hi guys!! as you could read from the title, im leaving scratch!! im sure you could imagine why, but for me its a bit beyond the ai stuff... though that is a factor. for me, i feel as if i've been drifting away from scratch, and if you've known me, you could probably tell. i stopped being interested in collabs and stuff a while back, and, well, that was the only thing binding me to the site, basically... the only thing i actually wanted to do on it. the ai stuff is kind of just the thing that's breaking the nebulous bond, this obligation to stick around since because i've been here so long already. so, well, i guess i'm leaving! obviously, as a creator, i'm not a big fan of ai. i'm an even lesser fan of feeding an ai on the work of those who can't even understand what an ai is. i am also not a big fan of what ai does to the human brain, with the dependency that people form on it, either as a tool or a social outlet. honestly, scratch has no place for it here when it's a place for Creativity. yes, capital c. a large part of the human experience for me is creativity, making things yourself, and ai detracts from that by making things without that intent, that vision, for you. now i want to segue to myself, since i haven't been active! you might be wondering what i get up to when i'm inactive for weeks at a time! and, well, it's a lot. i've been juggling new stuff in my life, like having a girlfriend (haii @UnderMicah :3), and a lot of other personal things. i've been learning about myself, juggling my living situation, and indulging in other hobbies and new friends. as you might have seen, i'm transgender!! i'm a girl now... that was a big change, hehehe. things have been changing a lot, and it takes a lot of focus to deal with. well, now what. i caught you guys up to speed on everything. the only thing that i can say is that, if you need me, i'll be around! i'm the same person on most platforms, though i don't post my work often enough! it was nice spending time with everyone that was here with me. this goes out to EVERYONE: the people i first remixed with 8 years and 7 months ago, the little tweens and teenagers i trolled, my lifelong friends i've made because of this platform, the random people that just wanted to f4f. it means a lot to me that you decided to spend a bit of your time with me, to engage. scratch was a breeding ground for all of my interests and passions... be it coding, art, furry culture, queer culture, music, games... it helped me brew on those and express myself, to grow to understand and refine myself. while it does feel bittersweet to leave it behind, it really has just felt like visiting a nostalgic memory every time i've used it these recent years. and it is just that, that memory of what once was. this isn't what it used to be, and it's not really worth seeing another generation of users trying to use a dying platform. i'm seeing my childhood home slowly burn away. and so, instead of sadly sulking about it and getting stingy eyed from the smoke and licked by embers, it's time to leave the ashes behind and let it blow into the past and nurture something new. nice knowin' ya, i guess! thanks for taking the time to read this, i figured i should leave something thoughtful behind to be consumed by time. and, well besides that, thanks for the memories, people. if we meet again in the future, i hope we can be friends. -Fern
