Two Week Notice

Tldr: I have an Ao3 account under the same name where I post more frequently. please don't come here to my wattpad if you want to read my stuff. I don't like it here, and I'm not coming back.

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[ID: Wattpad has sent a private message reading: "Hello! Our system indicates that you have a story which hasn't been updated in a while. Our readers tell us that one of the biggest issues they experience is starting to read a story only to find out that it has stopped updating and has no ending. If your story is complete, you can go into the "story details page" and mark the story as complete. If your story is not complete, consider updating it as our discovery systems prefer stories that are regularly updated and are more likely to show those stories to more potential readers. This is an automated message." The sentence "Our readers tell us that one of the biggest issues they experience is starting to read a story only to find out that it has stopped updating and has no ending" has been highlight. End ID]

Wattpad has no chill coming into my private messages like that. are you going to peer pressure me into writing?? for you?? because you couldn't handle new readers?? I'm making this a problem. Wattpad is a strange creature amongst most fanfic sites, but this is partially on the readers too; thinking writers are content creators who have boundless energy, time and resources to churn out stories is kind of entitled thinking. It's an inhumane expectation to hold. And knowing these guys are COMPLAINING to Wattpad about this??

"Oh I don't care that this story was written by a human who has a life beyond their craft and the screen, I am going to complain that my favourite Miguel O'Hara/LEGO Peter Parker fic, which has been crafted with lots of time and care, has not been updated for a week!!!! burn the writer!!!!!"

Y'all you need help. practice self care. good things come to those who wait. you're certainly are not going to get the good things. but also shame on you for holding regular, normal people to such unbelievable standards. writing is for fun; forcing others to write because you can't be patient absolutely ruins the fun of writing. it's not a product for you to collect and demand constantly. it's art. you can't rush art, you kumquats.

My respect for Wattpad goes down even further for this, to be completely honest. I've said it before: writing is supposed to be FUN. if the site that has provided a haven for you to write and better your skills and connect with others through the shared love of storytelling starts to tell you that they are "updating discovery systems" and "new readers can't find you" and "you need to update your work so you can get new readers"...you've turned writing into a commodity. a product. a thing that can be found and read and discarded just as easily as you found it. you have no idea how much of the passion and love is poured into these works. and frankly it's upsetting. how are you supposed to savour the writing if the system is quite literally trying to shove new works into your face faster than you can read the description? 

part of the fun, especially on sites like on Ao3, is to go against the tide and MANUALLY FIND the stories you want to read. That makes the reward that much more sweet, so hard-earned. You FOUND the thing that gives you joy, rather than having it plop right into your lap.

But I'm not hear to debate how you should read your fanfics. That's not what this is about. This isn't about Wattpad, or entitled readers, or the joy of writing, or shitty corporates trying to commodify everything they can get their hands on and leaving creators dry and empty with not an ounce of respect left to spare. 

It's about me. I'm signing my resignation letter. I'm not going to be writing or posting on Wattpad anymore, but I'll leave all my works here regardless. I will be over on Ao3 (DemigodOfAgni), which I have found to be a more expressive (and, frankly, better) tool for storytelling, and tumblr (demigod-of-the-agni), where you can find my art, catch up with me and talk about the stuff I've been up to (I have so many au's, you guys. it's unbelievable).
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I'm not annoyed at you guys, those who read my stuff. You've been nothing but kind to me and I appreciate every single one of you. I do get notifications of you going through my works, giving me a star or leaving me a comment or adding a work into your reading lists — I know. And that means a lot to me, to know that my stuff can click with a person every now and then, but Wattpad just Isn't that kind of place for me anymore.

To echo what I said last year after I graduated: I do genuinely mean it when Wattpad provided a space for me to grow. I do credit the good that it's done me, but I still have a lot more growing to do. I have a lot of things I want to be able to do soon, so. goodbye, wattpad? 

- Agni