2024 Snowflake Challenge #5

Challenge #5

Search in your current space, whether brick-and-mortar or digital. Post a picture (a link to a picture will be fine!) or description of something that is or represents:

1. Something your favorite character would like
One of the problems with being so multifandom is that, I am not sure who my favorite character is, like, no one particular character comes to mind. According to vexed_wench, my favorite character is Alfred Pennyworth. I think he would appreciate my very clearly labeled storage system and that I have sewing kits hidden throughout the house. My mother heard what I was doing and started shouting out Dean Winchester related things, so I will add the assorted bottles of whiskey in the laundry room. (We keep all the alcohol in a cabinet in the laundry room. Also, Bobby is actually my favorite Supernatural character, but I think this works for both.) And just because I feel like Iroh needs a shout out, I think he would appreciate my very assorted collection of teas.

2. Something that makes you laugh
The gifs from Vexed that regularly grace my phone.

3. A fandom place you would like to visit
Okay, technically, there are a few things I could use for this, but every time I found one, my brain went, "No, not there, you'll die." So, I'm skipping this one. (Though my mother has decided to help me with this scavenger hunt and brought me my Stargate SG-1 DVDs when she heard what question I was on.)

4. A fandom creator (pro or not) you'd like to meet
My brain interpreted this in too many ways. If we are talking a creator that created a fandom, I am going with my Emotional Support Demon plushie. I was so happy to get one of The Click’s plushies after missing out on Cliccy Kitties 1 and 2, and both runs of Mango. (I also got the keychain sized versions of the Emotional Support Demon and Mango last year.) If we are talking a creator in a fandom that creates fandom things, I have the print out of an email, for collage purposes, of confirmation of tickets I bought for a virtual burlesque show I went to a few years ago. One of the show’s featured performers was a writer/cosplayer/performer/make-up artist/trans & chronic illness advocate/comic enthusiast/goblin rogue I really appreciate. But honestly the idea of meeting anyone is terrifying.

5. Something you find comforting
Oden the Peccary Pig of the Squishmallow Desert Squad. According to his bio, he loves building intricate sandcastles. All I know is petting the fluff on top of his head helps me sleep.

6. Something from a favorite TV series or movie from your childhood
When I was a baby, my sister made me a Popple blanket from a kit as part of her sewing class.

7. A piece of clothing you love
My red "DAMNIT BRUCE, WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF ROOMS" T-shirt. It was an early bit of Panda Redd merch that, sadly, most of the lettering has come off of. I went to buy a sticker with the saying, but when he switched shops recently, it was not part of the old designs he brought over.

8. A book or song with a color in the title
There are literally thousands of books in my house and I frustratingly could not find one with a color in the title. So, I turned to my music collection and found "Inked in Red" by Vision video and "Welcome to the Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance at pretty much the same time.

9. Something only someone in your fandom would understand
I guess my letterman's jacket. It’s maroon with grey sleeves and a grey hood. The emblem on the left side of the chest is a “15” in the center of the “flame” design that surrounds an anti-possession tattoo and the back has a W with a black Chevy impala threaded through it with, “There’ll be peace when you are done” around it. I’ve worn this thing almost every day for almost (?) 4 years now. The most common comment I get is people shouting “cool jacket” at me. I also get a lot of knowing nods from people I assume are Supernatural fans and it’s started a lot of unexpected conversations about Supernatural. However, it has just as often gotten people coming up to me asking what sport I played, wanting to try to start conversations about cars, asking what religious organization I belong to, or just “what does 15 mean?”

tea review [Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy]

Name: Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy
Brand: Yogi Tea
Type: black/yerba mate/herbal/green tea blend
Tea bag

Notes: I had this at a friend's house and it didn't get a chance to brew long enough. (My friend is in the early stages of dementia and letting tea brew for longer than a minute now gives her anxiety, but she did allow me to let it brew until my water at least turned tea colored.) Even with that, it gave me a nice subtle pick me up, but I didn't really get any of the citrus flavor I was hoping for. I would try it again, if given a chance.

Rate
Apperance: 8/10
Aroma: 8/10
Flavor: 6/10

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

2024 Snowflake Challenge #6

Challenge #6

In your own space, share a favourite piece of original canon (a show, a specific TV episode, a storyline, a book or series, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

It was really hard to pick something, but I am going to go with a mystery from the 1950s live action Superman series, Adventures of Superman - Why can’t Jimmy stay home alone?

This is an issue that pops up repeatedly throughout the six seasons of the series. I know that the real reasons are “the plot necessitates it” and that, despite being an adult character, Jimmy Olsen was also a stand in for the children viewers, generally having the same problems and limitations they would have and they would never be allowed to stay home alone. But it’s still kind of fascinating.

They establish from the beginning that Jimmy is, in fact, an adult. His age is a bit in question as continuity was not something this show was particularly concerned with. Most of the time that his age comes into question, its simply left at under 21, (I tend to think of him as 19/20), but there is an episode in the last season that Clark confirms that Jimmy is 22, for at least that episode. He has a full-time job. He travels alone for both pleasure and work. He owns his own car. He goes places like baseball games, nice restaurants, and double features alone. The one time his mother is concerned he stayed out late, wasn’t because he was out late, but because he doesn’t normally stay out that late (after 1am) without checking in. There is even at least one episode (possibly two) where he briefly has his own apartment. Jimmy very much has the social markers and responsibilities of an adult, even with the child stand in coding.

All that being said, he does live with his mother the vast majority of the series, which isn’t unusual (they never establish what happened to Jimmy’s father), but every time his mother goes out of town, Jimmy has to stay with someone. Of the three times this is an important plot point, two of them he stays with Clark and the other, he housesits for an elderly friend of his mother’s who is also out of town at the same time.

These differences are kind of important. When he stays with Clark, he kind of becomes Clarks little temporary “wife” – he does all the cooking and they talk about him doing at least part of the cleaning, on top of just taking care of himself. Now, Jimmy’s cooking skills are pretty basic, but he has them and there are no mishaps regarding anything his domestic endeavors or taking care of himself. More importantly, when he is housesitting, he is completely alone in that apartment. He does not know the neighbors and no one is scheduled to check on him. The only reason anyone does is because Jimmy has been unwittingly placed in the middle of an art theft ring and the noises they make at night freak him out, so he calls Clark to come over.

So, he is in fact capable of taking care of himself, and unless his mother really hates her friend for some reason, trustworthy enough to live alone for at least short periods of time.

Which all begs the question, what exactly did he do? He had to have done something for his mother to not let him stay home alone and knowing Jimmy, it could have really been anything. I mean the man accidentally created an anti-gravity formula while trying to bake a chocolate cake.

It’s one of my favorite fandom mysteries to ponder.