Winners
Pearl Aqua Dreams Writing Contest
WINNERS
ANNOUNCEMENT
Hello everyone! As promised, I am here with the final results of the Pearl Aqua Dreams Writing Contest! It was a mad dash for me to get everything finished and set up in time, since I did take two days off to make sure I didn't overwhelm myself mentally and emotionally. But we're at the finish line now and I really hope this helped you gain some sort of closure after this long, hard year without Jonghyun.
But first, can we talk about how amazing it was that we got Key AND Onew's solo debut albums within the span of two weeks?! Obviously we knew about Key's solo for a long time, but Onew's solo was a complete surprise! I never would have imagined that he was preparing a solo album at the same time, especially since he was about to enlist. In the past, Onew also spoke several times about how he wasn't very interested in going solo and a lot of us thought that if he ever did decide to finally release a solo, it would be after his enlistment. But he threw us the biggest plot-twist of the year and I am so grateful that he released such a beautiful album as a goodbye present for us fans. And I'm very happy that Key got to promote a lot for his solo debut, even though most of the focus was on his pre-release instead of his title track. But it makes sense that he kept busy in November first and rested in December before the release of his Japanese solo debut album next week. As a Shawol, I feel like we were fed very well this year and I'm very hopeful for the future. :)
I had always planned to talk about this in 2020, for my tenth AFF anniversary blog post, but I guess I'll leave it here as well for those of you who aren't my AFF friends or don't follow my blogs (not that there are many to read in the first place, LOL). Feel free to skip the next few paragraphs if you're not interested. I won't be offended. Anyway, my story as a Shawol began in December 2009 when I first watched Ring Ding Dong, since it was blowing up in Korea and internationally during the "Golden Era" of K-Pop. And the moment the blonde guy (who I would later find out was Jonghyun) sang, "Babe," with so much power, I immediately had to pause the MV and take a moment to soak in that note. I was so surprised by that first word, and I think that was the moment I knew I would love SHINee and RDD. My biases eventually became Onew and Key, but Jonghyun was right behind them and he occupied a small, special part of my heart.
SHINee was one of the few groups that I followed during my first year as a K-Pop fan, since there weren't as many groups back then as there are today and content wasn't as readily available to international fans as it is nowadays. Life was good and Lucifer really cemented them as a top group in the industry. And then, the first notable confirmed K-Pop dating scandal happened with Dispatch revealing that Jonghyun and actress Shin Se Kyung were in a relationship. I remember the entire fandom and the K-Pop community going in uproar because of it. I'll be honest, I was very shocked as well, since I was a young fourteen-year-old who didn't really understand dating and I naively thought that all idols were single (I basically fell for the illusion that the industry feeds to young fangirls to trap us, LOL).
So the first thing I did was Google Search if my biases were in secret relationships as well. My first five searches (Lee Kikwang, Yoon Doojoon, Lee Jinki, Kim Kibum, and Lee Junho) didn't bring up anything (to my relief, LOL). When I searched my other 2PM bias, Jang Wooyoung, I stumbled across a fanfic starring him and Kim Taeyeon. I didn't know what fanfiction was at the time, so I read it and then I fell down the rabbit hole. :') So, thanks to Jonghyun's relationship, I found myself on AFF and completely in love with the world of fanfiction. Soon after, I made my own account and wrote my first fanfic (which no longer exists, LOL) that starred him and Tiffany Hwang as the main pairing. I didn't ship them, to be honest, (I don't think I really understood what shipping was back then, LOL) but I didn't know what OCs were when I first joined AFF. In fact, OC stories weren't very popular back then; it was mostly Idol x Idol stories. I chose Tiffany, because she's my SNSD bias, and Jonghyun, because I liked him enough to be able to comfortably write romance with him in mind. I wrote that story for about half a year before becoming overwhelmed with school (and also realizing what I wrote was absolute trash, LOL). Even so, this story allowed me to make my first AFF friend, who has sadly been inactive for years.
Even though Jonghyun isn't my SHINee bias, he is one of the few idols to truly make an impact on my life. He is the cause of so many firsts for me and I know he did the same for others in different ways. Even though I never outwardly fangirled about him like I did with Onew and Key, I loved seeing him perform and he is one of the best vocalists in K-Pop history, hands down. He sounded just as good live as he did in the studio and I'm really happy that I made the spontaneous decision to see SHINee perform in LA in March 2017, because I definitely would have regretted it if I hadn't. So, even though I sometimes questioned my choice of uni, the fact that SHINee literally performed at my school will forever be the reason why I'm grateful to be a Trojan. And it's even more meaningful that I managed to convince my sister to attend the concert, which was her first K-Pop concert ever, since Jonghyun is her SHINee bias and she would have never forgiven herself if she had passed on it like she was initially planning to.
Waking up to the news of his suicide was one of the hardest things I've ever experienced, especially after going to bed celebrating Taeyang's announced engagement to Min Hyo Rin the previous night. It didn't seem real and I honestly wonder if it'll ever feel real, because I didn't know him personally or see him on a regular basis like the SHINee members, SME idols, and SME staff did. When I watch videos of him, it's really easy to forget that he isn't here anymore. And then I'll see something else and remember that...he's gone. But then I have to remind myself that he's only gone in a physical sense. His art, his music, and his life teachings still exist in this world and always will.
I have loved Kim Jonghyun for nine years now and I will continue loving him for many years to come. I wanted to commemorate him in my own way and give comfort to others while also gaining closure for myself. Thus, Pearl Aqua Dreams came into existence and I'm happy with how it turned out. This writing contest got a lot more attention and support than I honestly thought it would. Although there were some hiccups along the way, everything worked out in the end and I'm happy with the stories that you guys created in honor of SHINee. I think Jonghyun would have been happy to see more people creating and allowing their inspiration to run wild, since he was also a creator. He would have been proud of you guys.
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. It feels bittersweet knowing that a year has finally passed and Pearl Aqua Dreams is now over.
Luckily, the fun doesn't stop! As always, the 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. In fact, Round Nine's deadline has been extended by four days, so you still have time to enter and possibly win more merch! I am also announcing the official opening of my newest writing contest/giveaway: Starry Knight Writing Contest, which is a Monsta X-centric contest. If you're also a Monsta X fan, I'd love to have you there! I had initially planned to hold this writing contest after the conclusion of my EXO-centric contest, From Head to Toes Writing Contest, but instead opted to do Pearl Aqua Dreams for Jonghyun first.
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!
Ninth Place
Eighth Place
*Littlefreaks_1291 with Me and You
Seventh Place
Sixth Place
Fifth Place
*BloodyRavens with Vanisher
Fourth Place
*ann1914 with In Memoriam
Third Place
*choimiah with Narwhal Prince
Second Place
*Madchen with The Concept of Pain
First Place
*starlight-turtle with Wither
Congratulations to everyone! Please PM me by December 22 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.
Please don't feel disheartened if you didn't place as high as you would have liked to. All of you are wonderful writers and have so much potential. 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 four Best Of winners! 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 - Onew
*Madchen with The Concept of Pain
Best Of - Key
*choimiah with Narwhal Prince
Best Of - OnKey
*starlight-turtle with Wither
Best Of - OC
*BloodyRavens with Vanisher
Congratulations to you four! Please comment by December 22 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 that this contest managed to bring you a bit of comfort. 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. :)
And Jonghyun, I love you to the moon and back. Thank you for everything.
You worked hard and you did well.
Every single day.
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Congratulations on your win, Jonghyun. <3 You truly are the coolest poet, artist, and musician to have blessed this world. We will always be with you. :)
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