Disclaimer: KP isn't ours. Other fan authors and their stories aren't ours. Please don't hurt us. We're not crunchy and we don't taste good with ketchup (or mustard, or mayo).
Awards 13-18
Bohemian Rhapsody had just finished playing when Slipgate and whitem reappeared on the stage.
"Hello all, once again," Slipgate said. "We're ready to continue the Awards ceremony now. Next up is Best Friendship Story. This is a category we thought we'd try this year, because in all the Kim/Ron, Kim/Shego, and other romance and shipping focus it's often forgotten that a lot of the series had Kim and Ron just as friends, and that exploring two characters who are friends was never very far from the series. Our nominees tonight include two entries that are Kim/Ron friendship stories, but also a story which is a Drakken/Shego friendship story! We're glad for the variety. Without further ado, the nominees for Best Friendship Story are:"
- When She Falls, by ZorpoxTheConqueror
- A Thief, Perhaps, That Listens, by Crystal Allen
- The Stroke of a Key, by Reader101w
Slipgate handed whitem an envelope, which he opened and checked. "And the winner for Best Friendship Story," whitem announced, "is ZorpoxTheConqueror for When She Falls!"
Amid cheers, ZorpoxTheConqueror came up on the stage. whitem handed him his Fannie Award, and after looking at it with a smile, he came up to the microphone.
"Well, Best Friendship Story. I'm honored to win, especially on a story that I honestly wasn't sure would go over that well. Before posting this story, most of the ones I'd written had been comedic, or at least more like what you see in the series – cartoony. When She Falls was really my first attempt at something more serious, and I'm surprised at the recognition it has gotten.
For the attention this story has received, I'd be remiss if I didn't recognize and thank Eddy13 for beta checking this story. He's always good at helping me with some details that I might miss, and he often gives me the confidence I need in these stories; just by reading it, and being willing to offer advice.
So, thanks to him, and all of the people who read this story and liked it. I'm still amazed that such a simple one-shot could become one of my most read stories."
ZorpoxTheConqueror smiled again, and left the stage with his Fannie Award.
~~KPF8~~
whitem took the microphone next. "There's one bit of business we need to cover before we hand out the next Award. Sometimes the Fannie Awards, in past years, had chapters or other side-stories contributed by other authors – not just by the person or people running the show. That's not something Slipgate and I were able to do this year, but we know of at least one person who was really passionate about this and ended up whipping something up that we couldn't use. Heck, we didn't even know he had until a day or two ago (as we're 'writing' this). The Real Sidekick ended up posting his contribution, which he'd hoped to be the presentation of the next category, as a standalone story. We'd like to give our props to The Real Sidekick's story A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Fannies. Let's assume The Real Sidekick and Zita survived their crazy adventures in that story, joined us, and are right now catching their breath at their table. And remember, Sidekick, this year doesn't mean you won't get to be involved next year." With that last statement, whitem couldn't help but give a bit of a chuckle.
The Real Sidekick, gasping a little, gave a thumbs up with a bit of a waxy smile. Zita handed him a bottle of water, and he took a long gulp of it.
After making sure TRS was okay, whitem went on. "So, our next category is Best Action/Adventure Story. There are a lot of nominees in this category, so let's get right to them."
- The Way of the Gun - The Red, The Green, And The Blues, by MezzicStorm
- The Hunter: Book One, by Sentinel103
- Empty Trust, by KPRS shipper
- Fractured, by TheRealSidekick
- Between the Stars, by Mahler Avatar
- The Red Hood, by DragoLord19D
- Resident Evil: The Possible Files, by DragoLord19D & MezzicStorm
- Resident Evil: The Possible Files II The Shadow War, by DragoLord19D & MezzicStorm
- Ronicus et Leo, by Mr. Wizard
whitem handed Slipgate an envelope this time. Slipgate opened it, looked inside, and announced, "The winner for Best Action/Adventure Story is Mahler Avatar for Between The Stars!"
Surprised at being called down a second time that evening, Mahler Avatar rose from his chair, and with a look of surprised happiness, walked over to the stage. Once he was given the mic, he began.
"Double Booyah! I'm very pleased to accept my second Fannie for the year, this time for Best Action/Adventure Story. As anyone who has read Between the Stars knows, I can get pretty wild and wooly at times, with chapters akin to a rollercoaster ride of galactic proportions. Chalk that up to watching way too many reruns of Star Wars, Star Trek and other sci-fi classics. (Sorry Wade, I know that phrase denigrates the genre, but I can't help it as I was 'assimilated' in my youth...) And if you were to look up either 'cliffhanger' or 'misdirection' in the dictionary, no doubt you'd find a picture of Mahler Avatar right beside them.
I should add that this award was a bit surprising to me, as I've always considered humor and parody my strongest suits as a writer. But don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not complaining by any means! Again, my deep thanks to everyone out there for reading and voting."
He was handed his Fannie Award, and with a smile and a bow, left the stage.
~~KPF8~~
Slipgate moved up to the microphone next. "So, we've had a little romance, a little action, a little adventure, what are we missing? whitem, can you tell?"
The other presenter thought a moment. "Comedy?"
"No, no, we got that one last chapter. And let's not go back there, shall we?"
whitem then said, "Well, what about drama?"
Slipgate snapped his fingers. "That's it! Our next category is Best Drama Story, because everybody needs a little drama in their lives, am I right?"
Dead silence.
"H'okay, anyway, here are the categories for Best Drama Story!"
- I Lost A World The Other Day, by temporaryinsanity91
- Mrs. Destiny, by diav
- Storm Chaser, by BearSent176
whitem looked in the envelope Slipgate handed him, and then announced, "And the winner is BearSent176 for Storm Chaser!"
whitem and Slipgate both instinctively looked to the table that CajunBear73 and Sentinel103 were sharing with the Sake Sisters, Big Mike, and Justine Flanner. Sure enough, CajunBear and Sentinel were getting up to head for the stage.
When they got there, whitem offered them the Fannie Award. After a quick look at each other, CajunBear took it from his hands while Sentinel headed for the microphone.
Sentinel103 began, "Thank you, all who took part in this year's Fannies, especially whitem and Slipgate who took this on and put together a wonderful celebration of all things Kim Possible. And CB and I would like to thank all of you who took part in the site, no matter what the capacity and to those who nominated and voted for this year's contenders, in all categories."
Next, they traded the microphone and the Fannie Award, and CajunBear73 said, "Yes indeed, and we would also like to thank those who voted for us in this category. We appreciate the consideration and hope to continue to live up to the bar you've felt we've set, delays notwithstanding. And we'd also like to thank the 'friends' of Kim Possible, the characters from the program and the OC's", as he waved to Justine, Big Mike, Wanda and Suzie, "who help make the tales of KP and the gang as enjoyable as possible."
Sentinel103 added, "But most of all thank you for keeping the flame alive, and we hope our tale, Storm Chaser continues to contribute to do its part, too."
CajunBear73 finished with, "And we give thanks to all who've come before us and paved the way for us to follow along and keep this alive. Thank you."
One of the Sake Sisters grinned while speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "And those two were about to go to the bathroom!" There were some titters from the audience, then CajunBear73 and Sentinel103 headed back to their table with their Fannie Award.
~~KPF8~~
whitem looked at the audience for a moment. "You know, it's pretty unlikely all of us would be sitting here, celebrating a Disney show for kids that ended its run six years ago, wouldn't you say?"
The audience grumbled a little, wondering where he was going with this.
"Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm an old… err… lets just say an old-er guy, and I'm still into it. Slipgate here is no spring chicken either. But… it's pretty unlikely, you know? Anyway, a category we thought we'd try out this year is just that – stories that seem really unlikely in Kim Possible. Our nominees for Best Unlikely Story are:"
- A Shocking Truth, by Magic Basher54986
- Minor Sitch?, by Martinez.D
- The Start of a Family, by Imyoshi
- Kim Possible: Origins, by LJ58
whitem handed Slipgate an envelope. Slipgate could be heard grumbling, "Just because I have white hairs all over my beard doesn't mean I'm old!" Still, Slipgate dutifully opened the envelope and looked inside. "The winner for Best Unlikely Story is Imyoshi for The Start of a Family!"
Imyoshi's eyes grew huge. He got up and made his way to the stage. Before he could begin to speak, he gasped hard – he hadn't been breathing since the win was announced.
"I can't believe it I won best unlikely story! It's just so unexpected…really! When I began writing that story I never intended to continue writing it. But with the support of my friends I further continued writing. I promised someone I wasn't going to cry 'sniff' I don't know who I promised but I'm pretty sure I promised someone…I like to thank some academy out there they did something right! I'll also want to thank all my fellow readers for always giving me positive feedback 'sniff' and taking the time out of their busy days to read my tales.
There are many people I want to thank but I wouldn't be able to list all the names here 'cough' ahem sorry I think I need a cough drop. Still you guys know who you are! For my favorite reviewer which we all can guess is CajunBear73 you were always there for me…I salute you! And for the funniest reviewer who happens to always make me laugh no matter what they write Uberscribbler…I don't normally laugh when I read but when I do I read Uberscribbler's comical words.
And finally I want to thank my personal friends that I actually talk to on a random basis…Greenjolt, Levi2000a1, Beckman, JP1124, and Final-Zangetsu! These guys have always helped me whether it was for comic relief or constructive criticism. Without the support from them I probably would've stopped writing a long time ago. Thank you guys…thank you everybody! You may applaud now…Imyoshi out!"
As the excited winner walked off with his Fannie Award (handed to him by whitem), the audience did just that. New writers in the Kimmunity were always welcome.
~~KPF8~~
Slipgate walked up to the microphone. "As witnessed by levi200a1 earlier in this ceremony, it can feel odd when you're the only nominee in a category, which makes you win by default. However, as even he recognized, even being nominated suggests that someone thought you had the best example of a story in that category, and is a vote for liking your story."
"We bring this up," whitem said, "because our next category had only one nominee. However that, in our opinion, doesn't take away from his win in any way whatsoever."
"With that said," Slipgate continued, "the winner of the Best One-Shot Overall category is When She Falls by ZorpoxTheConqueror! Everyone please give him a round of applause!"
ZorpoxTheConqueror smiled and walked up once again to another round of applause. After being handed his Fannie Award by whitem, he once again approached the podium and began.
"Me again. Being nominated in two categories is pretty amazing. Winning them both is really exciting. But having both awards go to the same story sort of blows my mind. I guess it really made an impact on some people.
This story was one of the hardest I've written; I prefer to write more action/adventure stories, but sometimes that story just hits that you have to write. This was one of those, and despite the difficulty in getting all the emotion I wanted in it, I think it was worth it.
So again, thanks to everyone who has read this story, and took the time to vote for it."
Then he returned to his seat with his second Fannie Award and a big smile on his face.
~~KPF8~~
whitem came to the microphone. "Well, folks, we've got one more category before we take a slight chapter intermission again. I could ramble on about this next category… and on and on and on and on and…"
Immediately Slipgate knew where this going and quickly interrupted. "Umm… whitem? Could you just get on with it? Please and thank you?"
"Fine… Just trying to keep a little levity going here. After all, at least I'm not wearing a wig again, right CB?" CajunBear73 quickly smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "This is one of our most significant awards. Our nominees for Best Novel-Sized Story are:"
- The Way of the Gun - The Red, The Green, And The Blues, by MezzicStorm
- Mrs. Destiny, by diav
- Storm Chaser, by BearSent176
- Between the Stars, by Mahler Avatar
- The Hunter: Book One, by Sentinel103
- Resident Evil: The Possible Files, by DragonLord19D & MezzicStorm
Slipgate opened the revered envelope, looked inside, and then looked up. "The winner for Best Novel-Sized Story is Mahler Avatar for Between the Stars!"
Mahler Avatar looked shocked, but he got up and came to the stage. He was given his Fannie Award and pointed to the microphone.
"And another big booyah in thanks for a third Fannie, this time for Best Novel-Sized Story. As anyone who has ever tried to write a 100,000+ word story can attest, writing a good novel is tough to pull off, especially as we're all just writing for the sheer fun of it. Okay, so maybe we're a little obsessed as well, but that's a good thing in this case...
To succeed in this task takes careful planning and research, a lot of work, keeping track of several plot lines at once while developing your characters, a lot of work, integrating (or even resisting at times) helpful suggestions from reviewers, a lot of work, occasionally enduring the slings and arrows of outrageous flamers, a lot of work, correcting or harmonizing that pesky detail from Chapter 1 that you had forgotten completely about until Chapter 32, and a lot of work. Did I mention a lot of work?
And many things can delay its completion: when your muse leaves you (or your wife threatens to if you don't stop spending so much time on the computer), the intervention of real life, or even sheer exhaustion. My hat goes off to anyone who simply accomplishes the feat, let alone does it well enough to be acknowledged as my fellow nominees have been. And to keep the rapt attention of your readers over a year and a half? That, gentlereaders, is a true blessing. Once again, my deepest thanks."
Mahler Avatar left the stage once again, and sat down next to a woman who appeared to have a… tolerant smile.
~~KPF8~~
whitem and Slipgate looked at each other.
Slipgate said, "Well, it's no surprise, folks, that we've just hit another intermission point."
whitem continued, "The awards ceremony will continue soon with the next six awards to be doled out!"
Slipgate finished, "Before we sign off for now, we once again want to give thanks and recognition to the passion of The Real Sidekick and anyone else who has contributed to KP Fannie Awards in the past. We hope you're liking this ceremony we're running, even if it's not as wild and crazy as some of the shindigs you guys have put on. Well, everyone, stretch your legs and have some food! We'll be back soon with more."
Bon Jovi's It's My Life started playing as they left the stage.
To be continued…