November Monthly Accolades (Until December 13th)

[Dark Link]

The final stretch of the year is here, but we still have some looking back to do. Time for another edition of the Accolades!

For those of you who are unaware, the Accolades involve nominating (and later, voting for) those who have outdone themselves in a particular area each month. For variety's sake, the categories for each month may be different.

You have until December 10th to nominate your choices. After that, we will proceed to the voting phase where members will vote among the two individuals with the most nominations for each category. An exception to this is if someone manages to get 5+ more nominations than the runner-up, in which case that person becomes the winner by default.

If you wish to participate, think of who stood out the most in a particular category this month and post your choice, along with a 2-3 sentence long explanation, in this thread. You are not barred from nominating your own characters/threads, nor do you have to fill out all the categories.

The winners will become this month's "Community Stars". And what benefits does this bring? Here is an explanation, courtesy of Alex:

As part of being voted as a Community Star/User of the Month (I use the terms interchangeable mainly because Community Star is less formal-sounding than User of the Month), these members gain a color (you must select this in your User CP) and access to the Community Stars R&D forum.  In the past this was my pseudo-private forum, but I changed the name so people are aware they can use it if they please.  I do a lot of brainstorming in there and pre-planning for stuff.  Stars are welcome to share their thoughts and their own ideas if they desire.  Or don't -- it's optional.

Community Stars R&D - http://omniverse-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=36 (Note this will only work if you're part of the User of the Month User Group)

Edit - Forum access is for the month following a member's selection as a Community Star, and this is irregardless of which 'accolade' you were selected for.

And now for this month's categories:

‘Best’ Character – Which character has you engaged the most?

‘Best’ Writer – Which writer wowed you the most?

Most Helpful – A staffer or a member who gave you amazing feedback on a story or was simply there to help you sort out some of your problems.

Rising Star – Which up-and-coming member stands at the crème of the crop? (must have joined within the last month and a half or have less than 8000 OM)

'Best' Story – What story did you find most riveting/entertaining? (For the sake of giving smaller threads a chance to shine, Dante's Abyss is automatically excluded from the running)

Most Flowery Descriptions - Even if they go overboard at times, a lot of writers love them some environmental exposition. Whether they describe every leaf on the road or stick to basics, whose descriptions left the biggest impression on you?

'Best' NPC – What non-player character (can be a site, personal, or story NPC) entertained you the most (for whatever reason). Please note who the 'owner' of said NPC is, just in case I am not familiar with them.

Purple Ribbon - Consider this a bonus category for nominating someone who, while they may not be the best and have all the twitter followers, you believe deserves to be recognized for what they bring the the Omniverse. (The winner must be a DIFFERENT person than last month's winner; the October winner was Epsilon Dawn)

[Marcus Wright]

For "best" story- I'd like to nominate a Complicated Business with Marcus, Sans and Captain America.

[Ezrihel]

I personally want to nominate Kelly MacAryn for Best Writer. Upon reading their NukaCola/PepsiCo quest, I was really impressed. From a personal standpoint, it was really fun to read. I enjoyed the flow and their writing style, and also the cracks they took at consumerism and all that lovely what not. The fight scene was well written, and I really enjoy how he used one of them as a meat shield. The whole covert hit-man style of infiltration was quite lovely and realistic, especially with how he portrayed Bubbles.

Also, the whole first few paragraphs where he's describing Tier 4? That description was some of the best I've read on the site so far. I really got into it at that point. In fact, it was the descriptions that really truly got me invested. Everything felt so real and without realising it, I was just sucked right into the story.

--

For Most Helpful, I want to nominate Mark. He's just been super supportive and just an all around swell guy to me. He's funny and he's a great listener, always willing to give feedback on my threads or my personal drama. There's really just something special about him, and I appreciate him to bits.

--

As for Most Flowery Descriptions, I'm gonna be one of those people and nominate myself for my [MWS] Ite, Misaa Est thread on my Alt account. I know, I know, that may seem sorta cheap, but I seriously worked my heart and soul out for that thread. It was super experimental, and I changed around my entire style in order to pull that thread off. I went from my normal past tense omniscient style of narration, chalk full of introspective angst to a present tense limited perspective style, and honestly the hardest part was building that world in a believable way (and that cursed present tense!). The way I chose to do it was through physical descriptions of the world around my Alt. It was really fun but incredibly challenging, and I'm proud of myself for that.

[Dark Link]

Don't be shy, folks. If you have any nominations to make, even if it is for yourself, please do so. There's only a bit more time left before the voting and there are several categories with no nominations.

[Dawnika Snow]

Best Character - Im nominating Koal for this one. His character has seen a lot of rough time and is obviously well developed for an OC. Not to mention he has a lot of matching qualities of Dawn, so it catches my interest.

Best Writer - Fucking Renji. All throughout this chase of Ballad and the fight he has proven just phenomenal. I couldn't think of anyone else to nominate for this month.

Rising Star - Senior Kelly seems to be doing well. His writing ability is well above par and he seems to grasp the rules of the site well enough for a new dude. Not to mention he seems to have a lot of plans for his character which always catches my interest.

Most Helpful - I haven't been on as much as I should have this month but I think I'll nominate Miss Sundoge not only is she such a delight to talk to, but she's always there if you need her. If she doesn't know the answer, she doesn't bullshit, she'll direct you to who you need to talk to. Love you Ams

Best Story - Im nominating myself for this one, but not for my sake. Beyond the Mountains of Madness is the work of me and Jade, and it, albeit short so far, is shaping up to be an amazing quest for a star piece. I can't compare to Jade's masterful work but I haven't done much reading this month.

Most Flowery Descriptions - Jade hands down. I mean have you read her writing? It's like...I don't even know what it's like :frog:

Purple Ribbon - Hmm, I'm no so sure who should get this one. Maybe Scarecrow? We wrecked his whole team and he harbors no bitter resentment for any of the Blades. He is also a pretty cool guy now that I'm getting to know him. Very respectful and smart.

[Victor Wolfe]

Most Flowery- This thread By Ezzy - Got to agree with her, the description was on point and a joy to read.

[Jade Harley]

I'd like to nominate Markaroon for Most Helpful! He's always around and finishes up the things that I forget to do/don't know how to do, and that's super nice.

Best Writer - Renji/Strazio! I love his work in the Moors and Fields fight, he has such a great voice in his writing. Very, very nice, and the quest he just wrapped up (in the midst of a throwdown in another verse!) was awesome. A++.

Best Character - Gaige did very well in the Fields fight, I wasn't surprised in the slightest by their superb writing ability and colorful characterization. A darn good writer.

I'd like to nominate Kelly for Rising Star, they've been chugging along nicely in their character's adventuring. I admire their writing ability and productivity!

Best Story - The Hiro vs. Humble Sage fight. Super rad, just the right balance of wildness and a decent amount of buildup. Nice work, you two!

Definitely nominating Scarecrow for Purple Ribbon, he gave it his all in the Ashen Blades vs SSoSV fight. Maximum respect. He's a nice guy, too!

[Dr. McNinja]

You meant "whose description wowed you the most?"

Most Helpful JADE. This was my first fight and you were incredibly helpful and constructive in your critique. I now know exactly what I need to improve in my writing.

Rising Star I'ma jump on the Kelly train. Didn't even notice she was a new member! (As in she's well-integrated)

Best Character MEEEEEE but also 'Crow. I do like his characterization of Scarecrow as a somewhat supernatural being and it was fun fighting him with my sci-fi crap. Soooo both of us?

[The Humble Sage]

‘Best’ Character – Although he was slain in the Nexus battle, I was really rooting for Erik Vrell to reclaim Sasuke's weapon for the remnants of Nippur. His faction has kinda fallen apart, and the fact that the survivors want to hold onto the tokens of their glory days is great for the story of the world.

‘Best’ Writer – Strazio/Renji has been consistently great for a while now, and I'm looking forward to more things from them in the future!

Most Helpful – Ammy gave me a very good critique/judging for my fight against Hiro, and has generally been doing great work all about the site. You wro 

Rising Star – joining the bandwagon, Kelly fur president!

'Best' Story – Psychic Collision by Sabrina and Sarah Kerrigan was a great read. Nothing better than two powerful psychics delving into their backstories as a means of negotiable leverage. A quality storyline.

Most Flowery Descriptions - not exactly the description of the environment, I would never have believed it was possible to so consistently and differently describe the fetid corpse-armor that is Okor, well done Plague-egg!

'Best' NPC – Not exactly for any one particular NPC, but Illidan's squad of supporting evils are nicely detailed assortment of ghastly ghouls. Well done!

Purple Ribbon - Scarecrow's done a great job on the SOSV, keeping the faction strong despite losing like half the roster. Props to you.

[Amaterasu]

Rising Star - Kelly, sure

Most Helpful - ElFailzalot. Specifically because he let me use his judging template for my first grading, and was nothing but helpful for any questions and unclarities that I had. Also he's always helpful in general!
I'll have to remember to nominate Mark for judging that clustertruck of an artefact battle, in the December accolades.

Best Story - Hiro and Sage, for the Bounty Fight: Hiro Protagonist Vs The Humble Sage fight. Admittedly I don't read a lot in the first place, but this one deserves special mentions - it was an awesome read!

[Dark Link]

You meant "whose description wowed you the most?"

Correct, thank you for pointing it out. Very sloppy on my part. =( The mistake has been rectified.

In any case, these accolades have turned out interestingly. A lot of automatic wins as a result of most categories only having a single candidate who received more than one nomination. In fact, there'd be more, but since Gaige primarily provided a reason for Scarecrow's nomination for 'Best Character', I decided that their nomination counted for him. Anyway, onto the voting phase!

Voting will last until December 13th. You may vote even if you hadn't made any nominations. If you have and a nominee you put forth is in the run-offs, you don't have to cast your vote for that specific category (unless you wish to cast your vote for the opponent instead); your nomination will automatically count as a vote for the nominee.

In cases where a member rather than a specific character wins a category, the winner can (if they so desire) post in the Accolades thread which account should get the colour. That way, those members who already have a nifty colour for their master account have the option to display their well-earned pink colour with a different account.

‘Best’ Character – Koal vs. Gaige vs. Scarecrow vs. Erik Vrell
Most Helpful – Mark vs. Amaterasu

‘Best’ Writer – Renji
Rising Star – Kelly MacAryn
'Best' Story – 'Bounty Fight: Hiro Protagonist vs. The Humble Sage' by Hiro Protagonist and The Humble Sage
Most Flowery Descriptions - Ezrihel
'Best' NPC – Illidan's henchmen (Illidan Stormrage)
Purple Ribbon - Scarecrow

[Beta Ray Bill]

I vote for Koal as best character.

[Amber Veritz]

Best Character goes to Koal.

Most Helpful to Amaterasu.

[Spur]

Koal and Mark

[Amaterasu]

Koal and Mark.

[Jade Harley]

Gaige and Mark!

[Dark Link]

Waw, I allowed this to run way too long. In any case, congratulations to our winners!

'Best' Character - Koal
‘Best’ Writer – Renji
Most Helpful - Mark
Rising Star – Kelly MacAryn
'Best' Story – 'Bounty Fight: Hiro Protagonist vs. The Humble Sage' by Hiro Protagonist and The Humble Sage
Most Flowery Descriptions - Ezrihel
'Best' NPC – Illidan's henchmen (Illidan Stormrage)
Purple Ribbon - Scarecrow

[Koal]

YAY

[Beta Ray Bill]

I am very honored to have the purple ribbon thank you all so much.