Can I Walk You Through a Hypothetical?

In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for a beloved character, relationship or fandom.

Welcome to a few paragraphs of me absolutely going gaga over Agatha All Along.

First, let's get some of the technical details squared away. Yes, AAA is part of the MCU; no, you do not need to watch/know everything that came before the show to understand it. Honestly, the only show that is relevant to it is WandaVision, and while I don't necessarily view WandaVision as required watching, Agatha All Along is WandaVision's spiritual sequel, and a background definitely adds to the fun.

What is AAA about?

Agatha All Along catches up with the de-powered Agatha Harkness three years after the end of WandaVision. Magic-less Agatha has just broken out of the spell Wanda put her under and finds herself vulnerable to coming threats, ie. The Salem Seven. Her only chance at survival is to gather a coven of witches to walk the Witches' Road with her so she can get her magic back. The catch? The road is full of trials the coven must complete or else they die. Think high-stakes escape room games.

Who are the witches that make up Agatha's coven?

Here is where the fun lies. Personally, I loved that none of the members of the coven were suped-up witches. We have Jen, who is bound, leaving her just as magic-less as Agatha; Alice, who isn't that sure she believes in her magic or not; Lilia, who's been around for centuries but has also been a hermit for so long she's lost the connection to her magic; Mrs. Hart, not even a witch; Teen, who is a teen; and Rio, Agatha's ex, who might be scary or crazy or a little bit of both. This is definitely an Underdog team who has to learn to work with each other and to work around the amount of actual magic they have at a given time. There's a lot of creativity at play here when it comes to finding solutions, and less of the usual generic Marvel power blasts flying around.

Why should you give AAA a chance?

The MCU hasn't been this good in a while guys! And I say this as someone who loves the MCU. Because when the MCU is good, it's good. When it's story-focused and character-focused and less fight-focused, it's great! And this show is great. It's also just really, really entertaining TV. And the tunes are catchy as hell. There's an entire album's worth of versions of The Ballad of the Witches' Road floating around Spotify, and yes, we needed all of them.

Snowflake Challenge #6: Share your favorite piece of original canon.

I like to do something special every halloween for myself, and kept away from spoilers so that I could binge Agatha All Along on Oct 31st. I absolutely loved it! It was fun from beginning to end and definitely one of the most re-watchable MCU projects in years!

To be fair, I am biased towards the witchier side of the MCU, but even still, AAA really surprised me. For one, it was a show about magic where most, if not all of the coven couldn't do magic for one reason or another. And it made it so much more interesting to see how they made it past the trials using their creativity and wits. 

The dialogue was very snappy, and not in the forced way that seems to be prevalent lately in the MCU. And the attention to detail, all those little bits that happen in the background that make the re-watch fun. As for the Lilia-centered episode, that was just good TV. Really good TV. I absolutely love that episode from beginning to end. Patti LuPone, ah! That delivery of "I loved being a witch" reached a part of my heart I didn't even know existed. 

I also liked that the show had stakes. I feel that's been missing for a while now in the MCU, probably since Infinity War, and stakes are important. The heroes can't just win every time. And without a scratch at all. What's the point, really. 

I also like that it was clear about the stakes. Nothing happened off-screen to make things ambiguous (DSMoM, I'm looking at you). Nothing was irritatingly confusing (Loki Season 2, I'm looking at you) and motivations were pretty clear. There were limits to what characters could do. Magic wasn't a one-stop solution at all, and using it came with a price. 

And the chemistry. The chemistry made the show. So good. So very, very good. 

Down, down, down the witches' road...

Snowflake Challenge #4: Since this is the start of a new year, this challenge will be to set your own goals! Of course, we can all make large or ambitious goals, remember that small and/or short goals are also good! 

[  ] Finish Snowflake Challenge 2025. 

Last year, I only made it to Snowflake Challenge 4 before literally falling off dreamwidth for the better part of the year. So this year, I really hope I make it to the end! 

[  ] Read 52 books. 

Last year, I also wanted to read 52, and managed 36. So far, this year, I have read two. I also only recently got into audiobooks for the longer, harder reads, and it has really helped. Now when I'm doing chores, I listen to an audiobook. (Currently listening to Persuasion by Jane Austen). 

[  ] Achieve my IRL and Fandom writing goals. 

I recently got Scrivener for iOS after losing not one, but two fics last year to the void. I just have to learn how to use it lol. 

[  ] Get back into yoga. 

Slowly, but hopefully surely. I've been having some knee pain and I'm concerned about my mobility. 

[  ] Organize my IRL space.

I want to make my space more comfortable. And I want to be more economical about my space. 

[  ] Journal more consistently, common place more consistently.

Part of what I'm keeping track of are all the little things I use for body care and skin care. I love taking baths and getting all comfy, but I also want to keep track of how much stuff I'm using so none of it goes to waste and I don't end up buying items I already have. 

Snowflake Challenge #2: In your own space, talk about your fannish origin story. 

The original X-Men trilogy is my fandom origin story. I shipped Rogue and Pyro hard after watching X2, then read some fanfic online. After, I kind of fell away from fandom in general. Years later the MCU started, though I barely kept up with it. I watched The Avengers because everyone was watching it at the time and because I liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and that was it.

Then—Elizabeth Olsen was cast as Wanda Maximoff and suddenly I had to see Avengers: Age of Ultron just because, which, as I'm typing this, makes me think my fandom days started when I was barely in grade school and addicted to Full House and the Olsen twins. This is starting to sound like Six Degrees of Fandom Separation, which makes me laugh, but it is what it is. Plus I like witchy fandom things.

So, okay, Wanda Maximoff the character is the reason I watch Captain America: Civil War. At this point in time, I have yet to see Captain America: Winter Soldier (yes, my viewing timeline was all over the place), so Civil War becomes my introduction to the character Bucky Barnes. And that short little scene, barely seconds, that took place within the airport battle, where Wanda saves Bucky from T'Challa...Okay. That was my second fandom awakening. I got crumbs—crumbs!—from the MCU, then went on AO3 and found that it was a rare pair. After devouring what was available, I started writing stuff too. And here we are. 

IRL, after Civil War came Avengers: Infinity War, which really cemented me as an MCU fan. That film was an experience. I backtracked and watched everything that came before it, and I'm still here watching everything that's come out since. I like seeing where the characters currently are in their universe. I like that there are gaps between appearances where you can let your imagination play out.