Kazuma: It was a tough and close race for Character of the Year this year. A lot of characters made an impact, but few, perhaps none changed the pace of the world like Kazuma had. Over the course of the character, he altered the fate of nations. From Amegakure, to Kumogakure trembling before he and Nozaki, to the eventually collapse and takeover Kirigakure.

Then the world changed. From his mantle as the Mizukage, Kazuma rampaged across the world to wipe the notion of inferiority that'd grasped nations like a vice grip into oblivion. The beast of Kirigakure literally streaked like a juggernaut across the world conquering Konoha, leveling Amegakure, and even shaking the infamous and enigmatic Soragakure in its previously impenetrable heavenly throne.

Ultimately Kazuma went unchallenged, unbeaten until his eventual disappearance. With the world quivering beneath his thunderous roar, he simply disappeared. But to what end? If you missed it, don't worry, he'll be back. Keep your eyes peeled for our soon-to-come global arc!

It's of little surprise that this year's Writer of the Year goes to .deceitful.. I can comfortably say that he deserved every vote he got, ultimately trumping the other contenders by nearly twice the votes that they'd each gotten respectively. His writing is ever-entertaining, ever-eloquent, and inexorably on-point. It seems that majority of the forum agrees.

A novelesque style of writing always keeps you wanting more and keeps you engaged in the evolving plot his characters almost constantly attach to. There is no hesitation in congratulating Chris on a year of superb posts and the rewards that come with it. Check it out yourself: here.

There have been a lot of contributing members on the staff this year that have all helped to keep a strong year for role-play and content. But one in particular deserves an especially solid nod: Absolution. A regular contender in nearly all other contests: writer and character respectively, he's a pinnacle of what we try to push our membership toward when we speak of HV quality.

—which is precisely why he's been promoted to a member of the Administrative staff this year. With a lot of confidence I can personally say he's one of our most valued members, always around, always contributing but in the fray and behind the scenes. With more members like Jordan, HV will continue to exemplify, and certainly improve in the face off high-quality role-play.