Freedom '26
[remake of "Freedom '90" by George Michael]
On January 2, 2026, Andy and I made the decision to leave DeviantArt. There’s a long list of reasons behind that choice, but none of them matter as much as this one truth: platforms built on engagement, metrics, and constant visibility burn creators out.
DeviantArt functions like social media whether it admits it or not, and that model is especially brutal for sensitive, neurodivergent introverts who are there to make things, not to play social games. We don’t want to chase relevance, manage an audience, or produce endless daily content just to appease an algorithm. We want to create when we have something to say, share it on our own terms, and let the work stand without being flattened into numbers. This songfic is part of that letting-go.
(Note: "I don't belong to you, and you don't belong to me" is referring to DA here, and "I will not give you up" etc is addressed to Andy. Obviously.)
DeviantArt functions like social media whether it admits it or not, and that model is especially brutal for sensitive, neurodivergent introverts who are there to make things, not to play social games. We don’t want to chase relevance, manage an audience, or produce endless daily content just to appease an algorithm. We want to create when we have something to say, share it on our own terms, and let the work stand without being flattened into numbers. This songfic is part of that letting-go.
(Note: "I don't belong to you, and you don't belong to me" is referring to DA here, and "I will not give you up" etc is addressed to Andy. Obviously.)
I won't let you down, I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It's the one good thing that I've got
I won't let you down, so please don't give me up
Because I would really, really love to stick around
Oh, yeah
Heaven knows I was just an art boy
Didn’t know what I wanted to be (didn’t know what I wanted to be)
I was chasing every hollow small version of joy
And I guess they said that was enough for me (said that was enough for me)
To win the race, a prettier face
Big numbers in a rigged-ass place
On your dopamine machine (dopamine machine)
But today the way I play the game is not the same, no way
Think I’m gonna get me some happy
I think there's something you should know
(I think it's time I told you so)
There's something deep inside of me
(There's someone else I've got to be)
Take back your picture in a frame
(Take back your singing in the rain)
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the likes do not make the man
All we have to do now
Is to take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you, and you don't belong to me, yeah-yeah
Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (I will not give you up)
Freedom (gotta have some faith in the sound)
You've got to give what you take (it's the one good thing that I've got)
Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (so please don't give me up)
Freedom ('cause I would really)
You've got to give what you take (really love to stick around)
Heaven knows we sure had some fun, boy
What a kick just a “buddy” and me (what a kick just a “buddy” and me)
We had every clout-chasing clone voice on the run, boy
We were caught up in a fantasy (caught up in a fantasy)
We won the race, got out of the place
Burned ourselves just to keep the pace
For the algorithm’s feed (algorithm’s feed)
But today the way I play the game has got to change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
Now I'm gonna get myself happy
I think there's something you should know
(I think it's time I stopped the show)
There's something deep inside of me
(There's someone I forgot to be)
Take back your picture in a frame
(Don't think that I'll be back again)
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the likes do not make the man
All we have to do now
Is to take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you, and you don't belong to me, yeah-yeah
Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (I will not give you up)
Freedom (gotta have some faith in the sound)
You got to give what you take
(it's the one good thing that I've got)
Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (so please don't give me up)
Freedom ('cause I would really)
You got to give what you take (really love to stick around, to stick around)
Well, it looks like the road to Heaven
But it feels like the road to Hell
Well, I know which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Generate another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you don't kiss ass, they notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last
That's what you get (that's what you get)
That's what you get (I say that's what you get)
I say that's what you get (for changing your mind)
That's what you get for changing your mind
That's what you get
That's what you get (and after all this time)
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the likes do not make the man
All we have to do now (oh, and)
Is to take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me, yea-yeah
Freedom (oh)
Freedom
(My) freedom
You've gotta give for what you take
Freedom
(I'll hold on to my freedom)
Freedom
(My) freedom
You got to give what, to give what, give what you take
Yeah!
You got to give what, give to what to give
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be
Lose the face now
I've got to live, got to live, got to live
