The Beginning

Based on my profile and my first story here, it's been 7 years since I joined AFF. And now, on my 7th anniversary in AFF, I can't help but think about how much things have changed since then.

When I first started my AFF about on July 6, 2013, I was just starting out in Kpop and the Cassiopeia fandom. I heard about AFF from my roommate (the same person who first introduced me to DBSK), and I got interested in writing my own DBSK fanfics. Back then, I was young and innocent and oblivious to the dangers as well as heartaches I would be experiencing in the future.

DBSK and Changmin Centric Fics

When I first started here, my focus was writing DB5K stories. Stories about DBSK that were mainly OT5, reflecting Cassies' hope that someday, DBSK would reunite as 5. It's been 7 years since then (and even longer since DBSK's split), but that reunion still hasn't happened. In my DB5K stories, I went with the usual pairings: Yunjae and Yoosu. As for Changmin, I created an original character, Erin, to pair with him. My DBSK stories, from then on, mainly revolved around the five boys and this original character. My readers came to know and love Erin through the stories. More importantly, my DBSK stories were able to bring happiness to my fellow Cassies. In a fandom that's been troubled since the group's split, stories that still featured the five boys together were significant and brought much needed happines and hope. Also, my DBSK stories made me love the five boys even more. And writing stories mainly featuring Changmin really made me fall, and fall hard and irrevocably at that, for the DBSK evil maknae.

Including Super Junior

Eventually, as I learned more about DBSK and became part of the Cassiopeia fandom longer, I also came to know and like Super Junior. It was unavoidable, given how close DBSK and Super Junior are. And my stories reflected that. My stories also started to feature Super Junior as supporting characters. And eventually, they also became main characters. My OTP changed from Yunjae to Changkyu. I shipped Changmin and Kyuhyun. And I wrote a good number of Changkyu fics, some of which are still in progress today. My stories were a split between Changmin x OC and Changmin x Kyuhyun. 

Over the years, my stories have been like my babies. Products of my imagination and perspiration. I brought them to life, nurtured them, and continued to make them grow. And they provided me with a sense of satisfaction, and they made my readers happy. As I'm sure many of you notice, most of the stories here in AFF feature 3rd and 4th gen Kpop groups. The very popular fics here are usually the ones that are about 3rd and 4th gen groups. Thus, I thought, and still do, that it's important to keep writing stories featuring 2nd gen groups. So, I persevered with writing DBSK and SJ.

The Heartbreak

But then, the years 2019 and 2020 happened. The cancelled concert of DBSK here in the Philippines last 2019 destroyed me. I had hope that I would finally meet Yunho and Changmin, and that hope was just crushed. I couldn't stand the pain, and I left the fandom. But I still heard news about DBSK, and on December 30, 2019, Changmin confirmed that he has a girlfriend. Another hurtful blow. And just last month, June 12, 2020, Changmin announced that he's getting married in September. That was the most painful blow of all. I knew that I could never go back to Cassiopeia. It's too painful. I had to distance myself from DBSK and, most importantly, from Changmin. The group and the person I loved so much also caused me great pain and heartbreak. It's really my fault too, for my own idiocy, but that doesn't make the pain any less.

Super Junior Focus

After the cancelled concert, I also put a halt to my DBSK stories; I decided to discontinue my DBSK and Changmin stories that were still in progress. I eventually returned at the start of 2020, but this time, I was focused on Super Junior. Super Junior only. No more DBSK in my stories, I vowed.

After attending the Super Show 8 in December, Yesung became my favorite in Super Junior, and since the start of 2020, Yesung became the main character in my stories. I initially started with writing Yesung x OC stories. I took Erin and paired her with Yesung. I think the stories were good, and the plots were interesting. But somehow, pairing Erin with Yesung didn't quite click for me. Maybe it was because the personality that I've established for Erin didn't quite match Yesung's personality. I felt that Erin and Changmin had more chemistry in my stories. Or maybe it's simply because I've become too used that Erin's with Changmin in my stories, and after 7 years of that, it just felt wrong to give the original character to another idol.

I'm still working on my Yesung x OC stories, but now, my main focus has really been my Kyusung fics. Kyusung is now my OTP, and my main stories now feature them. It's been interesting writing about this Super Junior pairing, and I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I think that I've created good interactions and chemistry between Kyuhyun and Yesung in my stories, so far.

Nonetheless, even though I've left Cassiopeia and no longer follow DBSK, I decided (right after Changmin announced his upcoming marriage) to continue my old Changkyu fics. And maybe also publish the Changkyu stories that I planned many years ago. It would be wasteful not to do them.

Full Circle

So, I guess that's it. From starting out here writing DB5K, Changmin x OC, and Changkyu fics, I've now become more focused on Super Junior fics, Yesung x OC and Kyusung, while still working on the old Changkyu stories. A lot has changed in the 7 years. Not just in my writing and stories, but my fandom life as well.

Thanks to all the Cassies, ELFs, and readers who have been with me and my stories for the last 7 years.