PikaLeafGreen

White tea: 63°C - 70°C

Yellow tea: 70°C - 75°C

Green tea: 75°C - 80°C

Oolong tea: 80°C - 85°C

Black tea: 99.9°C

One last Wholesome Week to give the show our happiest goodbye, and the new “Earth-Ni” dimension our warmest welcome!

Wholesome Week 3!

JULY 1st - JULY 7th

PROMPTS | RULES

#wholesomeweek3

So I rewatched Gravity Falls for the first time after going through a rough start this year, and I remembered a short comic I really wanted to do after the series ended. HERE’S THE, UM, PROLOGUE. I GUESS. 

It’s based on the premise that Stan doesn’t immediately remember everything after the end of the show, and the comic will deal with the consequnces of him remembering Bill some years later. I’d like to continue this - it’s pretty much just my own spin on “bill comes back”, because I’m a creature of self-indulgence and you’ll never take me alive, officer.

WE’LL SEE PLEASE LOOK FORWARD TO IT??

Also if you like this you can go read my original comic Clockwork okay i’ll stop

a thing happens + two people exchanging money in the back

fourth wall breaking

“give up all your weapons” and that one guy that spends the entire evening taking his weights worth out his pockets

*a terribly loud crash* meowing/ car sirens heard offscreen

alternatively: a terribly loud crash and one of the characters going “oops” in the most casual voice

people completely missing the completely unsubtle, very visible dangerous thing in the room with them

alternatively, people absolutely seeing the completely unsubtle, very visible dangerous thing in the room with them and just not giving a shit

bonus points if it’s a beleaguered minimum wage employee who just goes about their business like “yep same shit as always”

someone pretending they don’t know another character is eavesdropping, only to casually reveal at the end of the scene that they know (*leaving* “tell tom that he can come out now” *tom drops from the ceiling in spy gear, irritated*)

choosing to deal with the villain by just leaving them alone in a room with another character

the “hands go down” trope

ok so if everythings normal, your phone camera should have a manual mode (sometimes called pro mode). in it, change the settings of the shutter lag to 20 seconds, then put the phone down on some stable, plane surface and press the photo button (usually when using your camera, the volume buttons can be used as photo button) and let the phone still for the whole 20 seconds. 

Additionally, adjust your ISO to the highest number (mimics the film used for very low light and low speed images)

And set your shutter speed to the longest time possible (on my phone it’s 10 seconds).

Leave your focus settings on Auto, and if your phone camera has a timer option, turn that on (five seconds is generally enough).

Plan your shot first, then find a place to set your phone down so you can get the image you want. The less light pollution, the better; you’ll pick up FAR more stars in your picture.

Once you know what you want to shoot, tap your screen to “focus” it, then hit the button to take the picture, set your phone down, and back away from the “tripod”. Don’t touch your phone for a good 15 seconds, just to be sure.

You will not be disappointed in the results, let me assure you.

Not even a little bit.

It doesn’t simply protect copyrighted content, it will also absolutely impact the bottom line of these big businesses too. This is how I see it.

 Here’s my current fandom:

How did I get into Kingsman? Was it because I saw a trailer for it on TV and thought, “Hey, I should see that.”

Nope. It was via online fandom content almost two years after Kingsman: The Secret Service was released. I never would’ve given it the time of day if not for gifsets and fanfic that I saw and read before I’d even seen the movie. But I saw those things first, so the movie then caught my interest, and I watched it. Legally. I ended up purchasing movie tickets for the sequel, I bought the movies on Blu-ray, I bought some official Kingsman merchandise (don’t judge me), and I even spent a little money on one of the official Kingsman mobile games (like 20 dolla, and I’m not proud of it). 

I spend a significant part of my online time interacting in the orbit of the Kingsman fandom. I look forward to the third movie (the actual third movie, not this weird prequel thing…ugh). I will actively spend money on the movie and probably some official merchandise when it’s released too. I also have an interest in the actors from the movie and legally seek out their other work (even Robin Hood, haaaa). Meaning I intend to SPEND MONEY on things related to Kingsman because fandom content keeps my interest going long beyond its official release. Fandom content is often what will catch my interest in the first place.

My fandom before Kingsman?

When I got into Marvel/Captain America, how do you think that happened?

Did I see trailers before other movies? TV commercials? Was it because of people I knew in real life who enjoyed it? Nope. I rarely see any promotional material for things because I don’t normally take in content in the traditional way (the same as most other Millennials and Gen Z, I’d wager). I knew of them, obviously, because they’re insanely popular. But I didn’t give a shit.

I didn’t give a lick about Marvel and it wasn’t until I saw some fan commentary and gifsets on Tumblr/in fan spaces of Captain America: The Winter Soldier that I was like, “Oooh, this sounds interesting. I need to watch this.”

And I watched it. Legally. And I bought it. Legally. And I went out and legally watched everything else Marvel. I bought legal/licensed Marvel merchandise. I bought Marvel comics, ffs. Do you think I cared about comics before that? At this point, I’ve probably spent a good few hundred dollars on Marvel related content. Probably closer to $1000 than $100. And that’s mild compared to some people! 

Do you think I would’ve done any of that if I hadn’t first seen fan created content that technically uses copyrighted material?

I sure the fuck would not. I would’ve gone on not caring about it at all.

My point is, Article 13 is so fucking short-sighted. Fandom and creative content made by people not associated with these businesses often makes or breaks that content. How many people do you think got into Marvel the same way I did? How many millions of dollars have people spent on Marvel related merchandise because fandom content fostered their interest way beyond “See it in the movie theatre, then go home and forget about it?” 

Here’s another example for the other end of the spectrum:

Avatar. The James Cameron movie. It made $2.7 billion at the box office worldwide. That’s nice. But does anyone really give a shit about it? I’ve never seen it. Don’t have any desire to see it or the supposed upcoming sequels. The only online content I see about it? Mocks it. There is no fandom. 

To compare fandoms on Ao3:

No one gives a shit. No one is looking for Avatar. Maybe the sequels will do well, I’m not a psychic. I have no idea. But my point is, there is no longevity there. No one is looking for official Avatar merchandise. No one is creating works about it that keeps interest going years after it was released. And continued interest means continued profit.

So Avatar did really, really well at the box office. Exceptionally well. And then?

Are people buying Avatar clothing? Books? Mugs, tchotchkes, spending thousands of dollars to meet the cast and creators at conventions? Special editions of the movies? Collector’s items?

Google “Avatar pop” and what do you think comes up? Pop! figures for the Avatar movie? Nope. There aren’t any. Are there Pop! figures for Avatar: The Last Airbender, which has a healthy online fandom presence? Yep.

Supernatural is an excellent example as well. A small show on a struggling network. Isn’t it on season 247 at this point? What do you think helped it last as long as it has? All that sweet network promo? The A-List status of its stars (hahahaha)? 

HAAAAA! NO! It’s the fucking fan content! All the fanvids, fanfic, artwork, gifsets, commentary, discussions, meta, and beyond. All those creations get seen by hundreds, thousands of people who may have never heard of it before. But it’s that kind of content that sparks an interest. If you’re in that fandom, think of the coolest piece of art (or the best fanfic), that’s what inspires people to seek something out. That’s what cultivates an interest for years, including purchasing god knows what for god knows how much money. Terribly photoshopped ~official~ promo pictures and a couple commercials ain’t gonna do it. 

Does the below image make me go “LOL WHAT? wats happening? wats going on? wat is this????”

Ya. Dark, morbid, funny. Sounds interesting…

Does the below official image make me go, “Oooh, gotta watch whatever that is!”

It sure the fuck does not. Sorry Jensen Ackles, you’re good looking and all, but nah. Can’t say I have any interest in whatever that is. WHY ARE YOU IN A CAGE? WHAT IS THAT CHAIN FOR? help me i’m scared

ANYWAY. Which content style above is going to inspire and cultivate enough of a longterm interest that people are willing to buy board games, clothing, jewelry, DVD sets, magazines, go to conventions, buy god knows what else, and spread the word about the show? For over a decade? It ain’t the second picture, I can tell you that much.

Fan content creates new fans and cultivates longterm interest which earns big businesses more money.

Fic, art, gifs, meta, and a thriving fandom that creates this community. This is the community that drives people to buy all the official merch, to support the charity events run by the actors, to spent big bucks on official conventions, and keeps people engaged with the show. Would a fandom like this have any hope of surviving without the fan-created content? If we were forbidden from creating this family online?