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Hal 6
“bang. Abang kapan ke padang?” tanya Arga adik Bagus paling bungsu
Bagus mengernyitkan dahi, sudah seperti biasa kalau adik-adiknya mau sesuatu pasti menanyakan Bagus kapan pergi ke suatu tenmpat.
“hmmm.. gak tahu. Sepertinya abang tidak ada ke padang, bulan ini” jawab Bagus.
“Oh..!” kata Arga pendek sambil berbalik menuju gudang.
Bagus mengehla nafas dan memanggil adiknya kembali
“ada apa? Bilang aja sama abang. Kalau abang bisa bantu, abang bantu secepatnya” kata Bagus menatap adiknya. Arga menunduk, ia tak kuasa menyampaikan maksudhnya. “ayo.. katakan.. “
“Arga. Hari minggu besok di suruh Coach Roni, latihan bola lagi, tapi sepatu Arga tidak ada, sepatu yang lama sudah sempit” Kata Arga jujur. Ia tak kuasa menatap abangnya, ia bukannya takut untuk mengatakan ke inginannya, tapi ia tak kuasa menambah beban abangnya. Menghidupi keluarga ini sudah sangat berat, Arga paham itu.
“oh.. emang Arga masih latihan bola?” tanya Bagus, setahunya adiknya sudah tidak latihan bola lagi.
“ini mau latihan bola lagi bang, di suruh coach juga. Arga juga gak enak sama Coach Roni kalau gak latihan lagi”
“Arga.. sebenarnya, yang mau latihan bola itu siapa? Arga apa Coach Roni. Harus jelas, kalau Coach yang mau latihan, susah dia nya, akan terasa berat. Tapi kalau Arga yang mau latihan, akan terasa ringan dan latihan juga maksimal. Arga harus paham akan tanggung jawab dari keputusan yang kita ambil itu. Paham kan kata abang dari dulu”
Arga mengangguk..
“paham bang.. Arga tanggung jawab dengan keputusan Arga kali ini”
“ha.. begitu donk. Sudah besarkan? Sudah kelas empat SD, sudah bisa bertanggung jawab, jangan mencla-mencle gak jelas” Bagus terus memberi pemahaman kepada adiknya. “Ya Sudah.. nanti akan abang belikan sepatu, di Pariaman, Hari Sabtu abang kuliah”
“Iya bang.. terimakasih” Jawab Arga makin pelan. Ia tak berani menatap mata abanagnya.
“Ya sudah.. Tanggung Jawab ya, dengan keputusan Arga kali ini”
* * *
Sekilas bayangan waktu kelas Satu MtsN dulu melintas di pikiran Bagus. Bagaimana ia memutuskan untuk berhenti latihan bola, banyak kengkawannya tidak menerima keputusannya, Bagus jadi andalan di sayap, Tim akan terasa lincah dan kuat kalau Bagus bermain. Coach roni tidak akan merasa was-was di pinggir lapangan kalau Bagus main, umpan-umpan nya sangat baik dan terukur ke tengah, memanjakan striker untuk mencetak gol, atau terkadang Bagus sendiri yang mencetak gol dari sisi sayap.
“kamu serius mau berhenti latihan?” tanya ikhsan kepada Bagus.
“tapi kita mau bertanding lo Gus. Masak kamu berhenti. Kita pasti kalah” lanjut syafril.
Bagus hanya diam, jujur dalam hatinya, ia sangat ingin bermain bola bersama kengkawannya, di SSB TIKU PUTRA ini, tapi keadaan memaksa, ia harus mengambil keputusan secepatnya, membantu mak untuk mencari uang, menghidupi ia dan adik-adiknya.
“Aku harus membantu Mak, bagaimanapun caranya. Kalau tidak, kami bisa tidak makan. Ka kawan harus paham itu. Sepak Bola menyatukan kita, membuat kita berteriak bersama, sedih bersama. Tapi tanggung jawab Mak, tidak bisa mak lakukan sendiri” Bagus berusaha mencari kata-kata yang pas untuk di sampaikannya. Sore ini terasa makin mendung di sudut lapangan ini. Mereka tahu, sejak Bapaknya Bagus meninggal lima bulan yang lalu, kehidupan keluarga bagus sangat sulit, Mak Bagus sudah berusaha melakukan apa saja agar bisa mendapatkan uang untuk menghidupi Bagus dan adik-adiknya.
Imran hanya diam di sisi mereka.. satu persatu kawannya menyingkir dari lapangan, walaupun ada kengkawan lain yang masuk, tapi tetap saja tim ini semakin jauh di rasakan Imran.
Hari sabtu sore Bagus sudah tidak ikut latihan lagi bersama mereka, sementara besok pagi tim ini akan bertanding di kejuaraan U14 di Lubuk Basung.
Coach Roni memahami ke adaan tim nya, ia harus segera menyembuhkan jiwa anak-anaknya.
Next Hal 7…
0Many of you are probably familiar with the concept of a book being divided into acts, much like a screenplay. The acts can be broken down into the following:
Act 1: the thesis world, designed to show your reader what your hero’s life and world look like before everything starts to change. Unless the reader understands where your hero has been, they won’t fully appreciate who your hero will eventually become.
Act 2: the opposite of Act 1. If Act 1 is the status quo world, then Act 2 is the upside-down version of that. The polar opposite, the inverse. Act 2 is when things start to happen.
Act 3: who the hero was in Act 1 + what they’ve learned in Act 2 = who they’ll become in Act 3. It’s the ultimate combination of the fun and excitement of the external story, combined with the knowledge and wisdom of the internal story to create a dynamic, engaging and powerful third act.
It’s important to note that these acts aren’t exact thirds of a novel. Act 1 spans the first 20-25% of the book, Act 2 is the longest as is goes from 20-25% to about 80%. And Act 3 is generally from 80% to the end.
My advice is always to plan only one act at a time and make sure it’s got all the elements it needs. Here is an example of how I planned Act 2 of my WIP, Behind the Mask:
1. Type all your ideas into a document. They don’t have to be in chronological order or anything, just make sure you get them down in a bullet-pointed list.
2. Print out those pages. Cut them into strips (I used a ruler to tear the paper because I’m lazy) so that each bullet-pointed paragraph is separate.
3. Now comes the fun part. Find a large table or ideally, sit on the floor and spread the cards out in front of you. Now you can rearrange them in the right order, put together the scenes that need to go together. And if you’re not happy with something, it’s easy to move it. Much easier than having all the ideas in a document, not being able to see them all at once and constantly scrolling up and down.
4. Once your ideas are into place, you can cut and paste them in the right order in your document. When I’ve finished arranging it, I put the cards into a flip file in case I might need them later.
Let me know if you’ve found this helpful!
2
Will still need to make a proper picture of Blaze’s spirit form, because I definitely went too nuts with the colors here and I am not entirely sold on these markings either.
But still, this version is fun so have it, Father Ivers looks ready for a rave, Yen would approve, lol :PAnd remember, High Priests of America story is now on sharadrass.com! <3
8
Interior illustration from The Hunt Never Ends story, “Troubled Waters”
We’re almost there - the book releases one week from today!
I am a very special kind of stressed, lemme tell you.
This preview is of the final story in the story collection and my personal favorite: “Troubled Waters.” If you didn’t know, this is a preview for my upcoming story collection, Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends. It’s a book, but it’s something in-between a novel and a short story collection.
Each story in the book is individual and stands on its own, but they also go in order and build upon each other. So I’m not sure if one should really call it a novel, but it’s also different than just unrelated short stories. It bridges the gap between the two mediums.
Anyway, here’s another preview - enjoy!
For more info on the book itself, you can also check out this post. Also be sure to check out the Hunt Never Ends tag for a whole lot more book previews!
And remember - Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends is available for preorder (digital only; physical available on release date) on Amazon.com!
Pre-Order Link
Please note that, while the ebook is now available for preorder, Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends will also be available in paperback on October 30 from the same Amazon listing! Paperbacks cannot be preordered using Amazon’s system, however.
Be sure to check back October 30 for the physical (paperback) edition!
If you’re interested in purchasing the book digitally, you can now pre-order it right here and have it immediately on October 30!
(Paperback edition will be available on Amazon on October 30)
————
There were a lot of things Caiden knew how to do. Clean a sword. Maintain a bow or a crossbow, even customize the latter almost beyond recognition. Make his own arrows or bolts. Investigate a crime scene. Bandage a wound, make a tourniquet, brew a potion, hunt, forage, track, forge his own tools or weapons, carve wood, build houses or fortifications, command an army, cook meals…
But one thing he didn’t know how to do was read. And it pissed him off.
The beds in Castle Greywatch weren’t much. Some straw, changed daily, for a mattress, and some sackcloth to cover it. Any Venatori better off liked to buy their own beds, but Caiden wasn’t exactly drowning in coin. Following the dullahan encounter on Samhain, Kiya had given him a feather pillow as thanks – he didn’t want to think it had belonged to Relgar, but it probably had – and that was the nicest part of his sleeping arrangement in the castle.
He shifted his back against that pillow, currently squashed between him and the shoddy headboard and struggling to retain any fluffiness as a result. He tried to focus. Focus, he tended to be good at, but staring at the book in his hand almost made him wonder. It was a much smaller bestiary than the one Gwen had been given by Illikon, with a likewise smaller amount of illustrations.
If he had any sense, he would have just asked Gwen for help with reading. But his dignity – or maybe his stubbornness, or both – had long since thrown that idea out. He had all day to struggle with this, unless something came up. So, he reached to the nightstand beside him for the bottle of whiskey there. If there was something Castle Greywatch did have, it was decent booze.
Not that it seemed to be helping right now. It made things a little fuzzier, maybe. Slightly dulled that deep, gnawing, empty pain inside him, but not enough.
After they left Illikon, that feeling had grown louder, rowdier – tried to make itself more known. Whatever it was found claws to dig into his spine, using them to reach his skull. There, it chewed into him, left seeds of growing frustration – restless anger he couldn’t seem to muzzle. Any unwanted feelings of loneliness, of being lost, only got worse. A pulling, a need, telling him to do something.
After a few nights spent at Greywatch, it had grown to take a shape he almost recognized: hunger. Impossibly deep hunger that absolutely nothing satisfied.
That was why he couldn’t think. Not the drink. Not the page in front of him, covered in small symbols supposedly forming words, all of which made no sense. It was the smoldering flame in him turning into an empty inferno, and he had no idea how to put it out – or how to give it more fuel to burn.
Caiden’s eyes lost focus on the bestiary, staring at something inside rather than out. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, his grip on the book loosening, letting it droop.
Some tentative excitement came creeping up the stairs just outside the room. Caiden snapped the book shut and shoved it under his pillow, folding his arms and feeling an awful lot like a five-year-old trying to hide something embarrassing.
Except the bottle of whiskey. Couldn’t really hide that. Not like it mattered, anyway; she already knew it.
Gwen rounded the corner, peering into the room past the partially ajar door. She gave a few tentative knocks, eyes on him.
Caiden grunted. Yeah. Come in. You already have.
When she stepped into the room, Caiden instantly noted she was fully suited up, wearing her leather jerkin, belt of potions, weapons… Which for her, unlike him, was unusual to see when they were around the castle. Something was up.
Gwen paused, looked at him, followed his gaze to the far wall obviously in search of something interesting there, then at him again.
He met her stare evenly. “What?”
She shot the whiskey bottle a glance. “It’s a little early to be drinking, isn’t it?”
Caiden shrugged. Did that actually matter right now?
“Sure… Okay.” Cool worry filled the room, emanating from her, lapping jittery and mildly annoying waves against him. Gwen fumbled with a letter she’d been holding halfway behind her back. “Well, everyone in the great hall was talking missions, and a new one just came in. I snatched it up – thought it might be interesting. It’s not really like anything we’ve done before…”
An unnatural urge to snap at her, tell her to get on with it, rose in his throat and forced him to swallow it. Barely. It settled in his stomach, uncomfortable and heavy, and he tried to tell himself not to be a half-drunk asshole.
“What is it?” he prompted, voice coming out too flat as he struggled to find his usual patience.
That made Gwen screw up her brow at him more than a little, but she said, “There’s a village in the mountains not far from here – secluded little place called Norhaven. It doesn’t seem very noteworthy, except it has its own freshwater spring coming out of a mountain. But now a monster’s attacking them over the water, or that’s what they’re claiming. They say it’s been burning people, of all things, and it only attacks in the dark.”
For half a second, Caiden’s mind stuttered and ground to a halt. The first time he met something that only attacked in the dark, it had been his first monster hunt. It wasn’t something he liked recalling.
But he nodded.
“They… want us there as soon as possible,” Gwen added, almost tentatively. No, not almost. Definitely. Her nerves were frayed. She was worried about something, and it only seemed to get worse the longer she looked at him.
Caiden didn’t much like people worrying about him. He never had.
So he huffed, trying to figure out how to give what she might consider a ‘normal’ response. He stood and popped his neck in a short shock of painful relief. Even if it didn’t help the pinching headache he’d gotten from being bent over a book and trying to read for so long, it felt slightly better.
“Maybe we should wait until tomorrow morning,” said Gwen, still eying him like he was sick.
He eyed her right back. “I’m fine.”
“Caiden, you’ve drunk way more than usual lately – and that’s already saying something – and way earlier in the day. You know how terrible that is for you, right? And besides that, you’re talking even less.”
Gwen frowned. Some kind of hurt came off her then, enough to make his insides almost start to shrivel.
“You can trust me,” she said at length. “If something’s wrong, talk to me about it. Wouldn’t you be the first one to tell me that you need to know if I have something going on, so it doesn’t jeopardize our mission?”
Caiden’s jaw tightened, hard, before he gave it permission. You know she’s right. Yeah, she was right, and he couldn’t tell her. Every word, every phrase that came to mind sounded dismissive. Uncaring, or at least untrusting.
But Gwen gave up fairly quickly, still wearing a frown. She nodded and said, “Okay. Want to leave in an hour or two? It isn’t far to ride. We’ll get there before sundown and we can find a place to sleep.”
Caiden nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll meet you by the stables.”
With that, Gwen turned and left – though not without throwing a quick, and decidedly worried, look back at him over her shoulder.
(More preview under the cut!)
5
(Book 2, Dark Scifi/Fantasy)
Mature Readers Only☼ ☼ ☼
Adam wiped a glob of ice treat off of the display panel embedded in the table in front of him and licked the cream off of his finger, biting a mouthful off of the white mound on his fruit cone. The treat chilled his lips and tongue as he read the rainbow lettering in the projection hovering in front of him—144 OUT OF THIS WORLD FLAVORS ONLY AT ASTROS! An animated alien dressed in a Union Galactic Alliance uniform zipped around a glowing Ipir, pausing every fifteen seconds to marvel at a pair of moons rising above the planet.
The popular dessert shop was decorated for Harvest with hanging wreaths of native flowers and floating cartoon ghosts. Electro-music, including a popular number from Blood Fang called Taste For Blood, thumped in steady streams at low volume beneath excited chatter. Jonah bopped his head to the beat and he dug his spoon into the messy mountain of ice treat piled into his bowl.
“Best mix yet,” he said, wiping raspberry cream from his chin. “Time to patent it. I’m a genius.”
“Fuck off,” said Ivan, tearing a mouthful off of his sour bar. “You say the same shit every time.”
“You’re missing out.”
“Shut it.”
Adam glanced at the green-lit service counter at the front of the store and met the eye of Grace Finnegan as she chatted with another staff member. Her shock of golden corkscrew curls were loose around her head like a lion’s mane and her headband, set with bouncing alien ears to match her Astros uniform, bobbled as she spoke. She broke her eye contact with him as soon as they’d made it—again, the fifth time since he took his seat—and disappeared into the rear.
2
“It’s not your typical alien story…”
0Tristram and iseult , a chivalric romance retold in numerous variations since the 12th century.
One of the greatest legends of Cornwall is the tragic tale of Tristram and Iseult – also known as Tristan and Isolde. The story is that Tristram, the nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, was mortally wounded in a fight where he killed the brother of the Queen of Ireland. As he was expected to die, he was sent out to sea in a boat without sails. By chance, the boat reached the shores of Ireland, where he was nursed back to health by the beautiful Iseult, daughter of the King of Ireland.
To cut a long story short, Tristram could not stay in Ireland as he was responsible for the death of the Queen’s brother, so he returned to Cornwall. A little later, King Mark sent him back to Ireland to bring back Iseult who was to be his queen. On the way back, the couple accidentally drank a love potion intended for Mark and Iseult on their wedding night.
The young couple fell deeply in love and carried on an illicit affair even after she married. King Mark became suspicious and although Iseult managed to allay these suspicions, Tristram left the country. He married a Breton girl, who was also called Iseult, but he never stopped loving the Queen of Cornwall. When he was wounded in battle, he sent for her to heal his wounds and asked that a white sail be flown from the ship if she was on board when it returned.
Tristram’s jealous wife told him that the returning ship flew only a black sail and he died of grief. When Iseult heard of his death, she died of a broken heart. A cross at Castle Dor is said to mark the grave of Tristram.
5
Animal Farm, George Orwell
This is 1 of 12 vintage paperback classics that comprise our current giveaway.63
She was tall and well-made, on an ample scale; her skin looked as if it had the flavour of fresh cream which it resembled, her childlike mouth that of strawberries. Under a mass of raven hair, curling in gentle waves, her green eyes gleamed motionless as those of statues, and like them a little cruel. She was moving slowly, making her wide white skirt rotate around her, and emanating from her whole person the invincible calm of a woman sure of her own beauty.
- Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard
12
Novel Review: The S-Classes That I Raised by Geunseo
[23.10.20]
TITLE: The S-Classes That I Raised
AUTHOR: Geunseo
GENRE:Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Shounen, Supernatural
TYPE: Light Novel (KR)
STATUS: Ongoing
SYNOPSIS:
An F-Class Hunter.
And on top of that, a F-class older brother who can’t even begin to catch up to the heels of his amazing S-class little brother.
After living a life that fell to pieces and even destroying my little brother’s life, I got another chance by regressing 5 years back. I picked up the resolution:
This time, instead of making those mistakes, I will quietly live my life leisurely .
Is what I thought… but the S-Ranks are all kind of… weird and for some reason I can’t seem to be able to get away at all?
MY REVIEW:
This is the story of a sheep playing with wolves. Han Yujin goes back in time (to five years ago) after his brother, Han Yuhyun, dies trying to rescue him. Yujin wants to take care of his brother and make sure he doesn’t die but he finds himself in unusual situations (“Things just happened so that I would even meet a guy I had killed. It was really thrilling. If it were up to me, I would’ve gone up to greet him or something. While smiling brightly. Hi, we met 4 years ago, possibly 1 year later. You about halfway killed me, and I stabbed your neck. It’s quite a fun recollection. Don’t you think so?”) and in the middle of a conspiracy to destroy the world. In order to save the world he needs to brainwash… I mean raise S-rank awakened people or monsters.
It’s a nice story with a lot and I mean a lot of funny situations, some single dad material, bromance, possessiveness, fluffy pets and more. Check it out if you want to find more!
MAJOR CHARACTERS:
Han Yujin:
-Honey;
-a person with a garbage brain filled with complaints and an inferiority complex;
-F-Level Awakener;
-lost his parents at an early age, dropped out of school, and took care of my younger brother, raising him;
-after he goes back in time he receives the Legendary title ‘Perfect Caregiver’.
Han Yuhyun:
-one of the best Hunters in Korea;
-Yujin’s younger brother;
-the Haeyeon guild leader;
-S-rank Awakened person;
-twenty years old.
Kim Sunghan:
-a man over 190cm with a tall and muscular figure;
-A-Rank Awakened person;
-one of Han Yuhyun’s faithful right-hand man;
-a battlehunter specialized in defense-Haeyeon guild’s shield.
Yoo Myungwoo:
-current Stat F-Rank;
-awakened while trying to kill himself;
-obtains Master of the Golden Forge (SS) with Yujin’s help.
Peace:
-Horned flame lion;
-2nd rank unicorn;
-Yujin’s “kid”.
Bak Yerim:
-15 years old;
-Yujin awakened her as an S-rank and becomes her guardian.
Suk Simyeong:
-Haeyeon guild’s head of human resources;
-B-rank awakened person.
Sung Hyunjae:
-Chain;
-Gentlemanly Bastard;
-the leader of Saesung Guild, one of the top guilds in South Korea;
-one of the strongest Korean S-classes;
-tends to follow things that he finds interesting (like Han Yujin);
-Yujin’s prince!!!
FAVORITE QUOTES:
- “I feel like a shrimp between a whale fight.” (Han Yujin)
- “I don’t want to get rid of corpses so please be quite. Isn’t it a nuisance to the neighborhood?” (Han Yujin)
- “Do you know? If you die in a dungeon, no one would know what happened.” (Han Yujin)
- “If I really find someone I want to be with for the rest of my life, let’s just cut off my tongue.” (Han Yujin)
- “I also know that I look crazy, but if you say it openly, I’ll be hurt.” (Han Yujin)
- “If Guild Leader is a son of a bitch, wouldn’t ahjussi who is his hyung… nevermind.” (Bak Yerim)
- “I have come to rescue you, princess.” (Sung Hyunjae)
- “Was it adult material pretending to be a fairytale?” (Sung Hyunjae)
- “Shall we dance?” (Sung Hyunjae)
- “I did teach him to take things he wanted, no matter what he had to do.” (Riette)
- “I saved the princess who was kidnapped and pounced by a dragon, and danced. Ah, I didn’t receive a kiss. Because the princess was a little cold-hearted.” (Sung Hyunjae)
- “A tour guide and an irritated guest. You were the guide.” (Han Yujin)
2
