2021 Fanfiction Awards - FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION THREAD

[The Great Butler]

This thread is a new idea I developed based on suggestions for ways to increase engagement in the awards. It will work a bit differently than the threads that are usually seen for the awards events: unlike the other threads, where posters highlight others' work, this is the one place where making a promotion of your own work is permitted. It is inspired by the "For Your Consideration" concept for awards such as the Academy Awards, in which filmmakers and studios promote their work to the voters who will be deciding the winners.

However, this is a thread that comes with some strict ground rules.

First of all, and I cannot stress this enough, the ordinary rules about asking people to nominate your work still apply. Self-promotion is permitted only in this thread and must follow the other rules to be laid out below. As is explained in each year's nomination thread: It is up to your readers to decide whether they want to nominate you. The same goes for applying implicit pressure to nominate you (e.g. messaging your friends about how the awards are going on and linking to your fics, without saying in so many words that you want them to nominate you). You may call attention to the awards and encourage people to nominate their favorite fics in general, to boost participation, but attaching advertisements for your particular work to any such post is not appropriate.

In other words, while this thread is for providing suggestions of what of your work you would like to be considered, you may not do anything more than what is laid out in this thread.

How to participate:
-Choose anywhere from one to four categories from the website for the awards. This can be found at https://serebii-fanfic-awards.herokuapp.com/nomination/all/

-For each category selected, write one to three paragraphs outlining why you feel your selected work should be considered for that category. Remember, selected material *must* have been posted within the 2021 calendar year to be eligible; for longer works, only content posted within the year of 2021 is eligible. As outlined in the main Nominations thread: Broadly, anything posted in the Fan Fiction, Completed Fics or Non-Pokémon Fics forums in 2021, defined as the period from January 1st, 2021, 00:00 UTC to December 31st, 2021, 23:59 UTC according to the forum's post timestamps, is eligible for nomination. Specifically, for the "Fic Moments" awards, the nominated moment should be from an installment posted in 2021; for more general story awards, at least one installment of it must have been posted in 2021; and for author/reviewer awards, the member in question must have posted at least one fic/review in 2021.

-Remember, only write about your own work in this thread. In order to maintain the purpose of this thread, posts mentioning work by authors other than the writer of any individual post will be edited to remove those references.

-For Fic Moments categories, please place the moment you are writing about under spoiler tags, then write out your explanation below it. This will help us keep the thread orderly and avoid unintentional spoiling.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Wow, nobody wants to self promote? Very well.

For your consideration, Blackjack Gabbiani's Obsession, in the following categories:

Best Pokémon Chaptered Fic (Established Author)
Over the past 20 years, Obsession has been my passion project, and I've worked hard to develop a dreamlike style that encapsulates the main character's growing detachment from the world, shaping him into the obsessive collector we see in the second movie. Building him into what he becomes, getting him from point A to B, is an obsession of my own, and I believe that Jirarudan's story--overall a story of downfall and isolation--is something truly worthy.


Best Expansion of Canon
Taking a character that had maybe 20 minutes of screen time and has only been referenced offhandedly once since 1999 (or 2000 depending on where you are in the world) and turning him into the main character, shaping not only him but the Pokémon world as a whole, has been quite the undertaking. The story fleshes out not only a minor villain, but the overall setting of 1980s Kanto and the overall world, with myths and references and new regions, through the eyes of a curious boy who wants to experience it all.


Best Character Dynamic
Jirarudan and Veronica. These two young friends are thrust into roles that demand more than either of them are ready for, and how this manifests in their relationship is explored in depth. Although Jirarudan may not always understand why Veronica behaves the way she does, he's caught up in the ride, wanting the best for his friend but uncertain what she'll do next or why. Veronica doesn't understand why Jirarudan often seems in the dark, but she relies on him as the only person who can even come close to understanding her situation. And lingering in the background is the fact that we know who Jirarudan becomes. What will happen to their relationship in the long run?


Best Antagonist
Asaph has been a suspicious force since his first appearance, and Jirarudan quickly learns that his idea of Asaph as a "man of eternal calm" is only a façade. Asaph is eager to teach his wards, but is caught up in the conflict between doing so and wanting to preserve their youth, fearing his own aging. When he realizes that Veronica may be growing distant, he resorts to extreme measures to keep Jirarudan with him (as detailed in chapter 32), and we continue to see the effects of that action in the most recent chapters.

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There, four categories, and I'd love to see what everyone else has to say about their own stories! Please, let's keep this event going!

 

[The Great Butler]

^ I just want to say that Blackjack showed perfectly how an entry into this thread should look. Please look at it as an example!

 

[TheCharredDragon]

Okay... Phew... Here I go. shut up lack of confidence. there's no harm in trying

For your consideration, TheCharredDragon's Persona 5: Refraction, for the following category:

Best Non-Pokémon Fanfic
A Persona 5 fic that is part semi-novelization, part canon divergence, and part ship-fic, while Persona 5: Refraction is a fic I basically started writing for myself (and still mainly am), I actually do put work into it as I love Persona 5 and don't want any of the characters, plot and so on to come off as poorly written and rushed, among other things. As part novelization, I try to strike a balance between writing it to make easy to follow for anyone with no experience with Persona 5 and yet offer something different from the game for those have experienced the game. As part canon divergence, I try my best to have the reasons for it diverging makes sense, as well as make the "half-OC, half-fem!Joker" character I added not seem shoehorned into the game's plot. As part ship-fic, I try to make the romance an important cog, but not take over the plot from the original game. And as a Persona 5 fic, I try to keep the spirit of one of the reasons I love Persona in it: a story about how relationships, no matter what kind, helps us learn about ourselves and improve.​

And...yeah. Unfortunately, I don't have much in the way of Pokémon fics for consideration, so that's it.

 

[DarkerShining]

I might as well give this a try.

For your consideration, DarkerShining's Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Reflecting Balance, in the following category:

Best Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Fic
It's been almost ten years now since I posted the first chapter of this fanfic. It all started with a single idea, a what-if? scenario of sorts and the consequences of such a thing happening, and I liked the idea so much that I just had to write it. From the very beginning, I've aimed to capture the feeling of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, while also doing my own spin on things. The story primarily focuses on Blitz the Shinx, Sera the Eevee and Chiaki the Mienfoo as they help retrieve the stolen Axis Tower crystals, but also features a diverse cast of supporting characters.​

There, I think that's all I've got to say for now.

 

[The Great Butler]

It's been delayed, but I would like to submit a post of my own.

For your consideration, The Great Butler's Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning in the following categories:



Most Heartbreaking Scene

Spoiler: Scene Description

Matt and Amanda's past, chapter 29 "S.O.S."



From the beginning of this chapter, a series of flashbacks plays out revealing the childhood of main character Matt and his beloved sister Amanda. What was previously hinted at throughout the story is finally revealed, and it's quite an ordeal. The difficulty of children placed in an unhappy home environment is explored, first by establishing how they only had each other to rely upon. From there, it continues to show them making concessions in order to survive after a failed attempt to reach out to a family member - their grandfather - for help, by pretending to go along with their father's wishes, only for this to backfire and cause the accident that led to Amanda's blindness. By the time they run away and end up being rescued by a younger Cyrus, I aimed to give readers a vivid look into their minds so that the reasons they became the people they are today are clear.

Best Expansion of Canon

This is an aspect I have long tried to build as a strength, and The Angel of Reckoning in 2021 has no shortage of it. Chapter 30 features a subplot the takes the species lore of Bisharp and expands upon it to tell an individual Bisharp's story. It begins with the capture of his clan's leader and his exile after losing a duel to assume the role of new leader, eventually leading to his leaving the past behind when invited to join the main characters, but not before one last stand alongside his old comrades. This is not the only instance of such expansion upon canon in the 2021 chapters; another is the appearance of Fran, who in the games was merely an NPC in Blackthorn Gym with two or three lines of dialogue. Here, she is a full-fledged character seen in a variety of roles as one of Clair's top students. All in all, this is a field I place a great priority upon.













Most Heartwarming Scene

Spoiler: Scene Description

Matt and Nekou open up to each other, chapter 29.5 "Don’t Say a Prayer for Me Now"



I was torn between putting this in Most Heartbreaking or Most Heartwarming, since it does explore two people hitting rock bottom quite bluntly. But I ultimately decided upon Heartwarming because of the message that the scene builds up to: no matter what you have been in the past, and no matter what relations you have by blood, you are not defined by those things. This is conveyed through the eyes of two people who have always had to fight against their demons on their own finally being able to open up to someone who can provide the sort of support they need. They come out better at the other end of the experience, having established a rock-solid ability to rely on each other.

Best Antagonist

Spoiler: Character Spoiler

Gabriella Bouchard/”Finansielle”



By day the loopy president of the Angel Corporation, by night the puppetmaster pulling the strings behind the Polaris cult, Gabriella is a villain to be feared. Whenever she is present, things become uneasy, as she could be anything at any time. While the Gabriella façade is somewhat goofy, some of it still bleeds into her true self as Finansielle. While embracing her true self, she becomes a sinister and yet maliciously playful figure, so supremely confident in things happening according to her wishes that she barely needs to care. Yet, letting down one’s guard is unwise – that playfulness masks a truly horrific agenda, one driven home by the goal she lays out when revealing the truth to Colress: bringing a monster from deep space to Earth so that it may become a perfect lifeform and transform humanity’s evolution alongside it.

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[Venia Silente]

Just in case this drives more activity and let's face it, on the internet no one owes you tooting your own horn:

For Your Consideration:
Venia Silente's Blink, Slowly, in the following categories:


Best Character Dynamic
Shinx and Riolu are a staple team formation in PMD fics, exploiting the factors of cuteness, Aura umbrella powers and popularity power as much as it is possible. Here, we see the friendship taken to its logical conclusion.

Keller and Sasqūe are the best friends, and have been for a long time. Now evolved, they have long left those traits behind in favour of the closeness, experience and combat readiness expected of veterans, and they show in the most important day of their lives how deeply they know each other, for how true is your friendship if you don't know each other in the dark? And the dark is all this story is about.



Best Pokémon-Centric
Blink, Slowly is about a Pokémon world, one so big and so far above what our characters can handle. All around you there is war, treason and greed, but also the franchise staples of team-building, supernatural powers and hope in changing the world together. As true Pokémon, our lead characters fight to surpass the weight this world throws upon them with a drive that's held them up for a long, long time, in a world they must defend.
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