha’s nonsense. She’s on this quest for herself but she takes the time to warn Teen about how dangerous Agatha can be. Zamata has such a wonderfully expressive face. I loved watching her react to Agatha and the coven’s general weirdness. So fun.

Horror

Ron: Nobody warned us this show would be scary. Like, hoo boy, jump cuts, unnaturally-moving characters, straight up demons and demonic possessions. What a ride! I love that this show had just the right level of terrifying. Enough to make you recoil in fear but not enough to keep you up at night. Though, now that I think about it, I don’t think our parents would be able to watch it? They don’t like horror and the scary moments in Agatha are pretty scary.

Mon: There are definitely a few ‘keep the lights on at night’ jump scares in this show. And it starts from the first episode. I love that. I wish we had more of it.

Queerness

Ron: I don’t know when this happened, but Aubrey Plaza is incredibly hot and queer. I used to find her too quirky but I loved her in Happiest Season. I still think Kristen Stewart’s character should have ended up with Plaza’s character in that film. 

Mon: Not gonna lie, Aubrey Plaza in Happiest Season is super hot. I still can’t get over it. And in Agatha All Along, sizzle!!!! Loved her here. Needed more of her.

Ron: In Agatha All Along, Plaza is deliciously queer and hot. It was obvious from the trailer that she would be naughty and fun, but I really loved her in this. And her chemistry with Hahn is insane. I was screaming ‘kiss already’ everytime they were in the same frame. Also, nothing like queer longing and betrayal to get one excited, eh?

Mon: The MCU began in 2008, but Agatha All Along is the first property where we have multiple out gay protagonists. It’s the first one where two women are very obviously into each other and, at least in the first seven episodes, go in for an aborted kiss. It’s only the second MCU property where we have a gay romance between two gay lads. It’s 2024, nearly two decades after the franchise started. And we’re only now catching up with the fact that gay people exist! I mean, poor Valkyrie is dying to be her bi self in the Thor movies, but Marvel didn’t let her. An absolute shame.

Mon: Now, alongside The Eternals, the Netflix Marvel shows did have gay characters, romance and kisses. But aside from Daredevil, I don’t know if those shows are part of the MCU or not. So,some of those firsts still stand.

Ron: What’s canon and what isn’t? It’s all a mystery. But here’s the thing, is Agatha All Along going to be considered pure MCU? Since it’s a TV show? Are we getting into discourse? Okay. Let’s get into discourse.

Discourse

Ron: Have you heard all the discourse online? Particularly the discourse around who Billy should have wanted to bring back?

Mon: Eh? Agatha discourse has completely passed me by, mate. Enlighten me. 

Ron: First up, I completely missed all the hate the show was getting from dudebros. They can go suck it. But there was some weird talk online about when Billy comes to life, and why was he looking for Tommy? A lot of people were wondering why Billy wouldn’t first want Wanda back. Now look, we love Wanda. I don’t think anyone who watches Marvel films dislikes her. MCU-Wanda is universally loved in a way comics-Wanda has never been allowed to. I get the disappointment of losing Wanda in Doctor Strange 2. I hate it, as well. I want Wanda back. I’ve loved her in the comics, I love her in the MCU.

Ron: Having said all that, people saying Billy should have wanted his mother back before Tommy shows a fundamental misunderstanding of these two characters and Wanda and Pietro. I haven’t read much of Billy and Tommy, but whenever I’ve encountered them, it’s obvious that they’re very close twins, like their mom and uncle. The Wanda, Pietro and Vision trifecta is basically recreated in the next generation with Billy, Tommy, and Billy’s boyfriend, Hulkling. How can anybody expect Billy to find life and not immediately go looking for his twin?

Mon: Wait a ruddy second here. You’re telling me people are confused that Billy wants Tommy back and not Wanda? Have they met any twins in their life? Do they not understand story and characterization? Billy and Tommy are two halves of the same coin. They’re inseparable whenever we’ve seen them in the MCU. Of course, Billy wants Tommy back. 

But, aside from that, from a narrative standpoint, Tommy as Speed needs to enter the MCU to kickstart the next phase of the franchise. The Young Avengers aren’t coming; they’re here. We’re waiting for them to fill in the blanks now. People have absolutely no media literacy. Thank goodness I didn’t read this silliness. 

Finale

Mon: Ok. So the two-part finale. The show takes a complete turn here. The last trial looks very different from the others. And Jenn discovers that Agatha was the one who bound her and left her powerless — though, and it’s not clear — Agatha may have done so on the behest of the patriarchy. It’s all a convenient ploy to give Jenn her power back. 

Then we move onto Billy who asks Agatha for help to find Tommy. Or rather, they need to find a newly dead boy who can become Tommy. In the end, Agatha is left to grow life in a dead space and that’s how she accomplishes the trial. 

Ron: Except, Agatha’s trial has only just begun. We learnt in the previous episode that Rio was actually Death. Agatha makes a deal to give up Billy to save herself. But Billy has to be willing to do it. Because if he dies otherwise, he can just reincarnate and the next time, Death won’t be able to find him. 

Mon: Yeah. And Agatha is clever. She almost succeeds in her plan to sacrifice Billy. But then he reminds her of her son and Agatha makes the sacrifice play instead. Sealing the deal with a pretty hot kiss with Rio. Took them long enough. 

Ron: Can’t deny that I was waiting with bated breath for the finale. But Marvel did its Marvel thing and didn’t quite stick the landing. The two part finale was a great length but way too much exposition. And I also didn’t feel the performances were as layered as previous episodes. Like the almost-kiss scene had me thinking the best of Agatha. But in this episode, things just happen and there’s no sleight of hand to keep you on your toes.

Mon: It’s really weird how the show stuck the landing throughout the first 7 episodes and then completely fell away in the two-part finale. 

Mon: Tonally the two finales were different from the rest of the show. And you could feel them changing the protagonist — from Agatha to Billy.

Ron: Technically it wasn’t Agatha all along. More like Billy all along, eh? 

Mon: You’re not wrong. I was concerned the show was just a vehicle for Billy to enter the MCU. But, the first 7 episodes kept proving me wrong. And I was like, yes, we have a show with all these awesome ladies in it. Yay. And then the finales happened, and yup, the show was indeed just a vehicle for Billy. You cottoned on pretty quick during the finale that Billy reality-warped the whole witches’ road. 

Ron: It never even occurred to me that Billy’s presence in this show would be a distraction from Agatha. And the first seven episodes, it wasn’t. I think some of my disappointment about this finale is that the show was basically an illusion. Not exactly Lost levels of “it was a dream”, but close enough. Having said that, I did like the twist that Billy created the Witches Road purely from his desire to get his brother back. It’s a great callback to Wanda creating the hex on Westview to have a family. 

Ron: I wonder now, wouldn’t it have been interesting to swap the finales? Have us see Agatha’s journey with Nicholas and then see her make the sacrifice play to save Billy. 

Mon: So, the whole Agatha and Nicholas thing — I think they went too hard on that. The overreliance on the maternal aspect of female characters in the MCU is a problem. I thought WandaVision handled it well before Multiverse of Madness made it an obsession. And we see that here in Agatha as well. She can have a dark past with a dead child without that having to be the only humanizing aspect to her. Actually, why does she need to be humanized? Let her be evil. 

Ron: Yep. I agree wholeheartedly. Do we need such a long part of the episode dedicated to a mother’s love? It would have been more interesting to see why she enjoyed killing witches despite having so much love for her son. 

Mon: Like, seriously. In the final episode, we see Agatha and Nicholas’s life together. And honestly, it’s a drag. I thought the con artist part was interesting but the mother-son connection wasn’t strong at all. She was using Nicholas. 

Ron: We should have seen the other cons Agatha made Nicholas do with her. I like the con artist-witch angle. 

Mon: And their only bond was singing iterations of what would become the Witches’ Road song. That’s not layered storytelling. 

Ron: Question: did Nicholas make up that witches road song on his own? Or was that an existing melody he co-opted? Because it starts off as wandering road and then becomes winding road, before finally landing on witches road, aka Agatha’s centuries’ long opportunity to scam and kill witches. That I liked. A lot!

Mon: See, the problem with the finales is this — everything that’s special about these ladies is the boys in this story. And the bad stuff is the ladies fighting each other. The finales totally undermine everything that was awesome about the previous episodes. 

Ron: That’s a bit harsh. 

Mon: I know. But I’m disappointed. 

Ron: I think Agatha and Rio were connected by more than just Nicolas and his death. 

Mon: Was that on screen? No. 

At the very least, I would rather have known why Agatha kills witches and steals their power. What does she get out of it?

Ron: Nicholas even asks her to stop doing it and she just brushes it off. Lean into that. Agatha being a grieving mother isn’t new or unusual. Her insistence on taking lives is!

Ron: Of course, I would have loved to see how Rio and Agatha got together. Rio is literal death and she falls so deeply in love with Agatha? Where was that story?

Mon: Totally! Where was the romance between these two?

Ron: I had really enjoyed the queer yearning, mostly from Rio in the earlier episodes. But by the finale, it was just hate from Agatha. Is Rio’s love for her purely because Agatha keeps her in business with all those witches she kills?

Mon: The layers and depth to the characters disappeared in the finales. I think that’s what I’m struggling with the most. 

Ron: Yes, and I’m feeling that lack of a 22-episode season even more. We get a short scene of Alice being taken by Death and she really doesn’t want to go. But what does it mean for her? Does she get to be with her mother? Did she really live in fear of a curse her whole life just to die for a boy and coven she met a few days ago? 

Mon: So many questions. You’re right to ask them because we’re never going to get these answers. The story has moved on from the coven. It’s on to the Young Avengers now. Agatha is a ghost with white hair and she’s a bit player again. She’s Billy’s guide. He’s running the show.  

Ron: This is such an issue with the Marvel shows. There are all these nuggets but then it’s all wrapped up with an untidy bow. We’re never going to see more of Jake Lockley from Moon Knight and now I’m not sure where Jenn Kale’s life is going to go. I’m glad she got her happy ending. Jenn going ballistic at Agatha for binding her. Agatha really is the worst. But that’s why we’ve grown to love her!

Mon: Ok, so in the end, Agatha and the coven were simply the catalyst for Billy to become a witch. Is that the takeaway from the show then?

Ron: I want to say that’s reductive. Because it wasn’t just about Billy. This show was about Jenn getting her power back from the patriarchy and an agent of that patriarchy, aka Agatha. Lilia also got a happy-ish ending. She got the answer as to why she lived her life out of order and she got to save her coven in the process. And it was about Agatha finding the kindness in her own black heart to give her life instead of taking lives. Why Sharon and Alice had to die, I can’t tell you. 

Mon: You are kinder than I am. They should have closed the loop with Alice and said she’s going to be with her mom. Missed opportunity there. And Sharon — yeah, that was bad luck, I guess. 

Mon: Overall feelings about Agatha All Along? 

Ron: I loved disappearing into this show every week. It definitely had the energy and intrigue of WandaVision and was just as unpredictable. I loved the characters. The witches were all so layered and had incredible backstories that I would have loved to explore. 

Mon: The first seven episodes were a blast and I want to rewatch them. Even when some of the moments slowed, I was invested in this group of complicated and flamboyant witches. I loved a lot of the production design and the character dynamics. More than anything, I’m so glad we finally have more out and proud queer characters in the MCU. 

Ron: As much as I don’t like that this show ended up being a tool to introduce Billy to the MCU, he’s also a fascinating character that I’m feeling quite invested in. I want to see where he goes and I desperately want him to find Tommy. 

Mon: Agreed. At least Joe Locke is compelling to watch and Billy is already a conflicted character. That’s something to look forward to with the Young Avengers. 

Ron: Onwards to the Young Avengers indeed. But until then, we’re going to be singing the Witches Road song so much.

[yourboyfriendsbodyguard]

Commissions Are Open

I know I haven't posted a single chapter of All Of Your Colours yet, but I do have the next chapter finished. I just need to edit before I post it…

But for the time being, I would like to proudly announce that my commissions are open! I don't know if any of you guys remember my prices, but I do have an Artistree account if you guys want to go see my work and judge for yourselves. I'm currently opening up a cheaper option for anybody interested, and it will be mostly sketches. Let me know what you guys think, I’ll post my Artistree account right here and link it so that if you're interested and want to help me out, you can just come and leave a request with me. Around a good chunk of the commission money does go to me, the artist, with this site and I was going to use whatever money I make from the commissions to pay for my bus fare to and from work, as well as food. (And if I have extra I can finally pay to get the updated Your Boyfriend Game, I only have Day 1 and Day 2.)

I wanted to be honest with you guys and let you know what your money is going towards, I'm a little low on funds right now, especially with the way the economy is here in Canada, but any little bit helps. That's why I'm trying to make sure I have at least the cheapest option available to be able to help anybody who wants an art piece or an art Commission of anything they want.

Of course within limits…

I do have things that I morally cannot and will not bring myself to draw not even for all the money in the world.

So yeah there will be a special section though for those who want a specific commission for the Your Boyfriend fandom, so just let me know, send me a DM, send me a quick message if you need to, or you know share with your friends or anyone you know that wants a commission. I'm pretty fast with my art requests, especially since I have insomnia and haven't been able to sleep properly in weeks, again any help is welcomed, if not, just for blogging this is also really helpful for me. Thank you again for everything, and for reading this as well as the fanfic. Thank you for always supporting me, and for all your asks, Anonymous or not.

Sending you all my love, thank you for your support!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Yascha Mounk

Published: Dec 21, 2024

After Donald Trump won reelection, scores of Americans once again failed to make good on their loudly shared and oft-repeated plan of moving to Canada; but a good number of them did partake in a different, rather less cumbersome, exodus. Complaining that Twitter had been unrecognizably transformed under the ownership of Elon Musk—whom they also blame for supporting Trump—hundreds of thousands of progressives decamped to Bluesky.

Widely touted as a “kinder, gentler” alternative to X, Bluesky aims to emulate the up-to-date news and specialized information-sharing in which Twitter has traditionally excelled. It also promises to cut all the toxicity. In the past weeks, the platform announced plans to quadruple the number of moderators it employs. "We’re trying to go above what the legal requirements are, because we decided that we wanted to be a safe and welcoming space,” Aaron Rodericks, the head of the Trust and Safety Team at Bluesky Social, vowed.

The platform has some features that really do put the user in charge in appealing ways. In traditional social media networks, the executives of profit-driven companies control the algorithm that governs the content which is presented to individual users. Especially on micro-blogging platforms like Twitter, this feature—since well before Musk turned it into X—meant privileging controversial posts that elicit angry debate over milder, more consensual ones. On Bluesky, each user can choose between a great variety of open-source algorithms, which theoretically makes it possible to curate a less rage-inducing experience.

When Bluesky launched, I hoped that it would succeed. But the platform has quickly shown that it is hard for any social network to deliver on its promise of being the place for a kinder or gentler discourse. At its best, Bluesky has become a giant progressive echo chamber, with Blue MAGA accounts freely sharing “misinformation” such as the notion that the vote count in the 2024 election was fraudulent because millions of Democratic votes inexplicably went missing. At its worst, it openly revels in violence—so long as that violence can make a claim, however tenuous, to defend or avenge righteous victims.

In accordance with the platform’s policy of moderating content much more aggressively than X has done under Musk, Bluesky’s moderators have been quick to act when users flout the site’s ideological consensus. In the last weeks, both small accounts with few followers and well-known writers with an established audience have seemingly been banned for such trivial “infractions” as suggesting that the Democratic Party leaving X would be a counterproductive form of “purity politics.” And yet, it was on Bluesky that prominent journalists—including, but not limited to, the infamous Taylor Lorenz—openly rejoiced in the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. As long as progressives perceive the victim of a crime to be morally evil, the moderators on Bluesky appear to believe that threatening violence against them is justifiable.

More recently, Bluesky users with major followings reveled in the prospect of violence against Jesse Singal, a center-left journalist who has ended up in progressive crosshairs because of his reporting about detransitioners and involvement in other heated debates regarding trans issues. Some consisted in crude death threats: “I think Jesse Singal should be beat to death in the streets,” one wrote. But a surprising number explicitly justified calls for violence as being necessary to defend themselves against the ways in which he supposedly put them at risk. “Jesse Singal and assorted grifters want us dead so i similarly want him dead,” another user wrote.1

Though they blatantly violated Bluesky’s restrictive community guidelines, the platform hardly took action against such accounts. It even failed to ban users who shared what they believed to be Singal’s private address or made especially graphic threats against him. Evidently, the people making decisions for the kinder, gentler platform don’t mind actual death threats—as long as they are directed against those who, in their judgment, have it coming to them.

What can possibly explain the descent of a platform populated by progressives who claim to abhor all forms of violence into an echo chamber that revels in violence against anyone who defies its taboos or threatens its ideological conformity?

Some of the dynamic likely has to do with the nature of social media in general, and of microblogging platforms like Twitter and Bluesky in particular. There is also an ideological element—a justification of violence has been interwoven with far-left ideology for well over a century. But as I puzzled over the strange transformation of Bluesky, I was also reminded of a series of interesting social science papers published over the course of the last years. They suggest that the tendency to justify violence by the need to help virtuous victims serves a strategic purpose that is less than benign—and may even have worrying psychological roots.

-

Traditionally, most people have wanted to avoid being seen as a victim.

In “honor” societies, like the aristocratic milieus of early modern Europe, the impression that you could not defend yourself spelled dishonor and invited further attacks. When someone failed to pay you the respect to which you believed to be entitled, you did not claim to be a victim; you challenged them to a duel.

The same aversion to casting yourself as a victim persisted even after feudalism gave way to capitalism, and aristocratic “honor cultures” transformed into bourgeois “dignity cultures.” For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, people who were maltreated in some way would insist that such forms of disrespect did not have the power to undermine the dignity we all have as humans. If the duel is the canonical encapsulation of honor culture, the canonical encapsulations of dignity culture are an adult’s determination to keep a “stiff upper lip” in the face of adversity or a child’s resolve that “sticks and stones may break my bones but words shall never hurt me.”

But as Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning have argued in The Rise of Victimhood Culture, we are now entering a new era. Dignity culture is waning rapidly. In its place, we are witnessing the rise of victimhood culture. This new dispensation “differs from both honor and dignity cultures in highlighting rather than downplaying the complainants’ victimhood.” Under these circumstances, people who portray themselves as victims enjoy an elevated moral status. And that, Campbell and Manning write in one of their papers, “only increases the incentive to publicize grievances, and it means aggrieved parties are especially likely to highlight their identity as victims, emphasizing their own suffering and innocence.” (Anyone who has spent time on social media—whether it be Bluesky or Instagram or TikTok—in the decade since Campbell and Manning first wrote that line can’t help but feel that it has proven to be prophetic.)

Ekin Ok and three co-authors from the University of British Columbia pick up on this thread in a 2021 paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Because of the spread of egalitarian values and the paramount importance they give to alleviating suffering, Ok et al argue, contemporary Western democracies have become highly responsive to people who are perceived as victims. Under these circumstances, making a claim to victim status may allow a great variety of people “to pursue an environmental resource extraction strategy that helps them survive, flourish, and achieve their goals.” As a result, “claiming one is a victim has become increasingly advantageous and even fashionable.”

But being a victim may not be enough. Even in contemporary Western societies, the perceived moral status of the victim is likely to influence how much assistance they will receive. As Ok et al demonstrate, for example, respondents are more likely to offer financial assistance to a man who gets shot while volunteering at a charity softball game than they are to a man who gets shot while patronizing a strip club. For “victim-signalling” to have the desired effect, it needs to be accompanied by “virtue-signalling.”

Some people, of course, really are “virtuous victims.” They have suffered genuine injustice. But since managing to establish your status as a virtuous victim is potentially lucrative, it also stands to reason that others will falsely claim to fall into this category. As Ok et al write, some people “intentionally and repeatedly convey their victim status as a manipulative strategy with the explicit aim of altering the behavior of receivers to the signaler’s advantage.”

The authors of the study even have a hypothesis about who is most likely to do that. People with Dark Triad traits such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, they argue, are especially likely to engage in “self-promotion, emotional callousness, duplicity and [a] tendency to take advantage of others.” Narcissists seek the limelight. Machiavellians are obsessed with gaining and exercising power over others. Psychopaths don’t care about social norms and disregard others’ emotions. People with all three traits are thus likely to be hugely overrepresented in the “subset of the population both adept at and comfortable with using deception and manipulation to attain personal goals.”

In a succession of clever tests, Ok et al provide plausible evidence that their theory is borne out by reality. Their first striking empirical finding is that people with dark personality traits are also more likely to falsely portray themselves as victims. In one of their studies, they ask you to imagine that you are an intern who is asked to work closely on a project with a peer who is competing for the same full-time job. The other intern is friendly to your face but you get a bad vibe from him. He doesn’t take your suggestions seriously, and you suspect that he may be talking badly about you behind your back. How do you respond?

That seems to depend on who you are. Asked to report on the behavior of the other intern, most participants in the experiment shared some negative opinions but refrained from making false or exaggerated statements. Respondents who had scored high on the dark personality triad, by contrast, were more likely to falsely report that the other intern had engaged in discriminatory behaviour such as making “demeaning or derogatory comments.”

The paper’s second striking empirical finding shows that the tendency of people with dark personality traits to falsely claim being a virtuous victim may also give them cover for engaging in bad behavior. In another experiment, they asked respondents to play a simple coin flip game, which was manipulated in such a way that its participants could easily use deception to increase their monetary payoff. It turns out that people who have portrayed themselves as virtuous victims were far more likely than their peers to lie and to cheat.

This helps to explain some of the features about Bluesky and other social media platforms that might otherwise feel puzzling. The kinds of claims to virtuous victimhood that are so common on that forum don’t just create cover for manipulative people to serve their own ends; they also seem to create license for disregarding moral norms—whether these consist in a prohibition of lying about others to ostracize them or (apparently) even calling for them to be killed.

-

When the study by Ok et al first came out, it made some minor waves. My fellow Substacker and recent podcast guest Rob Henderson argued that people with dark personality traits do what they can in any particular social environment to obtain benefits like prestige or material wealth. In current circumstances, he concluded, “those with dark triad traits might find that the best way to extract rewards is by making a public spectacle of their victimhood and virtue.” The psychologist and podcaster Scott Barry Kaufman put a similar conclusion even more starkly: “Some people,” he wrote, just “aren't good-faith actors in this ‘victimhood space.’”

At the time, I found the paper by Ok et al to be intriguing. And I knew that both Henderson and Kaufman usually have a good nose for bullshit. And yet, I have refrained from writing about its findings until now. After all, social psychology suffers from a serious replication crisis. Time and again, findings that are a little too neat or pleasing—from the idea that a child’s ability to resist the temptation of eating a marshmallow predicts later life outcomes to the promise that striking a “power pose” can set you up for success in a job interview—turned out to be dubious or outright false. And isn’t there something a little too neat about the idea that all of those people attesting to their superior virtue are secretly just narcissists and psychopaths trying to manipulate you?

It also seemed to me that a piece of the puzzle was still missing. Some of the people who target others on social media really do portray themselves as virtuous victims. They claim that they are part of the group which the victim of their attacks has supposedly targeted. And many of them clearly have self-serving goals, ranging from increasing their social clout to asking followers to donate cold, hard cash. But others who gang up on, or even threaten violence against, anybody who breaks perceived community norms don’t claim to be victims themselves; rather, they invoke the existence of supposed victims as an excuse to engage in cruel behavior. For all of its strength, there is something about the phenomenon I’ve been trying to make sense of that Ok’s paper can’t quite explain.

But then my research assistant sent me a new paper about the same subject. In a major effort, Timothy C. Bates and five of his colleagues at the University of Edinburgh set out to test whether the finding by Ok et al would replicate. Based on a larger dataset and employing alternative ways to measure key concepts like virtuous victim signalling, they came to an unambiguous conclusion: virtuous victim signalling really does seem to be driven by what they call “narcissistic Machiavellianism.”

More importantly, the paper by Bates et al also adds the missing piece of the puzzle. The “willingness to assert victimhood,” they hypothesize, may also “be amplified by the motive of sadistic pleasure in the downfall of weakened opponents.” In other words, the people who invoke the need to defend victims in order to justify treating others poorly don’t necessarily have a concrete strategic goal in mind; some of them do so because they are looking for a socially sanctioned outlet for their sadistic instincts. In those cases, the cruelty is the point.

To demonstrate that this is indeed the case, Bates et al use a standard battery of questions to measure respondents’ tendencies towards sadism, asking them such questions as whether they would be willing to purposely hurt people if they didn’t like them. They then test whether people with such sadistic tendencies are also more likely to score high on what they call the “victimizer scale,” which asks them to report on such questions as whether they have recently “enjoyed helping cancel someone;” whether they have “joined in on the persecution and condemnation of an individual or group accused of victimizing others;” and whether they have “sought to hurt the reputation of someone accused by others of victimizing.”

Two things are especially notable about this. First, not all sadists claimed that they themselves were virtuous victims. But second, the claim that they were acting on behalf of such victims—whether themselves or others—was the crucial fig leaf they needed to get away with their behavior. This finding, Bates et al argue, supports

the suggestion that sadism may be adapted to exploit strategic opportunities, specifically the legitimization of punishing and inflicting harm on individuals or groups which is created by successful virtuous victim signalling. If individuals high on Machiavellianism and narcissism exploit the resource-release response of nonvictims, sadism appears, as predicted, to exploit the opportunity created by victims in the form of the moral license granted by non-victims, legitimizing attacks on the victimizer by removing moral protection from those accused.

-

Many people really do suffer genuine injustices. It is on the whole a good thing that contemporary societies are much more likely to give people who claim to have suffered undeserved misfortune a respectful hearing than they might have gotten in the past. While trying to keep a “stiff upper lip” may have its uses, we certainly wouldn’t want people to fear advocating for a more just society, or coming forward about ways in which they have been maltreated, because doing so might undermine their dignity or bring shame upon them.

But to be sensible and sustainable, every social dispensation—whether it consists in an explicit set of rules or an implicit set of norms—must protect itself against bad actors. When a platform or political subculture allows anyone to portray themselves as victims without any real evidence, bad actors will recognize an opportunity to swoop in. And then these bad actors will quickly weaponize false claims to victimization as an excuse to harass or physically threaten people who supposedly have it coming to them. In a culture of victimhood that has no inbuilt defenses against bad actors, things will—as the recent blowup on Bluesky reminds us—always eventually get out of hand.

Every community, however noble its stated intentions and however progressive its purported values, needs a mechanism for defending itself against the small minority of people who are prone to exploit and manipulate their social environment. If yours doesn’t have one, it’s inviting the sadists, the narcissists and the psychopaths to run the show.

-

1 Like many of the things that are said or written about Singal, this claim of course lacks any basis in objective reality.

==

When victimhood is currency, expect counterfeiters.

We must fully depreciate "victimhood" as a form of social currency.

[fangirlingfromdownunder]

22nd Day of Christmas

Lonely Christmas Invite

Summary/Prompt: The reader is set to spend Christmas alone in an unfamiliar city until they get an unexpected invitation

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x Reader

Warnings: implied smut

Christmas Masterlist | Masterlist

You’re the new guest star, playing a recurring role as an angel trying to con the Winchester brothers, on the newest season of Supernatural. You’re loving everything about the role, except that Christmas is fast approaching and you’re miles from your family. This is your first big, international role. There was no way you could turn it down, even if it meant you would be stranded in Canada, on the other side of the world from your family at Christmas. So, you jumped on the plane and never looked back.

You’re grateful that all the cast and crew are so friendly and welcoming, especially the sexy lead. You and Jensen have been working together closely since day one as his character has been the main focus of your character. But you also started hanging out a little more unprofessionally offset. You never meant for it to happen, but you’re glad it did. It all started with a few welcome-to-the-cast drinks, but once everyone else went home for the night you somehow ended up back at his apartment and in his bed. You both swore that no one could know. You’re not overly proud to say (despite how amazing it’s been) that you’ve spent more than a few nights in his apartment throughout the season. You always remind yourself that it’s just a fling, but either way, it’s a great distraction from the loneliness.

After a long, draining day of filming, Bob Singer finally calls cut. You stretch out your tired limbs and stow your character as you head back to your trailer to change and clean off your SFX makeup. Shortly after you’re back to your own attire and feel clean again instead of stiff and sticky from the fake blood, you hear a soft knock.

“Come in!” you call out.

You hear the trailer door creak open and Jensen slips inside. “Any plans tonight, Sexy?”

You hush him as you pull him into a hug. “You can’t say that here. We’ll get in trouble for being unprofessional. I’m only a guest star they can write me out whenever they want.”

“Jared married a guest star. It’s different here, that’s what I keep telling you. We could go fully official and no one would complain.”

“Still…You’re the lead, you’ll be fine. The show can’t go on without you, but me…No one would notice if I was gone.”

“I would.”

“Yeah, you’d miss the mindblowing sex.”

“That I would. But I’d also just miss you. But speaking of mindblowing sex…”

“You’re unbelievable. I’ll meet you back at your place in an hour?”

“I was actually thinking we could get dinner first? Let me take you on a proper date, please.”

“Not yet. I want to establish myself first. I don’t want people to think I’m just sleeping with you to get famous or anything. I want to get on the front of a magazine for who I am, not who I’m sleeping with.”

“Fine. Let me at least cook for you then.”

“That I can do. I’ll meet you over there.”

“Good.” He kisses you quickly before pulling away and sneaking out of your trailer.

You take a deep breath as you lean against the closed door. You wait a while before you pack up and head home. You shower quickly and change into a comfy outfit, you also pack a quick overnight bag since you figure you won’t be coming home tonight. You then head over to his apartment. Your stomach growls on the drive over and you couldn’t be more thankful that he’s cooking.

You knock on his door and wait. After a few minutes he opens the door. “Hey…” he looks you up and down with a small frown. You notice he’s dressed in a nice button up and jeans with his hair brushed back. “Well, I feel overdressed…”

“Sorry, I didn’t…I thought I was coming over for a relaxed meal and hot sex, not a formal date.”

He nods but can’t hide his disappointment. “Right. Uh, yeah. Yep. Uh, come in.”

“I can go home and change again…”

“No, don’t be ridiculous. Come in. It’s okay. Dinner’s almost ready.” He disappears into the kitchen and you’re riddled with guilt.

“I’ll be right back, I just left my phone in the car,” you call out as you open his front door again. You desperately hope you left a dress in the car from one of your other sleepovers where you’ve gone straight to set after. You check your back seats and then the trunk. In an old shopping bag you find a simple black dress and a pair of heels. Sure he’s probably seen and stripped you out of this dress before and this time you unfortunately won’t have matching sexy lingerie underneath but it’ll have to do. You take the bag upstairs to his apartment and slip inside and into his bathroom as quietly as possible. You strip out of your sweater and jeans and into the black dress and heels. Then you let your hair out and run your hands through it a few times to liven it up. You’re still missing the makeup but you think you did well considering.

You come out just as Jensen is finishing to set the table. When he turns around he checks you out. “How did you?”

“A woman is always prepared. This better?”

“I’d take you however you come, but yes it does feel more like a date now. But I need to know before this goes too much further, because I’m falling too hard and too fast…Is this just meaningless sex to you?”

“I thought it was,” you say. “But now I’m not so sure. Things are moving faster and differently than I expected. I just don’t know. You’ll be going home to visit your family soon and I’ll just be waiting until the next callback or audition.”

“How about we start with dinner and just keep seeing where this goes then? No pressure, no labels. Just fun and following the tide.”

“I like the sound of that. Thank you.”

“Come on, it’ll go cold.” You both sit down and share the delicious home cooked meal.

As you’re eating Jensen says, “I haven’t decided by the way…”

“Have decided what?”

“Whether I’m going home for Christmas. My parents are traveling, enjoying their golden years and my siblings are doing their own thing. I’m on my own for Christmas too.” You nod as you take another bite considering what he said. “Would you like to spend Christmas with me Y/N? We can hang out here or I can take you to see Texas. You said you haven’t seen much of the USA yet.”

“But the paparazzi…”

“We don’t have to leave this apartment if you don’t want to.”

“Go with the flow, remember. You make your own plans and I’ll fit in where I can. You shouldn’t have to hide inside because of my fears.”

“Just come over for Christmas dinner then. The rest we can work out as it comes, but let me have that to plan.”

“Alright. You’d better make it delicious then.”

“Did I let you down tonight?”

“Not at all. This is delicious. You’re an amazing cook.”

“Thanks. I’ll make sure not to let you down.”

After dinner you help him with the dishes and then you both sit on the couch and watch some trash reality TV until your eyelids grow heavy. But instead of falling into bed with him, you insist on driving home.

[umgeorge]

pole-sitter george russell is interviewed during the post-qualifying press conference, britain - july 6, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "A very warm welcome to the top three qualifiers for the FIA FOrmula 1 British Grand Prix. In third place, Lando Norris; in second place, Lewis Hamilton; and, taking his third pole position in Formula 1 and his first here at home at Silverstone, our pole-sitter, George Russell. Many congratulations, George. What a performance by you and Mercedes. You won in Austria last weekend. You're on pole here at home. Just how good does this feel?" George: "Yeah, this is definitely one of the best feelings I've ever had on a Saturday afternoon. The car was just insane. When we went out in Q3 it just really came alive and, without doubt, one of the best feelings I've ever had, driving this circuit and crossing the line, seeing my name P1, and then seeing we're both on the front row. We couldn't have even dreamt of that after the first three or four races, so yeah, it feels good." Interviewer: "Have you been surprised by the pace of the car today?" George: "It's been feeling great since Canada, when we brought these upgrades. The two of us have been qualifying in the top three consistently, but it really came into its own today. We were really quick in FP1 yesterday, we struggled in FP2 a little bit, but these conditions just really got the car into a perfect window, and the lap was just really, really nice. And there's no guarantees for tomorrow, for sure, but we feel like we're riding this wave at the moment and, I mean, obviously, for us as a team, I don't know when the last time was we were on a front row, but… 2021, maybe. Maybe before." Interviewer: "George, you say that last lap in Q3 was really, really nice. Just where did you find the time over that first run in Q3?" George: "From turn six to turn nine I gained a lot. Turn six and seven was mega. There was a big headwind through there, so I braked really, really late and I just could carry the speed through the corners. But it was just on rails, the car. I just felt so confident in it, and Q3 we really turned it up, because Q1 and Q2 was very, very challenging. I felt like I was about to get knocked out at various points. The track improving in every single lap, and probably going into Q3 was the most pressure I've ever felt in a qualifying session, because the whole Q1 and Q2 runs, it was, like, on the verge of getting knocked out every single occasion. And I wasn't feeling that confident with myself, but as soon as I went through turn one and two in Q3 I felt good and managed to do the laps." Interviewer: "Well, George, let's throw it forward to the race. With practice being so affected by the weather, just how much confidence do you have in the long run pace of the car?" George: "Yeah, I think realistically we know we're probably a tenth or two behind Lando and Max, but I think we've got a good fight on our hands. But the weather's gonna play a huge part in that. It's been raining and drying up throughout the last couple of days. There's a bit of rain on the forecast tomorrow. We're probably on course for another Montreal-style race, where it's gonna be very changeable, so it's going to be a long race. As I said, we're riding this wave right now, but it doesn't mean anything because tomorrow is where the points are scored, but we're obviously in a great position to fight for victory." Interviewer: "Alright, look, best of luck. Well done today. Thank you."

[time jump] Journalist: "Alex Kalinauckas, Autosport. A question to George, please. Actually, a couple of questions, please. Just going back to that last lap in Q3, I think you started off a little bit slower through the first couple of corners. It was slower at the end of the first sector, but then purple by the end, so can you just explain what was going on at the beginning there? And also, you mentioned the struggles, Q1, Q2. Did the car change much ahead of Q3, for that big transformation? Thanks." George: "The wind picked up on that last lap and you had a bit more of a tailwind through turns three and four, so I think a few of us were brown in that first sector, but then suddenly you picked up so much more downforce through turn six and seven, and in the last corner, as well, when you're going into the wind, so that was probably the reason for it. But no, Q1 and Q2 we were just not trying to use our new soft tires, to allow us to have the two new sets for Q3, and I think we've also saved one set of new softs for the race tomorrow, so the soft is a potential race tire. So when you've got cars that are slightly slower than you throwing tires at it, you're just always on that back foot and that was kind of the reasoning for it. But yeah, the track dried up, and we got into the groove, and the lap times came."

[time jump] NOT SHOWN: Journalist: "Fred Ferret, L'Equipe. A question to the three of you: Do you have an explanation why the Brits are so good in Formula 1?" George: "Yeah, I think, like Lando said, just grassroots in the UK is the most advanced for motorsport, and we're so fortunate to have so many great drivers, and you just push one another along that journey. And I think, also, so many great British drivers in the past who've inspired the youngsters to get into racing." Interviewer: "Okay. Next one." Journalist: "Simon Abberley for Nevis Radio. Question for George and Lewis: You said on Thursday you weren't too sure if you had the car for this weekend. Obviously you're doing quite well with where you're sat, just now. With that in mind and the changeable conditions for tomorrow, have you maybe geared your car more towards the rain, or is this something that you thought could be potentially possible on Thursday but weren't too sure about playing your cards out to the media yet?" George: "I think, if anything, we actually geared up slightly more for the race, which is normally a trade-off you'd always take. You can qualify P4 and get into the lead on lap one, or vice versa. It feels so great for us to be here now, but the race start, things can change very quickly, so we'd always sort of gear it up slightly more for the race. But yeah [laughs], I mean, nothing's changed since last weekend and the car's been performing so well here, so you need to look into it and try and understand why it's been so good, especially in these high-speed corners, because in Austria, Red Bull were miles ahead of everybody, and at the moment we've been the quickest. So yeah, [laughs] it's a difficult sport sometimes."

[time jump] Journalist: "Will Wood, Race Fans. Question for George, please: George, you mentioned that this could be another Montreal-style race. That obviously didn't go quite the way that you wanted, from where you started. How do you make sure that tomorrow works out better for you?" George: "Yeah, thanks for that question. [laughs] We're all racers, we're pushing the limits. I said after Montreal, my sort of risk-reward dial was turned up to the max and that sort of played against me at certain points, and just remembering that the race is won right at the end. It doesn't matter what happens beforehand, so… Yeah, that was a good learning for me. We still came away with a podium, but every single scenario is so different, and… Today, for example, in qualifying, it was raining in just three corners and the rest of the track was bone dry, but those two corners, three corners, people were going off the track, so very, very challenging."

[time jump] Journalist: "Carlo Platella, Formula Passion. Question for the Mercedes drivers: How different is this car to drive, compared to a couple of months ago?" George: "I think we've made some small changes, which has had a big impact. We knew from the start of this year, the baseline of this car is substantially better than what we've had in previous years, but we went from having an oversteer car last year, then to an understeer car this year, and now we've just dialed it back and found the happy medium. And when you've got the balance in a good place, the tire temperatures are in the right window, and the lap time just really snowballs positively. So it hasn't been a substantial change, but it's made a massive difference to the lap time."

[time jump] Journalist: "Taylor Powling for Motorsport Monday. Question to George and Lando: With a mixed conditions race possible tomorrow, will you be encouraging your teams to review what happened in Canada to make sure you nail those changing conditions, if they do occur?" George: "I mean, yeah, absolutely. But as I said before, it was so difficult in Canada. On the grid I increased my tire pressures because rain was meant to hit in twenty minutes' time, which is about twelve to fifteen laps, and it hit in forty minutes, and then that's… Lando was ten seconds behind us, and then ended up ten seconds ahead of us and clearly was low on tire pressure. So [laughs] if the rain hit when it did, we would have been in a good place. As it turned out, Lando was in the right place, so we can do all the reviewing we want. The fact is it's very, very difficult to predict."

[fromjean]

| sandra oh & she/her | Congratulations, JEAN KIM survived another night. The town would certainly feel less safe without a them close by. Not to mention, we can’t lose another EMERGENCY DOCTOR, plus they’re only FOURTY FIVE years old. Crazy to think, it’s been 14 MONTHS since their arrival, though in a place like Oblitus it can feel much longer. Good thing they’re staying at the RESIDENTIAL AREA. Almost like it happened yesterday, they still remember VANCOUVER, CANADA, and where they came from. It’s no secret, they were PICKING HER SON FROM COLLEGE when they came across the tree, and is still keeping them up at night. Truth be told, they’re awfully QUICK THINKING and CLOSED OFF, but they’ve survived this long. Well, it’s almost day light again, maybe they’ll play ZOMBIE by THE CRAMBERRIES this time. Welcome to another night in Oblitus, please don’t open the doors.

BASIC INFORMATION

NAME: jean kim

NICKNAMES: n/a

BIRTHDAY: september 5th

AGE: 45

HOMETOWN: vancouver, canada

BIRTHPLACE: vancouver, canada

RELIGION: atheist

EDUCATION: doctor of medicine from ubc

RELATIONSHIP STATUS/FAMILY: married, husband back home. one child (21-26 years old, wc possibility)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

HEIGHT: 5'6"

EYES: brown

HAIR: black, long and wavey. usually tied up in a bun to keep it out of her face

BUILD: slim, curvy

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: n/a

PERSONALITY & BEHAVIOR

HOBBIES: reading, sewing, studying, obsessively cleaning her house

LIKES: flowers, organization, the smell of fresh cut grass

DISLIKES: small talks but also deep talks, when she can't find a solution, sharing her feelings

QUIRKS: will take down her hair only to tie it back up ten seconds later, talks with her hands

STRENGTHS: smart, quick thinking, steadfast

WEAKNESSES: closed off, secretive, unemotional

WHERE WAS YOUR CHARACTER WHEN THEY SAW THE TREE AND THE MURDER OF CROWS? WHERE WERE THEY GOING? WERE THEY TRAVELLING ALONE? HOW DID THEY FEEL?

jean had just picked her kid up from college and was on their way back to bring them home for the summer. she was excited to have her not-so baby home again and to hear all about their year. they were chatting away, filling each other in on what was going on in their lives. about half way through the drive, her husband got off work and gave them a call. they were about thirty minutes away from home when they saw the tree. "honey, i'm going to have to call you back, there's a damn tree in the middle of the road," was the last thing she said to her husband. they got out of the car and tried to see if it could be moved. "maybe we can circle back around and find a different way?" she said when the crows started cawing over head. she didn't like this feeling, it was very ominous.

DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTERS FIRST DAY/NIGHT IN TOWN. DID THEY ARRIVE IN THE DAYTIME? WERE THEY WARNED BY THE RESIDENTS? DID THEY HAVE TO BE RESTRAINED?

jean and her kid arrived during the day. they drove into town and stopped at the dinner for directions. she was pointed in the way of the supposed highway but when they started driving again, they just looped back into the town. she started to panic a little but kept it to herself, not wanting her kid to know she was worried. they looped around three times before finally getting out again and asking what the hell was going on. that was when they got the real story of what was going on. she didn't want to believe it. she was a woman of science, she didn't believe in monsters or magic or mystery towns that didn't let you leave. the beginning was hard. she learned quickly that this place wasn't a joke. all she wanted to do was keep her kid safe and try to find a way out of here.

WHAT DID THEY LEAVE BEHIND? WHAT WAS THEIR LIFE LIKE ON THE OUTSIDE?

she left behind her husband whom she loves with all her heart. he was a kind man and a great father. he was also a doctor but while jean worked in a hospital, he had his own practice as a pedestrian. she still has hope of getting out of this place but for now, she helps out at the clinic in town.

wanted connections

mommy and me group: others in town with children, either those in town or ones that are outside. they stick together and help each other out when they needed an extra hand

drinking buddies: jean was a lover of wine back home but the choices are limited here. she tends to frequent the lost and found bar after a hard day at the clinic

friends with benefits/affair: jean still loves her husband very much and wants to get back to him. but....sometimes things happen. maybe there was tension growing for awhile, maybe it was a drunk mistake. either way, jean has needs and can't help herself when they're around. she keeps it a secret and refuses to get close enough to develop feelings (at least that's what she tells herself) bonus points if it's gay and her bisexual awakening

[5ducksinatrenchcoat]

eep i have a test on all of ww1 and ww2 (and the interwar period! yay!) tmrw and i'm not very ready!! anyways i'm going to summarize most of what i know ABOUT WW1 under the cut. mostly for my studying but if you want to see you're welcome to read it. BEWARE IT IS LONG

BACKGROUND

scene opens on Germany, a young nation eager to prove itself as strong to the other European powers, namely Britain, who has lots and lots of colonies at this point. (the sun never sets on the British empire!). Britain also has the strongest navy. Germany believes in "Weltpolitik", meaning aggressive expansion.

Germany has recently beaten France in the Franco-Prussian War and acquired the territory Alsace-Lorraine. France is angry and embarrassed. It went from being the biggest European power under the rule of Napoleon to this!! France hates Germany.

Russia is poor but MASSIVE and has a HUGE POLULATION. if it is awaken, it will do serious damage. luckily it is "sleeping" for now.

The Austria-Hungarian empire is made up of many different nations along the Balkan Peninsula who hate being part of the empire. The Balkan Peninsula is known as the powder keg of Europe because a single spark could make it blow up.

There was also the Moroccan Crisis where Britain decided to support France (against Germany) in Egypt and the Suez canal. There is more here, but basically it solidified the hard feelings between Germany and France/Britain.

Everyone starts beefing up their military because conflict is coming!

ALLIANCES FORM

Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy ally themselves to form the Triple Alliance. Germany organized this to try to isolate France.

Britain, France, and Russia ally to form the Triple Entente because they were a bit worried about Germany (especially France).

THE SPARK

Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, goes to visit Sarajevo with his wife. He thinks the people will love him! He doesn't know that he is visiting during a parade for Slavic independence. They don't like him. Gavrilo Princip, a member of a nationalist group called Black Hand, kills Francis and his wife.

Austria-Hungary is ANGRY. It blames the government (who didn't organize the assassination, but who weren't sad about it either) and makes unreasonable demands to Serbia, who refuses.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

Russia mobilized troops to protect Serbia.

Germany declared war on Russia for mobilizing its troops. Germany was aligned with A-H, so it was at war with Serbia too. Germany also declared war on France because it was allied with Russia (and Germany just didn't like France).

Germany marched through Belgium to get to France quickly so it could defeat France before Russia "woke up". This was called the Schlieffen plan.

Britain declared war on Germany because it had secretly agreed to help Belgium remain sovereign. Now that Britain is at war, so are its many colonies. The war has breached European confinement.

WAR WAS LONG. NO SIDE MOVED OR GAINED MUCH TERRITORY. MANY DIED.

CANADA'S INVOLVEMENT

Men had the idea that war would be quick and glorious so lots signed up!

Germans and Ukrainians were forced to register with authorities and many were sent to internment camps.

Black and Indigenous men faced obstacles trying to enlist because of racism.

French Canadians enlisted less because they had, for the most part, been in Canada longer than British Canadians, so they didn't feel as emotionally attached to France. They also didn't appreciate being encouraged to go fight for Britain because they weren't British.

Women's suffrage and prohibition became two large issues across the country.

Conscription - Borden had promised not to have conscription, but then he took it back. People were angry. He gave women with husbands overseas the right to vote because they would want to send help to the war to bring their husbands back. Yay?

THE BATTLE OF YPRES: Germany introduced poison gas and created a gaping hole in the defences. Canada remained strong and closed the gap. It was the first European battle Canada fought in and it established itself as a powerful country. yippee.

THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME: one of the bloodiest battles in history for all sides. 68 of almost 800 Newfoundland soldiers survived the first few days.

BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE: seen as a symbol of ww1's senseless slaughter as thousands died on the field (either killed, drowned in the mud because it was super rainy, or got trenchfoot (don't google it. yucky.))

VIMY RIDGE: this becomes a source of national pride to this day. Canada was able to take a ridge held by Germany that nobody else had succeeded in taking. Ultimately it gave Canada its own seat in post-war discussions and made it recognized as a country. HOW DID WE DO IT? They build a system of caves and tunnels and a railway to transport explosives. During the attack, a creeping barrage of soldiers made its way up the hill, in between heavy artillery fire (in front of and behind them) that was also making its way up the hill. This way, when they stopped firing, the Canadians were on top of the German soldiers. This is called the Vimy Glide. ARTHUR CURRIE was the general who came up with it.

TURNING POINTS:

Not really a turning point but i don't have another section: GALLIPOLI: Australia was a British colony so it had to fight for Britain. Britain threw Australians at the Ottomans as a feint. It was a slaughter.

ITALY CHANGED SIDES due to a secret treaty granting it territories that Italian people lived in. (After the war, they weren't given this territory, leading to the rise of Mussolini).

THE US ENTERED THE WAR: Americans had wanted to stay neutral, but they hated Germany thanks to British propaganda. A German U-boat sunk the Lusitania, which contained American civilians. THE ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM was from Germany to Mexico saying to attack the southern states to the US was busy fighting and couldn't join the war. The US intercepted this, got angrier at Germany, and joined the war. This helped wear down the Triple Alliance (now down to 2 because of Italy).

PEACE TREATY WAS SIGNED ON NOVEMBER 11 1918

there was then a revolt against the German government because German people had believed they were winning.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 16, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

NOV 17, 2023

The summit of the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies continued today in San Francisco, California. 

Formed in 1989, APEC is made up of the economies of 21 nations around the Pacific Rim: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Russia, Vietnam, and the United States. Together, these economies make up about 62% of global gross domestic product and almost half of global trade.

David Sanger of the New York Times today noted an apparent shift in the power dynamic between President Joe Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping, who met yesterday for a four-hour conversation. Earlier in his presidency, Xi was riding on a strong economy that overshadowed that of the U.S. and looked as if it would continue to do so. Then, Xi favored what was known as “wolf warrior” diplomacy: the aggressive defense of China’s national interests against what Chinese envoys portrayed as foreign hostility, especially that of the U.S. 

Under that diplomatic regime, Xi emphasized that liberal democracy was too weak to face the twenty-first century. The speed and momentous questions of the new era called for strong leaders, he said. In early February 2022, Russia and China held a summit after which they pledged that the “[f]riendship between the two States has no limits.” 

Things have changed. 

The U.S. has emerged from the coronavirus pandemic with a historically strong economy, while China’s economy is reeling from a real estate bubble and deflation at the same time that government crackdowns have made foreign capital flee. This summer, Xi quietly sidelined Qin Gang, the foreign minister associated with wolf warrior diplomacy, and in October, he replaced Defense Minister General Li Shangfu, who is under U.S. sanctions for overseeing weapon purchases from Russia. 

Indeed, China has also been quietly pushing back from its close embrace of Russia. Just weeks after their February 2022 declaration, Russia invaded Ukraine in an operation that Russian president Vladimir Putin almost certainly expected would be quick and successful, permitting Russia to seize key Ukrainian ports and land. Such a victory would have strengthened both Russia and China at the same time it weakened Europe, the United States, and their allies and partners. 

Instead, Ukraine stood firm, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and allies and partners have stood behind the embattled country. As the war has stretched on, sanctions have cut into the Russian economy and Putin has had to cede power to Xi, accepting the Chinese yuan in exchange for Russian commodities, for example. This week, Alberto Nardelli of Bloomberg reported that the European Union is considering another round of sanctions, including a ban on the export of machine tools and machinery parts that enable Russia to make ammunition. 

In a piece at the Center for European Policy Analysis today, Julia Davis, who monitors Russian media, noted that Russia lost an extraordinary 997,000 people between October 2020 and September 2021, even before the war began. Now it is so desperate to increase its population that its leadership claims to have stolen as many as 700,000 Ukrainian children and is urging women to have as many children as possible.  

Holly Ellyatt of CNBC noted that to the degree they even mentioned it, Russian media sniped at the Biden-Xi summit, but it was hard to miss that although Russian president Putin was not welcome to attend, Xi came and engaged in several high-level meetings, assuring potential investors that China wants to be friends with the U.S. Also hard to miss was Xi’s pointed comment that the China-U.S. relationship “is the most important bilateral relationship in the world.” 

Going into this summit, then, the U.S. had the leverage to get agreements from China to crack down on the precursor chemicals that Chinese producers have been shipping to Latin America to make illegal fentanyl, restore military communications between the two countries now that Li has been replaced, and make promises about addressing climate change. Other large issues of trade and the independence of Taiwan will not be resolved so easily. 

Still, it was a high point for President Biden, whose economic policies and careful investment in diplomatic alliances have helped to shift the power dynamic between the U.S. and two countries that were key geopolitical rivals when he took office. Now, both the U.S. and China appear to be making an effort to move forward on better terms. Indeed, Chinese media has shifted its tone about the U.S. and the APEC summit so quickly readers have expressed surprise. 

Today, Biden emphasized “the unlimited potential of our partnerships…to realize a future that will benefit people not only in the Asia-Pacific region but the whole world,… [a] future where our prosperity is shared and is inclusive, where workers are empowered and their rights are respected, where our economies are sustainable and resilient.” 

Biden and administration officials noted that companies from across the Asia-Pacific world have invested nearly $200 billion in the U.S. since Biden took office, creating tens of thousands of good jobs, while the U.S. has elevated its engagement with the region, holding bilateral talks, creating new initiatives and deepening economic partnerships. 

Today, Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, an economic forum established last year as a nonbinding replacement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership former president Trump abruptly pulled out of, had agreed on terms to set up an early warning system for disruptions to supply chains, cooperation on clean energy, and fighting corruption and tax evasion.

In a very different event in San Francisco today, a federal jury convicted David DePape, 43, of attempted kidnapping and assault on account of a federal official’s performance of official duties for his attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul with a hammer on October 28 of last year, fracturing his skull. 

DePape’s lawyers did not contest the extensive evidence against him but tried to convince the jury that DePape did not commit a federal crime because he did not attack Pelosi on account of Representative Pelosi’s official position. Instead, they said, DePape had embraced the language of right-wing lawmakers and pundits and believed in a conspiracy theory that pedophile elites had taken over the country and were spreading lies about former president Donald Trump. 

DePape told jurors he had come to conspiracy theories through Gamergate, a 2014–2015 misogynistic online campaign of harassment against women in the video game industry, which turned into attacks on feminism, diversity, and progressive ideas. Trump ally Steve Bannon talked of pulling together the Gamergate participants behind Trump and his politics. 

Also today, a subcommittee of the House Ethics Committee set up to investigate allegations against Representative George Santos (R-NY) issued its report. The Republican-dominated committee found that Santos had lied about his background during his campaign and, furthermore, that he appears to be a serial liar. Those lies also “include numerous misrepresentations to the government and the public about his and his campaign’s financial activities.” 

That is, the committee found, Santos defrauded his campaign donors, falsified his financial records, and used campaign money on beauty products, rent, luxury items from Hermes and Ferragamo, and purchases at the website Only Fans. The subcommittee recommended the Ethics Committee refer Santos to the Department of Justice, and “publicly condemn Representative Santos, whose conduct [is] beneath the dignity of the office” and who has “brought severe discredit upon the House.” 

Santos says he will not run for reelection.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Jenna Coleman on DVD/Blu-ray: a quick reference

I last did this list a couple years ago, which sadly is an indication of the move away from permanent physical media releases, making collecting a Jenna Coleman library a bit of a challenge (though there's more out there than you may think!)

So time to update for September 2023. Courtesy spoiler break first...

As I am in Canada this list is primarily for North American releases but I acknowledge the UK where known to differ. As of September these are Jenna's shows known to be on DVD, either currently or out of print. Corrections welcome. List does not include bootleg/unofficial releases.

Waterloo Road Series 5: UK only DVD; Jenna's episodes were officially put on Youtube internationally. Season 1 came out on DVD in North America back in 2012, but no sign of the others.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Titanic (TV miniseries)

Dancing on the Edge

Doctor Who: Obviously, though with Disney+ now distributing nuWho it remains to be seen if this continues. Some of the shorts featuring Clara/Jenna, such as Five(ish) Doctors Reboot and Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide, are only in special sets like The Matt Smith Years as far as I know. I can't recall if the 2013 Proms (including the golden ticket sketch) has appeared on North American DVD or Blu-ray.

Death Comes to Pemberley: North American DVD is reportedly the PBS edit, which may differ from UK version. I haven't seen any comparison done with the UK version.

Me Before You: sadly, I see this one a lot in Wal-Mart remainder bins

Victoria: Series 3 is difficult to find and might only be on DVD in North America, but Series 1 and 2 are widely available on DVD and Blu-ray and I've seen DVD box sets of all 3. The North American DVD/Blu-rays have the episodes as they aired on ITV and so do not include the extra scenes added for the PBS broadcast and also lack many of the bonus features of the UK releases; on the other hand, the DVD of Series 3 has the unedited Christmas special, which was edited down quite a bit by PBS (eliminating the entire "Victoria's sexy painting" subplot). I believe in the UK the special was released on its own DVD. I've heard the PBS edits are, or were, available for streaming in the US on the PBS website, but I haven't been able to confirm (which is a shame as there are some cute Jenna moments in the "bonus scenes").

Thunderbirds Are Go: Jenna did a guest voice in Season 2. It's had a DVD issue in the UK, but in North America it's only available on streaming.

The Cry: Only got a DVD release here (UK got a blu-ray too)

Inside No. 9: Jenna's guest appearance in series 5 is available on DVD (and maybe blu-ray) in the UK; it's only on streaming over here.

The Serpent: as it was a BBC broadcast in the UK, they got a DVD release back in 2021. Over here it was a Netflix exclusive, so at least so far, no physical release.

The Sandman: despite being a Netflix series, Season 1, which has Jenna in three episodes as Johanna Constantine, is getting a North American blu-ray in November 2023. According to Amazon UK, the release will be region-free and therefore should be playable in the UK.

---

At the present time, there is no indication of any releases for Emmerdale (given she was in hundreds of episodes, not a surprise. With the sole exception of Dark Shadows "soap operas" never get home video releases); Room at the Top (it's on streaming but given the licensing issues that nearly prevented it from being shown at all, it's unlikely to get a DVD issue anywhere); All My Sons (National Theatre Live has allowed home and school streaming but they don't do DVDs); and Corporate Monster (a short film likely only to be found on Youtube). Too early to say if Klokkenluider and Jackdaw, or the Amazon Prime-streamed Wilderness, will see DVD or Blu-ray release. The Jetty, being a BBC series, will likely get a DVD in the UK, but whether North America gets it will depend if it goes to streaming or gets picked up by the likes of PBS.

[fleurcareil]

East Quebec: Côte Nord part 2

In the morning, when I checked in for the boat excursion for a tour of the western Mingan Archipelo,, I was surprised to receive a thick lifevest-jacket as the excursion the previous day had been on a regular tourist boat... turned out that we were now braving the rough sea on a little speedboat! 😳 Needless to say that we got quite some wave-spray over us but luckily the wind dried quickly again👍.

The first island we passed by was literally covered with hundreds of seals, which quickly slipped into the water when we got closer. Very special to see, especially when a few curious ones came over to check us out 😍. I really need to buy a better camera to capture wildlife but trust me, there's many seals in the pic!

We then visited the Île aux Perroquets which is named after the many puffins which make the island its home. I've seen puffins several times before in Newfoundland and Iceland but they continue to be extremely cute with their beaks & droopy eyes 💖 (There's 3 in the top left corner of the first photo and then 6 in the last one). The island is tiny with a road from the dock to the lighthouse where you can stay overnight - mostly done by hardcore birdwatchers of which there were a few with massive telescope cameras - I should have asked them for a copy of their photos! 😂

The second island we visited was Île Nue de Mingan that has again several monoliths on the shores of a treeless, sub-artic landscape due to the high winds and drought (despite being in the middle of the sea 🤔). Same as the day before, we were greeted on each island at the dock by a Parks Canada guide who would tell us about the geology, fauna & flora and cultural history, which made it feel very welcoming and unique, especially as we were the only group that day as a result of the rough sea. At the end of the visit, the captain had fished (with a mop that they easily cling to 😁) some sea urchins for us to try, a delicious salty taste like oysters! (My mother would not appreciate 😅)

The way back to shore was tough as we were now going straight into the waves, so I arrived back at the car more wet than dry... luckily I got tons of clothes with me on this trip. 😜

An hour further west I did a pretty hike to two waterfalls on the Manitou river, which were very impressive in terms of the water volume and their surroundings (still the same skeleton boreal forest though 😂). Down & then up again lots of stairs meant my muscles were being worked!

For the rest of the day, it was a long slog of 515km driving in the rain & fog to my next stay... The sea is pretty whether it's sparkling blue on a calm day or like on this stormy day, white-capped crashing onto the shore, so it was beautiful no matter what, but the difficult driving conditions (more poignant when I passed by an overturned truck) made it very tiring. Had a quick dinner at a packed microbrewery at Baie-Comeau, thereby officially completing my Labrador loop which I had started in the same town 12 days earlier 😲🥳, and arrived at 8:30pm at a cute B&B in Portneuf-sur-Mer where the lady of the house made me a cup of tea 😊. Didn't see much attractions on this long day and although I could have taken an extra day over this stretch to visit a few more lighthouses, do coastal hikes etc, at the same time I was getting fed-up with all the bad weather and ready to move inland...

But... my very last day on Canada's eastern seaborne turned out to be beautiful once the fog had lifted during a walk on a sandbar (which was nothing special but feels good to start the day with a small walk 😄). The Haute-Côte-Nord area around the fjord of Saguenay is famous for its thirteen (!) types of whales, and Parks Canada manages two great observation centres; the Marine Environment Discovery Centre where the presentation on anemones & sea stars (touching allowed! 😃) was interrupted when a pod of 7 belugas and also two porpoises cruised by 💖, and the Cap de Bon-Désir, where people simply sit on the rocks while an interpreter answers any questions. Two mink whales were the star attraction coming up again & again in different places, but in any case, if you like me have nothing important to do, there's much worse than just soaking in the sun & staring at the sea! 😊😎

I did pull myself away eventually to drive myself over to Tadoussac, which is undoubtedly a nice village when it's not overrun by tourists, to catch the ferry across the fjord. Grocery shopping at La Malbaie where the high waterlevel in the river from the recent downpours was clearly visible, and then finally made my first dinner over a campfire since I started the trip! Glass of wine and off to bed...

Wildlife: 100's of seals, puffins, razorbills & female eiders, 2 loons and 1 porpoise (West Mingan islands), 7 belugas, 2 porpoises & 1 grey seal (Marine discovery centre), 2 mink whales, 2 porpoises, 2 harbour seals, 1 grey seal & 1 loon (Cap de Bon-Désir)

SUPs: none

Hikes: one at the Manitou waterfalls

Distance driven this week: 968km

[lazar-codes]

05/07/2023 || Day 45

LeetCode & Rambles:

Before I get started, I just want to give a quick welcome to all the new followers! I don't really provide any educational stuff (at least, not at the moment), but I do occasionally go over how I solve certain problems for projects.

After nearly a 7-day break, I'm back at it! I'm gonna use the excuse that it was a long weekend here in Canada, and immediately after I had two days of 8 and 7 hour shifts, and I just can't be bothered to use my brain after working in retail the whole day. I was actually gonna take today off, but ended up opening LeetCode on a whim and after 3.5 hours solved a hard question (the Substring with Concatenation of all Words question)! The funny thing is that I opened and read the question, then closed it and went out on a walk (and to run an errand), and on my walk back home I started thinking about how to solve it, and a few hours later it's a success! It felt even better knowing that I only found out about the sliding window technique last week, and after a few days of not touching it the algorithm came back to me pretty easily. I also remembered to use a HashMap data structure without needing a reminder; it's nice that my brain can now go "ok, I need to keep track of how many times a certain letter/value/element appears in an array/string, but don't want to keep it in a list and have O(n) while iterating over it. I know! A HashMap lets me store things in key/value pairs, and has O(1) time complexity, I'll use that!". It's a very motivating feeling, because there are a lot of times that I'll learn something, but I'll forget to actually use it/never consider using it.

Tmr I think I'm gonna sit down and slowly learn React...fingers crossed. I gotta watch a slower tutorial on Youtube so I get the big picture for it and the details on how it works/when to use it/why we should use it. But, you gotta start somewhere, right?

[nickgerlich]

Charge Out Of This

It has been a rough week on those for whom change comes slowly. It is exacerbated all the more if the change is against everything you believe to be true (even if it isn’t). Just in the last two days, we have seen people come completely unhinged over a Bud Light beer can. It all started when a special one-off can of Bud Light bearing the face of Dylan Mulvaney, the transgender woman and TikTok star, was delivered to her.

Then Kid Rock entered the chat, trying to regain relevance by—get this—buying a few cases of Bud Light, and then shooting them. I’m sure the folks at AB InBev were quaking in their boots. Oh, the irony of spending money to announce your boycott.



Oh, and never mind that Bud Light has supported the LGBTQ movement for quite a few years now, and issued its rainbow-themed aluminum bottle in the States for at least the last two years. I guess some folks missed that one, and I am pretty sure that AB InBev couldn’t care less what Kid Rock thinks or anyone else. The bottle will return this year, and a tall boy version—circulated on social media—will be available in Canada.



But I can only imagine the laughing emojis once social media picks up on the fact that Walmart plans to install EV charging stations at thousands of its stores by 2030. Beer is one thing, but EVs? There are enough other brands available that a boycott of one beer is simple. EVs being foisted upon us, as the naysayers contend, is quite another.

Naturally, the usual red herrings will be offered as evidence for why this will never work. You know. Child labor in the Congo, finite amounts of lithium, fossil fuels used to produce and deliver EVs, how well EVs perform in the cold, etc. Instead, they should be focusing on the real issues, which have always been range anxiety, price, and access to charging stations.



And it is the latter that Walmart is trying to help solve. Since Walmart’s stores are within 10 miles of 90% of the US population, these plans are huge. Of course, you would still need a Walmart app while traveling to know when you’re nearing one (especially if you really need one!).

I have said before that I am a believer in EVs at least in principle, but not just yet in terms of practicality. I need to be able to drive 750-800 miles in a day (that’s my upper limit now that I have gotten a little older), and I do not want to be fretting about charging stations, how far I can go on a charge, and how long it will take to get that charge. Put simply, I don’t fancy unexpected downtime.

But things are getting better, as evidenced by Walmart’s move, as well as news this week of a forthcoming Dodge Ram EV truck that has a range of 500 miles. Now we’re talking, and if they could put that in a van, we might just have a conversation starter.

While I applaud Walmart’s move, I am still scratching my head a bit, because their target market is among the least likely ever to buy an EV. Unless, of course, they live in California and have no choice. I agree that it is going to take commitments from heavy hitters like Walmart to help usher in the EV revolution, but the folks stopping for a quick charge may very well not be Walmart shoppers.



Then again, that may also be part of a complex marketing plan, because what else are you going to do while your car is charging? Sit there in the heat or cold? Or come inside to shop? Yeah. That same thinking helps explain why Walmart welcomes RVers to park in the outer reaches of its lots.

I’ll be watching today for my local media to post this news item to their Facebook feed. I’m sure there will be more heads exploding. It’s as predictable as the wind is out here. And as in all cases, to once again intone another of my pithy statements, if you don’t like what you see, just move along.

Now if Walmart could just get customers to return their shopping carts. Ah, but that’s a whole separate issue.

Dr “Fill ‘Er Up“ Gerlich

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