[oats]

mother fuck, I had a breakdown written out and then I clicked a link like a fool. I'll try to recapture it in entirety, since both verses deserve it.

Mike: The personification of a tree worked well here. From concept to mechanics, this was firing on all cylinders, I thought it was an extremely clever interpretation of the picture. This is perhaps the most well executed verse I've seen from you, there is very little about what you presented here that I have any quarrel with, an excellent verse all the way around. I would have perhaps liked to see more of a nuance to the character, which could have been done with hinting at a setting (deforestation in s. america vs. n. america is very different, I'd imagine). Also, there was a missed opportunity with connecting just how vital trees are to human existence; it's something that usually goes without saying, so when you do say it in the proper context and tone, it can have a blunt power to it.

Overall, those are small nits to pick in an otherwise sterling verse. idk if it was being in a contender match, knowing how good your opponent was, or just feeling undervalued lately, but this verse is a good reminder of how good a writer you can be. dope shit.


Cake: what makes you a difficult opponent for anyone is that you will almost always have the more refined use of language. there were some truly beautiful descriptions in here, and your knack for capturing idiosyncratic corners of emotions is without parallel in this league. you're subtle, which I personally enjoy greatly. For example, I can see readers breezing through bars like the help to come/else's thumb one without pausing to realize how deftly you subverted your own musings.

You flatly out wrote your opponent here, but what makes this a tossup of sorts is that there's a haze around what happened for me. like, I'm not sure if this man is a prisoner or not, or what kind of prisoner for that matter (IE in jail or just feels imprisoned by meaningless reality, etc), and I'm not sure why jumping in the water=death for him. the raw feeling overpowers these question marks for me, but I do think these things held it back a bit. I'm not sure if it's because I was working on a Civil War lesson for tomorrow or not, but my imagination filled those gaps by pretending it was a slave en route to the Americas - but I can't say there's much in the actual verse that directly justifies that (though plenty to suggest it could be, being hungry, unfree, referred to as ape, etc).


Vote: This really is a tough one, BOTW easy to me. Mike executed his concept in textbook fashion, and had a more unique twist to his verse. Pancake had a high-quality use of language and an ebb and flow of emotion that really sucked me in. Both verses truly are deserving of the W here, for different reasons, but ultimately the verse that really gripped me was Pancake's. I went back and forth on this many times, and read these verses over and over again, but when the dust settled in my brain and I couldn't reasonably argue one's superiority to the other, I had to go with my gut feeling. Again, excellent on both ends, I really enjoyed both verses.