LMAO THE TOPICAL TOURNEY 2024 FINALS MAGAZINE IS UP - LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sral]

The Topical Tourney 2024 FINALS Magazine!



Welcome back, boils and ghouls, to the third and final magazine of our topical tournament! The semi-finals promised to produce high drama and intensity as we narrowed the field further from just four contestants down our final two. It’s been a hard slog for all involved, with no easy paths up to this point, and a grand finale now looms between the last two standing as we bring down the curtain on our grand finale. Who is your money on to take the entire thing? Make your comments below if you have a free second! Let’s give these heads the turnout they deserve for this. It’s typically at this point in the tournament that voting begins to wain as those eliminated decide they no longer wish to participate, but ending this tournament strongly may help convince others to jump on board next time and write themselves. Help me help you is what I’m saying. Not only may does it help keep things healthy and active here, it also shows the mods (cough* myself *cough) that this entire venture has been worthwhile taking time to put the effort in and that it’s appreciated. The alternative is you’re left with whatever scraps we can find, and no-one wants that. Trust me. We’ve proven there’s still interest in this thing. Let’s kindle that, and not only sustain it but help it to thrive. You owe me that much at least. Otherwise this scene withers and dies of its own accord. If you want this scene to continue we have to build it from the ground up, but I can’t do it alone. It’s going to take all of your help. Damn. I went off on a rantgent for a moment there, but for now let’s take a minute to recap for those who haven’t been paying attention and show some love to all our semi-finalists who battled it our last round for a place at the top table!



Semi-Finals Recap!

@symetrik vs. @Mike Wrecka

Fire battle. I think @Witty actually made a point that despite its lack of ‘names’ in the tournament this was still a great opportunity for some of those perhaps overlooked to have a shot at winning something. The fact we had someone like Witty not only putting eyes on this but going out of his way to vote, and praising both writers, lets you know that this one exceeded people’s expectations. It was close. Mike Wrecka stuck with the tried and true, a more traditional topical piece, and with an emphasis on his implied rhythmic cadence and heavy rhyme scheme. Symetrik started off somewhat slowly, but grew into his verse as it progressed, and as he got into the body of his verse he really worked out those early kinks and only seemed to get better from that point - ending strongly - where voters felt perhaps Mike Wrecka needed to shore up his ending to really anchor his verse in the final stages. Ultimately this one was somewhat of a style clash, two very different writers handed a challenging topic, but both equally impressive for the fact they managed to take something relatively obscure and create something from it. I respect both of these guys a heck of a lot more as a result. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy on them, either of them, but both deserve their props for stepping up here and giving us a close contest. They delivered for sure. The vote count had every viewer edging it Sym’s way, but each one also noted how close this was down the pipe, with Sym’s just doing enough to tip things in his favour with that little more substance and resolution in the final third playing a massive factor. If this doesn’t highlight to you just how important the consistency in writing ability and execution are, maintaining that throughout, then it really should. It’s going to take all of that and more if our remaining contestants want to win this one. In tight contests it’s usually the narrowest of margins that decide their outcome, and there’s no letting up because your opponent will capitalise if you make a mistake.



@Etherwave vs. @Objective


Well, I don’t think anyone quite saw this one coming! This was inarguably battle of the round, the voters were completely divided, they say styles make fights in boxing and this one very much affirms that with two very different verses in terms of their approach and execution. I cast a vote myself to try and help keep things moving, but what a crazy battle. Etherwave seemed to interpret the picture as a consciousness, perhaps with her being the pineal gland / third eye, realising the many foibles and pitfalls of man. The verse was broad in its scope, perhaps somewhat brief in its brevity, and I alluded to it in my vote itself but the writers voice and narrative tone she struck was really strong for the majority of the verse. What she lacks in terms of multi syllable rhymes and the technicalities often shown live in topicals, she more than makes up for in other areas, and you know what - I actually think encouraging her too hard to change or amend that style may be detrimental to her writing somewhat. Ideally, of course, incorporating elements of both would be the ultimate final form for her so far as amassing the lions share of the votes but if she does adapt, will she lose some of that unpolished rawness we’ve enjoyed reading so far? It’s a difficult balance for sure. Objective on the other hand here had a verse stronger in those exact areas she didn’t, the mechanics of his verse ticked along nicely and the concept he chose to tackle was creative. The voting was all but tied, with little to split the two of them in truth, but ultimately Etherwave eked out a marginal victory to reach the finals of our tournament at her first attempt. What a story. What a run from our #8 seeded outlier at the beginning of the tourney. What can she produce when the pressure is on in our final deciding matchup? What would the old Batman TV series have to say about that? “Tune in next week
to find out!”



Tournament Brackets


The results from last round mean our tournament is officially blown wide open! On one side of the coin we have Etherwave - a relative unknown to Netcees who has used this tournament as a stepping stone towards greatness. An entrant with a fantastic writers voice, Certain-esque at times, and often high-brow in the chosen take on the given topic. She aims for something more big picture rather than focus on the microcosms of storytelling and twists, but will that be enough against our savant Symetrik - a former AOWL champion and who has slowly grown into the tournament before being spoken of superfluously by the likes of Witty here? Symetrik is certainly the more experienced of the two, and arguably defeated the stronger competitor last round when he sailed past Mike Wrecka with a convincing victory to put a firm stamp down on proceedings. This is the one it all comes down to. Our clash of the titans. A finals never witnessed before here at NC. This is history in the making. There can only be one of you immortalised to cement your place with greatness, but who will it be? The hungry challenger or our wily veteran? We’re about to find out who truly wants this more as the tournament draws to its close and the final curtain comes down. I’m here for it.





Battle Of The Week

This one almost had to be BOTW due to how close it was, coming right the way down to the wire - and after five votes we were still looking for a winner! I left the battle open for as long as possible before being forced to call it. Etherwave ultimately taking the win and advancing to the finals on the way, Objective taking a marginal L here but with everyone agreeing it was a strong showing from himself and a solid submission. It can feel like a kick in the balls in battles like this where it’s so tight in votes and you end up losing, but this was one of those contests when people mention that the winner was the voters. It was as close a contest as you can get in topical battles, the viewership were completely divided, and even though Etherwave had suggested the possibility of a three-way finale here - We all know from past experience that those struggle - finals or otherwise - to reach a resolution. Congratulations to both emcees for delivering this round, our Battle Of The Week for sure!


TOPIC:

Originally Posted by Etherwave

"The watcher, the pineal gland, and the human."



Have you ever wondered, about the one that governors your thoughts-
Your timelines, your subjects, and your relationships with lovers and Gods?

How much does it cost? Just how much has he suffered in that cupboard, hovering- fraught. A prsioner of your minds caverns and dungeons-but his cage isn't locked?

Your impulses clot all the knowledge he has hidden in stock, making it obvious your wires are crossed.
So often his voice is smothered by plots. His only friend is you, selfish, and stubborn you're two sides of a coin, both urban, and *posh.*


Funny he should be blamed for it all. Your battles and losses, when sometimes his language translates to nothing but your own ill logic.

Your subconscious, regurgitating unethical laws, like a scream trying to be heard, reverberating through halls. Shocking as it is, perforating your skull, somehow the echoes bring comfort to your demons, and all.

As he holds your eyes, fixated on something you saw: a prize, a desire originating from some mysterious vibe.*

Somewhere in your wooden mind, he mimes memories of both darker and more colorful times.

-As the sun begins to rise higher, pulling me from my morning meditation-
"I" pause my contemplation of the human mind and my own personal relation- Of quantum physics and the possibility of living in a simulation. Questions people need to ponder for mental and spiritual stimulation.

"I" close my third eye, leaving him peaceful inside, silently hoping good luck to my human, cause hell is empty, Earth is humid, and none of them know what they're doing.-

vs.

Originally Posted by Objective

J. Limon did plenty wrong before he died in '21.

In life he just didn't seem to matter at all.
Each day were screenplays of running cars to the wall,
getting pulled hard to bollards, bars or a stall.

His foster parents were demanding and bold,
they saw nothing wrong leaving him stranded for cold.
They recorded abuse for profit and views,
proud of their work and got away with it, too.
They were morbid and horrid calculating the risks,
even certain officials were salviating their lips!
When people learned of their ways, then they would ask:

"WHO the FUCK pays for something like this?!"

Despite being center of attention among ccolorful lights
he had no passion, no sight, goals or ambition, cash or a wife.
If you were in his position you wouldn't last through the night.
What he had for a life was servicing others at expense of himself,
people around him seemed to be determined to send him to hell.
Eventually they took it too far when Jason fastened the seat belt
with no budget cuts to force him inside a for mula car,
which dreadfully led to the corpse of our star.

After the crash there was nothing left to recover except for the head they discovered
had flown off with the helmet which then led to a similar fate like his brother.
Thus, it was a success!

Served with this data Mercedes knew what to fix on the spot.
The team gathered the head as symbol for how bad it'll go
if you push it too hard and pick the shortest of straws.
Then made a box for the head to keep drivers in truth,
and figured the skeleton truly was relevant to include.
They named him J. Limon after the lead for it all;
The scholar and painter, that engineered our hero's greatest of falls.

Now there's nothing left that's kept from these stories
except for Jason Limon being a legend with crash test dummies.

Verse Of The Week

Symetrik faced @Mike Wrecka in a semi-final showdown between two veterans of the game and these guys brought heat for sure! Massive kudos to them both for showing up and showing out for us here, they each deserve full credit for doing so respectively, and while the vote count suggested this was a comfortable win for Sym in the end - the votes only really tell you half the story. In fact this battle was actually perhaps a battle of the halves, with Symetrik starting out slowly but then building towards a stronger midsection and anchoring his verse really well come the final third, while Mike Wrecka arguably came in the stronger of the two at the beginning but voters feeling he perhaps needed that little bit more resolution right at the end of the verse as he was on the home straight, allowing Symetrik in, and battles of this calibre are unfortunately usually decided by small margins - which is why the votes appeared so one sided in the end. That said, once again huge props to Mike Wrecka for the drop, this would haven’t beaten out most of the verses we’ve seen so far and is no slight to him at all, but for the fact Sym was able to take him out at this point in a tournament with an equally strong showing… We grant Symetrik our Verse Of The Week! Congratulations man, thoroughly deserved, and can’t wait to see what you bring in the finals! (I think it may be your first, hopefully not your last, happy to be proven wrong!)

Originally Posted by symetrik

https://i.ibb.co/y6tqVs7/IMG-8463.jpg

of seraphim and carnivores

— from sunset ‘til the dawn’s fog appears, Hel’s lost coven was the earthen fiends,
the birds and beasts that had longed to be feared by the drunken hunters who would walk through the trees.
— it was archaic and dark magic, a ballad unknown to those who wouldn’t believe
in the parts of life strongly adhered to, “never roam far ‘til the sun rose and the curse released.”

— to set the scene, these were medieval times, and god-loving beggars and kings alike
felt odd, shoving their brothers aside for a seat by the fire in the middle of night.
— and those that shovelled clod, huffing, then thrust the rods of spears into a ring of pikes
would strive to set the snares that correctly entwined the defensive lines with strings and spikes.

— but some folk chose to fight, for the flock of secular servants standing by sycamore pews
would listen with burdened hearts as the sermon starts with sickening news —
another two dead, heads cleft from necks and bodies wickedly hewed —
and the regular worship quickly drew to a close… leaving only those fervent-hearted and few.

and I’ll be honest, I was starting to lose interest ‘til the blind girl burst through the door.
— ”I am Sera”, said she, this thinly veiled harbinger of times worse than before.
— ”save my children; they’ve been taken below” … she fell and grovelled and cursed on the floor.
those un-heavenly gathered clamoured for weapons, from axes to swords, and thirsted for war.

we left in the night with what we had worn that day and a craving that chewed at our core —
a hunger that mourned when it could not feed yet carried our feet through the moores —
and within four hours, we found them — a sacrifice — the blood in our ears roared
and forced us forward, swords to foe and friendly morsels indiscernible in the gore…

until I wiped the feast from my face, had I not realized what was done,
so afraid of the night’s beasts, we had slain our own cubs.
it was then that I knew: it was us.

Tournament Finals Bracket!

So there we have it, only TWO contenders remaining! One of them will be champion. Neither of these are here by luck. Each of them have despatched some of the best currently active writers here at NC’s, and now they meet at the very top for one final showdown hoping to leave here victorious. No one wants to lose this late in the game. This is it, all of nothing. Go big or go home. There can only be one winner. It’s Symetrik vs. Etherwave. There’s very little point to showing you tournament brackets at this late stage in the game but since I’ve done it anyway you may as well revel and basque in the glory of my work:





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Originally Posted by Wuxia

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Finals Preview


Etherwave is very much still our dark horse of the tournament, we’re still not entirely sure what to expect — but many are already suggesting the confident swagger of an alias here to upset the order. Etherwave denies such claims, of course, but I suspect time will tell. It 100% isn’t me for anyone wondering, the style is completely different for a start and it’s odd that anyone would even suggest such in my opinion but hey ho- this is Netcees after all where everyone unknown is inevitably a Lars alias. I’m not mad at you, but she isn’t me. You have my word on that. For Symetrik here this will be the first chance he’s had at securing a tournament title, a chance to cement his spot with gorillas like we’ve seen Brokenhal0 and UnbornBuddah do previously. There’s no greater pressure than that of a tournament finals to really test who wants this more. These are the sorts of battles that define your career. No one remembers who finished runner-up, only those who’ve won. At the time of writing this both verses are now IN - so if you haven’t peeped the battle yet, do so now here and cast your vote:

Let’s give both our finalists the send off they deserve and when the dust finally settles on TTT24, a new champion will be crowned. We owe it to them both. They deserve this. When Netcees called out, they answered the call. Show them love and put some respect on their achievements. This is massive for the two of them. Unprecedented runs here in the NC era. Huge kudos to both, and I wish you the very best of luck in the finals. It’s been a heck of an entertaining tourney so far!



Final LMAO and WTF’s of the Week

LMAO @ This being up so late, my apologies yo
WTF @ an Etherwave and Symetrik finals!?
LMAO @ our #8 seed destroying the competition
WTF @ Mike Wrecka denying Objective a 3rd Place Playoffs
LMAO @ Text tourneys being a success in 2024
WTF @ the NBL signups thread struggling but topicals on top again
LMAO @ Broke Lesnar username checking out
WTF @ our finals match already being up!
LMAO @ anyone that doubted a Lars run tourney could be anything other than a success
WTF are you still reading this for? GO VOTE ALREADY!!!!

[symetrik]

fire, thanks for verse otw :D

GO VOTE Y'ALL!

[sral]

FINALS LINK FOR DOPEGIRL AND OUR OTHER SPECIAL RETARDS: http://www.netcees.org/showthread.php?t=158699

[Etherwave]

First, thanks Lars for hosting and the magazines. Your language is very colorful and I'm here for it. And Second, I have to come clean......Etherwave is not my real name, and is indeed an Alias. :( Though how cool would it be if Etherwave was my real name. And third. Are yall implying I'm the alias of a male, who came pretending to be a girl!? And what of my music? Did I then, steal it and pretend it's mine? Hahaha. I'm not a boy.

[Etherwave]

And also, topics should be inclusive to females! Yall need to tap into your feminine sides a little too. It's good for the soul.

[Etherwave]

Then you might not be so suspicious all the time. Too much testosterone

[Mike Wrecka]

Dope mag. Again. And I would never compete for third place , if you ain’t first you’re last

[Dope girl]

Originally Posted by sral

FINALS LINK FOR DOPEGIRL AND OUR OTHER SPECIAL RETARDS: http://www.netcees.org/showthread.php?t=158699

Look don't ever call me retarded!
Watch it! I ain't playing with you!

[Scar]

any plan for a new topical league?

[Headless Verseman]

Dope mag- I'd love to help out mag writing if the topical league starts up. I was commish and mag writer at project rhyme and rap music for a while, topically and battle.

[Master Rock]

Let’s go!

[Headless Verseman]

anyone know who owned the project rhyme website?

[Candy]

dope mag..

that etherwave verse is fire..

[sral]

Originally Posted by Headless Verseman

anyone know who owned the project rhyme website?

diode

same guy that owns this one

[sral]

Originally Posted by Dope girl

Look don't ever call me retarded!
Watch it! I ain't playing with you!

but I didn’t call you one?

i said the others were retards

[Headless Verseman]

is he on here as diode?

[sral]

yep @Diode