Round 2: Christina Bredith Vs Inkfinger

[Inkfinger]

He’d been threatened with beheading before, and a part of Cael wanted, desperately, to curl up with his arms over his head to block out his overactive imagination. A smaller part of him wanted to find his boss and bloody the elf’s nose for even putting him in this predicament. But Cael just stayed still, hands quavering. He didn’t even bother to hide it, breathe labored but steady, the bars digging into his back.

Just get it over with.

The deathblow he imagined never fell. The woman spoke, words tainted with a guilty sheen. He tried to listen, but still watched for a reverse of his own trap; still watched for an opening, the polearm’s shaft curled lightly in his hand.

The distraction was provided by the hyena’s open disdain. The woman’s sentence faltered. Cael’s muscles shifted, protesting, the naginata flashed out once again –

And that odd sword blocked the strike independent of the woman’s attention in a reverberating clash of metal on metal, quicker than his eye could follow. Reality telescoped to one pinprick of realization: she was going to kill him.

And, after that attack, he just about deserved it.

Moments passed, inexorably slow, his heartbeat loud behind his eyes, shoulders tense as he waited again for the deathblow. But instead of severing his throat, she thanked him. His mouth dropped open for a second before he schooled his expression into something more dignified, something less at a complete loss for words. Vines lashed from beneath the ground, around his legs, his free arm, yanking him back harder against the bars. Pinning him utterly still, no matter how hard he tried to pull away, holding him tight...

But not cruelly so. Whatever he’d inadvertently helped her through had apparently brought mercy on its heels. He nodded, eyes fixed on her stare, and managed another weak smile. She nodded, turning on her heel, her shoulders squared as if a burden had been lifted from her soul.

“I wish you those kinder circumstances, Rosalyn,” he called at her back before he turned his attention to the vines and his own sleeve holding him in place, his mind already trying to work through how he was supposed to explain this one.

[Silence Sei]

Christina/Infinger

Story- 8/7
You both did an excellent job. Christina gets the edge because her conclusion felt more like a conclusion, whereas Inkfinger’s simple did not.

Continuity- 8/8-
Both of you did well with keeping up with your characters motivation for being in the tournament. I really liked both character’s quirks, such as Christina reflection back on her childhood memories at the zoo, or Cael’s heavy reliance on his papers.

Setting- 6/7-
The zoo was a good setting and you both did well describing it. Inkfinger gets the extra point because Cael used the setting a bit more in each post than Christina.

Creativity- 7/8
I enjoyed the creative ways both of you used your skills, but with Cael losing his primary ways of attacking, he gets the extra point for finding ways to use what he had left.

Character- 8/6
Christina showed far more character in this thread than Inkfinger did. Every time she tapped into her emotions I truly felt her plight, whereas with Cael I didn’t see much in terms of internal reflection.

Interaction- 7/7
You both used your setting and dialogue quite well. Whenever Cael threw something at Christina, she found a way to make it work for her character and vise versa, as such I cannot justify giving anyone an advantage here.

Strategy 6/7
Christina was more reactionary in this thread. Cael mentally, physically, and verbally tried to take down Christina, which gave Inkfinger the lead.

Mechanics 10/10
I was on the fence with Inkfinger’s whole paragraph dedicated to It, but after replacing It with someone else’s name it all made sense though it was awkwardly phrased. I believe I saw one mistake from each of you, not enough to take any points away.

Clarity 8/7
All of Christina’s attacks were easier to envision and the descriptions left an image in my mind. Inkfinger takes a hit due to the awkward phrasing with It and a couple of re-reads to understand exactly what happened to Cael’s papers in the water.

Wildcard 6/6
It would have been a seven for both of you, but you each missed a deadline. All in all, this was one of my favorite threads from round two.
74/73
I will calculate experience and gp when I am back home tonight. Christina wins and both players advance to round 3.

[Silence Sei]

Exp-GP added

Christina gained 1755 exp, 100 GP

Inkfinger gets 450 Exp, 200 GP