[Soulstice]

NYC - the meat of this was realy dope. The ending was kind of a quick angled turn though. The character looking back to a point of his love's death but he didn't really seem to find any catharsis in the actual memory, you just wrote that he did at the end. That said, the story was really excellent. The outlining of the man in his thirties thinking he knows all and influencing the students in that manner, as well as the montage-like-image-flipping from the loft to the cafeteria to the revolt to the police. well done. The nods to france were dope and created a holistic atmosphere. The student-teacher tryst was even well done and could've worked on its own, but you managed to use it to connect mutliple character arcs. So sick.

Certain - I feel like you've taken this route before. The exposition of a family, tied together thematically. I liked the tommy stanza the best, it felt the realest to me. Death is sort of hard to hit your reader with when it happens once every few stanzas. I think you connected to the topic a lot more.. the pessimism that comes with seeing everything. That's what sticks out the most, the losses, and soon we'll come to terms with that. I think youre theme was great, but the story didn't grab me as much as nycspitz's did.

v/ nyc

better flow, imagery, and exceptional storytelling
although certain connected to the topic in a much better way, i don't think nyc totally missed the point enough to warrant a vote for certain.
his story was just too much to overcome