The Hellmouth Awards

Here are the categories open for nomination.

Remember that this site celebrates RARE PAIRS ONLY and stories with primary pairings of the following may not be nominated: Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Angel, Willow/Tara, Willow/Kennedy, Willow/Oz, Xander/Spike, Xander/Angel, Xander/Anya, Xander/Cordelia, Spike/Willow, Spike/Angel, Angel/Cordy, Fred/Wes, Fred/Gunn, Giles/Buffy, Faith/Buffy, Angel/Darla, Spike/Drusilla, Wesley/Lilah
In the Threesome/Moresome category, the following groups are not allowed: Spike/Buffy/Angel, Spike/Xander/Angel, Spike/Drusilla/Angel

• Best Angst
  Displays a general depressive mood or sense of anxiety or disquiet, but does not contain graphic dark elements. The ending can be happy or sad. A fic cannot be nominated in both the Angst and Dark categories.


• Best Dark
  Must contain some overarching or graphic dark element or theme, such as dubious consent or non-consensual sex, torture (psychological or physical) or slavery. A fic cannot be nominated in both the Angst and Dark categories.


• Best Fluff
  Should have an overall content or happy mood and give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. A fic cannot be nominated in both the Fluff and Comedy categories.


• Best Comedy
  Is primarily comedic in nature. It should make you laugh! A fic cannot be nominated in both the Fluff and Comedy categories.


• Best Romance
  Focuses on a romantic pairing between two individuals of any sex. Should be primarily romantic in tone.


• Best Rare Male Slash
  Focuses on a romantic or sexual pairing between two male individuals. A fic cannot be nominated in more than one of the following: Male Slash, Femslash, Het.
  Fics with primary pairings of Xander/Spike, Xander/Angel, and Spike/Angel are not allowed.


• Best Rare Femslash
  Focuses on a romantic or sexual pairing between two female individuals. A fic cannot be nominated in more than one of the following: Male Slash, Femslash, Het.
  Fics with primary pairings of Willow/Tara, Faith/Buffy and Willow/Kennedy are not allowed.


• Best Rare Het
  Focuses on a romantic or sexual pairing between a heterosexual couple (male and female). A fic cannot be nominated in more than one of the following: Male Slash, Femslash, Het.
  Fics with primary pairings of Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Angel, Willow/Oz, Xander/Anya, Xander/Cordelia, Spike/Willow, Angel/Cordelia, Fred/Wes, Fred/Gunn, Giles/Buffy, Angel/Darla, Spike/Drusilla or Wesley/Lilah are not allowed.


• Best Rare Threesome/Moresome
  Should focus on a romantic or sexual pairing between three individuals of any gender.
  Disallowed pairings for this category: Spike/Buffy/Angel, Spike/Xander/Angel, Spike/Drusilla/Angel.


• Best AU
  Should deviate significantly from canon events. All-Human AU's are not allowed.


• Best Post-Series
  Should occur after one or both series ended. If the fic is post-BtVS, it should not be primarily set in Season Five of Ats. Displays a continuation of the spirit of the Buffyverse into the future.


• Best In-Series
  Should occur during the time covered by canon of one or both of the shows and should match the spirit and feel of the series.


• Best Characterization
  Should show excellent characterization, including voice, dialogue and understanding of character behaviors. Please include the character you're nominating for in the provided place on the nomination form.


• Best Plot
  For well-plotted, interesting stories that you can sink your teeth into.


• Best Heat
  For fics that heat things up!


• Best Drabble/Ficlet
  For fics from 100 to 999 words.


• Best One-Shot
  For fics between 1,000 and 9,999 words that stand alone and are not part of a series.


• Best Long
  For fics at or over 10,000 words that stand alone and are not part of a series.


• Best Series
  For a series of fics containing two or more stories, totaling equal to or more than 10,000 words.


• Best Kink
  Should contain, but does not have to focus on, some aspect of kink.


• Most Unbelievably Believable
  For stories with a pairing that shouldn't work – according to canon - but the author actually sells it well, keeping the characters true and developing a scenario that makes you believe it really could happen.


• Best Rare Femslash Author
  For authors who write multiple rare femslash pairings, and has the understanding of characters and canon that make the pairings work.


• Best Rare Male Slash Author
  For authors who write multiple rare male slash pairings, and has the understanding of characters and canon that make the pairings work.


• Best Rare Het Author
  For authors who write multiple rare het pairings, and has the understanding of characters and canon that make the pairings work.


• Best Overall Rare Pairs Author
  For authors who write multiple rare pairings in more than one type of pairing – male slash, femslash and het – and has the understanding of characters and canon that make the pairings work.

Since this site is designed to honor rare pairings, the following pairs are not allowed to be nominated!

• Buffy/Spike


• Buffy/Angel


• Willow/Tara


• Willow/Kennedy


• Willow/Oz


• Xander/Spike


• Xander/Angel


• Xander/Anya


• Xander/Cordelia


• Spike/Willow


• Spike/Angel


• Angel/Cordy


• Fred/Wes


• Fred/Gunn


• Giles/Buffy


• Faith/Buffy


• Angel/Darla


• Spike/Drusilla


• Wesley/Lilah