Community Corner: Aimee Saturne
Welcome back to our latest issue of the Community Corner, where we spotlight and interview individuals about what they get up to in the Halo community—art, cosplay, animation, streaming, Forge, and beyond.
Last time, we were joined by Entransing to learn about her journey with Halo as a long-time fan and as an artist.
For this issue, we're joined by Aimee Saturne, who dabbles in cosplay, streaming, performance, and more!
Welcome, Aimee! Thank you very much for joining us for this month’s issue of the Community Corner. Tell us about yourself—who are you, what do you do as part of the Halo community, and where can we find you?
Thank you so much for having me—it’s truly an honor! My name is Aimee Saturne, and within the Halo community, I’m a very, very long-time fan of the games and all that they encompass.
I stream Halo Infinite on Twitch, and I also cosplay as our beloved Cortana! You can find me on Twitch (and pretty much every other social media platform) @AimeeSaturne.
What’s your origin story with Halo? How did this great journey begin for you?
Oh yes, the Spartan origin story... It happened long ago one fine evening. My friends and I were bored out of our minds and one of them suggested we play Halo: CE. I was about 8 years old and had no idea what that was. When we finally got to play it, I was horrific at it, but it was the most fun I’d had in a long time.
What piqued my interest too was that it was not only amazing sonically and visually, but the storyline captivated me all at once. The Halo games quickly became my favorite, and that carried on with me through the years. It didn't matter who I hung out with or what anyone usually played, Halo was always the game everyone could agree on and have a great time with.
Are there any particular areas of the series that you find yourself gravitating towards—are you drawn towards campaign, multiplayer, Forge, expanded universe stuff, cosplay, events, or a mix of various things?
It’s definitely a mix of things! I am typically a campaign girl through and through, but more recently, especially with streaming, multiplayer has garnered a special place in my heart too. It’s such a fun, competitive area to be a part of, and getting those medals when you make a great play is such a rush.
Generally, though, getting wrapped up in the lore of Halo is so intriguing and I’m always champing at the bit to learn more. The universe is so extensive between the games and novels, and now with the TV series as well we get a look into the characters we know and love in a different light, which I happen to appreciate! While I’d always been obsessed with the games, HaloWC ‘22 is really what set off my desire to fall into my obsession and do all I could to share my love of Halo with the world, from streaming to cosplaying as Cortana.
Who are some of your favorite Halo characters (and why)?
I’m sure most can agree when I say Chief, Cortana, and the Weapon are my absolute favorites. It’s so hard to pick just a handful of these complex characters when there are so many to choose from across the entirety of Halo, but I also love Kelly-087, Avery Johnson, Dr. Halsey, Exuberant Witness, and Kai-125 from the television series. I think they all bring something different to the table when it comes to the storylines they’re a part of.
The novels really bring out deeper aspects of some of the aforementioned characters that we don’t get to see as much in the games, and you really get to learn a lot about the method behind their madness—especially Dr. Halsey. It’s just fun to follow them and to learn about the person behind the Mjolnir or uniform.
And Exuberant Witness is adorable, I just love her voice and personality!
Tell us a bit about how you got into streaming and what you've been up to on that front!
I have to thank HaloWC ‘22 for my journey in streaming! Before I attended the event, I had only ever streamed about twice in my life and both times were the Halo Infinite campaign. When I attended Worlds, I sat in on some of the panels, the “Women in Streaming” one in particular, and was immediately inspired to really start streaming Halo and sharing my love of the game with others who felt the same.
I didn’t realize what a large community Halo had, especially online! So, when it was all said and done, I got my set-up together the best I could and started grinding Infinite’s multiplayer. I played bots for the longest time because I was so horrible at it, I didn’t want my teammates to hate me!
Eventually, I felt confident to move on to playing actual humans, and the rest is history. In March 2023, I became a Twitch Affiliate streaming Halo and that was pretty huge for me because I never expected nor intended to get there. I still stream all the time and I’ve gathered such a fun little community that I could not be more grateful for. My viewers really make my world go round, and I’ve made such good friends who actually understand the obsession!
After your marvelous performance as the Arbiter in our HaloWC 2022 Scene Reading panel, I wanted to ask whether there are things like voice acting or singing that you do?
Being the ‘22 Arbiter was the best role of my life! I am a singer and actress/voice actress—really just an all-around creative as I wear a bunch of hats in different mediums. I’ve been singing and acting since I was a kid though, and actually have music out now on all the usual streaming platforms. I’d always wanted to voice an AI or a big bad in Halo, though… so thank you for having me on-stage to do just that!
Do you have a favorite Halo soundtrack? What aspects of music resonate with and inspire you most?
Trying to pick a favorite soundtrack is so complicated! There are beautiful pieces within all of them, and of course I own them all as well. Halo 4 and Halo 2 are ones that I’m consistently turning back to.
I love when a song creates a feeling and atmosphere, and that carries into video game scores as well. Rather than just being background noise to a cutscene or a fight, all of the tracks heighten each moment sonically. I haven’t heard a Halo soundtrack I haven’t liked, and I can confidently say they each evoke emotion of some kind. And then of course you have bangers too, like Impend (Halo 2) or Covenant Dance (Halo: CE).
Speaking of HaloWC, we just had the 2023 event a few short weeks ago! Which team were you rooting for?
I was rooting for OpTic Gaming and feel so lucky to have seen them compete again this year! Lucid is my favorite player, though they’re all amazing. I could not even begin to imagine being so good at Halo.
We got iced pretty bad by FaZe Clan in the end, but I know we’ll come back strong!
Did you have any other memorable moments and highlights throughout HaloWC 2023?
Oh, plenty! Speaking of Lucid, I got a fist bump from him when the team was making their way onto the stage for the final tournament—that was huge for me.
I also got to see Steve Downes and Jen Taylor again, and meet Keith David for the first time, too! It’s still so crazy to hear and see your childhood right in front of you.
Meeting up with fans and friends was also a major highlight for me. It’s such a warm and fuzzy feeling to have such a welcoming and awesome community, and the Halo World Championship always brings that.
Tell us a bit about cosplay. Do you have a favorite character to cosplay, and are there others you want to do in the future? What is it that draws you to those characters?
My favorite character to cosplay is Cortana, but I’ve dabbled in other franchises before (like Harley Quinn) without realizing I was cosplaying. I wish I had a cooler story, but I’ve just always been into escapism, and I’ve always wanted to be Cortana, crazy as that sounds. The storyline between her and the Master Chief really captivated me and tugged at my heartstrings, especially once we got around to Halo 4 and realized just how deep their companionship ran.
After watching the HaloWC ‘22 cosplay contest, I realized that I kind of could be her! It didn’t take long before I was gathering all the elements I needed to do so, and figuring out how to edit photos to feature my cosplay in some iconic stills from the game itself.
Down the line, I would really love to cosplay the different variations of Cortana as well—like Halo 5’s version, the Weapon, and even Dr. Halsey, considering she was the model for Cortana to begin with.
What’s your favorite Halo game (or, if it’s too hard to pick one, I suppose we can let you have two!) and why?
The ultimate question! My favorite is Halo 4, but it is very hard to choose just one, and so I’ll have to pick Halo Infinite as well—both for different reasons.
Halo 4 was just so deliciously Halo in my opinion, and it focused so much on the bond between our favorite Spartan and his AI, which had always fascinated me to begin with. Seeing Cortana fall to rampancy and the Chief so desperate to help her, all while fighting the ultimate battle against the Didact? I loved every second of it.
As for Halo Infinite, I loved the storyline as well, the kind of sadness that the storyline held from the aftermath of Halo 4 and Halo 5, and going through it with the Weapon, who begins trying to find herself as well. However, Infinite’s multiplayer was huge for me, and it brought me my streaming journey, as well as so many amazing friends and opportunities. It’s given me some of the best moments of my life so far to date, so I love Infinite on a more personal level.
What are some of your biggest inspirations in life?
The desire for something more; to do what I love and do it unabashedly. I do still have specific inspirations such as certain people, places, or the dreams and aspirations I have, but generally, my drive to make the most of my life is what keeps me going and always chasing the next thing and looking for the next opportunity.
I’m a big advocate of doing all the things you love to do, because life is short and you never want to regret not doing something. If it doesn’t work out the way you want to, at least you tried. That’s further than some people get at all!
What does being part of the Halo community personally mean to you?
Being part of the Halo community means family—connection. We all have this immense love of a video game that is far more than just a video game to us when it comes down to it. I have never felt more connected with a certain group of people, or more welcomed, especially when I first dipped my toes into the water that is this community. Near or far, we can all get together and play this game and have a good time (or tilt!) and it reminds me of the days when we only had LAN parties and couch co-op.
Having a sense of community around something that I had never realized I could before is enlightening, and I feel proud to be part of such a wide variety of gamers who know exactly how I feel about the series without even having to explain it. We Halo fans go hard!
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I’m actually a marine corps brat, born and raised in Japan. I always say USNC is just in my blood! It’s just too bad Dr. Halsey didn’t turn me into a Spartan. ONI here I come…
There was some heated debate about this between Steve Downes and Jen Taylor on-stage at HaloWC this year, so I thought I would put it out there to folks in the community: Pineapple on pizza—yay or nay? And how about anchovies?
I remember that! Don’t judge me (or do), but absolute yay. Pineapple is actually my favorite! I love a good Hawaiian pizza, and now I feel like I’m probably going to order one tonight. I’m not sure I’ve ever had anchovies on it...but it doesn’t particularly sound like something I’d want to try, either.
Thank you so much again for joining us, Aimee! Do you have any parting words to share?
Thank you so much for having me! This was so fun and really such a dream. Halo is forever, and I would just love to thank everyone involved in making it exactly what it is today, from Combat Evolved to Infinite.
I’ve already mentioned it’s become much more than just a video game, and it’s got such a special place in my heart—and in many others. I can’t wait to attend more events and continue to dive deeper into all that the wonderful universe of Halo offers.