-THE WINTER TOPICAL SECOND ROUND MAGAZINE-

[PancakeBrah]

SECOND ROUND MATCH PREVIEWS
Don’t fumble your nuker, bros.

This round is fucking stacked. I see four to five legitimate contenders for battle of the week, dependent on everyone showing of course. We also have one round in the books to give some current perspective to these previews. Dropping to the best of your ability will be the key to advancing this round; don’t fumble your nuker or you’ll lose.

(1)dead man vs. (17)Witty
Topic: “Justice? – You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law.”
-William Gaddis

These two have a history, apparently, as it seems to be the fourth time they’ll have met in a topical battle. dead man championed for Witty last round, saying that he thought Witty was getting robbed when he was losing in votes. He turned out to be correct and now they’ll face off in Round Two. I’m still more familiar with dead man’s writing than Witty’s. Although I voted against Witty last round he still wrote a good verse in my mind and beat out a tough opponent. This is one of my favorite topics this round as it allows for multiple routes and concepts so it will be interesting to see who wins the approach battle. dead man fell a bit short in that area in the First Round while Witty’s approach was my favorite part of his verse. Witty will have to beat dead man conceptually and try to close the writing talent disparity. No offense intended to Witty, more of a compliment to black. I think the topic is neutral; it lends itself to metaphor and story equally well, the strengths of each writer respectively. This will be a close match but I think Black’s obvious strengths will take it.
dead man 65/35

(8)ZYG vs (9)big baby *Battle of the Week
Topic: “Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition.”
-Mignon McLaughlin

big baby is again involved in the battle I’m looking forward to the most in a round. ZYG’s already dropped his verse (of course) but I haven’t read it yet and will write this as if he hasn’t dropped. This is a supreme matchup of styles, consisting of two writers who should be considered serious contenders to win the entire tournament. ZYG is an analytical cyborg, often writing apart from emotion. Not to say he can’t create empathy; he’s actual good at it. But it comes from a detached place, much like his persona. big baby, on the other hand, writes pretty passionately when that’s the direction he wants to go. Both are gifted technical writers but through completely different means. ZYG has a mastery of many styles of text and he can unleash a flash of rhyme schemes better than most anyone. big baby has the same capability but he’s at his best when you’re reading one of his verses and the rhymes just blend, and you’re not even sure how and why something rhymes, racking your brain backtracking to see where the rhyme originated. They hit you unexpected, amid your interest of what he’s actually saying. Content wise they’re also top tier, and again different. When I read a ZYG verse I feel like a student, listening to a teacher telling me a story knowing he’s going to drop some knowledge I need. big baby is the teacher who got fired for calling his principal an idiot and turning a lecture into a George Carlin listening party, speaking to students at a bar with a smug look. I think that makes sense. I actually think the topic favors ZYG, as it allows for analysis and psychology. big baby has repeatedly says he doesn’t like to be confined to a topic. I prefer his style of writing currently, although that could change tomorrow, and I think he’ll be able to work with the topic. I have big baby by the slimmest of margins.
big baby 51/49

(R)Nigma vs. (13)trap
Topic: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.”
-Kurt Vonnegut

Certain really wanted this topic. SUCK IT BRAH, YOU GOT A TOPIC ABOUT WORDS. Anyways. Nigma is currently watching The Cosmos by Carl Sagan while feeding his pack of wolves, thinking about this topic in an existential void. trap is crafting the perfect post to make me feel bad about my topic selection. This is an interesting battle. Both writers wrote below their level of talent last round but did enough to squeak into the Second Round. I’m more familiar with Nigma, having read a grand total of two verses from trap now. I think this topic favors trap a bit more than it does Nigma as I’ve categorized Nigma as a writer who enjoys the broad scope and interesting, left-field topics. I say this, again, not being too familiar with trap but if I had to say which writer was better, gun to my head, I’d go with Nigma just because I know he’s talented and have experience with his writing. This is a shot in the dark because both put forth less than stellar efforts last week but I’m going with Nigma slightly. Wouldn’t be surprised by either winning.
Nigma 55/45

(5)NYCSPITZ vs. (21)oXus
Topic: “I am secretly in love with everyone that I grew up with.”
-Matt Berninger

Battle of the week potential. Neither writer has checked into the battle which isn’t a surprise as both have no show potential. NYC dropped an uneven, well written verse last week and oXus wrote an admitted no-show verse so it’s hard to extrapolate anything from last week’s matchups. I don’t think the topic favors either writer, but if I had to make a choice it’d be NYC. He’s an alcoholic and alcoholics can write about this topic well, I would think. I’m stone cold sober so I don’t know. I’ve reread some of oXus pieces during the run of this tournament and I do think that I’ve underseeded him, as I mentioned earlier. This is a coinflip in my mind, but I think NYC will take the positives of his First Round verse and pair it with a stronger concept. I hope both show.
NYCSPITZ 60/40

(2)Pent uP vs. (15)Wise Ways
Topic: “You’ve got to jump off cliffs and build your wings on the way down.”
-Ray Bradbury

Great matchup of styles. Wise has one of the most distinct styles in the tournament and submitted my #2 verse of the opening round. Pent squeaked by diode in a verse that he admitted to me took awhile to pick up steam in his writing process. I think a fully engaged and on-point Pent is the slight favorite here but with the last round in mind I think Wise has the hot hand and is writing better at this point. Certain mentioned that the topic favors Pent in his predictions and I agree. This topic lends to Pent’s style perfectly, much like the topic last round did for Wise. Not to say Wise can’t attack this topic like he did last week but in a vacuum it favors Pent. Pent will stress over his verse while drinking his newest microbrew, drinking himself into a black out only to woke up with a masterpiece in his notebook. Wise Ways will go to a deadmau5 tripping on a drug they haven’t invented yet, stumble home and write a masterpiece at 4 a.m. There’s some variables here, and while I think Pent will be motivated this round Wise impressed me last round to the point I think he’ll pull the upset. My runner up for battle of the week.
Wise Ways 51/49

(7)Lars vs. (10)Certain
Topic: “Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons.”
-Aldous Huxley

Classic matchup, apparently. Certain revealed his alias a short while ago as Tha Talent and apparently these two have had at least one battle in the past. Both are great writers currently, highly respected within the site. Certain wrote one of the top three verses of the First Round in my opinion while Lars wrote a good, creative verse using just enough of his talent to win in shutout fashion against Objective. Certain’s been more active within the topical scene these past few months with a good deal success while Lars’ participation in this tournament is the first real activity he’s had in quite some time. Certain has voiced some disappointment with this topic so I would assume that Lars has the advantage in regards to the topic. Even before Certain said that I figured the topic favored Lars slightly. I think this will be close and both writers are properly motivated. Certain wrote at a higher level in the first round and I think that will continue here.
Certain 55/45

(3)Vulgar vs. (14)Split Eight
Topic: “The second half of a man’s life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half.”
-Feodor Dostoevski

Another great matchup. Vulgar wrote to expectations in the First Round as did Split Eight. Even though Split’s become one of the better writers on the site and has improved with almost every verse he’s still the underdog here. Vulgar’s one of the best here and it seems, if the First Round is any indication, that he’s taking the competition seriously and focusing his efforts. Also, the topic doesn’t lend itself perfectly to Split Eight’s style while it seems be a good match for Vulgar. If Split Eight can win here and advance the ‘most improved’ title will switch to ‘top-tier’ awfully quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if Split won but the smart bet would be Vulgar.
Vulgar 60/40

(R)oats vs. (R)uh-oh
Topic: “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”
-Ernest Hemingway

On paper this is the biggest mismatch of the Second Round. The same could have been said for Soulstice vs. uh-oh in the opener, though, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that uh-oh could pull off an upset. oats wrote one of my favorite verses of the First Round and uh-oh surprised me with the quality of his. You have to imagine, though, that oats won’t make the same mistake as Soulstice in not relating to the topic. He seems too dialed in to make the same mistake uh-oh’s last opponent did. The topic itself works well for both writers, with maybe a slight edge towards uh-oh because, you know, da god. Even if the topic favors uh-oh it’s only by the slightest of margins, not nearly enough to cover the disparity in writing. It’s odd to say uh-oh is a worse writer than anyone in this tournament because he writes how he wants to write with no regard for the current trends and zeitgeist of the netcees topical scene. But he’s writing in a tournament that takes those into mind in the voting so it has to be said. There’s a good chance uh-oh will write the most entertaining verse of the round and still lose, if that makes sense. It will be an interesting read but I’ve got give oats a decided edge in my prediction.
oats 75/25

Split Just Wouldn’t Shut Up
Interview

PB: Aside from yourself, who do you think has the best shot of winning the tournament and why?

SE: Vulgar or Certain. Never underestimate their opponents

PB: What/who has influenced your style of writing on netcees? Both on and off the site.

SE: just Mike Wrecka's words of wisdom.

PB: You are working towards becoming an Engineer. How do you plan on your text career helping you in that field? What type of engineering? You've said your very poor due to school. How do you maintain your swag on such meager earnings?

SE: hopefully employers will recognize I got Barz

PB: Favorite album released in 2013?
Acid Rap, Wrath of Caine or w/e

PB: Who do you think wrote the best verse(s) of the first round? What do you think about Frank's loss and subsequent tirade?

SE: Wise Ways did. Frank is mad as always though

PB: How do you think your battle with Vulgar will go? Do you think he will make mention of a foreign country?

SE: We will be exploring uncharted territory. Stay tuned

PB: Multiple people have said you're the most improved writer of the last year. Do you agree? What's helped you elevate?

SE: Idk maybe. Definitely my adderall increase. artificial intelligence ftw

PB: What are your feelings on the Iran-Contra affair?

SE: I never played that game

PB: We all know the Split Eight/Sharp Nine joke is old. You guys have a pic battle set up in the UTC....but no pics. Will this battle actually happen? If it does will you incorporate how frail Sharp Nine is into one of your punches? Who do you think would win an actual physical fight between you two?

SE: Oh its going to go down. Really all of my punches will incorporate his structurally inept skeletal frame

PB: Any last thoughts/shout outs?

SE: Shout out to black bitches

CLOSING REMARKS
I did this at work.

It was a slow day at work so I went covert mag mode. I live an exciting life. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this, it was quite a bit of work trying to match or come close to the length of the first mag. You guys made the First Round a success and a good mag was necessary after that. With a smaller pool of writers and the reserves subbed in I hope we can get a 100% show rate. That would be excellent with such a stacked lineup. I look forward to reading and voting on every battle this week and I wish all the writers the best of luck in this round.

-Pancake.