[kannon]

NYC. This started off really strong. The first strange part to me was the Jeep. In the picture, the kid is like 12 years old and he's got a bike, so I envisioned him young. Even towards the end, you not that he is a child. So the fact that he's got a jeep seemed out of place. I do very much like the first encounter between Adam and the tiger though. The tiger being confused by the vehicle, and how a person can be inside of it was very well written. That being said, I don't know how I feel about the two of them venturing off together when one of them is in a car. Semantics. Anyways, I had a bit of a hard time following you toward the end. I kind of got lost in the details of this glowing orb and graffiti angels. But it seems as though he discovers some type of weird jesus cave that allowed him to understand his purpose or something, and I think the "new friend" standing behind him is Eve. For him to start this "rebirth" being humanity's heir. But that last line got me confused. I'm not sure how the doll on the skateboard ties in to anything, or really has any relevance other than it being in the picture. Overall, this was good though. Kind of like The Bible meets Stargate or some shit.

Deadman. This seems very stream-of-conscious. Jumping from idea to idea, sometimes even within the same line. But the flow is super on point. And that holds a lot of weight for me. The mechanics in general are really dope. Not a lot of inner-rhymes, but the schemes played well, and none felt forced. Only rhyme I had a problem with was wunderkind/summertime. I like the dichotomy between the desire to be in the middle of something exciting and terrifying, and the idea that it's only meant to be a temporary escape. That being said, I found the constant switch of thought and ideas to be a bit jarring in places. But I also feel like it accurately encompassed the mindset of a child (like in the topic picture) so unable to focus with each immediate thought leaping frantically into another. So while it may not have been my cup of tea completely, it definitely works within the realm of what you were directly trying to accomplish. And the ending was a great wrap up.

Overall, this is kind of going to come down to personal preference, as both stories were told very well. I'd edge the flow to deadman, but otherwise, both had mechanics that maintained throughout. I kind of feel like NYC's piece just took me for more of a ride, and maybe even felt a bit more resolved in the end.

Definitely close, but I'd edge it to NYC