Post by Kuma on Dec 17, 2016 17:49:10 GMT
Hello everybody! We are here once again to honor the greatest players, characters and threads of the year! This is quite simple, send me a pm with your votes (with justification) for the following categories. Try to judge according to quality, activity, impact in the forum and your personal preference. The voting is annonymous, I will tally the votes and fill up the winners for this year. You've time until the 31st of December to send your votes (If you can send them earlier it would be for the better) If you feel like you don't want to vote in a category you can skip it.
- You can vote for more than one winner.
- You can mention runner-ups
- Try to keep it annonymous.
Best Neutral of the Year: (Who cared only for himself and his own objetives)
Best Villain of the Year: (Who was the one who caused the most trouble)
Best NPC: (Ally, Neutral or Enemy, pick the best NPC of the year)
Best Character Development: (Which character grew the most?)
Best Plot Reveal: (What plot twist rocked the Viceverse to its core?)
Most Improved Character: (Which character grew the most in relation with last year?)
Best Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: (The most emotional moment in the year)
Best Crowning Moment of Badass: (The most awesome moment in the year)
Best Crowning Moment of Funny: (The Funniest moment of the year)
Best Relationship of the Year: (Romantic, Friendship or otherwise)
Best Rivalry of the Year: (Who had the biggest feud)
Best Story Thread: (The best story thread, any that started or had the most development this year)
Best Fight: (Best Fight of the year)
Best Non-Canon/fluff Thread: (Most enjoyable thread)
Best Writer: (Creativity, Style, Activity, who had it all?)
Most Helpful: (Whoever you go to get advice, help or support)
Rookie of the Year: (Players who started this year or mostly played this year)
Vicer of the Year: (The sum of everything that a Vicer needs)
Best Hero of the Year: Callis
To me the best Hero of the year is Callis Nomene. He has been inspirational and has kept fighting for what he believes while growing as a character. He was part of some of the greatest fights of the year and he did it always trying to fight for good. Arthur Cromwell comes in a close second. He might be a little bit less intense than Callis when it comes to heroics, but he is a very important part of any thread he is in, mostly through wit and kindness.
Callis
Callis
Callis is once again the hero of the year, and this time he’s shown not just his physical side but his moral fortitude, denying his own happiness once again for the good of his teammates. He gave up on the chance to go home so everybody else could. My runner up is Garo. He’s not as strong as Callis, but that makes him interesting. His age is beginning to show and he knows it. But he still perseveres and tries to do right, as hard as it may be in the company he keeps. I fear he’s going to be killed by Falken before long, but at least he’ll go down for what he believes.
Smith, tech paladin of justice.
Arthur
Arthur
Callis. He’s one of the few truly heroic characters we have, and has done plenty this year to keep that title.
Callis, I haven't gotten to see him too much, but I really enjoy his old school sense of chivalrous justice. He accurately makes me think of a knight! A really cute knight
Callis, I haven't gotten to see him too much, but I really enjoy his old school sense of chivalrous justice. He accurately makes me think of a knight! A really cute knight
Best Neutral of the Year: Eve
This year was big for neutrals. While good and evil have battled, the neutrals threw a party without inviting those stuck up bastards. They were in everything and did everything, racking up the best moments this year. Our first standout neutral was Amai. If there was trouble to be caused, she caused it. She hasn’t just caused minor trouble but changed the course of whole threads, all while keeping her hedonistic charms. Her interactions with her teammates are delightful, especially poor Eve. And speaking of Eve… Eve has gone through a lot this year. Her attachments grew deeper and her lines got better. She’s been thoroughly established as somebody you want on your side, a great ally to those she loves and even showing a bit more of a moral core. Will she loose her neutral status!? Proooobably not if Arata has the results I think it will.
Eve Harper is the best Neutral of the Year. She keeps her cards close to her chest and only acts for her own self interest. She does have a moral compass or a semblance of it, but as she usually works to balance out her much more psychopathic comrades-in-arms from The Wild Hunt, she ends up taking the middle road most of the time. There are a whole bunch of other names I considered for this, but most of them either move to into good or too into evil. Eve feels like the most balanced one of the Neutrals, plus the amount of action she saw during this year doesn’t hurts.
Sid Renen, who doesn’t love that lazy dumbass? Amai as runner up. No matter how much they try to put her as a villain, it’s just her nature.
Eve, I always love strong women characters and Eve is that and more...for a price. I love that she even runs a organization on the concept of highest bidder wins.
Fumi. Though less easily swayed as Falken on a moral ground, Fun I easily gives up current pursuits of she so much as sees something that grabs her attention. In the threads she's been in, I feel like she's always getting into some kind of trouble, making life tough for her allies.
Amai
Cadence. While she is forced to work with Marika and the dolls, she still begrudgingly helps out a ditzy idol when she was attacked, refused to kill Sid, and even resents the Gainen she was given because it both encapsulates the industrial pollution she hates, and reminds her of how Marika controls her like she controls the Gainen.
Best Villain of the Year: Amai/Marika/Kuro-san
Amai. She may not appear a villain on the surface, but her actions attempt to seduce and kill characters on a regular basis. In Arata alone, she likely killed more people to get a new vessel than Oberman managed to kill in his assault.
I feel that as much as Kuro-san has been moving on the shadows and Ikari has been fighting in the frontlines the actual Best Villain is Marika. Come on, she is everywhere, she showcases actual disdain and hatred for others. Her Doll army grows larger and more interesting with each passing day. If Amai can be considered a Villain she is also a Runner-up, she is so damn interesting
Kuro san remains the man behind it all, as usual. He wasn’t needed to show his face to have a presence. He’s felt throughout less this year than the last, but he’s still everywhere, the background threat to the Vice. He’s up to SOMETHING in Shonen Effect and I can’t wait to see what it is.
Marika Arachne
Kuro-san, Marika as runner up.
Amai, not only is she really fun to write, but I feel like she is becoming an ever-growing presence of problems in a lot of people’s lives.
Falken. As much of an asshole as he is, I feel like his volatility makes him a really good bad guy. The ability to change sides at the flip of a coin makes him unpredictable and fun!
Best NPC: Norio Bushitora
George. Poor guy got abused in Arata, so he deserves some love here.
I think the best NPC should be the one that was the most memorable. The JHWAB, Gateway and the BHA had many runner-ups for the award in my mind. But I think that Norio Bushitora has been a pleasure to read. He has the right mix of eccentricity and neurotic actions, all peppered with his attempt to be laid-back. The whole combination always makes me smile.
Norio Bushitora
Roshi Yasunori
Thief in Lazarus. I don't know terribly much about him, but I really love This character. His powers and his language are really nice.
Best Character Development: Callis/Gen/Cadence
This one is tough, as many character had great development this year. Jose Hernandez, Jun Li, Yuu Arachne, Ash Arachne, Callis Nomene, Dan Drake, Fumi and more… I think I might vote for the whole roster if I continue naming characters. I really can’t pinpoint my favorite so I declare that my vote goes to whoever gets more votes.
Callis isn’t my best hero pick for nothing. He has a moment where he can not only return to his homeland but be welcomed there as a king. But for the sake of his team, even if he doesn’t know most of them, he refuses the crown with grace. It’s painful and inspiring all at once. Bravo to Kuma for making Callis an even more interesting and lovable character.
Gen from Lazarus to Treasure, going from his old, brash and vulgar self to a more respectable person in Treasure.
Cadence (I don't particularly have a lot to go off of, but I have liked seeing Cadence be more open and talkative despite her misanthropic nature. It really seems like she's opening up!)
Best Plot Reveal: Kuro-san related plots
There’ve been a whole bunch of plot reveals during the year. Things like the fake identity of Ikari Fukushi, the myriad of stuff around Kuro-san. But I think that meeting Gen on The Lament of Dr. Lazarus might have unforeseen impacts in the future. He wasn’t just alive, he was alive and mysteriously trapped in a dimensional hopping prison. That must mean something.
George working for Kuro-san in Arata. I wasn’t expecting Kuro-san to have his fingers in MI:13 as well as the JHWAB.
Roshi after the “Shrine” and the realization about Ikari Fukushi
Most Improved Character: Jose/Ash/Cadence
Jose Hernandez showed more emotion this year than anything he showcased before. I thought his time in Kyoto was a bit lackluster, but he has grown and developed a lot since then. I think his relationship with Goemon as Teacher and Student
Cadence
Ash. She went from being relatively unknown, to one of my favorites to use in a topic.
Best Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: Yuu caring for the dolls / Callis’ Homecoming
Yuu taking care of Marika after she got hurt in Big Hands was pretty touching. Yuu is basically a walking moment of Heartwarming thanks to her interactions with the dolls as a maternal figure.
Chase worrying after Marceline and showing a softer side of himself in Fall.
Callis’ aforementioned homecoming. I have no more to add.
Yuu caring for the dolls. While she knows Marika is a horrible person, she still tries to make the best of things and make the doll’s lives easier.
Callis going back home
Best Crowning Moment of Badass: Jose punching a T-Rex to Death. (Yes, the font is bigger)
Amai and Eve’s fight on top of the Velvet Scandal. (This was more of an aesthetic preference, but I enjoyed the night atop a building with neon lights and blaring music as the two duked it out.) Aria and Wilson’s fight in Wind and Wolf. (Getting to see both Wilson and Aria transform to fight each other, then eventually ending up in a truce due to respect for each other's prowess was really fun.) Amai and Garo’s standoff in Arata. (It's poor timing, along with the Garo actually going through with his threats felt really cool to me!)
The Badass Stars aligned this year. We had a lot of Badass moments. Taking down a Gainen in Tokyo Interview, the face-off of the Dolls and the Hired Mercenaries in Hands, the Summoning of Cadence Gainen, the Ikari vs Ikari fight (That one was brutal), The Epic fights in Fall of the Pink Comet. I had a tough time picking one. But in the end I realized that only one was right. Jose Hernandez killed a T-Rex with his bare hands. He did use an ancestral technique, but damn, you don’t get more badass than punching a dinosaur to death.
Cadence defeating Sid in Big Strong Hands. Despite being outclassed in terms of speed and power, Cadence still managed to outwit the kickmaster and snap his legs at the end.
Balashov blowing up the Russian Building in Winter Nightmare
So this was the year somebody beat me to introducing dinosaurs. And then Jose punched one. Dammit Jose, you win this round.
Best Crowning Moment of Funny: TIE
Thomas fanboying over Ash's superhero persona
Falken and Crow shitshow at Gala. Almost every Fumi moment and Callis fainting at Halloween as runner ups
I’m going to be flat out honest with this. Everything Falken did cracked me up. So did Ash… I laughed my ass off with her antics in Hauntings. Both have caused me to laugh.
Arlana in both Hauntings and Gateway to the Musician. Her overall character is just fun to see interact with Sun, and adds a bit of comedy to threads.
-HEY! I made a lot of fuckin’ effort to survive those fuckin’ places! Don’t go erasin’ my fuckin’ save file!-“ - Gen from Lazarus.
Best Relationship of the Year: TIE
Thomas and Ash (as Heatwave)
Arlana and Sun. The two are hilarious together, and always add a nice bit of comedy to threads.
Cadence and Eri! (Friendship wise. I like their clashing personality types, but they still manage to get along well. Plus Cadence continuously sweeps Eri off her feet, quite literally, every time they meet.)
Jose and Goemon
Cadence and Eri! (Friendship wise. I like their clashing personality types, but they still manage to get along well. Plus Cadence continuously sweeps Eri off her feet, quite literally, every time they meet.)
Jose and Goemon
I think many great friendships and romances appeared in the forum. But if I had to pick I would choose the fragile, and quite volatile, team-work between Eve, Garo, Alex and Falken. They are a powderkeg about to blow at any given time, mostly because Falken and Garo are about to beat each other at any given moment. Alex lurks in the shadows, his mind containing thoughts that would surely freeze the blood in the veins of less determined men and Eve does her best to keep it all together. Jose and Goemon’s Bromance is a close second.
Best Rivalry of the Year: Garo Vs Falken
Garo vs Falken takes it. Both of them hate each other with too much intensity to be ignored. I’m hoping to see their final battle soon. Sid and Andy was nice, but they could use more time to develop.
Falken and Garo
Falken and Garo
Garo and Falken (Oh boy, every time I see these two in the same thread, I'm ready to see them throw down. These two can never NOT pick a fight together, even when they're on the ‘same’ side.)
The obvious answer would be Falken and Garo, but this year I think we got something even better. Sure, they’re entertaining, but something more interesting appeared in Big Strong Hands. Callis and Yuu are both honorable sword fighters bound by loyalty, and yet Yuu’s loyalty sets her against Callis. It’s a fascinating dynamic that leads to a painful battle, where both regret harming the other. Perhaps it doesn’t count in this category, but it feels right.
The obvious answer would be Falken and Garo, but this year I think we got something even better. Sure, they’re entertaining, but something more interesting appeared in Big Strong Hands. Callis and Yuu are both honorable sword fighters bound by loyalty, and yet Yuu’s loyalty sets her against Callis. It’s a fascinating dynamic that leads to a painful battle, where both regret harming the other. Perhaps it doesn’t count in this category, but it feels right.
Garo and Falken. Arata showed how the two’s styles differ in terms of fighting, and how even after their fight ended, the rivalry continued.
Best Story Thread: The Lament of Dr. Lazarus
Send The Child to Arata. The cast of characters led to many rival battles, and the pace(for the most part) kept up throughout the year without many long gaps between posts.
Big Strong Hands feels big (no pun intended), not only because the amount of people involved, or unexplainable connections to another storyline, but is all about how the action is portrayed. I can’t avoid imagining the big brawls in a style similar to the airport fight in Captain America: Civil War. A whole bunch of super-powered people beating the stuffing out of each other. I know it’s still running, but I can’t avoid feeling that the ending will end up turning this thread into a classic. Many characters are developed, many fights are fought and many changes radiated from it.
The Lament of Dr. Lazarus
Shonen Effect
Lazarus (I still have no clue what is really going on, but that is part of why I like it so much. The dimension skipping is exciting and I love all of the characters present!)
Lament of Dr Lazarus
My first favorite has the sort of mystery I love. Lazarus takes place in an abandoned underground laboratory connecting to innumerable alternate worlds. The secrets deep within are unknown. But besides that, it’s a great gathering of characters with great chemistry.
Shonen Effect also has a strong theme of mystery going for it. Shonen has some of the most fun lines and character interactions on the Vice, but mostly with NPCs rather than other people’s characters as they seek out a hidden world being in a mundane location.
Best Fight: Chase vs Dan
Chase vs Dan
Everyone vs the Giant in ‘Send the Child to Arata’
Garo and Falken in Arata (I liked that they both duked out a rivalry that each felt was justified, I was just secretly rooting for Garo the whole time.) Amai and Eve in Dance (Again, mostly out of aesthetic for the fight, but it was also fun watching Amai trying to seduce Eve any chance she could, and to watch Eve fight it.)
Last year we had a whole bunch of great 1 on 1 fights, this year the massive fights seem to be on vogue. Battles like the one in Arata against that big monster, or the T-Rex in Lazarus. The individual fights on Hands are good but still not conclusive enough (Sid vs Cadence might end up being in my next year votes) I’m almost tempted to put Ikari vs Callis on the list, but after checking it happened right at the end of last year, so I think it doesn’t count. I’ll go for the next best thing and give my vote to Ikari vs Ikari. It was a brutal bout, with both sides not only exchanging blows but also ideologies. Any fight that starts with the disemboweling of an annoying NPC is good on my book. Jose vs Pitch is a runner-up, so is Chase vs Dan.
Everyone vs the Giant in ‘Send the Child to Arata’
Garo and Falken in Arata (I liked that they both duked out a rivalry that each felt was justified, I was just secretly rooting for Garo the whole time.) Amai and Eve in Dance (Again, mostly out of aesthetic for the fight, but it was also fun watching Amai trying to seduce Eve any chance she could, and to watch Eve fight it.)
Last year we had a whole bunch of great 1 on 1 fights, this year the massive fights seem to be on vogue. Battles like the one in Arata against that big monster, or the T-Rex in Lazarus. The individual fights on Hands are good but still not conclusive enough (Sid vs Cadence might end up being in my next year votes) I’m almost tempted to put Ikari vs Callis on the list, but after checking it happened right at the end of last year, so I think it doesn’t count. I’ll go for the next best thing and give my vote to Ikari vs Ikari. It was a brutal bout, with both sides not only exchanging blows but also ideologies. Any fight that starts with the disemboweling of an annoying NPC is good on my book. Jose vs Pitch is a runner-up, so is Chase vs Dan.
My choice is not conventional, as they largely aren’t even fighting, but Callis vs Yuu is my pick. This fight is interesting not for high scale, flashy attacks or clever tactics but for a pure battle of wills. Two good people who must fight is a very interesting scenario for me, and their interactions are on point. I can’t wait for their battle to continue developing over time.
Marceline, Chase and Arlana VS Dan
Amelia vs Alexis(AvA) in Opening the Gates. This fight was the conclusion of an arc in Opening the Gates between two twins separated at a young age. The fight led to some of the most brutal scenes outside of Dreaming Kombat matches.
Best Non-Canon/fluff Thread: Hauntings
Hauntings is really fun.
Hauntings
Halloween Hauntings. The immense amount of characters and personalities of the ghosts made the RP both enjoyable to be a part of, as well as allow the forum to finally do a Halloween RP.
Hauntings
Halloween Hauntings. The immense amount of characters and personalities of the ghosts made the RP both enjoyable to be a part of, as well as allow the forum to finally do a Halloween RP.
Halloween Hauntings (I love holiday related threads and this one has been pretty fun and has had some interesting characters show up.)
Halloween Hauntings
Lana’s Future Reading
Best Writer: Kuma
Iris has displayed her skills with confidence and determination. She is one of the best word-by-word writers in the forum. She has an interesting and diverse cast of characters, engaging stories, amazing lines of dialogue and in Hauntings she is showing her mettle as a GM. Kudos to you. Hungryhunter and Obscuris are runner-ups. Hungryhunter as always has great ideas but flawed executions, while Obscuris has both ideas and execution (as far as he has shown) but lacks the activity that seems to be Hungryhunter’s main virtue. Both of them were pretty close in mind. Kuma is also a runner-up, but he already won before so I wanted to pick the new blood.
Kuma, always coming up with even crazier shit.
Kuma takes it, and it’s not even a hard choice. While he hasn’t had the major plot moments of Cave and Osaka, he has been allowed to focus on some brilliant emotional moments, from the big one of Callis and his confrontation with his homeland to the small ones, like Gen and Rin’s moments together. Write on, beloved bear.
Kuma
Obscuris (I really adore their writing style. Though it can be over detailed at times, I love the attention to detail. I'm always excited to be in threads with them.) Kuma (What can I even say without really going off the rails here… Kuma just has everything I really like in a writer. There's a clear love and passion for what they write, and their ability to make such detailed and in-depth storylines is something I envy!)
Iris
Kuma. Need I say much? Consistently long and detailed posts, running the art contests, has probably the most intricate storyline atm.
Most Helpful: Iris/Kuma/Hungryhunter
HungryHunter (I can't count the amount of times they have helped me! Between starting threads, character ideas, and just overall answering my questions, I feel like they've been the most pivotal person in helping me cement myself in the VV community.)
Kuma
Hungry Hunter. Whenever you need him, he’s there to give you a hand.
Vapovile keeps being the balance that keeps the forum from eating itself. He is always the voice of reason and deals with the most volatile members of the community with the correct amount of courtesy and firmness. I take my hat to you Mr. Vapovile. You helped the forum keep many players interested and active. I also want to extend the vote with Red and Iris, as both have gone far and beyond lending their artistic talents to the forum and they are also great communicators and friends.
Kuma
Iris. She’s always willing to help despite being new at the time, and is easy to talk about stuff with.
Rookie of the Year: Red/Iris
Red, she started slow but quickly show what she was made of.
I nominate Red. It's amazing how well they work through language barriers and make really amazing characters!
Iris
Iris. She has been in many of the large topics that happened this year, and has been one of the most active people in the community.
Iris by far showcases all the elements needed for a great RP player. Great characterization, inventive metaphors and on her first run as GM she is handling things quite nicely (Much better than my first time as a GM. She does have previous experience before the forum and it shows. Red and Obscuris are very close runner-ups. Red has a whole world of characters ready to flood the Viceverse, while Obscuris is great at all levels of writing. I fact forget about runner ups, I'm adding them to my votes
Vicer of the Year: Kuma/Iris
I couldn’t vote for anybody apart from Iris as Vicer of the Year. She, to me, embodies many virtues of RPG with her characters and her never-ending enthusiasm. I think that this was her year, but I think that the crown might have many more challenges next year, as every active player has evolved a lot through the year and displayed many of the virtues I associate with the Vicer of the Year. So congratulations to the whole forum and let’s hope to have a whole new year of adventures, laughs, tears and epicness.
Kuma
Kuma (The wonder himself! Kuma has done so much for the website and the community in the past year, I will never understand how they manage to do so much. Starting and maintaining threads, handling all the contests and their lovely contestants, taking care of the Vicers, and all of that while dealing with their immensely busy personal life… it takes a certain kind of person with a whole lot of love for what they do to pull off what they do every year.)
Vapovile
Even though her only flaw is that she doesn’t fancy fights, Iris is without a doubt one of the most active and best vicers of this forum.
Iris and Kuma. Iris for being active in the community, providing interesting characters(especially Amai and Fumi), and in general being a great addition to the VV. Kuma for running the art contests, DMing many topics with a large number of people in them, and helping run the website.
Thanks everybody for the votes! Let's have another great year of adventures, action, comedy, romance, intrigue and mystery!
Kuma
Kuma (The wonder himself! Kuma has done so much for the website and the community in the past year, I will never understand how they manage to do so much. Starting and maintaining threads, handling all the contests and their lovely contestants, taking care of the Vicers, and all of that while dealing with their immensely busy personal life… it takes a certain kind of person with a whole lot of love for what they do to pull off what they do every year.)
Vapovile
Even though her only flaw is that she doesn’t fancy fights, Iris is without a doubt one of the most active and best vicers of this forum.
Iris and Kuma. Iris for being active in the community, providing interesting characters(especially Amai and Fumi), and in general being a great addition to the VV. Kuma for running the art contests, DMing many topics with a large number of people in them, and helping run the website.
Thanks everybody for the votes! Let's have another great year of adventures, action, comedy, romance, intrigue and mystery!