Results: Us and Pigs [an unofficial challenge]

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

So. This challenge was TOUGH. I knew in uploading it that it would either receive lots of attention or no attention at all. And I was good with either! I was on a Sofia Isella kick, and I was blown away by the fact that she opened for Taylor Swift! Sofia's sound is much MUCH different from Swift's, as you probably noticed if you listened to the song, so I thought this was an amazing achievement for her.

The subject matter of Sofia Isella's "Us and Pigs," like many of her other songs, is really heavy. This speaks on patriarchy, men's (possible) views of women, and the idea of women as cattle. The comparison of the dynamic between a man and a woman to the dynamic of a factory farm, in which farmers manually impregnate their cattle, is really hard to listen to, let alone write about.

I did only receive two submissions for this challenge, but honestly, I'm so grateful to have received any at all. Originally, I thought it would be wrong to post results with only two submissions, but I think y'all put in the effort, and deserve to have a winner, and since there are only two of you, I'm going to yap about your entries a bit more than I typically would! So LES GO!

The Prompt

As a reminder, the prompt for this challenge was to:

Write a story based on and/or inspired by the lyrics of Sofia Isella's "Us and Pigs."

You can view the original challenge post here:

I want to give a big thank you to Sarah and Jaye for entering the challenge, and before you read the results, I want you to know that you both did so amazing on this, and I really really REALLY appreciate y'all for taking on this very difficult, uncomfortable, and challenging prompt! ❤️❤️❤️

So, without further ado!

THE TOP TWO

(Hehe, that rhymed.)

In reverse order, as always!

2ND PLACE: "Chauvinist Pig" by Sarah Parker

Sarah, you are a great writer. This short story brings to light a LOT of issues that the world is facing today. I admire you for your willingness to write explicitly on a topic like this. You really managed to recreate the consciousness and the anger of a woman experiencing the things you wrote about, and you can feel how frustrated and depleted your main character is. This was incredibly hard to read, and I urge everyone before reading her short story, make sure that you are comfortable in reading explicit mentions of SA, because they are definitely there, but I can only imagine how difficult it was to write.

So thank you, very much, Sarah, for your contribution to this challenge. I think that last line, repeated twice, wraps up your whole entry perfectly, and completes the narrative in a way that relates to so many different situations that women (and people) are facing, where the fact that things they've gone through, does not define them. But I won't say too much more on that -- I don't want to ruin it for anyone who wants to go read it! But ultimately, great work, Sarah, on bringing a hard topic to light! ❤️

1ST PLACE: "Soulmate" by Jaye Pool

Okay, Jaye, let's get into it. This short story will keep you on the very edge of your seat for the entirety of the narrative. I kept waiting for the ball to drop! That introductory scene? Added so much to the plot! Jaye uses different descriptions of the character to provide doubt in your mind about what is going to happen. I don't want to spoil it, but the mention of the church, the sister? All such amazing details to add into your story. It created such depth that it wouldn't have otherwise had, and I think really gets the readers thinking about the people around them, if we really know them, like your subtitle suggests. The last line, too! The hypocrisy!

There are so many elements to this, you guys, you've got to check it out. Jaye definitely utilized detail in this story, even though most of it was dialogue, which I found so interesting because it still seemed to flow very well.

I also want to take a second to appreciate the explanation you wrote afterwards, about the connection to the song as well as your own experiences, and what this song means to you. Thank you so much for all your effort, and for entering this challenge!

Note to Jaye Pool: For your prize! I have subscribed to you, and I will be reading, liking, and commenting on five of your works in the coming days that I have not already read! Congratulations on your win, and thank you so much for entering!

I really encourage you guys to take a look at these entries. I think it's important that narratives like these are known, but not normalized. I think it's important that we share and talk about the kinds of things that happen in the world, to raise awareness about it, because honestly, it happens way way too much and much more than you probably think. I am so appreciative towards both of you, Sarah and Jaye, for entering, and I believe even though it only collected two entries, the challenge was definitely worthwhile. ❤️❤️❤️ So, thank you both, again!

Some other little notes before you go:

My October 2024 unofficial challenge is open now! It is called "Dear Fictional Hero [an unofficial challenge]" and is viewable below! (It actually made Top Story already??? Y'all are amazing!)

I also have a pillar post where you can view all of my closed and open challenges (which is actually working and not crapping out on me!) so please feel free to take a look at (or bookmark) that, too!

THE ENTRIES

Here are the two entries in the order they were submitted! Please go show them some love!

1. Sarah Parker "Chauvinist Pig"
2. Jaye Pool "Soulmate"