《Grazing the Sky》Dreams & Reality, Part II
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Of all days he didn't want to deal with her, this was definitely one of them.
It was hard enough getting downstairs when his legs felt like they wanted to fall off from the pain in his muscles. Add that to being hit with the stench of coffee and expensive perfume and you've got yourself a really wonderful morning.
She sat with her back to him, hair dyed a deeper shade of red this time. Tied back into a bun. Professional, always professional. He didn't want to deal with any of it today.
He moved, beginning to walk past the stair banister and into the entrance room. Her voice came to him as he bent down to pick up his nearly empty backpack.
"You should have something to eat before you leave."
"Not hungry," he responded.
Lisa remained quiet, the only sound she made was turning another page of the newspaper. Business section. It was always the business section. He heard the sound of a mug being set onto the table.
"I made you a cup," his mother said. "You seemed tired when you came home last night."
"I didn't know you were up," Lance said, speaking the truth.
"I always wait up for you."
That made him feel a little guilty. He looked down, thinking for a moment as he swung his backpack over his shoulder, holding it by the small loop on top. With the other hand, he wiped at his eyes, trying to rid the fatigue. This hand slipped into the pocket of his jeans as Lance cleared his throat.
"Thanks," he said.
He saw Lisa nod, another page of the newspaper turning. His stare went to the coffee she had set down beside her, watching the steam curl as it floated away from the top of the cup. He did need something to wake him up; he couldn't run on empty. Not after last night.
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Memories threatened to resurface. Lance walked forward, taking the cup off the table. Even the handle was fairly hot. How long did she heat this up for?
"Sit down." The words were kind; she was trying to be friendly. "You have a while before you have to leave, don't you?"
Lance looked up to the clock on the wall, seeing the sophisticated, thin hands continue ticking. She was right; he had more than a few minutes to spare. But he was more than a little hesitant, especially standing next to her like this. Was this the "pretend like nothing happened" part of their cycle?
She's being friendly, making me feel a little guilty by opening up. Guess so.
He took the long way around to the other side of the table, alternating his stare between the hot coffee and seeing his mother's face for the first time in a few days. She looked tired. He probably didn't look any better.
Lance took the seat across from her, not bothering to scoot up to be closer to the table. For a moment, he watched her, trying to figure out why she kept this cycle going. She glanced up, meeting his eyes briefly before he looked away, taking a sip of coffee. He held the liquid on his tongue, fighting the urge to spit it out from both the heat and taste. Did she put anything in this besides water and beans?
He swallowed it down, morphing the sound of disgust into a series of coughs.
"Hope you're not sick," Lisa commented.
"No." This coffee's rancid.
Lisa only glanced up at him again, tired eyes turning back to the newspaper as she flipped to another page. He almost made small talk, almost actually wanted to ask how the stocks were. He shook the urge back, taking another swallow of coffee. How did she drink this stuff?
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"How's school going?"
"Fine."
Her lips curved in the slightest of smiles. "Another year-and-a-half and you'll be graduating. I can't believe it."
The weight of her statement settled into Lance for a moment. He looked down at his coffee. "Yeah..."
"You've been doing okay? It's been a while since I've even seen you..."
Wonder whose fault that is. The words were on his tongue; he almost said them. But then his mother had to speak again.
"With the hours you've been coming home lately, you might as well be dating someone. You're not seeing any girls, are you?"
A face flashed into his mind. Lance stood, placing the mug on the table. He grabbed his backpack from the floor. "I gotta go."
"Alright." Lisa's voice was soft.
He started around the kitchen island, taking the long way again as she continued speaking.
"I... Guess I'll see you later then."
Don't even try to keep guilt-tripping me! He almost said this, the words behind clenched teeth. But the memories from a week ago, a morning similar to this one played in his head. How she had yelled at him for "throwing his life away" on some "wishful thinking." That musicians were really just at the bottom of the career food chain, and most of them were starving artists.
She broke the dish she was cleaning, just to accentuate her point.
The original spiel was loud and clear, Mom, he thought. It has been for years.
"Lance?"
Thinking back had got his blood pumping again. He relaxed the hand that had clenched itself into a fist, reminding himself what that fight had taught him. He wasn't going to be like her. He was so tired of getting angry.
"Yeah, Mom?" he asked, turning around to see the back of her head again.
She set her own mug on the table, near the newspaper.
"Take a jacket, will you? It'll be cold outside."
He looked to his left, seeing the coat rack stare back at him. The same jacket he was wearing yesterday was hung, and he hadn't even remembered taking it off. He barely remembered wearing it before their gig started.
He almost reached forward. If he took it... Was he accepting some kind of unspoken peace treaty? Was the slate clean, or was it just starting yet another cycle for them?
His hand reached out, hooking underneath the thick fabric of the hood. He pulled the hoodie towards him, resolving that even if he was starting a new cycle, maybe this time would be the last.
"Yeah," he said, finally responding to her.
428 days. He could do this.
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Immovable Mage
What do you call a mage incapable of casting spells? In this story, we usually call him Terry. When the boy is accepted into Arcana Academy, his talent in the pillars of mana foundation awes everyone. All the bigger is the eventual disappointment when Terry turns out to be an utter failure at spellwork. Diagnosis? Major aspect impairment. No cure. Ever. Faced with expulsion, Terry is blessed with the unexpected kindness of others. Terry loses his spot in the Academy but in exchange, he finds a home with a family. Terry starts to train as a pure mana cultivator but never stops looking for his own path as a mage – day after day, season after season, always searching for compatible spellwork… Until finally, Terry’s perseverance earns him a single spell – the only spell he will ever be able to cast. Disclaimers: Chapter Frequency: I aim for one chapter a week. Chapter Length: I try to keep chapters between 3000 and 6000 words. Binge Preference: I plan for 30 chapters per arc. If you want to binge a complete arc, then that is the number to wait for. I will also add a line to chapters indicating the beginning and end of an arc. Advanced Access: I have created a patreon page with early access to four chapters for patrons. What to Expect: Progression fantasy with a western fantasy setting and with eastern fantasy elements. A main character that is forced to explore a very narrow path of magic due to a permanent condition. A main character that is a part of a larger cast. A main character that is growing but won't become the strongest around anytime soon. A story following a single main character but with introduction or theme setting scenes without the main character. What Not to Expect: Edgy grimdark characters – I will never write a sexual violence scene or gory descriptions of torture. I hate reading it and I would hate writing it even more. Romance – romantic relationships will never be the focus of the story and only appear in the background. The main character is preoccupied with other stuff. Other forms of relationships (family, friends, companions) play a bigger role. Cover: The cover art was commisioned from redditor Linh-Nguyen87. The font is alita brush by Inovatype Typefoundry. Overview: 001–030 Arc 1, Cultivating Perseverance: complete. 031–060 Arc 2, Undying Defiance: complete. 061–090 Arc 3, Unyielding Fury: scheduled for publishing. 091–120 Arc 4, Savage Hope: scheduled for publishing. 121–150 Arc 5, Self-Made Fate: first draft in progress. 151–180 Arc 6, Heretic Style: sketching in progress. Further Arcs are still in the sketching and idea collection phase.
8 200Champions of the Boundary
In reality, there exists a realm between reality and fantasy, where all maner of magical creatures exist, and the warriors summoned as they died in reality fight against the forces of a powerful being known only as the Shadow of Life. Here, they live in a world with experience and Levels, Classes and Skills, and they fight against monsters, training for years just to achieve a Level that can allow them to make a small difference. Yet even with this training, it is not enough. The Crystal Adventurers are forced to retreat further and further every year as the Shadow of Life's monsters grow stronger and more numerous, destroying cities at an increasing rate. If the city of Maelnor falls, then it will be less than a year before nearly all of the Crystal Adventurers are wiped out, both those brought to the realm upon death, and those born and raised there. Legends tell of a prophecy that describes a team led by the legendary child of the prophecy, a child whose destiny is not to end the Shadow of Life, but to act as a harbinger, one whose very existence will turn the tides of war, one who must meet three seemingly impossible or currently unheard of criteria before the tides truly change. This is the tale of Team Noruva, which consists of a quiet, yet wise healer, a silent, but thoughtful rogue, a knight with an iron will, a wolf beastborn who gained access to the System, and their leader, who ignores the impossible and does whatever he wants, because why the hell not? This is the tale of their adventures and daily lives, their ups and downs, their struggles, successes, and losses. **REGARDING PoV'S*** There will be 5 total PoV's in this story. However, four of them will take several dozen chapters (beginning Chapter 73) to start happening, with the first two "Books" focusing just on Zack, which is why there's the Multiple PoV's tag on here, even though only one's around at first.
8 166God Of The Arts
Vote For GOTA on TopWebFiction Tags: World Building, Third Person Omniscent POV, Bits of Humor and much more to come. Blurb For The Series The plagued young noble of the Aurum bloodline is tossed into the politics of his homeland. What starts as a path to revenge grows ever brighter, ever vivid into a path to the peak. Through time and Fate's interweaving fingers he experiences all life has to offer as he reaches for beyond the skies, the enigma known as life unraveling at every stroke of his brush. The vastness of the cosmos is unparalleled, but every treasure has misfortune within. Can Mona Aurum make use of his personal twist of fate to become much more than anyone ever envisioned and become a God? Watch as this piece of art is created, one dab of paint, one change of brush, one coating at a time. Current Book Summary Book 2: ?With their new statuses as noble servants Mona, Reithar, and the Varlier brothers are assured a life with little difficulty and excellent opportunities. Word spreads of the young master of the Faulkner family and how he had taken Mona Aurum for his own, bringing envy and suspicion on Eric Faulkner. Gryfor, on the other hand, is forgotten by the public, charged with crimes Parsmir works to erase. But when the accused committed such an act as Lifeblood refining, evading a sentence is difficult indeed. ??Unsure of which method to take, the Merister royal family finds itself desiring the last Aurum descendant without offending the future head of Faulkner. To do so, the Duke of Wessor joins in the fray, hoping to profit in turn. Meanwhile, between the two generations of Faulkner, the rift between father and son only continues to grow. Just what did Rigor do to his wife, only few can tell. ??His Lunar Mark beginning to show its true worth, Mona makes use of this chance to fully explore this treasure. His skill in Aura rising and his stability in Alberdos assured, Mona remains alert of the ever nearing grasp of the Merister Emperor. His desire for vengeance only continues to grow. Author's Note I am currently writing GOTA Book 2: Royal Deception. For all my fans and followers, here is the update of the story. Anywho, do rate this story, comment. I have a Patreon to those willing to contribute to support me as a writer. The God Of The Arts Website will have each book's summary posted there, among other things. I hope you enjoy this story of mine. Thanks again for reading this everchanging story line. Signed, OmegaAlphaTau Friday, December 21, 2016 Licensing This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
8 129Creation, The wolves that are us (Creation series, Book 1)
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[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] Authors note: Good news, from now, until the end of the Writathon challenge, I'll be upload one chapter every three days. It'll be tough, but I want to test myself and see if I'm a competent writer. Synopsis The story of Tempered Edge takes place in an alternate version of present day earth, where science and technology have launched mankind many years ahead of the earth you know. Kiochi Suzuki is the captain of a black ops unit who serve a secret organization known as the council. His job is to preserve the order the council is working so hard to maintain. However, things take a drastic turn when Kiochi's men are slaughtered by strange dark beings during a routine mission. Kiochi somehow manages to escape and he must now seek out the truth of those dark beings. Volume 2 Update!! Mankind's day of reckoning fast approaches and Kiochi must find a way to prevent it at all costs. But just how deeply embedded are mankind's sins? Is mankind able to steer away from it's dark yet integral nature?
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*Inspired by "Empty Libraries" from tumblr user manuelmirandamn*And as both the writer and the reader of this story, I invite you to write yourself along side with me, into a narrative of what might have happened if, instead of a Latino-hip-hop fusion experience, Lin-Manuel Miranda found his passion for playwriting through You.
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