Halo Fanon:Annual Halo Fanon Wikia Awards/2012

Welcome to the Fifth Annual Halo Fanon Wikia Awards for 2012. We are honoured by your attendance to this annual community awards election and celebration, the fifth, and hopefully, not the last of its kind. This project is coordinated by the Halo Fanon Wiki Administration, and we thank the Star Wars Fanon Wiki for donating the concept of this annual community ritual to us. We look forward to your participation in this community-wide celebration, and hope that you will all participate! Now, read the regulations, nominate your favourite articles, and vote!

New Rules and Categories
As you may know, there have been some new categories added this year. They have been listed in the sections below, but have also been placed here to save users the trouble of looking for them if they are already familiar with the old categories.


 * 1) An previous award winner is now permitted to win in a separate year if and only if it has evidently been improved upon drastically since then. Since there is no definite standard of "improved drastically", the eligibility of previous winners is left to the discretion of the award host. As a final note, an article may win in the same category for a maximum of three years in total. This does not mean that the article can only win three awards; for example, if an article can be nominated for the Best Canon Expansion category, along with its own category, and wins in the top three awards of the year, and does so for three separate years, the article in question can theoretically win nine awards in total (this is however highly unlikely).
 * 2) If an article is the only nomination in its category and receives fewer than five votes, it will be combined with another similar category after the voting process. This ensures that an article of mediocre quality does not win by default, if it happens to have no competition. However, if a great show of support is given to the article to indicate that it is deserving of the award, it will still be given even if there are no other nominations.
 * 3) The Breakthrough User of the Year award is for users who have contributed to Halo Fanon in commendable ways as a drastic change. This applies to outstanding new users as well as older users who have been previously struggling to find their place on the wiki. This award cannot be won by recipients of the Writer of the Year award. Furthermore, users cannot be nominated for this category while being nominated for Best Writer. This award is meant to encourage hard-working new users, or ones that have been living in the shadow of others, to display their true potential, and is not recommended for seasoned users to try out for.
 * 4) The Best Canon Expansion of the Year category is pretty self-explanatory; any article with the same or similar name as an article found on Halopedia and has been expanded upon vastly to be deemed the author's own work. As there is more original material to work with, an article under this category requires 18,000 bytes to be nominated for the award. On the upside though, any Canon Expansion nominee is permitted to be also nominated for another suitable category.

Regulations

 * 1) Nominations and voting begin at 12:00 AM midnight GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) on December 1st, 2012 and will conclude promptly at 12:00 AM midnight GMT on December 30th, 2012, at the time of the New Year! Exceptions to this are listed below. Final winners will be announced and receive their awards on January 1st, 2013!
 * 2) Voting Qualifications: Users eligible to nominate and vote must have been users for at least four weeks and have sixty or more mainspace edits in order to vote. Because of the style of this celebration, sockpuppets and sock masters are not invited, and will be promptly banned from the Wiki and barred from future voting.
 * 3) Nominations:
 * 4) You may only nominate articles for a category so long as it expressly fits the definition of each category . Articles that are not eligible for a category will be removed by the administration. You may request a clarification about the definition of any category from . You may not nominate an article for more than one category, with the exception of Best Canon Expansion. Articles that are not eligible for nomination will be removed without any notice if they are found to have "content issues" "Unrealistic", "Non-Canon Friendly", etc
 * 5) You may nominate an unlimited number of articles written by any number of other authors for any number of categories. However, you are restricted to nominating only one of your articles for only one category for the whole election, and you cannot vote for your own article for the placement awards. This is to promote professional sportsmanship. For categories pertaining to users ("Best Writer of the Year", "Breakthrough User of the Year"), you may not nominate yourself. You may only nominate yourself for one article in the entire election, and this does not pertain to self-nominating yourself as a user.
 * 6) Articles must be at least 9,000 bytes long, and novels must be at least 72,000 bytes long. Exceptions to this are the canon expansion category, which must be at least 18,000 bytes long, and the short fiction category, which do not have a specific minimum length requirement (however, it does has a maximum length limit of 27,000 bytes). You can check the length of a wiki page by going into its edit history and checking the number of bytes on the latest revision, between the "contribs" and "undo" links.
 * 7) "Recycled" articles will not be accepted into the nomination process. An article that has received minor or no edits for the duration of the year is not eligible for the event. Every article's edit history will be checked when nominated, and will remain valid for nomination only if it has received moderate to major changes/improvements throughout the year.
 * 8) You must nominate articles according to the proper format (listed below). Fill out all the fields when submitting a nomination, and post the completed nomination form underneath the category that you're nominating the article in question for.
 * 9) Perceived breaches of good conduct and professional sportsmanship will be prosecuted by the administration to maintain the dignity of this voting system.
 * 10) The author of an article may withdraw his or her own article from a nomination at any time.
 * 11) Eligible categories are decided in advance by the administration.
 * 12) Winning articles of the previous annual awards be nominated only if it's been improved upon drastically after receiving a previous award, for a maximum of three awards in separate years. This applies only to the articles, not the authors of the articles, who may only win the Best Writer or Breakthrough User award once. This does not mean that the article can only win three awards; for example, if an article can be nominated for the Best Canon Expansion category, along with its own category, and wins in the top three awards of the year, and does so for three separate years, the article in question can theoretically win nine awards in total (this is however highly unlikely).
 * 13) You are always allowed to contest in a category even if you won an article in that same category before with a different article.
 * 14) Voting:
 * 15) Eligible users may vote for a maximum of two articles in a given category, and may vote for up to two articles for placement awards. You may vote for only one of your own articles for the entire election, no matter how many articles you have in how many categories. You may not vote for yourself under a user-related category.
 * 16) Please sign your vote with a non-bubble text signature to verify your identity.
 * 17) You do not have to vote for an article you nominated.
 * 18) The voting process has two stages: categorical and placement. In the categorical vote, users will have from 12:00 AM GMT, December 1st, 2012 to 12:00 AM GMT, December 20th, 2012 to vote. Articles will be voted upon according to category, and the one article with the most votes from each category will be confirmed as the winner of that category and will be pitted against the other winners of the other categories (excluding collaboration, novel, short fiction, and writer). The placement vote will begin at 12:00 AM GMT, December 20th, 2012 to 12:00 AM GMT and end on December 30th, 2012. All categorical and placement awards will be given on January 1st, 2013.
 * 19) Any categories with ties by 12:00 AM GMT on December 19th, 2012 (24 hours before the end of the categorical vote) will be remitted from public voting and will enter private administrative ballot to decide ties. The results of the ballot will be announced afterwards. All administrators with a registered email will have twenty-four hours to decide ties.
 * 20) Any articles with ties by 12:00 AM GMT on December 29th, 2012 (24 hours before the end of the placement vote) will be remitted from public voting and will enter private administrative ballot to decide ties. The results of the ballot will be announced afterwards. All administrators with a registered email will have twenty-four hours to decide ties.
 * 21) Winning:
 * 22) The article for the most votes in a given category will be formally acknowledged as the winner for the category, and the article and its author will be commended by an official award granted by the administration approximately by January 1st, 2013 and the end of the ceremony. Three winners from the placement vote will also be given their placement awards at the same time.
 * 23) In the event of a tie, a tiebreaker will be performed, and the winner will be decided by private administrative ballot. The ballot's content will be disclosed at the end of the ceremony.
 * 24) If an article is the only nomination in its category and receives fewer than five votes, it will be combined with another similar category after the voting process to avoid "winning by default", and votes will be counted accordingly.
 * 25) Questions: Please address if you have any questions whatsoever.

Nomination Process
Please fill out the following form for any nominations and file underneath the appropriate category:

ARTICLENAME ()

 * Name: ARTICLENAME
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (NUMBEROFVOTES)
For the Most Unique Concept of the Year category, the special application to be used is as such:

ARTICLENAME ()

 * Name: ARTICLENAME
 * Author:
 * Nominator:
 * Description: DESCRIPTIONOFARTICLE

Voting (NUMBEROFVOTES)
For the Best Canon Expansion of the Year category, the special application to be used is as such:

ARTICLENAME ()

 * Name: ARTICLENAME
 * Original Article:
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (NUMBEROFVOTES)
For the Best Writer or Breakthrough User of the Year category, the special application to be used is as such:


 * Name:
 * Nominator:

Characters

 * Best SPARTAN of the Year — Any character enrolled in any SPARTAN program.
 * Best UNSC Personnel of the Year — Any character associated with the UNSC Marine Corps/Navy/Army/Air Force or any of its subordinate commands. Does not include SPARTANs.
 * Best Covenant Character of the Year — Any character of any of the Covenant Loyalist/Separatist species.
 * Best AI Character of the Year — Any AI (Artificial Intelligence) character of any species.
 * Best Unaffiliated Character of the Year — Any character that does not fit into any of the above character categories; includes, but is not limited to, Forerunners, Precursors, Flood, Hybrids, etc...

Technologies

 * Best Starship of the Year — Any classification of spacecraft or individual vessel capable of extended extra-atmospheric travel.
 * Best Planetary Vehicle of the Year — Any classification of vehicle or individual vehicle capable of atmospheric or ground travel.
 * Best Weapon of the Year — Any weapon system of any allegiance and application.
 * Best Technology of the Year — Any physical object or knowledge paradigm used to influence an individual's interaction with the environment, including, but not limited to, defensive systems, non-weaponized combat equipment, etc... Does not include weapons.

Societal

 * Best Event of the Year — Any event that occurs, including a military engagement (battle, campaign, or war) between any contenders for any length of time, or a non-military event.
 * Best Location of the Year — Any discreet location, including, but not limited to, planets, cities, structures, buildings, etc...
 * Best Organization of the Year — Any organization, including, but not limited to, governments, militaries, military subdivisions, civilian corporations, etc...
 * Best Species of the Year — Any sentient species of beings, including both singular races and races that are members of an alliance (such as the Covenant); alliances are not covered in this category, but instead are covered in the above "Best Organization of the Year" category

Stories

 * Best Novel of the Year — Best long literary fiction. A nominated novel does not have to be completed but substantial progress should have been made. There is a general minimum length threshold for novels to be considered. Does not include roleplays.
 * Best Short Fiction of the Year — Best short literary fiction. Short fictions can be nominated in groups or collections. It is recommended that the nominated fiction is completed.

Users

 * Best Writer of the Year — For literary excellence in writing articles, fictions, roleplays, and/or productions.
 * Breakthrough User of the Year — For newfound outstanding participation and contribution on the wiki and friendly interaction with the community.

Miscellaneous

 * Most Unique Concept of the Year — A never-before-seen concept used in Halo Fanon Wiki. Must give proper reasoning as to why this idea should be deemed "Most Unique" in the "Description" field.
 * Best Canon Expansion of the Year — A well-written article based off a canon element or article that has strong connections to canon as well as the author's own creativity.
 * Best Collaboration of the Year — Any singular collaborative work, including but not limited to, roleplays, expanded universe, alternate universe, or other type of article written by two or more people that does not qualify for any of the above categories.

Placement

 * Third Place Article of the Year — The article with the third most number of votes in the "placement" stage.
 * Second Place Article of the Year — The article with the second most number of votes in the "placement" stage.
 * First Place Article of the Year — The article with the most number of votes in the "placement" stage.

Vinh-030 ()

 * Name: Vinh-030
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) One of the best Spartan articles I've seen this year, with many tie-ins to the canon as well as Ahalosniper's own creative ideas. The detail placed into the article is a testament to his efforts.

Marco-025 ()

 * Name: Marco-025
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (2)

 * 1) An article I've been working hard on to be the best it could be since I first joined this site, I feel it's been improved exponentially over the years after a great deal of work. -Brodie-001
 * 2) It took me forever to read this article all the way through, but it was definitely worth the time it took. Marco-025 is easily one of the very best SPARTAN characters on this wiki.

Daisy-023 ()

 * Name: Daisy-023
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) Although Ell's activity this year has been irregular, this was one of the articles she's worked on rather well. I don't think anything more needs to be said, since Ell's writing is as good as ever if not better than her other work.

Pete Marcus Stacker ()

 * Name: Pete Marcus Stacker
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (2)

 * 1) Ahalosniper has paid a good tribute to one of Halo's most recurring yet under-appreciated characters with this article. Although the written content is focused mostly on Stacker's involvement in the Human-Covenant War, I have no doubt that Ahalosniper will do an equally good job if not better job on his biography following it.
 * 2) Sniper has proven his dedication to the Halo series in many ways. As Sona stated above, Sniper is known for his appreciation for the unappreciated.

Richard Mack Sr. ()

 * Name: Richard Mack Sr.
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) A long and well-detailed biography through Mack's childhood, the ORION Project's operational life, and Sigma's training shows the same dedication here that Brodie has on Marco-025's article, and it's not even finished yet. It's an article that's deserving of a nomination at the very least. And the fact that it's R. Lee Ermey just makes me smile. That Damn Sniper 04:06, December 1, 2012 (UTC)

Shinsu 'Refum ()

 * Name: Shinsu 'Refum
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (2)

 * 1) Shinsu is an incredible character, especially considering he's a villain, when in the Halo universe we sometimes see antagonists with no more depth than a Grunt in the games. Sworn enemy of the 'Vadams, his story directly crosses paths with a couple notable fanon members and allies of the clan, and his relation to Halo 2's heretic realistically drives him against them. This year has seen most of the article's content come into existence and the character play a prominent role in both Avenger's Quest and Indelible Past, and it's not over for him yet. That Damn Sniper 01:23, December 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * 2) Shinsu successfully managed to scrape the very canon of Halo without a single scratch. The most remarkable thing about this article personally is that it embodies both the culture of the Sangeili and the subject character on realistic terms. Shinsu can perfectly master the archetype of a tragic villain.

Deep Winter ()

 * Name: Deep Winter
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) A very well-written and detailed article, easily one of the best histories I've read for an AI, in addition to being another fantastic canon expansion of what was a relatively unknown character in the Haloverse. As such, I think it's well deserving of the award. -Brodie-001

Dotto ()

 * Name: Dotto
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) AIs this year came down to four wonderful candidates in my mind. Each of them has intriguing origin stories, but for the most part, that's all they are so far, and haven't been expanded very far by the authors. Dotto is the exception. Before and after the expansion of Auntie Dot's part in Halo: Reach is original content with introduction and personality sections that round out the article. Well done. That Damn Sniper 01:06, December 1, 2012 (UTC)

David Kahn ()

 * Name: David Kahn
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) One of Actene's oldest articles that never got its chance to shine until now. This year I feel that he really did a spectacular job in revamping the article as well as getting Kahn heavily involved in AAO's stories and characters. Definitely my first choice for this category.

MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System ()

 * Name: MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (2)

 * 1) As per nomination.
 * 2) We've had a slow year for all technology-type article, but this has been one of the standouts. A lead-up to its creation and replacement of its predecessor, technical specifications and tidbits about its use, and images to keep us interested from first glance. That Damn Sniper 01:48, December 1, 2012 (UTC)

Tyraxus Tribe ()

 * Name: Tyraxus Tribe
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (2)

 * 1) Taking a rather unique approach, the article gives detail on not only the history, but customs and traditions of a Jiralhanae pack. Ideas from elsewhere in Necros are incorporated, from Jiralhanae weapons to applications of Slavery in the 26th and 27th Centuries. The way assets and notable individuals within the group are explained reminds me a lot of a roleplaying game's campaign setting, and there's plenty of setup for stories within itself, let alone how it could effect the Necros timeline beyond itself. A fantastic Covenant-species organization. That Damn Sniper 00:59, December 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * 2) Ah yes, I remember reading this through when it was put up for Fanon of the Month. I think sniper's said all that's needed to be said, and it has my support. By the way, nice to have you back in the race, Ajax.

Draconian ()

 * Name: Draconian
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) I'm very impressed by the content of this article. For a user who's only been with us for about two months or so, DC Ambrose has shown great potential and this article is proof of that. Not only has he got a firm grasp of the wiki's mechanics, but the fact that he is able to create an original species like this gives me incentive to offer him my support.

Vinh-030 ()

 * Name: Vinh-030
 * Original Article:
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Pete Marcus Stacker ()

 * Name: Pete Marcus Stacker
 * Original Article:
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) As per my nomination for Best UNSC Personnel of the Year.

Daisy-023 ()

 * Name: Daisy-023
 * Original Article:
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) As per my nomination for Best Spartan of the Year.

RP:Awakening Demons ()

 * Name: Awakening Demons
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * Yes, I realize that this RP was started fairly recently. But with 29 posts and over 180,000 bytes already, I think the enthusiasm displayed by the community speaks volumes about Awakening Demons. As someone who currently participates in this RP, trust me when I say that this was one of the best projects to happen on the wiki all year.

RvB Shenanigans

 * Name: User:Sonasaurus/RvB Shenanigans
 * Author:, et al.
 * Nominator:

Voting (4)

 * 1) While it might come off as a strange thing to nominate, allow me to say that a collaboration is supposed to, more than anything else, involve members of the community. And the shenanigans that sprang up on the IRC did that with astounding success. After the first or second episode, people were asking daily when the next was going to be because they were excited to take part. I think the originators more than anyone else were surprised when a genuine plot started to develop, and all involved have had a hand in shaping how the action went, though ultimately Sona acts as the arbitrator of realism and continuity, a DM of sorts. You can find Actene's video for Red vs. Blue: Revolution on Youtube, and I have to agree with him in saying it's one of the best times I've had with the community. That Damn Sniper 01:40, December 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * 2) After all of the time and effort that went into making the RvB Shenanigans what it has come to be, I feel that it would be a shame for all involved in it to not see our work receive some sort of recognition in these awards. I find it hard to think of a collaborative project in my time on Halo Fanon that is more unique and creative than the RvB Shenanigans, and to me it is a testament to how great the community here can be.
 * 3) I'm inclined to agree with the others on this. Not only are the Shenanigans a wonderful community collaboration, it's been something that just about everyone involved has, and probably still, looks forward to on the IRC. The ever-changing story and relative freedom with characters, both new and old, gave many users a great chance to show off their skills in impromptu and largely improvised conversations and battles. It's definitely one of the best times I've had on the site,and truly deserves the award. -Brodie-001
 * 4) Is there anything I can add to what's been said already?

Halo: Indelible Past ()

 * Name: Halo: Indelible Past
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (2)

 * 1) After starting to read towards the tail-end of Avenger's Quest, I was hooked on the story of the first SPARTAN traitor. Actene shows us characters who have different motivations than those we're used to, provides excellent descriptions and experiences in the settings visited, and brings its expansive cast together with logical reasons for them to cross paths that pay off with fights or bargains that excite or horrify us by their nature. Though thrown in the middle of larger conflicts, Simon's personal story is at the center of it, with the occasional flashback reminding us of how he got here and informing us a bit of why he does what he does. Seeing a number of other famous/infamous characters come into play is gratifying, from Shinsu's interaction with the Path Walkers to Autel and Fira reacting to the attacks of Redmond Venter, and particularly Yuri Rosch's justifications for hunting the rogue Spartan stick in my mind, because in many ways he's right. There's a reason Simon-G294 won the first Annual Award for Best SPARTAN, and his story shines here like a diamond in the rough. That Damn Sniper 02:24, December 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * 2) As with its precursor, Avenger's Quest, this story changed a lot as I wrote it and I wish that I'd taken more time to make sure the first half was a bit more coherent and related to the second half. That being said, I consider this my best finished work particularly for the way it shows my flagship character, Simon-G294, at his best and worst, an achievement that I consider worth every minute I put into writing it.

Duties and Desires: Part 2 ()

 * Name: Duties and Desires: Part 2
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) This is a hard nomination for me to make, seeing as I consider Indelible Past to be my best completed work to date. That being said, I know for a fact that just as much work, if not more, went into writing Duties and Desires. Not only does it reveal an expansive backstory into Sona's characters, it tackles the pre-HCW era, which tends to be particularly hard to cover given the lack of source material to look to for help and inspiration. Having looked over both stories, I have to say that I can't decide which is the better novel. My vote will go to both, and I hope this nomination will encourage more people in the community to read both and decide for themselves as they vote.

Stories from the Sigmaverse ()

 * Name: Stories from the Sigmaverse
 * Author:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) A collection of well-written short stories which I've had the pleasure of reading recently. Let me say that these stories were what drew my attention to Brodie's work this year.


 * Name:
 * Nominator:

Voting (5)

 * 1) Actene has really contributed tremendously this year, not only to AAO, but to Halo Fanon as a whole. He's expanded on or rewritten numerous articles old and new, completed two novels and is working through a third, and not to mention is directing a very promising RP that's gotten numerous users going on their writing. As a long-time user of Halo Fanon who has displayed outstanding skill and efficiency, I think it'd be a crime not to give this award to him.
 * 2) Seconded. How often do you get a writer here with both writing skill and output? Tuckerscreator (stalk ) 00:16, December 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * 3) I'd have to agree here. Actene is without a doubt one of the most talented writers on the wiki, in addition to being a veritable story machine on here. I can't think of another user more deserving of the award this year. -Brodie-001
 * 4) Avenger's Quest and Indelible Past were fantastic, and anyone can see above the nominations for his character articles. Aye. That Damn Sniper 01:27, December 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * 5) To be completely honest, I haven't read much of Actene's work, but what I have is absolutely superb. If that's how he always writes, then he definitely deserves this award.


 * Name:
 * Nominator:

Voting (2)

 * 1) Brodie is a loyal Halo Fanon user who I feel really hasn't been getting the recognition he deserves. Although I've known about his activity on Halo Fanon for years, I haven't really paid close attention to his work in the past, which I think was a shame. This year in particular, I feel that he's worked harder than ever to make a name for himself on the wiki, and I think it's about time he was appreciated for it. Consider this nomination my token of approval.
 * 2) His work in short fiction has really breathed more life into the wiki's story scene in recent months. I hope that he remains as active in the future as he has been this past year.


 * Name:
 * Nominator:

Voting (1)

 * 1) I don't think anyone expected The cheif to return to the wiki as a respectable and productive user. For that reason, he is my nomination for Breakthrough User.