SHORT-VERSE CHAMPIONSHIP MAGAZINE

[Certain]

The Final Countdown
INTRODUCTION





Hello, friends. We're back for the final edition of the Short-Verse Topical Tournament magazine. And it's going to be a short one because I'm slammed for time and because Adonis and company are doing an Art of Writing League Season 4 magazine coming out around the same time. Let's just get on with it.



THE INTERVIEW "Jason," with Certain
An anonymous caller chimes in on all things Netcees, including and especially this tournament.






Semifinals Rewind
BATTLE REVIEWS
The two semifinals were great reads but lopsided results.





1. Soulstice beats Eŋg 4-2. | The Edge of Nowhere
These two took very different approaches on this interesting topic. Soulstice told a story about the third world that fed into a moral about the inescapability of death. Eŋg wrote about the man on the moon. The writing here was very high, and though I thought Soulstice delivered better in his first three verses for this tournament, that's no snub against him since he's been so great for the entirety of this tournament.

Originally Posted by Soulstice

Edge of Nowhere

In Nairobi. Recall function and form - the vulture's knowing eye in open sky
A child slowly dying - literally eating dirt, his stomach deformed
From weeks of nothing.. he feels the beak and blood as he closes eyelids.
In the modern Babylon. He looks up and sees the towers of prosperous paragons
Flashing their neon deceit that he sees in his dreams – He wants a God to sabotage
While he walks the promenade – it reeks and it seems to wind forever
On both sides surrounded by trite endeavors; glum addicts with drug habits
But he wants to find adventure; he longs to escape and say bye forever
His mind is settled – he’s concocting his fate. Plans fruitless as the toxicant waste
He hops over, it’s like he’s walking in place, through the teeth of the city
That will gobble him whole. Recall form and function- a coffin for souls
That don’t conform to destruction and claim comets in crosshairs
Insisting upon a fate that is not there. To death your whole life is see-through
And time tells that you likely live nowhere that needs you.

Originally Posted by Eŋg

_ijdpie

Try centering myself, time seldom felt, entropy envelops everything else
steadily, with self-symmetry, heresy, this svelte melody plays so silent,
since I was a wave old & it’s still the same flow so on your way to the way go quiet.
Ain’t no vibrance without I, manifesting as dark, make hate a conquest of the heart.
What complexion is God? Grey, matter congested,
fractals bless-ed, stretch ‘em apart - movement through it is gravity.
Galaxies spinning within the human anatomy - the fusion is alchemy:
my students of atrophy gave my organs eyes, not let them see where all them lie.
Organise confusion: double torus round your auras, life forms in all my likeness,
glorified illusion, what sorta mind you using?
Self severed, self-seclusion, these borderline delusions
help you see it so clear, know love?
- or do you know fear? The former becometh so rare
How did I fall like this, out of balance on the edge of nowhere where all things sit.

2. Darth Yoda beats kannon 6-0. | The Drum Beats
Again, we have two great and interesting takes on the topic. These two went a bit more straight-forward. kannon wrote about a street musician and set a scene very nicely. I praised his opening line quite a bit, and it still resonates. But he didn't have the layers offered by Darth Yoda's take on percussive sex. He turned those beating drums into pure lust with some tremendously poetic diction, providing one of the best verses of the tournament in the process.

Originally Posted by Darth Yoda

percussion flesh, holes are deep, flows of horny thunderclouds
culminating soldier stream, to my growing army underground
the orchestra, unleashes a symphony, of formulas in sequence
her aura whispers secrets, in frequencies a sonata couldn't pitch release
energize the bunny, thumping to the mesmerizing build-up
memorized the stanza sheet, g-note; to exercise this twill tongue
succulent soprano, ripping strums off the very clever wood work
the ascending surge is beneficent to thee impending blood burst
instrumental head-game, compelling the pheromones ozone
swell the 207th bone, slow . just in time for this baritones solo
a song-making kiss is the crux, for every hymnal cumbustion
pulsating pitch is a must: we'd never wrap it up to a cymbal of trust
booming blossomed bloomer. slow-playing the blue nut melody
band camp debut, showcasing the first time my drum ever beat

Originally Posted by kannon

My empty hat sits on the street with timid demeanor
I always relished that; different scenes and different people
No embellishment, just listen to me or witness the plea
Just for the hell of it...The simplest peace, I begin to release
*boom bap*
I held on to my weapon as an extension of my person
The crescendo of my emptiness to presence of my worth, with
my syncopated rhythms speaking tongues to any earnest ear
On the surface just a word, becomes a church when you worship here
The perfect hymnal tribute, The only truth in that last release
The pageantry, the manic expression, dynamic masterpiece
Accelerando, allegro, feeding the beast until the beat dissolves
The largo brings a close, exposed the human underneath it all
*cough/sniffle*
This sudden urgency's released, a blur, the scurrying of feet
What was beautiful now becomes another urchin on the street

Championship Preview
PREDICTION





2. Darth Yoda vs. 6. Soulstice | Our Destination
I don't know. That's the best way to start this. These two writers both deserve their spots, without question.

Darth Yoda had it easy in the first two rounds, shutting out Blanco Bishop and winning on an Orc no-show. But then he toppled my championship pick, Split. And then he beat kannon, who was red-hot coming off his victory in The Mic Check audio topical tournament. He's elevated with every round and had the best verse of the semifinals.

Soulstice has had about the toughest road possible. He shut out Objective, then had the battle of the tournament (thus far) against Pent uP. To follow that up, he had to knock off oats and Eŋg. He took verse of the round from me in the first, then drew a few nominations in the second and third rounds as well. So I was not fully whelmed by his semifinals verse, but he easily can step it back up.

The topic is interesting. It plays into both of their hands. Darth Yoda prefers metaphorical approaches, while Soulstice shines with slice-of-life storytelling. They've been on-point with their approaches thus far, but Soulstice is more like to take a risk. Darth Yoda knows he doesn't need to because he can outwrite anyone. If Soulstice's risk pays off fully, he should win. If he misses his mark even a little, it's easy to see Darth Yoda taking it.

Soulstice needs to be fully transparent here, rather than leaving his voters confused. He saw that with what happened to oats and Eŋg in his last two matches. Darth Yoda needs to connect his thoughts better. And he needs to hit the right metaphor for the topic, avoid being obvious since his verses don't often go anywhere but instead focus on where they are already.

Prediction: Darth Yoda 52-48.



BRACKETOLOGY by Adonis, Certain, oats and PancakeBrah
Well, the only question remaining is how many points PancakeBrah will finish with as the winner. So that was fun.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Teaft0Kg-Ok


1. PancakeBrah, 34 points

He not only ran away with the victory but also ended up the only one with anyone in the title match.




2. Certain, 24 points

Darth Yoda beating Split was a brutal blow in the end.




T-3. Adonis, 23 points

kannon could have given him the overall victory. Alas, he's stuck tied for last.




T-3. oats, 23 points

He was destined to fail when dead man disappeared in Round 1. But this is as good as he could hope for entering last round.





So It Goes
CONCLUSION


Thanks for reading this quickly written magazine and all the others. I hope everyone votes. Congratulations to @PancakeBrah for winning the bracket challenge. Let's make this a memorable finale. And let's end with the best rap song of the year.

[oats]

lol enjoyed the conversation with Jason da bb

[kannon]

Haha, when you were talking about using "editing" as your topic, it reminded me of a RHYME match I did a few years back, when someone had added a bunch of new topics to our topic thread, and put "Updated" at the bottom of the topics post, so I used the topic "Updated."

[Soulstice]

Lol. "Soulstice has probably been the best writer of the tournament." - every mag. *gets predicted against every round in the mag*

[Certain]

Originally Posted by Soulstice

Lol. "Soulstice has probably been the best writer of the tournament." - every mag. *gets predicted against every round in the mag*

I picked you against Eŋg and oats!

[Soulstice]

Originally Posted by Certain

I picked you against Eŋg and oats!

Maybe you did. Im channeling my inner Jordan here though.

[kannon]

Yoda never checked in, so i took the initiative to be his replacement.

[Certain]

Originally Posted by kannon

Yoda never checked in, so i took the initiative to be his replacement.

Very mature.

[kannon]

Thanks. Probably the best verse I ever wrote.

[Split]

Who tf is jasyon

[Soulstice]

Certain I'll send you a finished verse tonight sometime. Where is yoda?

[Certain]

@Darth Yoda?

[oats]

checking in for Yoda

[kannon]

Shit, just got off the phone with Yoda. Checking back out. He said "just let kannon be my replacement."

his words, not mine.

[Soulstice]

@Darth Yoda last activity sept 22. definitely expecting a no show.. shame.
@Certain 12 hour grace period and one vote docked for each 12 hour period without dropping until 5-0 sound good? Might as well leave it open until AOWL verses are due, why not.

[Certain]

Darth Yoda doesn't log in except to post his verses, usually.

[Soulstice]

do you know what time zone hes in?

[Certain]

He's posted in the final hour every single time so far.

[Soulstice]

cool cool

[Certain]

Well, @Darth Yoda, post tonight or it's closed.