Fandom: God There’s Like NO Content Anymore. I Wish We Could Get More Art And Fanfics :(((

Happy belated B-day, Sonic 06

You're my favorite travesty, and the fact that this abomination of a video game happened barely six months after I was born is honestly kind of hilarious to me. I always know exactly how old my favorite Sonic game is.

I know I called you an abomination, 06, and that's cuz you are, but you might be one of my favorite games of all time, ironically and unironically. It being a buggy mess is hilarious, Project 06 being awesome is the best, and honestly if you're willing to sift through all the garbage writing execution, you can find some real treasures. Shadow's written so well that I think that's where all the budget went, Silver is a character so charming he survived to reach other, significantly better games, Crisis City is honestly such a cool and distinct concept for a fictional space, I mean, I wouldn't be writing Psychic and Empathetic if I didn't think so.

(I say "writing" as if it isn't just brainstorming I keep forgetting to put in my notes app, and flesh out into chapters that I then never remember to upload cuz my brain would rather write an entire fic and then post it instead of the usual fanfic, post chapter when it's done thing...)

Anyway, ily '06 you freak of video game nature!

Sonic 06 fanfic I was referring to btw, it's still happening, I promise! Dadow will return!

I think it’s important to remember that executive dysfunction doesn’t just apply to doing chores (work, cleaning, etc). It also makes it difficult to engage with your hobbies.

Some people don’t seem to understand that when I say that I don’t have the motivation to do something that I have said I want to do, it has nothing to do with not being interested enough in said thing. It is just that my brain is not allowing me to do it even though I want to.

Only Iblis ones. Hence the lack of obnoxious purple Lazer Llizards.

Speaking of AI in fandoms, I'd love to bring AI Fanfiction to the discussion. Because that's been eye opening. (I'm also too stupid at art to really understand how much work goes into one image.) It's serious theft, it's a robot puking back up what it's seen before and you can feel it in the writing it makes. It claims in the narration that the characters are feeling things and learning when that isn't what's happening. Nothing real is going on. And you can feel it in Every. Single. Sentence. It's honestly horrible, and I've been against it since its creation. But recently I noticed something absolutely insane and disheartening.

I'm a senior in highschool (17, going on 18), and all of the new sophomores are using AI. All of them. These 15 year olds are openly talking about their use of AI fanfic and AI fanart. And listening to them rattle on and on about how cool it is to have a way to bring these things to life via AI made me realize something. These kids aren't trying to be thieves. It's not that they lack morals, or are lazy. They haven't thought about the full implications of it, sure, but there's an underlying issue here.

They're using AI because they don't think they can make anything worthwhile themselves. And that makes my blood boil.

Something about AI is making these kids think that the only way to enjoy fan content the way they picture it in their head is to have something more "qualified" to do it. AI is telling these kids that they suck at art. That they suck at writing. And that there's nothing they can do about it. And they're just young enough to accept that.

And y'know what? They probably do suck. But that's a good thing! The best thing about fandom is the way it uses people's passion for their favorite things and turns it into skill.

We all sucked at what we do when we were younger. I sucked at grammar when I started writing. My concepts were killer but my execution was just abysmal. But my love for the original content fueled me to keep going. To keep trying and I'd say that now my writing is pretty darn good. I see such talented people draw wonderful things because fandom made them practice. Fandom constantly brings out the best in people. We're really good at these things now. We don't need a dumb robot to do it worse.

But fandom has changed. Now there's an easy way to create something without becoming a creator. These insecure kids are entering fandoms with that concept in mind. And when they see that they suck, they hit that ever present roadblock of worrying you won't get better. But now they have an out. While we all had to figure out how to get over said roadblock, they just pressed the skip button, because it was there. They skipped the most important thing you could possibly learn in life, because some a-hole made a skip button.

It's like they're sequence breaking life, missed a power up, and feel like the only way to succeed is to keep using the cheat code that got them stuck in the first place.

These poor kids, man. AI isn't just the death of creativity, it's the death of ambition, and self-esteem. These kids aren't the problem, they're the victims. Victims of this toxic mindset that AI put into their heads.

I'm starting to see AI art in fanart tags and even when they are tagged as AI art, people in the reblogs tagged it as fanart.

Let me just say this once. I don't believe AI art is fanart. The way things are, it's theft. It doesn't count. The effort that fan artists put into their works cannot be equated in value with whatever an AI generates. The works with hours of applied skill and originality and love put into them are the works I want to praise on this blog.

So that being said, if I ever reblog "fanart" that is ai generated, please send me a message or an ask and let me know so I can delete it off my blog.

today for disability pride month, i’d like to discuss something not many able-bodied people know about: ambulatory wheelchair users!

first, “what is an ambulatory wheelchair user?”

it’s a term used to describe people who use wheelchairs that can stand and or walk in some capacity. the amount a person can walk can vary greatly between ambulatory wheelchair users, some may need their wheelchair 60% of the time, some may need theirs 90% of the time.

“why would someone use a wheelchair if they can walk?”

there are tons of reasons someone who can walk might use a wheelchair, such as fatigue, balance, heart problems, pain, fainting, and many, many more. it could be dangerous for them to walk.

“isn’t that being lazy?”

nope! take shoes, for example. you *could* walk without them, but it would be painful, and could give you cuts or blisters. would you consider wearing shoes to be lazy? also, many disabilities and conditions are progressive, using a wheelchair can help slow progression and damage to your body.

so next time you see a wheelchair user move their leg, remember that ambulatory wheelchair users exist!

Is literally anyone going to be upset if I heavily base Silver's powers on Project 06 instead of the original?

Like I highly doubt anyone who even cares will end up disliking it (I mean, I have yet to be called out on my descriptions of his magic matching p06 more than the retail), but I figured I'd ask. It's not going to change very much, like at all, but I significantly prefer it.

For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about:

It would have all of the specific attacks and the updated glow and stuff.

“If you promise to stay alive just a little bit longer I promise that we are going to make this world a place worth living in by any means necessary. I ain’t giving up. I swear.” 

Spotted in Clackamas, Oregon

Shadamy week - Day 1 Festive

I'm generally satisfied with this one? So here you go I guess

Amy was beyond excited this time. She couldn't properly describe it. She just had a good feeling about it. A festival all about the prosperity and hope for the future. That new things would be discovered, and difficult problems could be fixed. Sometimes people from out of town called it New Years, and though that wasn't quite accurate, it was good enough for her.

She had a small jacket to shield herself from the cold night air. The games she would play, the things that she'd do, the people she would see, it was all so exciting!

She was most of the way there. She could see the glowing lights from behind a layer of lights. With a grin, she sped up along the path.

Only to hesitate, and stop in her tracks. Her own hesitation surprised her. It was like something was tugging on her heart, telling her not to leave it behind. Leave what behind?

She glanced around. Grass and trees surrounded her, the dirt pathway she was following beneath her feet, a grassy hill to her right. It all seemed so mundane. But it was obvious, something was here that she needed to adress.

The feeling usually came when someone needed help, or if Eggman was nearby. She saved many flickies this way.

Taking a deep breath, she relaxed and let her mind lead to whatever she needed to be.

She slowly left the path and wandered towards the green hill on her right. She felt like she was being pulled toward it. It felt natural. She needed to get to the top of the hill.

It was a tall hill, but no mountain by any means. It didn't take long to get to the top. The festival was much easier to see from the top. It was lit up like a theme park, or an outdoor arcade. She started glancing around. Looking for that something. It didn't take long to find.

Shadow was at the edge of the hill staring at the festival. His ears were pointed towards her. He definitely knew she was there, but hadn't said a thing. Was he hoping she would go away?

"Um," she started awkwardly. "Hi Shadow."

"... Hello, Rose." She waited a moment for him to continue, but he didn't. He didn't do anything to say he wanted her to stay, but he also didn't do anything to say she should leave, either.

She slowly stepped closer to him, until she was lined up next to him. On his left. He glanced at her very briefly, but ultamately decided to ignore her, and keep looking at the lights.

"So, you headed off to the festival too?" He shook his head, and she frowned. "Then why aren't you at home? What's the point of coming this close if you're not going to go in?"

When he didn't say anything she worried she might've annoyed him. The last thing he probably wanted to was to be interogated. He had never said much to her before, when they bumped into each other while saving the world. She wasn't sure why she thought it'd be different now.

But then, he took a deep breath. "Have you ever seen so much media for something that you feel you've lived through it?"

Amy gave him a puzzled look. What did that have to do with anything? "...I don't know what you mean."

Shadow thought for another second. "Say, a time period, for example."

Amy stopped to think about it. "Like how everything is about the 80s and 90s?" She asked.

"Yeah, something like that."

He didn't give her a chance to ask another question. "Once a year, at New Years, they would send up a time capsule." Amy cocked her head. 'Them'? Who was 'them'?

"Maria was excited for it every time. And I quickly figured out why. The capsule was full of movies, records, books, all from the last year. The record always had about fifty of the newest song hits. Maria loved Elvis' music. I was more sparatic with it. I enjoyed Dream Lover, Earth Angel, Pink Shoelaces... Whatever song I felt a connection to."

It was a simple story when she thought about it, but it was enthralling. Shadow never talked about his time on the ark. She listened closely as he continued.

"But, it was the movies that really connected us to the ground. Maria liked Alice in Wonderland for its color, I liked Rear Window for its intrigue. Plus... I could relate to a character forced to watch the world from a windowsill. Instead of seeing it personally."

That last sentence made her stomach sink. "Shadow..."

"Now the world has changed so much, I..." He frowned. "It's been years since I was exposed to all of it, but I still feel like... I'm trying to catch up."

Amy wanted to hug him then and there, but she didn't know if Shadow would appreciate the gesture.

"Is... Is the festival making it worse?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. His ears drooped when he said that.

She immediately started brainstorming things that might help him out. But how could she help? She can't rewind time for him! Plus, she didn't think he actually wanted that. She didn't have any experience with old technology. The only person she knew who did was her grandmother. Who owned an old record player, and hundreds of different records for it.

Shadow did just say he liked records. She wondered if she could...

"Hey Shadow?" He quirked an ear in her direction. "When you say 'records' you do mean vinyl, right? Like, record player stuff?"

He scoffed. "Of course, what else do you think was there in the fifties?"

"Just checking." He hummed and stared back at the lights. There was a slight pain in his eyes that she didn't notice before. It took a minute or two to gain the courage to ask.

"So, you don't want to go to the festival," she said.

"No."

"Then..." She took a deep breath. "How about we go somewhere else? Somewhere fun?"

He stiffened in a way that startled her. His voice, quiet. "We?" His quills got pricklier, his eyes widened slightly, his jaw clenched. As soon as it started, it vanished. His quills smoothed themselves back out, his eyes regained the apathetic look from before. The only thing still emotional was his voice. Which was shaky. "Rose..."

Was it that bad? Maybe she shouldn't have asked! He looked so horrified.

"Nevermind," she said quickly. "I get it. We hardly know each other, I-"

"Where would we go?" He said, while staring at her expectantly. She stopped. He wanted to go somewhere with her? You're really giving me mixed messages, dude!

"Well, you talking about records reminded me that my grandmother has tons of old records. She's out on vacation with my grandfather but I'm sure she'd let us borrow it for a while."

Shadow turned and stared at the ground between his feet. Thinking. Then he looked at her. "I thought you were going to the festival."

"Eh," said Amy. "I've been previous years, I can miss it this once. It's not going anywhere. You're more important anyway." And it was true, all the excitement she had for the festival was now orientated toward Shadow.

Which made her confident that the tug from earlier was for Shadow. Maybe there was even more turmoil in his mind than she thought.

Her sentence had stunned him into silence again. The same fear that he hated her response filled her stomach. It didn't last long, though. Because looking at his body language, he seemed fidgety, and his cheeks were slightly pinker that she remembered them being. Was he... Flustered?

Could you be possible that he was flustered earlier too? That could explain his shaky voice...

After a moment, he looked her in the eyes and nodded. "Just tell me where to go."

She grinned and clapped her hands together! "YES! Okay, okay, um. It's this yellow house by Acorn Street, right where-WOAH!"

She wasn't expecting such a swift movement from him, but in half a second, he was carrying her bridal style, and zooming toward her grandmother's house. It was remarkably quick, though, maybe that was redundant. Once they were nearby, Shadow slowed down to let her give him more directions. It was weird. She'd done this before. Being held in the arms of a speedy hedgehog of a hero, but Shadow was nothing like Sonic. Sonic wouldn't have slowed down for directions, he would've just tried every street until he found a house that fit her description.

And Sonic didn't hold her like Shadow was right now. Sonic would never drop her. She knew that, but his hold was far from secure, and it was very stressful. Shadow was completely different. He held her like she might break if he let go. It irraticated all the fears of falling off from the sheer speed. It was a strange mix of tranquillity and exhilaration.

It made her realize something. Something she'd always known, in a passive, subconsious, way, but never quite thought about. Shadow was his own person. He wasn't a Sonic clone, or a mindless android, he had his own wonderful personality. And as Amy looked up at his focused expression, Amy Rose became determined to find out more.

}{}{}{

Shadow heard the crunching of footsteps long before they were anywhere near him. The sound immediately soured his mood. He growled under his breath. The last this he wanted on this cursed day was for someone to bother him and his alone time.

Maybe they won't bother to check this hill, he thought to himself.

He focused back on the lights. Reds, yellows, greens, and even blues were blurring out the stars in the sky. Making it feel barren and lifeless. A stark contrast to the calm days in the ark. When they filled every window.

Lights. Lights of every color. When he was back on the ark, a blue lightbulb was merely a concept. A pipe dream. Now there were entire computers (that doubled as televisions). And you could fit them in the palm of your hand.

The festival irked him. He wasn't sure why. Something about prosperity and the future. But the future seemed to always go by too fast for him to keep up. And what good has the future ever done for him? All it seemed to do was take, and take, and take. Where's the prosperity in that? Sometimes he wished he could just- get a good taste of the past again.

It was an overly negative way to look at it. He knew that. But knowing something is irrational doesn't stop you from thinking it.

The footsteps stopped and he froze. Listening carefully.

Please just leave me alone.

After a very tense thirty seconds, the stranger did the one thing he said not to do.

He did his best to analyze the footsteps. They were different than before. Probably because they were climbing the hill. He refused to look towards where they were climbing. Maybe they would mistake him as just another patch of darkness in the forest.

As the footsteps reached the flatter part of the hill, the footsteps became more recognizable. Thick, heavy steps. Slightly off center. His insides went cold. The only person with boots that combersome was Amy Rose.

This had never happened before. He'd never been alone with her. He prefered it that way. Less likely to spill all the painfully romantic things that he felt for her. Things she didn't need to hear. Not when she was still into Sonic. Well, she never said she was still in love with Sonic, but she didn't not say it either. And he didn't dare hope.

He made a promise to himself, that if he saw Amy Rose, he would refuse to say some sappy romantic garbage. Be normal for two seconds. Please.

Amy was already atop the hill, and he could feel her stare right into his back.

"Um, Hi Shadow."

Be normal. "Hello, Rose."

She stepped closer and he felt his heartbeat speed up slightly. Something was definitely wrong with him. He spared a glance toward her, but her curious eyes met his for a moment, and he looked away. Back to the lights. At least they didn't make his heart spontaneously sparatic.

"So, you headed off to the festival too?" That stupid festival was the last thing he wanted to do. But instead of voicing all his contempt with the place, he simply shook his head.

He could still feel her eyes on him. Maybe he could talk to her a bit more than he was doing.

"Then why aren't you at home? What's the point of coming this close if you're not going to go in?"

He didn't respond to that, though it was clever of her.

He took a deep breath, Don't screw this up, Shadow. Don't say anything weird.

"Have you ever seen so much media for something that you feel you've lived through it?" Though he tried to look casual, he was worried this whole thing would weird Amy out. He certainly didn't deserve for Amy Rose to care for him.

She made the cutest face when she thought about his question. "...I don't know what you mean."

"Say, a time period for example."

Amy donned the same face as before. "Like how everything is about the 80s and 90s?"

"Yeah, something like that."

He must be cursed. Amy was always good at getting him to talk. How could you resist her when she was looking at him with the most faithful look. Like she trusted him.

He was talking, again.

"Once a year, on New Years, they would send up a time capsule." He watched her face for any excuse to stop. But she was already watching, curiously. "Maria was excited for it every time. And I quickly figured out why. The capsule was full of movies, records, and books all from the last year."

At least he wasn't outing himself as a hopeless romantic.

"The record always had about 50 of the newest song hits. Maria loved Elvis' music. I was more sparatic with it. I enjoyed dream lover, Earth Angel, pink shoelaces, whatever song I felt a connection to."

Amy was still watching him as he told his story. He couldn't be that interesting, right?

Shadow nervously continued.

"But, it was the movies that really connected us to the ground. Maria liked Alice in Wonderland for its colors, I liked Rear Window for its intrigue. Plus... I could relate to a character forced to watch the world from a windowsill. Instead of seeing it personally."

This got a reaction from her. "Shadow..." He forced himself to ignore it.

"Now the world has changed so much, I... It's been years since I was first exposed to all of it, but I still feel like... I'm trying to catch up."

Amy looked about ready to cry on his behalf. That felt like overkill in this situation, but that was something he admired about her. She wasn't afraid to have strong emotions about things.

"Is... Is the festival making it worse?" She asked. She managed to find the one question he didn't have a good answer.

"I'm not sure."

He watched Amy's face change from empathetic, to contemplative. Her eyebrows furrowing as she was thinking about something. She looked up at him again, and he had to shove down a fluttery feeling that appeared the second he looked at her. He looked back to the lights again.

"Hey, Shadow?" He turned an ear towards her. "When you say 'records', you do mean, vinyl, right? Like, record player stuff?"

He scoffed beside himself. "Of course, what else do you think was in the 50's?"

"Just checking," She muttered. That confused him. Checking for what? He resigned to this. He promised he would be normal about Rose, and he tried to refortify that by looking at the lights again. But, once again, the advanced technology he was staring at was slightly jarrring.

"So, you don't want to go to the festival," she started.

"No."

"Then..." She took a moment to find her words. "How about we go somewhere else? Somewhere fun?"

That- that broke him. "We?" They? Together? Run off to do whatever? Like, a date? A date with Amy Rose! It sounded too good to be true! And it was. It must've been! Right? There was no way it was possible! Not with the likes of him, she must've meant it platonically. He shook the foolish thought out of his mind. His quills-that he didn't know were pricked in the first place-smoothed down. And he tried to regain his composure. "Rose..." His voice was still shaking. He looked at her expression and tensed up. She seemed... scared. Had he done something scary? Did he ruin everything without even trying?

"Nevermind," she blurted. "I get it." No! She's going to leave me here? Say something! Something Intelligent! "We hardly know each other, I-"

"Where would we go?" He asked. Not perfect, but not threatening, or creepy. He could work with this.

"Well," again, she made an adorable face when she started thinking. "You talking about records reminded me that my grandmother has tons of old records. She's out on vacation with my grandfather, but I'm sure she'd let us borrow it for a while."

It was like he was finally getting reprieve from everything. Amy Rose, a taste of the past, the good part of the past, it was... Perfect. But what did she think of the whole thing?

"I thought you were going to the festival." He muttered. She handily brushed it aside.

"Eh, I've been previous years, I can miss this once. It's not going anywhere. You're more important, anyway."

'You're more important.'

'You're more important.'

'You're more important.'

How long has he been loving her on the sidelines, assuming that she saw nothing but a worse version of Sonic? But here she is, proving that wrong. Maybe he had a chance with her after all.

He shoved that thought down with the rest. Not now. We can think about it later. He'd forgotten comepletely about what was bothering him before. She was a miracle-worker. He looked her in her emerald eyes. "Just tell me where to go."

"YES!" She clapped her hands together, like she was genuinely excited for this. And he was starting to think she was. "Okay, okay, um. it's this yellow house by Acorn Street," he knew that area. "Right where-WOAH!"

He picked her up immediately, and shot off towards the street she said. After a few seconds he realized what he just did. He didn't ask, or warn her. He wasn't even subtle about this whole thing!

He glanced at her briefly. She seemed... Fine? Content, at the very least.

Note to self, don't just pick her up. That is weird. We're trying to be normal.

One day, one day, he would be able to tell her his feelings. And maybe one day, she'd reciprocate.

A/N: I grew up in America, so I was always fascinated by the festivals that other cultures have about blessing the year with good harvests and stuff. In certain parts of China, they have this blacksmith firework thing where they just straight up throw molten metal around. it's pretty sick.

Hey guys, you'll never guess what I'm working on!!!

Okay yeah it's that same dadow fic that went silent for half a year too long. But! I am working on it. Chapter 4 currently.

It's almost finished, not quite, but almost. I just want to assure you guys that I'm not ditching it or anything. Chap 4 was just a significantly more ambitious than I realized when I first decided to go the direction I did. I don't regret it at all, I think this chapter will turn out great, but it was quite the steep incline in difficulty.

If you're like me and want more Shadow as Silver's dad then please, please go check my fic out! I think it's shaping up nicely, and if it's not your cup of tea then no hard feelings!

There will be more explanations of why I disinte-vaporated for months in case you care

So my health is quite the rollercoaster, it's constantly up and down and the answer to "how are you?" depends on what day or week or hour you're asking. But generally speaking, things are getting way better. I can eat, I can sleep, I can go to school consistently, so my disappearing can be attributed to a thousand different things at any given point, but one of the more recent/significant ones is just burnout.

It was just really bad story burnout.

I dream almost every night. And every night there's a new story. My mind is so overflowing with story concepts that my subconscious leeks them into my dreams so that I feel like I told the story I want to tell.

One of my dreams was about a creature that showed up one day on national geographic and as time went on they got more prominent and started attacking the city Godzilla-style.

Another one featured a little girl who was given a locket with a vengeful spirit inside, and she must try to contain it by fighting her curiosity.

One was a Journey to the West style story, with similar writing cliches and story structure that was built to mimic the Monkey King's episodic adventures. And it worked. It felt like it could've been ripped straight from the book I grew up on.

Horror game type stories, musicals, apocalyptic survival circumstances, dating Sims I can sequence break. So when my dreams up and ghosted me, it was terrifying.

Apparently the spotty sleep and constant studying was rougher on my brain than I thought, and I just had to give it a rest. So I gave my mind some space, a couple weeks, and it recovered exuberantly.

I still don't fully know what the deal with that was, but I'm going to work with it instead of against it.

So I'm back! My fingers aren't malfunctioning, my brain is back so get ready for some more dadow fluff!!!

So... My house flooded. At least my basement, where my room is.

I'm not going to go into details, because Internet privacy and all that, but the fanfics I'm working on, I'll either publish faster, or much, much, slower. I'll do my best to keep you updated :(