DRABBLE TOURNAMENT: ROUND THREE VOTING

Amy

Sorry for the huge delay in posting this!

Welcome to the voting for the third round of the drabble tournament! Please read the following carefully so you understand how voting will work.

Voting Procedure

1. Read through each drabble below. Take your time to read the drabbles, taking notice of how well it fits the chosen prompt.

2. Score each drabble with a mark out of ten:

10 -- Score 10 for a perfectly written drabble, grammar and spelling needs no work - just amazing.
9
8
7 -- Score 7 and above for a very good drabble, with good grammar and spelling.
6
5 -- Score 5 and above for a good drabble, that might need work, with a good grasp of grammar and spelling.
4
3 -- Score 3 and above for a mediocre drabble, something that needs a fair bit of work done on it.
2
1-- Score 1 and above for a poor drabble, that you feel has no redeeming qualities.

3. Spelling and grammar have been left intact - what you see is what was sent to me! I have made NO changes to any of these drabbles.

4. Once all scores are in I will work out the averages. Please make sure you score ALL drabbles otherwise scores will get skewed.

5. Obviously, don't score your own! Participants should PM me their scores, non-participants can post them in this thread.

6. Participants will earn 50 housepoints towards their tournament score for voting, non-participants will earn 10 housepoints for voting (as it *is* quite a bit of work!)

7. Please vote fairly, and mark each vote clearly. No comments about the drabbles needed.

Any questions about voting, please ask me! Drabbles will be in the next post.

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Amy

Drabbles

Number	Prompt/WC	Drabble
1.	See: 107	The breeze smelled faintly of her mother's perfume, but more strongly of the ocean that battered the beach. She imagined the waves, jostling each other to touch the sand that stuck to her skin. She heard a voice that spoke of stormy clouds and an ocean the color of morning before the sun diluted the sky. She heard the words, but they meant nothing to her. What could they mean, when she knew nothing of 'color', when she had never seen the sky? The doctors said "Have faith", but her hope was little more than an ember as she brushed a hand over her sightless eyes.
2	See: 99	They say that love makes you blind, but I didn't believe it. I loved him for seven years. Seven long years, sweet memories now turned bitter and scattered in the dust of his abandoned drawers. He skipped my birthday party to work late, but I was supportive. I understood. I saw him shake her hand for just a second too long, but I didn't think twice about it. I trusted him. They say that love makes you blind. My eyes sweep the house sadly. His chair is cold now, his mischievous grin absent, and now, too late...I believe it.
3	Touch: 109	Staring into the depths of the fire she loses herself in the madness of her thoughts… “Peace, I was in peace, no fights, no concerns… but now I have returned to this place of cruelty, darkness, a place of cold where I can feel nothing…” Reaching out for the fire she gently lets the flames caress her skin… “Dead, I’m dead inside, only my body was brought back, my spirit, my soul was left behind from the place no one should return…” A lonely tear reaches the surface… “Will no one reach out for me? Touch my heart…” Only the sound of a lonely tear reaching the ground remains…
4	Eyes: 102	The staring contest had started over a childish dare, Jack calling Mary out. The two of them did not get along, despite belonging to the same clique. Their friends egged them on, expecting an epic battle of wills. Brown eyes stared into green eyes, unblinking, unwavering. Slowly Jack began to see the tiny sparks of blue and yellow, like star bursts, in Mary's eyes. Mary could count at least ten shades of brown in Jack's eyes; chocolate, taupe, chestnut and honey hues. Who blinked first, neither could say. But from that day on, Jack and Mary rarely looked away from one another.
5	See: 104	How could one describe the sensation? It was as though it robbed you of everything you had taken for granted in life. The last thing that had disappeared was what he missed most – more than the smell of his roses blooming in spring, more than the first time he heard his children laugh – was his sight. It blurred, and slanted, and finally everything turned to shades of gray, in the end. He mourned that, as everything faded away. His last thought was of an endless sky of blue, blue as her eyes had been the first day they met. He died dreaming of blue.
6	Taste: 110	Serena could taste the blood in her mouth as shock overwhelmed her. Had it really just happened? She’d known Marion for years. He’d always had a temper, but he’d never displayed it toward her. Why had he hit her? She knew deep down that he had displayed it before. There were warning signs. If she were honest with herself, she knew that. She never believed it would happen, though. That night while he slept, Serena packed everything a suitcase. There wasn’t much she wanted. Much of what she owned would serve as a reminder. “I’m stronger than this, though,” she told herself as she got in the cab, heading home.
7	Hear: 110	this was never what I would have expected. for the first time in my life, the voices in my head were silent, calm even. because they were consumed with thoughts about something, someone else. my thoughts? they were about you. I could hear your voice whispering in my ear, still remember the way you said my name. is this all a dream? really? but I know that this is just too good to last, and what did I ever do to deserve someone so perfect as you? I was right, this is all just a wonderful, perfect dream. until… “wake up alice,” whispered the voice of my angel, my jasper.
8	Eyes: 100	If you could only take a second or two to see yourself through my eyes, my darling, then the mist would fall and the world would clear and you would see what I have seen all along. Just take a second and you will finally understand the beauty that befalls your every being, and then you will hopefully understand why they say true sight resides within the eye of the beholder. Trust me, my darling, take a moment to see for yourself what I see every day when I look upon you, and you will never want to look away…
9	Touch: 101	She hesitantly reached out as if afraid the sleeping child before her would vanish. Lightly brushing her hand against the damp curls, she smiled. So it was real, after all. Nothing in a dream could feel as silky soft as just washed and conditioned hair returning to its natural springiness. Nothing ethereal could have that specific texture; only her daughter’s drying hair. Her daughter’s. She had a daughter. She had not imagined the last perfect year. The touch had reassured her. Hermione rose and left her child’s room with a hand on her lower abdomen. She had felt a sudden kick.
10	Touch: 108	“I love you.” “Close your eyes.” The lightest touch of her lips on his, a flare of happiness as he realises she is really here, really with him. Then it hits him like an electric shock, a rush of memories of the months gone by. The glee he’d taken in the pain and humiliation of the girl before him. The harsh crack of the teacher’s neck as he’d killed her. The innumerable taunts to Spike as he’d bedded Dru. He reaches out, wanting to touch her, to make sure that she is real. And then pain of another kind, as a sword pierces his abdomen. Shock. Confusion. “Buffy…”

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Amy

Voting is now closed and scores will be up shortly.

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