Before I dive into my awards -- God, am I the last one to hand 'em out? How fitting... -- I'd like to take a minute and adopt that patented award season false humility to express my deepest gratitude for all those who nominated me. I've been way more productive in my head than on the page, but I'm glad to see that my light contribution has at least been an impactful one (if in concept as much as execution). In any event, the kind words bring this old roleplayer's heart joy, and I hope to bring you all more of what you seem to like -- and with greater frequency.

So, without further ado...

[b]Best Character:[/b] [hider][b]John Constantine[/b] - [@Byrd Man]

Ask me how much I knew or cared about Constantine before Byrd's run; now ask me how much I care after. Seriously, I don't know why it never occurred to me that Byrd Man + hard-boiled detective + magic would equal roleplaying gold, but it's occurred to me now, and I can't stop reading every installment feverishly like a junkie looking for his next fix. And that's really all I've got to say about that. I'd try to go into more detail, but I suspect Byrd would appreciate a more economical response, anyway.[/hider]

[b]Best Character Concept:[/b] [hider][b]The Fantastic Four[/b] - [@Morden Man]

In what will become a running theme of these awards in having to pick between favorites, I'll have to give the nod to Morden for just [i]how[/i] outside the box he got with this one. We all thought we were clever reinventing the wheel in [i]this[/i] dimension, but Morden's over here playing 5D chess and smoking us all by creating a Hype/RPGuild Cinematic Universe. It also feels like perhaps a not-so-subtle commentary on how we keep abandoning these games, thus allowing the Darkseids and Thanoses of those worlds to run amok in our absence, but that's neither here nor there... I have [i]no[/i] idea how Morden will reconcile the FF having a responsibility to save their own timeline while [i]also[/i] feeling obligated to protect this one, but I very much look forward to finding out.

Honorable mentions to, like... everybody, y'all.[/hider]

[b]Best Character Development:[/b] [hider][b]Thor[/b] - [@Lord Wraith]

I mean, yeah, I think everyone else got it on the nose. When you're talking about character [i]development[/i] so far, how can you not talk about Wraith's Thor run? It's the "started from the bottom, now we here" of UOU so far. I thought the overall concept of reincarnating Norse gods had a lot of juicy potential; I just wasn't expecting to have that juice running all over my chin and fingers so quickly. (And yes, I made that deliberately sexual because we're talking about Lord Wraith here.)[/hider]

[b]Best Story:[/b] [hider][b]Toy Soldiers[/b] - [@AndyC]

Remember that bit I did earlier about Constantine? Okay, copy and paste that same thing, but with Toyman. Seriously, Toyman? Who makes [i]Toyman[/i] interesting? Andy motherfuckin' C, that's who. It's been said before, but it bears repeating: the guy has a better knowledge and feel for the character(s) of Superman than people who have been [i]paid money to write Superman[/i]. I love his Perry, I love his Lois, I even love wacky millennial Jimmy Olson with his drone camera. It was pretty much the perfect introduction to Superman, but c'mon... did we expect anything less?[/hider]

[b]Best Post:[/b] [hider][b][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4709023]Enter the Enforcers, Pt. 1[/url] - [@HenryJonesJr][/b]

In a sea of excellent choices for this category, I decided to pick something perhaps a bit unconventional. This, to me, is the essence of great roleplaying -- hell, great storytelling in general. It's no secret that I have an affinity for Webheads of all creeds, colors, and genders, and this post by Henry reads like the best of a Bendis [i]Ultimate Spider-Man[/i] issue or a great episode of [i]Spectacular Spider-Man[/i]. It has colorful villains -- fuck yeah, the Enforcers -- a Spider-hero who's already a little worse for the wear, great action, inner turmoil, and teenage romance all balled into one neat, little package. I'm a sucker for posts that blend the heroics with small character moments, so the scene between Gwen and Peter all but sealed the deal on this one.[/hider]

[b]The John Lees Memorial MVP Award:[/b] [hider][@Master Bruce]

I mean, really, fuck... this could have been any of the mod team, or any of you crazy knuckleheads who keep this OOC all but impossible to keep up with. ([i]And[/i] you all find the time to post? Like, often? Goddamn.) But there's a captain at the helm of this ship, and he's done a damn fine job if I do say so myself. He even yelled at us, guys! Not to mention that I've never seen MB post this frequently, which really shows how much passion is going into this project. I'll say no more for fear of inflating the cowl-wearing head of his, but yeah... MB takes this one in a walk.[/hider]