Author's Note
Rotation
Blossom stared blankly through the window. Dark clouds blanketed the neighborhood, threatening a torrential downpour at a moment's notice. The seasons were changing. Halloween was near, but there was little joy to be found in the approaching holiday. All the puff could think about was the bygone era of her youth. The professor was gone. She and her sisters were one shared birthday from their thirties. Where had everything gone wrong? Why had life turned them down such an apathetic road...?
"You okay, Bloss?" Sonic inquired, noting her lack of interest in the environment surrounding her.
"Yeah, I'm-"
The protector of Townsville stopped, realizing how automated her response sounded. Why was she lying? She was in a safe environment with friends and family who understood her. There was no reason to hide her true emotions - not anymore.
"No...No, I'm not okay. I'm not okay at all."
Sonic smiled. At first glance, it seemed odd, but the longer Blossom stared, the more she could make out its subtleties. It was a smile of understanding, as though he'd been waiting to hear those words for centuries.
"Come on. Let's talk."
The hedgehog led Blossom to the TV where her sisters and Twilight were playing Final Fantasy. The pixelated mesh of text and colors filled the puff with nostalgia. More than anything, she longed for one last day in the comforting arms of her childhood. Just one more...
"She's ready, guys."
"About time," Buttercup stated, "I've been waiting to get this shit off my chest too long already."
Blossom scratched her head, confused by the group's reaction.
"You guys knew?" she questioned.
"Things ain't felt right since 2013. It was gonna catch up sooner or later."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Same reason as you: didn't see any point."
"All this time, I thought I was the only one."
"We all fell apart when the professor died. Truth is though, things started sucking even before that."
"I joined relatively late into proceedings, and even I know how you guys feel," Twilight offered, "The first couple years were fun, but now...Everything feels kind of empty..."
"It's just...I miss the days when metal, rap, shitty movies, video games, and junk food were the be-all end-all of life," Blossom began, "People actually talked to each other. We established meaningful relationships with one another. For a short window of time, we transcended social boundaries. Cliques as we knew them simply ceased to exist. We were closer than ever to becoming a unified species, even with all the chaos going on at the time. There was still a sense of hope among the general population. It's completely gone now. Even before this era of disease and political division, there was a steep decline in the way we interacted with each other. No one wants to engage or be an active participant in society anymore. The world's changed, and I don't think it's been for the better."
"I know what you mean," Twilight replied, "A decade ago, people making stuff online were lively and full of energy. There was this sense of unrestrained creative freedom. The energy was arguably as infectious as being around people in real life. Even that's gone now. It's been replaced by this overwhelming sense of dread. It's like nobody wants to do anything anymore, but we don't have a choice. We've been ensnared by technology to the point watching people break down is a normal part of daily life."
"The internet went from being a platform of creative expression to a job. There's a difference between doing something you enjoy and doing it because you have to survive. Desperation drained the life out of everything. To quote Buttercup, it's fucking depressing."
"You forgot something." the green puff cut in.
"What?"
"The copyright enforcement. Back then, you could blare music in the background and record your friends without it being awkward or weird. It was like a party just celebrating the fact we were alive. Politics bitch-slapped the life out of everything and totaled cyberspace as a whole. Everything is fucking boring now. Game devs cut shit out of their games and make you pay extra for DLC. Alternately, they're broken and buggy to the point of being unplayable or just flat-out bad. Movies suck ass now, and not in the fun, stupid way like when we were kids. Hell: back then, there were still good ones coming out. Now all we get's rehashed comic book plots and remakes."
"It's not just entertainment. At some point, the whole fucking world fell to pieces. Even neighborhoods that were relatively safe ten years ago are seeing upticks in murder and gang violence. Kids are either hooked on narcotics or suffering horrific abuse at the hands of people they trust. It'd be better to assume the world's become boring, dangerous, and as much as I hate to admit it, mentally undernourished. Basic critical thinking skills are painfully lacking, especially when it comes to online discourse. Reading comprehension's gone completely down the drain. Everyone's been disconnected from anything remotely resembling common sense. What's worse is, I can't tell whether it's by design or if we really just don't care anymore."
"Probably a combination of both."
"I held off saying anything because complaining won't change the outcome, but it's all I can think to do because..."
"You don't know how to fix it." Twilight finished.
"What can a group of washed up celebrities do? When we were at the peak of our popularity, we might've had a chance to change things, but how were we supposed to know things would get this bad?"
"I wouldn't necessarily say we're washed up," Sonic argued, "But our names have definitely suffered being dragged through the mud."
"There's always a way to make a difference," Twilight assured, "We can always volunteer or organize events. Take video stores for example. They're basically non-existent at this point because of streaming, but there's an untapped market for movies not available on those services. Buttercup mentioned a while back she couldn't find any of the movies you used to watch growing up. If we were to get ahold of physical copies and keep them in good shape, we could rent them out around town. Same for retro games, comic books, novels, manga: you name it. You find a niche enough market, there's a dedicated following willing to invest. On a more serious note, there's hospitals where we can visit the sick and elderly, animal shelters, offices and shelters for abuse victims, open mic nights where we can jam for people and get our message out. There's all sorts of stuff we can do. We could write our own books and make our own movies if we really wanted to."
"Huh. Ya know, I never thought about it like that."
"Odds are, we're not the only people who feel this way. Life can push anyone down with enough pressure. We're just a small drop in an ocean of billions. We can't out-muscle life, so we have to out-think it. When we start adopting a mind over matter mentality, the opportunities become virtually limitless."
"Ya know, hearing that makes me feel a lot better. I actually feel kind of...Good...Holy crap..."
"Our heads were always our most powerful weapons. We just forgot until now."
Blossom inhaled, taking a deep breath before releasing another. It was the first time in ages her state of being elevated above crippling numbness.
"I feel like a huge weight's been lifted from my shoulders. When the professor died, we were completely lost. If it hadn't been for you guys, the mayor, and Sarah, who knows where we'd be right now. We're grateful for your help in keeping us sane."
"There's no real way to prepare for the death of a loved one, even when you know it's coming, but I suppose on the plus side, everything else is a walk in the park by comparison: especially if you know how to circumvent your limits. Hopefully knowing that can make it somewhat bearable."
"For a while, I thought I was going crazy. Just knowing you guys feel the same way helps. I feel like I can actually breathe again."
"We'll always be here if you need someone to lend an ear. People know us because our original message was positivity, heroism, unity, and harmony. It would serve us well to expand on that from this point on."
"Yeah. It's time we take back control. We've felt sorry for ourselves long enough."
"So...," Sonic concluded, "Anyone for a chili dog?"