*Cetus Media Awards - S50

[lemonoppy]

Hello everyone! Welcome to a new media awards series, the Cetus Awards! The Cetus Awards is a series of media awards meant to showcase and highlight the amazing work that we’ve seen and read in the ISFL each season, and to give recognition to the authors that make it happen.

The Cetus Awards follow the Gemini Award series by @Baron1898 which have recently ended with Season 47. The Gemini series was one of the most influential pillars of the league, and while I can’t speak to being nearly as accomplished a writer as Baron, the hole that the Geminis left is something I hope to help fill, and copied many things from the Geminis, from award categories to even deriving its name from them, inspired by the star sign, the Cetus Constellation and award series hopes to help anyone who wants to read great work that’s been written during this past season.

Format and Rules

• The Cetus season encompasses the length of time between the end of the S49 Ultimus to the end of the S50 Ultimus
  
• There are 5 categories for awards: Best Article, Best Series, Whale’s Choice (Comedy), Best Author, and Best New Author
  
• Articles are only eligible for a single category, even if the series started in an earlier season and there was only one eligible piece in the current media season.
  
• Nominees in each category are ordered by author name alphabetically
  

Categories

I tried experimenting with the categories and award types, I wasn’t able to come up with something that satisfactorily covered enough bases and was “un-fiddly”. While there were thoughts on splitting to “Newswriter”/”Canon”/etc., sticking with Best Article and Best Series was the way to go.

I have added a Whale’s Choice award for best comedy/meme article that is reserved for something that made me laugh out loud and was, as I interpreted it, meant to be a short-form comedy article.

Best New Author Award

The Best New Author Award is available for new users who have created within three seasons of the current draft class. For the S50 awards, this includes players from S51, S50, and S49.

Winners of a previous Best New Author or Best Author award are ineligible for this award, and new authors who might win Best Author for the year will be considered for that award before Best New Author.

Baron1898 Award for Best Author

In order to recognize the amazing work and dedication of Baron around the league and especially for league media, the Best Author award will be named the Baron1898 Award for Best Author. From her work on her own amazing media to the media award series she’s created, I can’t thank her enough for the work and time she’s put into this. Congratulations on your Ultimus and coming back to a more reasonable time zone.

Disclaimer: This is not some objective measure of quality of writing, it’s a reflection of my taste and what I enjoyed during the season. I have read every piece and while it was a lot, I enjoyed every last one.

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Best Article
The Best Article category covers exceptional standalone articles that stand out for their insightful analysis, original perspectives, and clear, compelling narratives.

Nominees

@Amkamkamk, Who over/under performed this season? An Amkalytics S50 Season Review

It has been a few seasons since we have had an Amkalytics article and it was worth the wait. An Amkalytics article is one that takes sim numbers, transposes them into stats, and through a stout refusal to actually take a stats course, weaves a narrative through the numbers that betray how informed Amk actually is about numbers and analytics.

@caleb.grim, Rivalries in the ISFL

An ISFL media mainstay, a Caleb Grim article takes a subject of interest from the perspective of examining league teams from historical perspectives and exploring what they mean and the connections between players, teams, and users. This rivalry article is no different, and seeing the web of wins, losses, and Arizona dominating playoff San Jose was fantastic.

@CROney3, S50 Ultimus/Ultimini Sportsbook Betting Guide

We didn’t see so much sportsbook or betting information this season, but CROney3 delivered with some lines for the big game. With some great justification and analysis of how each team and player was used during the regular season, Croney came in with a choice with each line. Croney, unfortunately, went 1 for 5 with the defensive stats, but went the inverse 4 for 5 on the offense. After including the split on the kicker stats, following Croney lines would have left you down after the casino took its share.

@Fangorn, How to Win the Ultimus and Influence People

General Managers, if you’re interested in becoming a winner, Fangorn has the details for you! Fangorn examines the history of Ultimus winners, what it takes to win it all, and the best and worst performances in the final game.

@Megsychan, History of Ultimus and Ultimini Bids (S28-49)

A new user and new voice in the ISFL scene, Megsychan has come through with a variety of work, mostly narrative, with a smattering of exploratory work on our league’s history. In this work, we not only get a history and analysis of the history of our championship games, we also get an understanding of the importance of the narrative and world of the league, and it is all the richer for it.

@Megsychan, The Akane Mirror

I had some considerations on where to put this article, Megsychan has a set of articles about the life, thoughts, and trials that Akane Saruta has gone through, and while it may be a compelling narrative, I chose to consider them as individual pieces. I’ve loved the writing and throughline of the series, and when considering the interweaving of Saruta with the rest of league media, this one jumped to the top.

@kdr, S51 ISFL draft board

Something that I found very compelling was the “freshness” of the article, and ideas of the piece. While we get many mocks every season, this was the first I could remember doing an analysis on the draft class itself, and the users contained within it. The idea of a prospect roundup was very super cool and contributed to the volume of work from kdr this season.

@”speculadora”, More Rule Change Words

I really enjoy rule change articles or pieces on the structural aspects of the league. Speculadora has always been a fantastic author with great ideas on what might make the league more interesting or fun to play. A luxury tax apron for picks is a cool idea, and so are compensatory picks, maybe the existence of comp picks would promote more free agency and fewer sign-and-trades for greater churn between teams.

@TubaDeus, ISFL Fantasy Waiver Targets

Our lone fantasy article for the season, Tuba comes in again with an analysis for all of us fantasy players after analyzing and examining trends from the strategies and game plans from each of the teams of S50. I’ve got a piece on ISFL Fantasy cooking, and seeing the quality content available has made me want to step up my game.

@wetwilleh, Guide to ISFL League Jobs

Media that takes care of helping users understand the league in something well formatted and easy to read is always a plus in my books. I never really considered the breadth and scope of all the various jobs that keep our league humming. This article felt in the same vein as TubaDeus’ guide to league positions and is surely to remain a staple of helping users both new and old help learn about our league.

And the Cetus for Best Article goes to… @Megsychan for History of Ultimus and Ultimini Bids (S28-49)!

I found it captivating to look at the history of the Ultimus locations and how these bids tell a lot about the story of the league, and also the examination of how we categorize each location on the wiki and keep the history of our league alive and accurate.

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Best Series
The Best Series category covers collections of articles that together form a cohesive and compelling narrative. This award series considers the quality and consistency of each article in the body of work.

Honourable Mentions

@”BradKipp”, Kipp Summers Legacy
@”jdc4654”, ISFL Power Rankings
@”Pelochyta”, S50 DSFL All-Pro + DPOTY


Nominees

@ACynicalGamer, How important is TPE? A retrospective study

Cynical Gamer started this season off with a bang, coming in with an analysis on team performance based on how we measure our players, TPE. Of course TPE as a raw number is not the entirety of the picture, with builds, player positions, and strategies also coming into play. Cynical Gamer examines the role of TPE, offense, and defense, with charts to help explain and show his findings along the way.

@jreed12, ISFL Weekly Mirror

The Weekly Mirror has become somewhat of a benchmark for series in the ISFL. The Mirror produces quality content with each iteration, bringing you the latest in news, rumours, and scandals in the ISFL. It is both an honour and a shock to be included in the Mirror, who knows what may have been uncovered?

@Muddym13, Muddy’s Matchup Reviews

Muddy came into force during the dark period of ISFL media awards, and hasn’t received enough recognition for the fantastic work that they put out on such a consistent basis. Reviewing games, watching stats, and putting it all out in snappy, digestible form. I read the Matchup Reviews weekly to learn about the games I didn’t watch, and I’m happy it continues.

@YetiTaz, DSFL Hype Thread

Yeti has created a series of hype moments for announcers to declare before each DSFL week, and they always get better. Reading these threads always gets me excited, and they keep me informed of DSFL rivalries and and storylines. This is fantastic, creative content that is as good as it gets.

@ztarwarz, Every Hall of Famer Ranked

I would be remiss not to add to this work of immense effort and analysis. Going through so much league history, player stats and seasons to look at the best of the best that we’ve had is no small feat, and somehow ztarwarz has found the time to get through it all, and put out other work as well.

And the Cetus for Best Series goes to… @Muddym13 for Muddy’s Matchup Review!

I find it difficult to overstate how much work and time Muddy has put into these reviews, and so consistently over so many seasons. Is it wrong to take my fantasy waiver decisions based on how Muddy hypes up players? Probably, but I got 3rd place this season so it can’t be that bad.

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Whale’s Choice (Comedy)

Nominees
The Whale’s Choice (comedy) selects from comedic, interesting articles about the league and users that are in good taste, knowing jest, and amusing meta-connections.

@Jackienape, ISFL Quote Wall, Volume 2

Quotes are always great, especially when they’re out of context. I want to get on this wall, and will do whatever it takes.

@jreed12, Top 25 DL14 Cat Gifs, Ranked

This is pretty inside baseball but I’m all for it. Cat nodding gif.

@oknom, ISFL + DSFL Power Rankings: Backpack Edition!

I didn’t even think of buying ISFL themed backpacks, and now I might, except the Arizona one looks pretty bad. I would bully anyone who wore this in public.

@lock180, Juni: The Franchise Destroyer

Any time Zenzy aims his sights as a user, it’s sure to be a spot of real fun and way more research than you’d expect, and this is no different. Slandering Juni is also a patriot’s duty so this was a perfect combo.

And the Cetus for Whale’s Choice (Comedy) goes to… @lock180 for Juni: The Franchise Destroyer!

Zenzy doesn’t miss (except all the field goals) and Juni does miss all the playoffs and TPE his player has earned and they combine to a Cetus win!

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Baron1898 Award for Best Author
The Baron1898 Award for Best Author celebrates a writer whose work consistently demonstrates exceptional writing, creativity, and voice.

Nominees

@ACynicalGamer
Cynical Gamer wrote a huge two-parter this season, with a ton of analysis on TPE, and proving that TPE is a scam. He promised some more content in this vein, and if he delivers, us readers will be enjoying some stats based content down the line.

@Amkamkamk
Amk does so much for the league and I never expect an article from him, but always appreciate any time I see something of his come out. An Amk piece is a rare treat, and I hope we get more in the future.

@caleb.grim
The third member of the nominee list is a fellow single article-r. Caleb works to weave fictional stats and narrative together and truly captures the voices and perspectives of many in the league.

@kdr
Kdr was a consistent author who grew throughout the season, coming up with mock drafts, narrative content, and DSFL analysis as well. Kdr articles continue to get better and I continue to click on them as soon as I see them.

@lock180
It was a relatively quiet season for Zenzy after their huge push in previous seasons; you can always hear the Zenzy voice whenever you see it, and the lack of quantity is not in any way a reflection in a change in quality of writing that makes you want to get involved.

@Megsychan
Another new author, Megsychan has such a wide range and such a strong passion for the role playing aspects of the game that it makes me want to contribute and join the universe. It is incredible to see a user join the media scene in such a strong way.

@Muddym13
The measure of consistency, Muddy comes out with articles whenever you might want to read one, and they’re always on the mark.

@Pelochyta
One of the leading members of the S51 draft class, Pelochyta has a variety of media that range from the airplane emission score of draftees to mock drafts to scoring defensive players in the DSFL. I love their enthusiasm for the league.

@YetiTaz
Yeti has been a huge hype man for the DSFL and their enthusiasm for the league has really made the DSFL game days way more exciting for me.

@"ztarwaz"
Ztarwarz may have put the most hours into media I’ve ever seen. Ztarwarz articles always look at the history of the league and compare players, teams, and games to each other to show us how things match up, and I’m always for it.

And the Baron1898 Award for Best Author goes to… @Megsychan!

[A]nd soon enough, Akane was pounding her chest like a triumphant gorilla, asserting her authority over her domain.

Megsychan has been a delight to read, her work is incredibly thoughtful and captivating, she weaves together narrative, worldbuilding, and fellow authors to create a tableau of the lives of our players in the shared world. Truly a star in the media game, welcome to the ISFL and I can’t wait for more.

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Best New Author
The Best New Author recognizes an emerging writer who has quickly made an impact with the quality and impact that they have created with their fresh voice.

@Bradkipp
One of the Summers, Brad Kipp follows the career of Kipp Summers and tells the story of a future hall of famer and their journey through the league.

@IR15H0000000000
Narrative and stat media both, Irish has been getting more comfortable in the media scene and I hope to see some more.

@kdr
Kdr has really taken charge of the media scene for mocks and prospect info, and I have enjoyed the perspective of someone new to the league with such a stout body of work.

@parky
Parky’s work always has some analysis and thoughts on the structure of teams as well as recapping what happened. Resident OCO defender, let’s see how the players on that team go based on his projections!

@Pelochyta
Another new author with a lot of range, Pelochyta has gotten involved with a huge array of content and mock drafts.

@RoyRivers
Roy goes on a trip to the Best New Author section! I love the focus on DSFL defense and hope they continue and expand on that going forward!

@YetiTaz
Although I was slightly confused and worried about titling an article the Gas Chamber, the official DSFL Hype Man injects a lot of life and excitement into the league that I love.

And the Award for Best New Author goes to… @kdr!

No idea what the draft order will be, so I will randomly drw a number from my head corresponding to the alphabetical tab in the draft tracker for S50 and that will be who drafts.

Kdr has been one of the strongest, most engaged media writers from an already strong S50 draft class. Conveying thoughtfulness and an analytical bent combined with just some wild chaos like picking teams to choose by RNG’ing numbers from his mind, I’m excited for kdr media and I’m sure we’ll see more to come!

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Conclusion

Thank you everyone for reading the first edition of the Cetus Awards, I hope to do these between every off-season while contributing an article or two of my own every season!

Congrats to @Megsychan, @Muddym13, @lock180, and @kdr on your awards! Maybe we’ll get HO funding for these as well!

Thank you to all the authors this season, it was a fantastic media season and truly difficult on nominations and winners.

See you all in S51, and happy writing!

[Baron1898]

I’m kicking myself for never thinking of giving a special award to comedic short-form. Congratulations to every one of the winners, and thank you lemon for keeping the flame of media awards alive for as long as you see fit to continue this. It’s such a great motivator for everyone in the community to produce some more awesome content, and that’s a win for us all.

(That being said, smh the Geminis weren’t named after the constellation and Cetus is not a roller coaster so 0/10)

[jreed12]

Zenzeroni still getting the best of me in the afterlife :agony:

[Amkamkamk]

Thank you for the kind words and for undertaking the effort to keep this going!

[kdr]

It was an honor just to be nominated and I am humbled by the words.  I think well deserved wins by @Megsychan as I think two of my favorite things to read in my short time in the league were actually the two host bids that they wrote. Such research, and learned and entertained, well done.

Wait, what I won an award...where's that paper.  Ahem... I would like to thank the nominating committee ... but seriously.  I am amazed since I don;t have any allusions on being a great writer and it has never been a love, but I did find it to be very fun to do and hopefully a little entertaining for all of you and especially all of you that read and commented on the articles good or bad, that is really what makes it worth while. 

Also, glad that my prospect board was a fresh new take, because I have already started working on the S52 board as I thought it was something that worked well and deserves to be revisited.

[lock180]

What can I say I'm a fungi! 

Big shoutout to @Megsychan. Well deserved best author award. Love reading creative stuff outside my own!

[Baron1898]

What can I say I'm a fungi! 

Big shoutout to @Megsychan. Well deserved best author award. Love reading creative stuff outside my own!

Lock acknowledging other people’s media? It’s a Halloween miracle

[Muddym13]

Wow I am very honoured to be chosen for a Cetus Media Award, your words are super thoughtful and I appreciate them a ton! I think I can speak for a lot of people and say that whenever I see you posted a new media I always get pumped to read it since I know it will be top quality! Also congrats to the other winners and nominees, you all put in a bunch of work and I enjoy checking in every day to see all the new media posted. Can’t wait to see what else you all have in store and thanks again!

[Megsychan]

I want to thank you, and everyone else involved in this RP, for the amazing reception my writing has gotten. I don't always get this in every project I end up joining; I literally just left a PBP game the other week because the GM claimed I wrote too much and that I was cluttering his backlog with, you know, actually trying to develop my character. One thing you learn when you do roleplays is that you got to find the people who appreciate you and hold them tight, because they're one in a million in the wider sphere. From my brief time here in the ISFL, I felt that with the vast, vast majority of the people here do appreciate me, and gave me nothing but the warmest reception, and I appreciate the fuck out of that.

I remember one of the things that really got me to fall in love in the league, after initially considering leaving after perhaps not the greatest draft experience in the world, was coming onto the San Jose locker room and seeing how many people there reacted to one of my media posts after I published. Specifically, it was my presser, which I still hold is one of my favorite pieces I wrote, shameless plug here. There were people who I never interacted with once in the league up to that point talking to me about how much they loved my writing. People who clearly weren't just saying it to be polite, but actually showed they had a basic understanding of the plot line I was making with Akane. That made me so happy that day, because I will be honest, I do get paranoid about shit like that. Constantly feeling that no one likes me, no one wants me around, etc. I want to stress this is a me issue. I'm not trying to subtweet anyone here. I have trust issues sometimes, and that's no one's fault nor responsibility but my own.

But with those trust issues in mind, I'd see my own media, and look at the fact that honestly, it doesn't get the most engagement nor does it pull the best numbers re view count, and it did, at that point, make me wonder how much people cared about what I was writing about. I'd get the usual crowd of a few people (including some friends who I send my writing to but otherwise don't participate in the rp, including my gf at the time), to comment about how they'd like a piece, but I see that my media just really wasn't doing much on the forum itself. And you have to remember, I come from a RPing tradition where I'm used to people constantly responding to each other, building off of each other, etc, so the silence was sometimes deafening. I really am not just used to posting shit and not seeing anyone respond back. But that moment in the San Jose locker room, along with similar moments in both the rookie chat and to a lesser extent the main chat (I prefer the rookie chat outside of gameday, what can I say?)... it really did make me feel appreciated at that moment. It made me realize that despite the numbers, despite the limited engagement, people actually do care about what I have to say. People do care about Akane. People are invested in my blorbo's plight as she tries to adjust herself into a life of stardom.

I don't think I really properly paid that moment back to San Jose at this point, if I can be honest, but hopefully as I am called up this season, I can show the love back.

On a semi-related note, this rp has helped a lot with my mental health. You guys obviously have only seen me for a few months, and I'd rather not overshare on a public facing space, but my output can be... spotty, at times. But the ISFL represented something so fresh, so engaging to me as a core conceit to write about, appealing to so many niche interests of mine all at once, that I couldn't help but feel inspired to write. And so, I did. I even talked to my therapist about you guys from time to time (My first messages on the discord was even sent in his office lmao). And... one of the things I said in my last session, is that I felt like writing for Akane has made me feel more prepared to try to go back to finish my masters, since I'm showing I can write on schedule and actually produce at a reasonable pace again. It's still not certain, its still not finalized, but the fact I am even at this point at all... I got to thank all of you guys again. You lot have no idea how much y'all helped me in my fucked up journey in life.

I want to shout out @jreed12, @AustinP0027 @.HoshinoIchika, @WALDO, @Gadget, @Bigred1580 and everyone else in the Dallas LR for always believing in me, even when I had to take a mental health break early on when I hadn't fully established myself yet. I keep talking about how much I love Dallas and my time there, and I stand by it. I couldn't have been drafted into a better team. On the San Jose side, I want to shout out @RussDrivesTheBus for being much more accommodating than he needed to be in my transition into the ISFL proper. Hopefully, this season, you'll see the Yajin in full gear. If I don't get the DB record for most sacks and/or fumbles, then the sim hoed me. I want to also shout out all the friends I made talking on the rookie server, far too many to list, but the main reason why this community is so great is the people who make it up. And of course, the person I have to thank the most is my love of my life, @Butteryicarus. You give me reason to keep going every night. I love you so much.

Also I lost power writing this which is why it took so long to post this I am so sorry ;_;

[RussDrivesTheBus]

I'm glad you've been able to enjoy this community and that your RP has been living up to what you hoped it would! Now, it's time to see what the next chapter holds! Can't wait to see some new Akane art done in the Green and Gold!!!