Last Sunday, it was all about the rules. Hopefully, none of us get into trouble. Today, this post is about me and it is a little over 1000 words. So make yourself comfortable, grab some snacks and a drink, or you can quietly proceed to the exit.

The afternoon was humid and uneventful. Dozens of facebook posts scrolled down the screen but I merely browsed them. They were the usual stuff - selfies, more selfies, drama, more drama, Teuk- Leeteuk?

I clicked it, however, I couldn't quite figure what it was I was reading. It was obviously a script with Super Junior's Leeteuk as the main character but at the same time, it wasn't. 

What is it? 

The answer came in the writer's note. It was called a fanfic. Are we even allowed to do that? 

The unspoken question led to my very first search for Super Junior fanfics in May 2010. I discovered kpop late 2006 but I was merely intrigued. I never really got into it until 2008 when Suju came. Still, my fascination was short-lived as reality me in whole but that Teukie-post renewed that fascination.

Ever since then, I'd search for fanfics in facebook between class hours and assignments. But I was still unsatisfied, wanting something I was used to. Paragraphs. 

So I asked Google. And Google linked me to a Donghae-centered fic in LJ but it was too late for me to realize that the story had been in hiatus for two years already. Frustrated and deprived, I launched into another fic-finding mission until I stumbled upon another Super Junior fanfic in blogger. It was constantly being updated every Wednesday but it dwindled to once a month. 

Desperate, I took it upon myself to write my own fic in my Naruto notebook. And because I didn't want to publish under my real name, I searched for writing sites until I came upon one black and white site with black circles on top called Asianfanfics.

In September 26, 2010, dream_keeper88 was born.

Forty eight story threads, one poem collection, one graphic gallery, and a layout gallery after, I'm still here. I'll be celebrating my fourth birthday in six months and I really hope to stay here for as long as I can, for as long as I am allowed to. Because in spite of everything or everyone that/who make my head hurt, I do enjoy it here; the good always outweighs the bad. It's just a matter of perspective.

I have gained so much in three years and a half, that I wouldn't exchange those experiences for anything. Asianfanfics will always be my playground and I won't let anyone take away the happiness it brings. It gives me opportunities to discover parts of me that were hidden because of fear and to express it and share it with others. Here, another part of me is allowed to be free. Here, I am able to do what I never imagined I would do. Needless to say, reading, writing, making graphics and layouts were never in my bucket list. Now, I can't imagine life without reading, writing and photoshop.

It really helped that the site has really cool and neat features. My favorite is the report content button. Coming in close second is the tag feature in profiles. My third most favorite feature is the history button. Hohoho. Next is the mutual friends button. And the fifth feature is the Layout Marketplace. Although I block advertisers, the block button was never my favorite, not my least favorite either. (Someone knows my least favorite button. Shut up! Don't tell!)

We receive notifications for almost everything without needing to check our inbox and we can change layouts in our stories with a click of a button. We can bookmark the last chapter we've read and read fics offline. We can change font size while reading. Subscriptions can be organized through labels. And we can exclude tags in our search. We can leave messages to our readers without updating a fic via the author's feed and manage chapters with one button.

Boss Nichi even provided us with tools to protect our fics - disable text selection, multiple privacy options and the report content link/button. Our mods are active so a fic is taken down as soon as a report is submitted unlike in other sites. Reports are now made public too- no need to publicize the bingo book because we now know why a fic is missing. (So yeah, mods didn't remove your fic because they are jealous. It's either you plagiarized, or you didn't mark your fic properly or you posted restricted content). 

And before I sound so much like an advertiser, point is, AFF is the most user-friendly fanfic site in the world wide web! Yay! And hopefully it would stay that way in many years to come. 

But my most favorite aspect of being in this site is being able to share my life and what I like with other people.  AFF is a place to live your passion without fear of judgment. It is not about the number of upvotes, subscribers or friends.

Thank you for providing this Keeper a place to create... and have fun....  

In return, I made my first resource pack. I told a friend I wouldn't but since it's AFF's special day, why not? 

AFFs 5th Anniversary Resource Pack by dreamkeeper88 on deviantART

-Keeper

p.s. the resource pack is definitely a step-up from my first aff anniversary graphic xD

May this site remain to be a place of acceptance. Stay up and running, AFF! And hopefully, we don't receive notices and lawsuits anymore...