I've been caught in a constant—and still ongoing—stream of midterms and large projects, so I haven't been able to devote a lot of time here this month. I apologize, for my reviews won't receive nearly as much attention as I normally give them.

>C+
[hider=Entry #1: Protection]
An interesting subject with some imagery and metaphor, but the poetic structure threw me off. Rhymes were inconsistent, rhyming [i]schemes[/i] were inconsistent, metre was inconsistent. Half-way between structured and non-structured, but I don't see the benefit of such a style.

Of course, it's poetry, and I've never been much good at reviewing poetry.[/hider]

>C+
[hider=Entry #2: the Elevator]
This entry gets the message across, but does little more than that. The characters, while given the opportunity to develop a little bit through the driving conflict of the story, were rather generic overall. The most detail into their lives we received as readers was a hint as to the couple's previous hardships in relation to Ben's fear. Essentially, from a narrative perspective, it did not appear to be particularly ambitious in either scope or depth, and such had little room to intrigue me.

As for the writing itself, it was, for the most part, good. Lots of description, and action well conveyed. However, there were two facets that could use improvement.

First, the dialogue, which felt rather stilted. The characters used each others names too often, despite it being obvious who they were talking to. They often repeated each other unnecessarily, such as when [b]"You know that,"[/b] was followed by [b]"I know,"[/b] which felt pretty awkward. Finally, everyone seemed to be speaking in a turn-based manner, allowing other characters to [i]fully[/i] express themselves before speaking, which slowed down the flow of dialogue.

Second, like the dialogue, much of the action felt stilted, in particular due to the use of suddenness modifiers. While using [b]sudden[/b] and its derivatives [i]technically[/i] conveys the meaning needed, from a narrative perspective, it bulks up the sentence, slowing it down. To counteract this, one can take advantage of tools like the dash or carefully placed paragraph breaks to emphasize the distinct suddenness of change.[/hider]

>B-
[hider=Entry #3: What War Takes From Me]
Short but effective narrative, delving more into the core of the character than the story itself. The imagery was powerful, and the narrator's voice consistent. The use of second person pronouns was also effective, helping to hit home just how personal this individual's fears struck home.

Little to criticize, simply a case of limited scope.[/hider]

>C+
[hider=Entry #4: Kitsune]
The protagonist was developed well enough to be sympathized with, and the story conveyed the necessary moments to send across the message and moral. That said, too often did it feel like events witched focus too fast, one moment being struck by debilitating panic and the next a sense of defeatist acceptance. Essentially, mood swings, and tension swings, abound.[/hider]

>B+
[hider=Entry #5: the Trees]
Great use of voice and contrast. It felt awkward at first, but through its persistence, it caught stride. The same holds true for the powerful tree imagery—at first, I was confused, wondering whether a tree had hit the house or burglars, if it was the Dad or the Mom who Newman had attacked. But it all became clear eventually, and that creepy ending really drove it home.[/hider]

>B+
[hider=Entry #6: Damocles]
Great story, with the scope I've come to expect of you. Action was very well written, super captivating. I really connected with Niall as a character. However, the scenes of his daughter and wife felt like they were included only to amplify the tragic nature of the story—they felt poorly developed, a tool to an end.[/hider]

I [@vote] for the Trees. Now to read the rest of the thread, and then glorious sleep.