[hider=to the author of Prisca Glover]So first things first, this was a pleasant and interesting story. Writing on a basic level was good; there are areas to work on, with regards to the pacing, the atmosphere, etc., but essentially, you're easily on the right track and I always like that. My favorite little tidbit was the part where she just finds herself staring at the door but can't talk herself into opening it for minutes on end -- it's not a perfect capture, but you nailed those emotions pretty well. For the sake of saying something new -- there's this weird thing that happens, when writers write about writers, where the story becomes somewhat auto-biographical. Not literally a biography, it's just, the writer (character) tends to be relatable to the author, so connections happen very easily, and the one starts to look like the other. I can see some of that here -- not 'OH MAN GO OUTSIDE LOSER' or anything like that, I just mean there's a level of care in your writing of Prisca, which doesn't happen by accident. It means (I think, but what do I know) that you're serious about this, and honestly, that's one of the best things you can be.[/hider]

[hider=to the author of Itta]Okay, so.... if you're anything like me, you've read all the previous reviews on your story within a few minutes of their being posted, and you've already had plenty of time to think about what's being said. So I don't feel compelled to pile on to the errors that have already been discussed, other than to say.... you know, in the interest of helping, do take the critiques as seriously as you can without getting bummed out. I'm going to talk about a style thing. It's not a hard and fast rule but I think it'll help.... 

'her voice strangely [b](why did it she find this strange)[/b] weak and dry.'
'... the leader of the[b], now dead,[/b] group of bandits ...'
'After leaving the two travelers [b]- which were more then happy to take it -[/b] to use and claim her small hut...'

So this is a style thing that's pretty much all over your story, in one way or another, sometimes in bigger, unquotable chunks, sometimes just in spirit. Interrupting your narrative to remark on your narrative is [i]almost always a very bad idea[/i]. Now, you want to share these morsels, right? Like.... you want us to know that Itta doesn't understand the strangeness of her voice, or that the travelers are super-stoked to still be alive. [i]Write about that![/i] That's a sentence, or a paragraph, or hell, that's a whole story! When you throw them in as afterthoughts, all your work in setting up these interesting situations just goes right in the toilet. Of course, maybe they were only afterthoughts -- in which case, sit down, and have a long hard think about which ideas you should be focusing on. [/hider]

[hider=to the author of Thursdays]Easily the most real, and the most relatable story.... I'm someone who's probably closer in age to the parent now, rather than the kid, and I lived through a lot of this drama when my cousin moved in with us during the 'Thursdays' years.... So those facts are giving me a certain perspective, and from that perspective, if I'm honest, the ending here is almost (unexpectedly) tragic in its honesty... in a way that, I can't fathom it being on purpose, but.... well, that's what happens when you're writing well. You share things you didn't know you had. Far be it from me to hold your ideas against you in any way -- this was well written, and it hit on more of those strings than you even know. I probably don't have to encourage you to stick with it, but all the same -- you're a talent, and you should know,[/hider]

Vote goes to Thursdays. I waffled a bit while rereading Prisca Glover, thought very hard about sending my vote that way, but Thursdays has something special going on.