As you all must have figured out from the unsteady trickle of likes and laughs coming through on posts long forgotten, I’m not quite up to date with the IC yet. As of this moment I’ve just started page 8, and while it’s taking me a while to properly catch up, I have enjoyed my journey immensely. I’ve read every post by every player, including those that have dropped out, and can honestly say I’ve found something to enjoy in every one. I've been writing with most of you for a few years now, and can say that all of you guys have brought your absolute A-game, which made selecting my nominations especially difficult. That said, and without further rambling, here we are.

[u][b]Best Character:[/b][/u] [@AndyC]’s Superman.
[i][indent]I love Andy’s Superman. Not just this particular iteration of the character either, but every version of Supes of his that I’ve ever read. It might just be a case of practice making perfect, but I feel that Andy has an intrinsic understanding of both Clark and Superman and achieves a brilliantly compelling voice for the character that makes him so fantastically readable. Byrd says that Andy’s boiled Superman drama down to a science, but I reckon it’s more like an art.[/indent][/i]

[u][b]Best Character Concept:[/b][/u] [@Morden Man]’s Fantastic Four. 
[indent][i]I love, love, [b]love[/b] this concept. It seems like such a simple thing, but how many times have we all been forced to abandon old characters, for any one reason or another? I can’t even count the times I’ve done it myself. The thought that these characters we leave behind can go on to have further adventures of their own is one that has never once occurred to me, but works perfectly, especially when coupled with the multiverse trotting F4. The Four themselves have a great rapport with one another, similar enough to feel familiar but unique enough to still be fresh. On top of that I feel that the whole ‘Darkseid conquering [i]The New Frontier-verse’/[/i]’ angle brings a wonderful urgency to this RP, making me wonder what calamities might be waiting just round Ultimate One’s corner … And I’m a sucker for his Guy Gardner.[/i][/indent]

[u][b]Best Character Development:[/b][/u] [@Lord Wraith] 
[indent][i]It’s already been said here by Andy and Byrd, but it bears repeating. The slow burn development of Blake/Thor is a brilliant read, made all the better in my opinion by the obvious divide between the two personalities. They feel and read like two separate people, which brings a wonderful dichotomy to the table.
[/i][/indent]

[u][b]Best Story:[/b][/u] [@HenryJonesJr] 
[indent][i]So, so may contenders for this one. Like, it could have been anyone’s game. In the end though, Henry pegged it by a nose hair.  I’ve loved following Gwen on her path to becoming our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Woman, revelling in her victories and feeling the pains of her defeats. Her ‘voice’ makes Gwen incredibly likeable, which makes it that much easier to get invested in her story. Then there’s all the dangling plot points that I can’t wait to see get resolved, principal among them being Peter finding out about Gwen’s role in Ben’s death, and her dad finding out just who’s under Spider-Woman’s mask. [/i][/indent]

[u][b]Best Post:[/b][/u] [@Simple Unicycle] 
[indent][i]Again, another super-difficult choice, but I think I have to give it to Uni’s [url= https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4712969 ][b]‘And Then It Was Over’[/b][/url]. It felt like a true conclusion to Frank's story so far, which I appreciate. Endings are tricky, and we don’t always do them justice, but I think Uni did. Couple what I feel has become his signature kickass action with Frank’s dry wit narration, and you get a fantastic recipe for a top-notch post. As an aside the Max Payne soundtrack went hand in hand with the post in question, really driving the energy and pace. I don’t usually listen to the music player's provide for their posts, because I usually feel that their choices don’t mesh nearly as well as they think they do, but Uni nailed it here. And if you meant for Jose Gonzales’ [i]“Far Away”[/i] to begin playing as soon as I reached the part where Frank returns to his warehouse, then that was a genius move.[/i][/indent]

[u][b]The John Lees Memorial MVP Award*:[/b][/u] [@Sep] 
[indent][i]There’s a fantastic energy in this RP, and I think a lot of that can be traced back to Sep. He’s put a massive shift in, both IC and OOC, and I can’t commend him enough for the effort he’s been putting in. I’ll be honest, I was sceptical when I realised his take on Flash was going to feature Iris under the cowl, thinking that she was just going to be a gender-flipped Barry Allen, but I’m quite happy to have been proven wrong. Iris under Sep’s pen is her own woman, with her own morals and values, and while similar to Barry in some regards, is entirely unique from him in others. Couple that with his good-natured contributions in the OOC – and I do believe a healthy OOC makes a healthy RP – and you’ve got a winning combination. Keep up the great work buddy.[/i][/indent]