TW for sensitive topics such as mentions of Gr0om!ug (Upside-down N). Many of you may be wondering: "How did you join three weeks ago and already know about gens right off the bat?" Well, I've actually known about it since like, Flurryclan and I think it was something like Crustaceanstar or something? But at the time, me and my ex-friend (They moved, and we don't really talk anymore) had school scratch accounts, while my ex-friend, let's call them Sugarfly, had another one separate from school to do GENS on. Sugarfly had yapped to me about it nearly everyday and wanted me to join as well, but at the time I wasn't very interested in Warrior Cats, so I didn't really pay any mind to it. That was, until I noticed Sugarfly becoming a lot more distant and glued to their devices. One day I asked Sugarfly if there was anything wrong, if I did anything wrong, and they had told me nothing was wrong, that they had just made a new friend. Online. I had left it at that, as I didn't wish to pry, and about a week later curiosity got the best of me, and I went on scratch without an account and looked up my Sugarfly's user, only to see that their comments were flooded with this "Friends" messages. This is when I became sick to my stomach. I remember seeing the messages consisting of pet names, needy messages, guilt tripping Sugarfly for being offline for even 5 minutes, asking what Sugarfly looked like IRL, ect. Upon closer inspection of the account, I realized this "Friend" was 17, while Sugarfly, at the time, was much younger. This person was apart of the GENS community. I told Sugarfly they were being Gr0ow3d (Upside-down M), but they got VERY defensive and said some awful things to me, telling me that if I told anyone, they'd stop being my friend, which, at the time I was intimidated by, as Sugarfly was my only friend. My parents wouldn't let me use scratch (This was after our school stopped using scratch), so I couldn't report it, but I'm assuming someone did, as a few weeks later I learned the "Friend's" account had been IP banned. Unfortunately, it was too late by then. The "Friend", had managed to lure Sugarfly 0ffs!t3, which I learned by looking over their shoulder once. I finally caved and told Sugarfly's counselor, who then told their parents. Sugarfly's parents forced them to delete their scratch account and then took their devices. A few months later they moved shortly after the end of summer and I had never really heard from Sugarfly again, but this is one of the things that left me hesitant to join GENS even further. It wasn't until 3 weeks ago I decided that it seemed really fun, thinking back to the things Sugarfly had mentioned, and that not everyone is a bad person and that I shouldn't let my fear of it stop me. I'm not saying GENS is a bad or dangerous place, otherwise I wouldn't be here, I'm bringing some light to the situation. I'm loving GENS already, as it seems like a very nice place!
Disclaimer: I can't really remember Sugarfly's old user, but nor will I be sharing it. I do not have permission to do so, since I am no longer in contact with them. I also do remember the "Friend's" user, but since they are banned, I feel no reason to share that. Please be safe online.
