I've always been a little surprised about the voting results here on SOL.
For the most part my stories have fared well. All of my longer ones have scores above 8, and I largely agree with their relative rankings, although I'm still a bit puzzled about why my only Clitorides award winner-Castaway-scored relatively low (8.09 currently). Several of them, though, took their time getting there. One started at 5.97 after the first chapter and kept rising steadily chapter by chapter until it finished off at just over 8. Another was still in the high 7s until the final chapter was posted, whereupon it jumped a full half point. I suppose a lot of readers withhold their votes until more of the story shows up, as seems fitting.
Which is why I'm a bit surprised at how high The Dolphin is currently scoring. You've already voted it near 8, and it's only just begun (well, comparatively). Thank you all very much. I'm more proud of this one than any of the others, and it's nice to see my favorite child so well received. I hope you continue to find it worth your approval as the story develops.
The current chapter begins to close the gap between the humans' and the dolphins' perceptions of events as they unfold. Which is, of course, the point-to determine how much that distance in perception can be spanned, and at what juncture the two species' innate differences render the gap unbridgeable. That's where my story is headed.