Winners
From Head to Toes Writing Contest
WINNERS
ANNOUNCEMENT
Hello everyone! I would first like to formally apologize for the radio silence that occurred and the delay in publishing these results. I said I would update the story feed with the judging process progress, but that didn't happen. So I would like to explain myself and be completely transparent with you all, so you're not left in the dark since that isn't fair to you. This will be lengthy, so I also apologize for that beforehand. (And if you'd like to skip the next couple of paragraphs, you're free to do so. I won't be offended.)
As most of us know, on December 18, 2017, a great man named Kim Jonghyun passed away. Waking up to that news was a huge shock for me, because he greatly impacted my life. I would not be the K-Pop fangirl that I am today if it weren't for him. I would not be a fanfiction writer and reader today if it weren't for him. I would not be on Asianfanfics today if it weren't for him. I also had the honor of seeing him perform live with SHINee as five in Los Angeles last spring and that decision to see them is retrospectively one of the best decisions I have made in my life thus far. And that's just me. He touched so many people's lives with his music, words, and love for humanity. He saved so many lives and inspired so many creative souls. He was a wonderful human being who worked hard and did well.
Knowing that he was longer with us was devastating for me. I couldn't read stories or listen to music for a week, but I luckily had friends who selflessly kept me distracted. It was too painful to be left alone as I processed the fact, even though I'm not a stranger to death. My best friend's dad, who was like a father to me when I was in elementary school, passed away during the first week of my sophomore year of university. My beautiful dog, who was the brightest light of my life, passed away during the final week of my junior year of university. And now, a man who irrevocably left his mark on my life has passed away during the winter of my senior year of university. The pain doesn't go away easily, at least not for me, and I will most likely be mourning Jonghyun's loss for a very long time. But knowing that Onew and Key are looking forward has really helped me personally, and I am doing my best to look forward as well.
So I did my best to read as much as I could after taking that week-long break. It's been busy, because soon after I had come to terms with Jonghyun's passing, I found out that my grandpa is ill. Most people have four grandparents, but I've only ever known and acknowledged my paternal grandfather and my maternal grandmother. They took care of me when I was in elementary school and it's been over ten years since I last saw either of them. So I've been scrambling to renew my passport and figure out flight plans, since my sister and I can't skip school, but we don't have aligning spring breaks either. It's been stressful, to say the least, because I don't want to be too late to see someone who made me a very happy little girl while my parents worked non-stop when I was younger. And my dad is understandably stressed, because he already lost his mother when I was in elementary school, my dog's passing hit him hard, and his father is so important to him.
It hasn't been an easy winter break, but it's time to look forward and face everything that life throws head-on. Reading your stories has been a great source of comfort and I am very thankful to all of you for joining this writing contest of mine. The idea to host this came to me on a whim one day and it wouldn't leave my brain for weeks. So I sat down and created this contest in hopes of giving back to the community that has given me a home for the past seven years. While I do have another writing contest, I always felt guilty about not being able to reward everyone. So this was my way of bypassing that limit and awarding all of the contestants who worked hard to finish their entries.
Don't let how everyone is being rewarded diminish the value of your prize. Finishing a story is a huge achievement in itself. There are hundreds of thousands of stories that are never completed, even when the finish line is right before them. So to click that box and see that green Completed status is a very big accomplishment, and I hope you all are proud of yourselves for being able to do that. I hope the monthly updates weren't too bothersome and that they helped keep you on track to finish by the deadline. I know I can ramble on about things that probably don't matter to you, so thank you for putting up with me and seeing this through until the end with me. It's been a crazy year, filled with ups and downs, but that's life. This will also be the first time I mark a writing contest as Completed and it feels bittersweet knowing that From Head to Toes is now over.
Luckily, the fun doesn't stop! As always, Shoes of a Unicorn Writing Contest is open for anyone who'd like to try a more traditional contest. It's probably the longest-running writing contest on Asianfanfics and I hold it very close to my heart. You're free to jump in whenever you'd like. And even though it may seem too soon for this, I am announcing the official opening of my newest writing contest/giveaway: Pearl Aqua Dreams Writing Contest. I don't expect this contest to garner many contestants, since some people are understandably averse to reading and/or writing about SHINee right now. The fact that the group's fate itself is currently unknown has also been causing a lot of unrest among the fandom, which is also understandable. But regardless of what the members and SM Entertainment decide, I will continue supporting this group and Pearl Aqua Dreams is one of the ways I can do so. Let's celebrate ten years of SHINee and honor the five men who blessed this lifetime with their presence as one.
And since From Head to Toes is all about EXO, let's celebrate six years of nine (or twelve, whichever you're more comfortable with) men who have solidified their lasting presence in the Korean (and Chinese) music industry with their solid discography, outstanding work ethic, and beautiful souls. They've braved a lot over the years, but they're still rising as strong as ever and I know they'll continue to do so in years to come. Give them your well-wishes and support, because they deserve them more than ever right now. As a fun little activity (which you don't have to participate in, but I guess I'm curious to see who'll actually read all of this), comment how you fell in love with EXO and why you still stan them among (or along with, if you're multi-fandom) the dozens of groups that exist in the industry.
Okay, that's enough from me. My inbox is always open if you'd like to chat privately. Thank you again for taking a chance on me and this writing contest. I hope you had a lot of fun participating, because I had a lot of fun hosting this. :)
FINAL RANKING
And now the moment you all have been waiting for: the final placement of everyone's stories!
Twenty-Third Place
Twenty-Second Place
Twenty-First Place
Twentieth Place
Nineteenth Place
Eighteenth Place
Seventeenth Place
*Purple-Peng with My EXO Drabbles
Sixteenth Place
Fifteenth Place
*Black_Keys with Go Away
Fourteenth Place
Thirteenth Place
Twelfth Place
Eleventh Place
Tenth Place
*LUVkookietae with Heartbeat 心跳
Ninth Place
*dalalaeda with Subjects 3XO
Eighth Place
*choimiah with Boy, Whistle
Seventh Place
Sixth Place
*Madchen with A Heart of Two
Fifth Place
*get2herheart with Sweet Lies
Fourth Place
Third Place
*mia12345799 with Follow You
Second Place
*Jaydreamer with After the Order
First Place
*LolliLovee with Take the L
Congratulations to everyone! Please PM me by January 10 to claim your prize. If you do not, your spot will be forfeited. I will be mailing packages in groups, depending on your location. It will most likely be two-three domestic (USA) packages with one international package at a time, depending on everyone's location. I will let you know when your prize has been shipped. For the promised graphics, note that they will probably be worked on during the summer, which is when iiluvbubbletea has time to make graphics. I will also be the point of contact, so please message me when you'd like to claim that part of your prize, and I will be sending her the forms you'll need to fill out when you request your graphics.
And please don't feel disheartened if you didn't place as high as you would have liked to. It was very difficult for me to come up with this list. All of you are wonderful writers and have so much potential. There were several one-point differences between entries and I had to reread some of the submitted stories to finalize this ranking, because a handful of ties came up during my first round of reading. I really mean it when I say that I'd love to continue reading more from you all in the future and see how you grow as writers. If you'd like the judging notes for your story, please comment or PM me. I'm happy to give feedback and help you improve.
BEST OF WINNERS
And now it's time to award the five Best Of winners! Due to several entries being incomplete at the contest's conclusion, I replaced the Best Of - Sehun prize with the Best Of - OC prize, meaning any stories with an OC as a main character were eligible for this. I figured it was only fair, since the Sehun entries all had OC leads. The amount of karma points for each award is posted on the Prizes page. As mentioned before, bonus points were not taken into account; only the raw score mattered for these prizes.
Best Of - Lay
*Jaydreamer with After the Order
Best Of - Baekhyun
*mia12345799 with Follow You
Best Of - Chen
*LolliLovee with Take the L
Best Of - BaekChen
*choimiah with Boy, Whistle
Best Of - OC
*get2herheart with Sweet Lies
Congratulations to you five! Please comment by January 10 to claim your prize. If you do not, your winnings will be void.
Once more, thank you so much for joining this writing contest, everyone! It was a joy to read your entries and I hope you all feel inspired to become better writers this year! If you haven't already, read and comment on the other contestants' entries to show your support! Anyway, take care and I hope to see you at my other writing contests! You all worked hard and you all did well. :)
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