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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gulla" data-source="post: 3412739" data-attributes="member: 4272">So, it's finally afternoon here, and I should be writing something else, but I'll have to get this off my chest first. Sblocked for the judges, of course.[sblock]I'll do these the oppisite way since that was the way I read them first. So I'll start withRodrigo Istalindir (who really could use a nice, short screen name that was easy to spell  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).  The start of this story is very familiar, and my first impression was "this is a Princess Bride rip-off". I love the story (and the movie) but it didn't feel right (or maybe just too ambitious) to try following in those footsteps. Fortunately, you didn't try that, and the story has a very different feeling. And I was pulled in as soon as the introduction faded.I do have a vague recollection of some real-world myths about love between the sun and the moon, but I cannot recall from where, and the love story is very nicely written. Yet I felt the toatlity was a little bit off from perfect.Having now read it a couple more times I think that the problem actually is the "Princesse Bride framing" of the story. I don't think it adds anything of substance. We get to see too little of the girl and the background to really care, and then it just feels like an unwanted distraction from the very good farie tale in the middle. I think you should have trusted the farie tale to stand on its own, and dropped the frame. And if you absolutely wanted to keep it, give us a little bit more, so we care.Carpe David (who at least has an easily spellable name, event though it isn't short  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ). Oh, that is just sad. In a "you made this puppy cry" way, or something. (That was ment to be positive feedback...). The world of Esmeralda Santiago is very interesting. At first I was in doubt about what to think, but to me the view of Esmeralda felt corect. When Luna told us “There are no fairies, Da!” I thought she would crush out the wonderful world of Esmeralda, or that the illness was just lack of faith. And then Luna dies. For real  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" /> When Esmeralda kept her faith and her world view through this and conquered the wraith (of doubt? of sorrow? or illness?) it felt like a very important victory.I cannot really analyse this story as I feel it hits me on a more emotional level, but I think the story flows well, and I really get to care about both Esmeralda and Luna, but most I care about the way Esmeralda see the world. A very good story, since I still cannot quite wrap my mind around it but it feels good. In a sad way.So since this is the last pairing I'll do a little judgeing. I cannot do worse than guessing wrong and noone will remember till next time anyway  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" />  At the first reading I always end up with a gut feeling, and this time it was that Rodrigo Istalindir had the best story, but since reading them earlier today Carpe David's story has grown and grown. It would not leave me alone, and after reading both a couple of more times now, in the afternoon, I think I would give this one to Carpe David, and use what I feel is the unnescessary framing of Rodrigo Istalindir's story as the excuse. But it is very close, and I guess this one will come down to what type of story each judge preferes.[/sblock]Håkonwith another warm "Thank You!" to all participants and to Siala for the last pictures.</blockquote>

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