Still waiting for the Snow Dog to show up.

[ByTor, Prince of Ro’den]

Welp... I've been nagged for a while to introduce myself, so without further procrastinating, I'm getting around to it.

Okay, enough of that...

Anyway, I've been a Sonic fan since the first game came out, but as a kid I was a PC gamer and didn't own a console until about, I think 95... yeah and that was a SNES I got cheap second-hand. (At least you pick up a bunch of games cheap with it that way.) Have never bought a Sega console new or a Sonic game new; (more on that later.)

Personally, I hold a Master Degree in Organizational Psychology, which I received back in '09. I'm a proud husband and father. I've been a musician since as far back as I can remember hearing my dad play the trumpet and most of all my grandfather who played everything with strings and many instruments without. I'm very eclectic in my music and listen to almost anything, but prefer a lot of progressive rock/metal and alternative rock/metal. I'm addicted to the news, documentaries and non-fiction; it drives me insane to not know wot is going on in the world. Avid coffee and cola drinker, (sugar or stevia only thank you), I adore real Mexican, Japanese, and spicy Chinese food. The only real fiction I like is Sci-Fi, (Phillip K. Dick, William Gibson, H.G. Wells, etc....), I used to be heavy into Animé, but that waned in recent year; I still love the form, but have lost interest in some of it. In my spare time I do photo restoration, I write and recently have gotten into inking and lineart. I'm a gamer and am mostly into strategy, simulation, and sandbox games; I often play with my son whenever I can.

Let's see, wot else? I had a black Burmese cat, Geauideux, who recently passed away at the age of 16; I will always miss him. Right now I have two cats who have chosen me: a calico named Akuma, and a Bombay named Kuro.

I grew up in the great Pacific Northwest, just a stone's throw from Canada; I guess that makes me multicultural. My mom got me into culture and fine literature, whilst my dad loved cartoons, so my tastes evolved as such and I got into cartoons, but ones that had deeper stories. Fast-forward to the early 1990s and as a young preteen I saw Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon preview the Friday night prior during TGIF. (I don't know if anyone remembers that, but it was a two hour block of prime time sitcoms that heralded in the weekend. They included such shows as Perfect Strangers (Balki and Cousin Larry), and Family Matters (Steve Urkel and Carl Winslow)) Anyway, I already liked the Sonic franchise already at this point, but when I saw the cartoon I was hooked. Also, a lot of the video games at the time on my PC were kind of the same storywise and in atmosphere, so it was perfect timing. Ever since then the show stayed with me and my artwork, writing and such, and I would say that all of my truly original works, including books have been inspired by SatAM.

I was ready to buy a Genesis and later the Saturn, but then Sonic CD came out... yeah. I waited patiently for them to even acknowledge SatAM and the great IP they have there, but they'd rather do their own thing. So, long story short, I don't support what I don't like, so I've never bought a Sega console new or a Sonic game new either.

Anyway, after reading many great stories, great artwork, playing the great original games and hacks as well as fan films, I've realized that I've been going to a dry well expecting water for too long, Archie and Sega are no more "true cannon" than what we, the fans have done. Everything the official channels have put out pales in comparison to what the fans have put out in the last 20+ years. And that is the reason why myself and the other members of FSoM, great best friends who I have also met through the SatAM/Sonic fandom, have made this forum, a place for artists, writers, animators, and programmers to connect, brainstorm, show off, and peer review their original works to hopefully bring the attention it deserves without the negative aspects of the Sonic fandom to beat them down.

I think that's all, so, there ya go. Take it easy and Big Blessings!

[TheRedStranger]

Do I know you? You sound familiar. XP