DuelLinks! : a review and walkthrough for new players

 Greetings!

During these recent months, I just started back playing the infamous card game; YuGiOh!, which is developed by KONAMI. If you're from 90's and your at the slightest, an ordinary geek, then you must've at least heard about this game. Originally it came out from a manga series in 1999, and further growing to anime and sequels with developed gameplay (broken gameplay) which surprisingly still stands firm until today. I used to play the game (real card) back then when I was at JHS, and recently the mobile game version was released so I tried to hop back to the game, hoping to gain some nostalgic retro gaming experience.

The original game is simple; you have 8000 life points (LP) and a pile of deck which may consist of 3 types of cards, monster, spell, and trap cards. the USUAL gameplay would be like summoning your monster, dealing damage by attacking your opponents monster OR a direct attack and you win as your opponents LP is decreased to 0. But as the game develop through time, there are many insane cards been added to play, which for instance made the gameplay more complicated than people thought when the game was initally released. Due to this date, there are 6 types of summoning (tribute, ritual, special summon, fusion, synchro, xyz, pendulum) which comes out from each original sequel of anime series.

This review would be focusing more on the mobile game, YuGiOh Duel Links! which I played recently. The gameplay is similar with the original version, but it comes up with 3 monster zone and 3 spell/trap card zone, and 4000 LP, thus an independant ruling based on the released cards (correlated to the ban, limited, and semi-limited cards). With this in hand, the game is expected to be twice faster and less complicated than the original version. Since the game is in a mobile game platform, one good thing is that KONAMI hasn't released all cards as the original version does. But don't worry since the game itself has released pretty much decent cards to enjoy the gameplay whihch comes up in packs that we can buy with gems obtainable through the game (even though you can also buy it).

There are many events throughout the game (usually each event updated each 2 weeks or so), which also releases super rare or even ultra rare cards and tickets that you can trade with a card of your favor from an available list. But, as almost every online game does; the ultimate goal of playing the game is winning the ladderboard and reach a seasonal title; King of Games (KOG). Anyone can reach KOG through each season which is updated each month. In order to reach KOG, you have to win numerous time against players with the same rank (platinum, gold, legend, etc). Each ranks comes with 7 sub-ranks, except legend which has only 5 (for example, platinum 1, platinum 2, until platinum 7), and as you win, you can go to the next rank. As far as I remember, the KOG ruling applied now (Nov 2020) is that you won't lose rank as you lose until you reach legend (so just keep playing and win effortlesly). But from legend to KOG is when the real game starts.

To promote from sub-ranks in legend (for example, legend 1 to legend 2), you will need a 3 win-streak. Thus if you have a 3 lose-streak you are automatically demoted. For legend 5 to KOG, you will need 8 win-streak. Think of this ruling as you win you get +1, and lose would be -1. So, the total winnings I menitoned before means you have to get a point of +5 for legend 5 to KOG, and +3 for the sub-ranks in the legend rank. For me personally, reaching legend is easy enough (total less than 25 games, if playing on mid-season ranked duels), but to reach KOG, I have to play around 250 games if I use a decent mid-tier deck (This ruling is based on what I remember, if you have any more updated or correct rulings, please kindly comment here below).

The real problem in almost every online game, including Duel Links comes here. When people are actually climbing the ladder, they need better cards. So most people with high-tier decks actually buys crazy amount of gems, then they buy card boxes and packs, and get the ultra and super rare cards which comes with insane effects. Here is where the game becomes broken. Cards with effect to special summon many monsters in one turn, removing cards from play, and so on are labeled with a high rarity for a reason. It's obviously expensive, but when people have the cash, then the rarity issue becomes a joke. Ironically, the game becomes more like a paying to win rather than a playing to win game.

This is seriously not cheap. As you climb throughout the ladder in ranked duels, you will likely face high-tier decks, for example 'control shiranui' decks. It is a fast paced zombie-synchro deck whith the ability to synchro summon from the graveyard, triigering effect when the monster are banished, and also it has decent strong backrows to support it. In my personal opinion, it is the strongest versatile synchro deck ever released in duel links (compare to infernity, dragunity, cryston, or karakuri which mostly focuses on one turn kill (OTK)).

For the control shiranui deck, as I cited from duellinks.meta website, it costs 67.000 gems to build up a balanced-full set shiranui decks. This 67.000 gems comes from buying the packs or boxes which contains the core cards needed. How much does a gem cost in real life? In my experience, I bought my gems usually from google play cards. For example if I buy 1500 japanese yen google play card, then I get 1500 gems too. So you can think 15 gems would cost around 1 USD. So, to get the full set shiranui deck from just buying gems, it would cost around 4500 USD. I don't know other people, but for me personally, spending that much amount of money for an in app-purchase is just too much.

One more thing to underline is that this is not cheating, and as it is actually a bussiness for KONAMI, I quiet understand that they want a good marketing by releasing these expensive-crazy effect cards. For the sake of the game itself, KONAMI also updates the ruling so these cards aren't abused too much. Even though most changes usually affects high tier decks, it is good to keep in mind that the game is still playable and enjoyable, in case you aren't running for the KOG or KC Cup (world-wide league based ladderboard, playable 4 times in a year or so).

Is it possible to reach KOG without spending real-money on gems?

Well it is, but you still need to at least buy several packs to get a well-balanced playable deck using gems that you obtain through the game (level up character, missions, events, etc). These decks are usually noted as free to play decks (F2P). As you buy boxes of cards, you will get the cards as listed what's inside by a random chance. For example the box contain 200 cards, and 10 cards from it costs 100 gems, so if you buy all the cards from the box it would cost 2000 gems and you will definitely get all the cards inside.

You can also reset the box as soon you get the card that you've been searching for. In that way, the listed cards in the box would be refreshed. My F2P version would be a full set of box with at least one time reset. Usually the total would cost around 10000 gems (at the highest, twice reset of minibox). As it sounds a bit expensive, don't worry because there's a lot of ways to get gems especially if you are still a new player in the game. For reference, I personally can get 500 gems (to open 10 packs) in at least 3 days while doing my workdays during off-season at my laziest pace (no event timing). So the good news is that if you focus on one deck, it would take you at least 2 months to get a full F2P deck which can compete with high tier decks.

In case you are really looking to start the game with an F2P deck then I recommend you to open duelinkmeta website. Just google it and it will show you the cards you need, in what boxes, and the cost also. They recommend the Aromage archtype deck, Lunalight, and also ritual beast. I never play ritual beast, but all these decks are decently common to find on high tier rank duels with good gameplay (as long as you can master the combo). For my personal experience, if you want another option than these decks but still are affordable and good as heck, you can try out desperado barrel deck or dragunity - ascalon deck. You can get all the main cards from a structural deck that you can buy in the game. Usually people will buy a total of 3 copies of the deck to formulize the best-lethal way to play the deck. There are also some better cards to replace or play along with the structural decks which you can find in the boxes too to gradually build your deck stronger.

So, thats my review point about this game. Yes it is abused in many ways, but still enjoyable and competable (since its a strategic game, not an RPG). Best of luck for your game, adios~

Home

A chair is still a chair,

even when there's no one sitting there.

But a house, is not a chair.

And a house is not a home, 

when there's no one there to hold you tight,

And no one there, 

you can kiss

Goodnight.

A house is not a home - Luther Vandross

28 August 2020

Living in Japan

Just as a brief intro, the first until the third paragraph is about my personal life. So, if you want to jump to the explanation of settling in Japan, you can start reading from the fourth paragraph.

It’s been a while since the last time I wrote in my personal blog. Forgive me for abandoning you for a long time. So hereby, let me bring you my status-quo. My life has changed a lot. Now I am studying in Japan (Kwansei Gakuin University) for Chemistry Master program for one-a half year (until March 2019). How did I end up here? It was a quite long story. Since I graduate from Biology bachelor degree in September 2016, I continued my study in Biology master degree in the same university from my bachelor degree (UKSW, Salatiga). Then after attempting a year in UKSW’s master degree, I was pretty lucky to be granted an opportunity to study abroad in KGU Japan due some collaboration works of UKSW-KGU which will give me (hopefully) two Master degree’s from both universities.

Going for overseas study is not an easy thing to accomplish. Preparing all the required documents for the university, dealing with the immigration office (visa, passport, etc), dealing with communication problems with the university office, and even facing financial support issues has been a tough mission for me. Now, I am settle enough to strive through my new life and environment here. To be honest, it’s not an unusual thing for me living in such a half-dead situation. In my bachelor degree, I joined the student board organization and somehow managed to be the chairperson of the executive board. I met many people, with different and strikingly beautiful way-of-think. It changed me a lot, and day by day I will always have organization problem to deal with. It bulked my mental of survival instead of living.

A matter of instance at the moment I finished from bachelor degree was to move-on. It wasn’t an easy thing for me to step forward and leave a trace behind for those special memories and friends I had on the student board organization. I had to restrain myself and only provide sight for those who seek for my perspective. Helping should never overwhelm the parameter of intervention. So then I was focusing myself on my master degree, which later made me chosen as the student to study abroad.

Now, I am stuck in the middle of Japan. Thinking about it, I must tell you that until this point I believe Japan is a good place for vacation, but not for living. If you think you will have a typically romance-harem anime plot life here, that’s completely wrong. Everything is provided in Japanese, and it is quite hard to find a good-english Japanese speaker here (2 out of 10). For social life, they’re not as open as European nor Indonesian (basically my homeland). So, If you do plan to live here, I recommend you to study Japanese.

Next case about living in Japan is the price. Everything here is pretty expensive, moreover for an Indonesian like me (since the exchange rate of IDR to yen is high, 1.000.000 (read: one million ruphias) is around 8.500 JPY). I have to pay around 40.000 JPY for my room, and around 20.000 JPY for food. This calculation is even without the expenses I have to pay for other things (trasportation, etc). So, you can imagine yourself how much you should afford to live here. At least to survive, you need a daily job so then each month you got some salary to help you. It might be difficult to get a full-time job in Japan (I don’t know, never experienced before), but it’s easier to get a part-time job. The salary for part-time job varies around 20.000 JPY (normally more or less). In order to get a part-time job for a foreigner, you have to deal with some “permit” administration in the immigration office when you arrive at Japan (better when you arrive). It’s not that that hard, just ask the officer: “baito”, and hopefully they will understand. After you get the permission, you now can seek a part-time job with a regulation usually maximum 28 hours you can work per week.

For people who want to visit Japan just for vacation, I suggest you to bring about 200.000 JPY (a family with four people having vacation for more or less one week). Mainly your expenses will be used on hotel (7000-10.000 JPY per room/day for a 3-4 star hotel), transportation (by train may exceed 50.000 JPY, but if you use shinkansen it might be much more expensive), and also food. This 200.000 JPY budget is just in case you want a “luxurious” vacation. But if you’re planning to get the most cheapest and it’s only for two persons then I guess around 50.000 JPY for a week is enough. Don’t forget that you still have to pay for the airplane which has a varied price. If you’re from Indonesia and you don’t bring many baggage, then I recommend you to use Air Asia.

So that’s a just a scratch of my experience which I could share. I’m still new though, but I hope it helps you a lot. If you have further questions about a plan to go to Japan, feel free to leave a comment or you can contact my personal email.

8 November 2017
@albert_karwur

Pengecut

Katanya seorang pemberani itu bukanlah orang yang tidak mempunyai rasa takut sama sekali, melainkan orang yang bisa menghadapi ketakutannya untuk bisa terus maju ke depan. Bukannya mundur ke belakang

atau malah macet; stuck; tersangkut untuk kemudian tersandung kenangan.

Saya ingin menjadi orang seperti itu. Saya ingin berteman dengan rasa takut dan bukannya berusaha lari atau memusuhi, hingga pada akhirnya saya hanya berkejaran dengan rasa takut itu sendiri.


aku takut kehilangan kamu.

@albert_karwur
18 Juni 2017

Broken-Hearted

It's simply impossible to deny your feelings. Seriously, it's like when you love someone you just do it. You just make your move, and go-get-her. You don't need any theory nor words; it's your action which speaks louder. Same thing when you're sad. You might smile, but your teared up inside-down and somehow you just ruin your whole day. Your 'broken-hearted'.

When you're 'broken-hearted', you seek for a solution. But you cant find any solution under your logical thought. You're feeling insecure. You cant sleep even when you're tired already. You just get day-dreaming all day long thinking about her. Towards these symptoms, I am stuck inside it.

Since it's almost been 2 years together, you really know the best way to kill me. It's what I hate the most. Just by being silent, not in words only, but practically actions. Under these condition I've been puzzling around, regretful of what I've done and trying to make a way back to this relationship. 

But yes, I know what's my fault and I shall carry the lessons forward. But dear don't be hard. It's okay to be angry, but not to live in anger.

In the midst of my hectic night, I was thinking words we spoke recently: "It's easier to fall in love rather than to stay in love". Now I'm feeling it, and it's true.

Be well dear, sleep tight.

I love you.

@albert_karwur
13 February 2017

Kamu Ingat?

Hei kamu. Kamu ingat? Tepat setahun yang lalu, akhir Desember 2015. Kita adalah dua yang saling tidak kenal. Kamu adalah kamu; dengan kerumitan cerita yang diam-diam setia kuikuti dari kejauhan. Bukan bermaksud menguntitmu, hanya saja aku kagum. Kamu, ya kamu. Seorang hawa yang pada satu waktu independen dan tegas, dan pada waktu lainnya childish dan menggemaskan. Semua itu kurangkum dalam satu frase yang tak terpisahkan definisinya, karena itu berarti kamu. Itu yang kucatat dalam buku bulan Desember. Dan karena saking senangnya aku mengikuti ceritamu, aku sampai tidak sadar. Aku menjadi lebih dari sekedar penggemar rahasiamu. Aku menyukaimu.

Mungkin disisi lain aku juga kurang romantis ya, mengingat kali pertama kita jumpa empat mata. Kita duduk di teras agra, berhadapan. Gagap bicara. Malu tapi mau, enggan tapi ingin tahu. Kamu ingat?

Dari begitu banyak detail kita yang terlewatkan bersama, kini sampailah kita disini; dititik ini. Titik sedekat dua kelingking yang saling memagut. Terimakasih sayang; untuk cerita sepanjang 2015. Sungguh, terimakasih.

Selamat natal dan Tahun baru chacha :)

Kamu ingat? Jangan nyengir, aku tahu kamu pasti tidak akan lupa dengan ucapan itu.

-  dedicated to my dearest  -

@albert_karwur
3 January 2016

Suatu Malam

Kamu tertawa, tapi dengan jelas aku bisa melihat air mata yang tidak sempat mengembang. Tertahan. Atau lebih tepatnya ditahan. Dan air mata yang tidak sempat menggenang tersebut ternyata bukan satu-satunya hal yang ditahan di malam hari itu. Afeksi yang membanjiri hatiku juga harus dibendung supaya tidak jebol dan menyapu apa yang sudah kita punya saat ini, sesuatu yang terlalu berharga untuk dipertaruhkan hanya karena saya berharap afeksi itu tidak berjalan satu arah.

"Kita akan terus mencintai setelah disakiti. Tapi kita akan mencintai dengan cara yang berbeda, tidak akan pernah sama lagi."* Begitulah saya mencintaimu sekarang. Dengan segala ketidaktahuan saya mengenai dirimu di balik selapis ekspresi wajah serupa topeng gareng yang tidak pernah berhenti tersenyum, dengan segala ketakutan saya akan datangnya rasa nyeri dan kehilangan yang meninggalkan sesak berkepanjangan.

Aku dan kamu. Air mata yang menggenang. Perasaan. Sesuatu yang (entah sampai kapan) akan terus ditahan.

12 Agustus 2015

@albert_karwur

Marah

Sejauh yang bisa saya ingat, selalu ada segenggam kemarahan yang terpaksa saya simpan rapat di dalam hati. Tidak mudah untuk menyembunyikannya, tapi juga tidak sulit untuk menjadikan apa yang seharusnya kasat menjadi tersirat. Berbekal tawa menggelegar dan kemampuan untuk menghindar yang sudah dipoles bertahun-tahun, jadilah kemarahan yang sudah membatu itu berada di luar jangkauan pandangan mereka yang tidak saya izinkan untuk masuk ke dalam batasan perimeter personal.

Saya marah. Marah yang merah. Marah yang gerah. Marah yang pasrah. Marah yang belum juga menjadi telah. Marah yang sudah terlampau lelah untuk mencapai sudah.

Saya marah pada mereka yang tidak mau mengenal namun telah berani menjatuhkan vonis. Pada mereka yang terlihat agamis namun dari mulut mereka tercium kemunafikan berbau amis. Saya marah dengan mereka yang berteriak perjuangan dan kemudian dengan percaya dirinya memilih berkubang dalam lingkaran setan politis.

Saya lelah dengan tragedi. Terkadang dunia ini tidak lebih dari sebuah parodi kolosal dengan begitu banyak pemain figuran yang cuma seliweran tanpa menangguk banyak perhatian. Masing-masing saling sikut untuk sedetik lebih lama di bawah pancuran lampu sorot. Semua benar, semua halal.

Sampai sejauh  mana kita, manusia, mengkhianati kemanusiaan itu sendiri?
Sampai kapan kita memilih untuk buta dan tuli untuk tenggelam dalam lumpur keluhan yang tidak berujung?

@albert_karwur
30 Juli 2015

Sun, Night, Moon

In the beginning, there was Nothingness.

Nothingness gave birth to the Sun.

The Sun had immense power. It had control over everything and anything, but it was pure and kind. The Sun helped give life to the World and all its creatures. It caringly took care of everything and maintained peace. There was nothing that the Sun did not notice, for the World owed its existence to it.

For a while, all was well.

Almighty though it was, the Sun eventually grew tired of being alone. Eventually, the Sun decided to speak of this to the Nothingness.

“I am tired of always being present,” said the Sun.

“So, what is it that you want?” asked Nothingness in reply.

“Please give me company, so that we can take turns watching the World.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.”

“But one that can take turns for you must have equal strength with you. Are you alright with that?”

“I do not care,” answered the Sun recklessly. “If worse comes to worst, it will be my responsibility.”

Nothingness looked at the Sun and sighed.

“So be it.”

And Night was born.

Sun, Night, Moon

a short by Chris Zhou

Possessing equal powers with the Sun, the Night was everything its sibling was not. If the Sun was open, the Night was elusive. If the Sun was wise, the Night was much more… brash. But, the Sun cared about the Night very much, as it was its only company, and gave it half of the World to take care of. The Sun called its share of the World a day, and the Night—an arrogant being to its core—called its share its own name, a night. Just like the Sun told Nothingness, the two began taking turns.

While all is well in the day, the night proved to be problematic. Evil and wrongdoings ran rampant in the protection of the darkness, something that the Night fancied so much it dedicated all of its share to revel in. The Night had fun in seeing conflicts and wars, and so violence and bloodshed had turned common. The Sun did not enjoy this, but it knew that it had no right to criticize—it had asked for a sibling, and Nothingness had given it just that. So the Sun did what it could do and bestowed recovery and health for all the creatures to protect themselves from the dangers of a night. It had even introduced to the creatures a source of light in the night, the fire.

The Night did not like what the Sun had done. It decided to confront its sibling.

“I thought you gave me half of the world to be mine? What business do you have, snooping around?” asked the Night coldly.

“I gave it to you to take care of, not to be your plaything. If you continued doing what you did, the night will soon lay waste to everything,” the Sun said sternly.

“That is not a big deal,” sneered the Night. “If anything, that is the natural course of things. Creatures are meant to destroy one another.”

“You are wrong, Night. There is a reason why we can coexist, isn’t there?”

The Night exploded in laughter.

“The only reason you are still around is because I let you. Face it—whatever you do, I can do it better.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You gave fire to the creatures so that they would see you in the night? I can turn it into something to my advantage. I can… no, I will make them hurt each other using the very thing you gave them.”

“How dare…” the Sun’s expression hardened.

“Oh, yes. In fact, I think I’m beginning to get bored of your presence, sibling. What say you we decide who the ruler of everything should be?”

“Night… you do not want to do this…” The Sun said cautiously. The Night was clearly riled up at this point.

“No objections! I will give you time to prepare. Let us settle this in war!”

As the Night left the Sun alone, the Sun knew it had no choice in the matter.

The Night, in preparations for battle, gave birth to Lies, Malevolence, Cunning, Deceit, and many other evil values to arm its creatures. Wicked feelings became their weapons, allowing them to unleash their wildest potentials. No means are beyond these malicious beings.

The Sun, on the other hand, gave rise to Courage, Steadfastness, Justice, and many noble values for its creatures to defend themselves. The path of the pure and the right became their weapon of choice.

Finally, the Great War between the Sun and the Night began.

The Great War lasted from years to decades to centuries. The World had become a barren place as the result. For every cheating ways that the Night had its creatures pull off, the Sun would always have a triumphant comeback. But nothing could stop Night’s advances, even with the Sun’s loyal creatures at its side—especially because the Night did not play by the rules.

After one particularly intense battle, the Night had the Sun cornered.

“It’s time… to say goodbye… my sibling,” said the Night, panting.

“I will not say goodbye, my sibling,” replied the Sun.

“Then I assume you are ready to surrender to your fate.”

Without any further ado, the Night ended its sibling’s life.

And then everything was dark.

The Night had won. With the Sun’s existence vanished from the World, there was nothing in its way to cover the world in darkness. Nothing had given the World light but the Sun. Fire, which was given by the Sun to the World, was forever banned by the Night. Eventually, the Night banished the fire from existence as well. The World went into dark times. With the Night’s pastime being violence and conflict, battles and fights waged without stop.

But the Sun had left something before it died.

It had given birth to Love.

Before the final battle the Sun, sensing its doom, realized that Night would win the Great War. But, by then, the Sun had realized that it would take something greater than just the Sun, or the Night, to end the meaningless battles. So, with all the strength it had left, it created something… distinct. It created something that was a part of itself, and part of its sibling.

Love was contagious. Love quickly spread across the World, without fail attaching itself to every single creature living in the dark. Finally, it had gotten to the doors of the Night itself, and discreetly it planted itself inside the Night. Love was gentle, yet firm. As a result of two contradicting beings poured into a single feeling, Love felt dynamic and universal. It was also scarily addictive. It had given everyone it crossed paths with a resounding joy like nothing else they had ever felt. All the creatures, and even Night itself, rejoiced because of this new feeling.

But as powerful as Love was, it was not complete. It was something that was created by the Sun, with some of the feelings and values that the Night had. So without the Sun’s existence, Love would never be whole. This drove the Night and all its creatures crazy—mainly because they never thought they would need the Sun for anything. Love has accomplished its mission: to introduce the importance of balance.

At first, the Night restored fire, thinking that it would help. But nothing worked.

So the Night and the whole World begged Nothingness to restore the Sun. And Nothingness, secretly amused by the Sun’s ingenuity, granted their wish.

The Sun was alive again, but this time, it made a pact with the Night to ensure everlasting peace. The Sun would give a little bit of itself in the night, and the Night would have a sign of its presence even during the day.

And so, the Moon was born out of this agreement.

Perhaps that’s why the moon is so romantic.

By Christopher Zhou

Menjelajah Kenangan

Aku diam. Melamun, memikirkan waktuku yang mulai terenggut pergantian tahun. Momen ini memang memberi makna yang berbeda. Sedih, senang, haru, macam-macam. Boleh-lah mengintip kembali. Mencoba mencari satu-dua hal menarik. Dan benar, itu selalu tentang kita. Walau rasanya kini tabu untuk dituai, tapi biarlah. Sekilas saja, sekali ini tak apa. Toh, ini yang terakhir.

Dulu sekali, aku ingat, kita tidak pernah tahan untuk bungkam. Kau dan aku akan bercerita tentang apa saja. Tentang anjingku yang baru belajar salam, tentang kelas yang tadi kau ikuti sebelum bertemu aku. Kita akan bertanya-tanya sejak kapan parkiran kantonk naik seribu perak. Kita akan berdebat gerobak mie ayam mana yang paling enak. Kita akan menolak untuk lebih dulu terlelap, enggan menjadi yang pertama mengucapkan selamat malam

Luar biasa bagaimana waktu bisa berjalan sambil membuat kita terlena. Satu demi satu detail akan terlewat, dan kita terseok maju ke depan seperti mobil tua yang kehabisan pelumas. Perlahan kita lupa rasanya menjadi kita.

Tapi, mungkin juga aku salah. Mungkin juga ini memang hal yang biasa saja. Karena begitulah waktu akan hadir, di satu kesempatan waktu akan datang sambil membawa pupuk, menyuburkan apa saja yang telah ditabur benihnya. Di satu kali lain, dia akan datang membawa kemarau panjang. Mengerontangkan apa yang tadinya bersemi hijau menjadi gersang.

Mungkin memang cerita tentang waktu dan kenangan bukan tentang jumlah harinya, berapa lamanya, atau sekian banyak durasinya. Ini lebih berbicara tentang kualitas, soal arti dari tiap detik-detik tersebut. Tapi, entah sial atau beruntung ada saja yang teringat tentang kita. Aku juga tidak tahu, dan tidak mau tahu lagi.

Don't count the days, make the days count.

Aku masih dalam ketiadaan kata.
Belenggu bisu masih memborgol lisan.
Karena itu, biarkan aku merenung,
sebentar saja.

@albert_karwur
31 December 2014

Dingin

Kamu kedinginan? Aku juga kok, makannya ACnya kumatikan. Wajar saja demikian, melihat jemarimu menyelip mencari sela diantara kehangatan baju. Memang dingin kok akhir-akhir ini, cuacanya kurang bersahabat. Apalagi malam ini, baru saja selesai hujan turun; menyisakan gerimis berjatuhan tetes demi tetes membasahi jalan. Pecek, berkabut, dan tidak karuan. Terdengar sepertimu.

Aku memang pria yang sok tahu, pria mana yang tidak tahu? pria mana yang tidak peka kalau kau sedang sedih? Menangislah semampumu, toh malam masih panjang menemani. Sekalipun dingin, jangan biarkan dirimu ditelanjangi angin malam. Balutlah dirimu dengan baju hangat dan teh panas. Percayakan saja bahwa esok hari kan lebih cerah. Masa depanmu tidak akan berhenti disini.

Tersenyumlah.
Bagaimana?
Sudah lebih hangat?

Mengintip

Bukan tanpa alasan aku suka mengintip. Karena kamu cantik? bukan. Manis? hahaha. Kalaupun iya, mestinya aku sudah neg dengan manisnya wajahmu karena saking manisnya. Jangan nyengir dulu, aku nggak nggombal kok. Sebenarnya menurut hakekat, melihatmu itu gratis. Toh, foto-fotomu juga banyak terpampang bergantian di walpaper laptopku. Jadi tidak usah repot mencari celahpun, memandangmu itu bebas; tanpa dosa. Namun, seindah-indahnya tayangan empat mata denganmu, tetap menjadi istimewa tiap kali aku mengintipmu. Seperti pada waktu kamu sedang tertidur pulas. Tapi lebih indah lagi saat kamu sedang berdoa. Kamu harus lihat wajahmu kala itu; istimewa. Nggak munafik.

Jangan nyengir lagi, aku nggak nggombal kok.

Ini seriusan.
hahaha

@albert_karwur
20 Juli 2014

Macet

"Aku nggak suka macet be, nggak suka banget. Makannya kuliah di Salatiga"

Jalan menuju rumah terasa panjang. Sebenarnya tidak jauh, hanya karena padat merayap kendaraan mengisi jalan; terhenti pula gerak perjalanan. Penuh dengan kebisingan dan asap polutan; wajar melihat kerutan-kerutan di dahi para pengemudi truk; tanda lelah, penuh penat. Sama seperti mereka, akupun juga begitu. Ingin rasanya menginjak pedal gas sekuat mungkin, agar cepat sampai di tujuan. Memang perjalanan kali ini terasa panjang, tapi apa daya usaha melawan keramaian. Hanya sosokmu yang terlihat kecil manis diujung jalan, membuatku semakin ingin berlari kencang. Aku hanya bisa mencari celah, sambil terseok-seok melintasi kerumunan; menahan keluhan yang lompat dari lidah.

Matahari mulai tenggelam, malam mulai menyerang;
dan Aku belum tiba di ujung jalan.

Tapi tidak usah khawatir,
Aku tidak tersesat kok.

Maaf bakal menunggu lama, macet di jalan.
Sama sepertimu,
Aku juga nggak suka macet kok.

17 Mei 2014
@albert_karwur

I'm in love, and always will be

The more time I spend with you, the deeper I put myself into the joyous and complexity of love. I, surprisingly, find myself in an absolute bliss without having to pretend to be someone I’m not. In what other word can I describe this but love?

You came to my life all of a sudden, out of nowhere. Since then, I simply can't take my eyes off you. You came at the exact moment when I detest love as a mutual relationship. When I buried myself in a deep prejudice that women, indeed, does not love.

But you did come. Shed my tears away, and replace it with piles of laugh and joy. You'd showed me, and you still are, how an individual should be embraced just the way they are. That no matter how bad they look like, we shall find the very best of them in a most surprising way.

You taught me how to tell you everything I used to hide, to make me realized how I be loved by so many people, how I shouldn't think the other way around. You came to me, healing the wound I had for so long, that I get used to the bandage rather than to wound itself.

But then again, there's one question left yet hasn't been answered. What are you to me? A painting or furniture?

This particular question shall be my basic consideration on how far should we carry n this relationship. It’s a question even the adults often fail to identify. Thou, we have plenty of time to figure it out. For now, I just want to be able to touch the warmth of your skin, to smell the scent of your body, to look deeply at your eyes and to find my own reflection.

I'm in love, and always will be.

Membagi Kebenaran

Kita (baca: manusia), memang selalu punya pemikirian idealis sendiri-sendiri. Entah baik atau jahat, tidak ada yang bisa menyimpulkan itu. Karena pada dasarnya, hal-hal seperti itu yang akan membentuk nilai kebenaran; dan membentukmu secara utuh.

Apa yang saya rasa benar, tidak selalu terbaca benar di benakmu. Yang Anda bisa lakukan adalah melihat, bukan memahami sampai sedalam apa yang saya rasakan. Namun, saya sungguh sangat berterimakasih atas afeksi dan empatinya. Setidaknya, ada sesuatu untuk dibagi; sehinngga tidak seberat sebelumnya.

terimakasih.

@albert_karwur
30 April 2014

Sudahkah kamu tersenyum hari ini?

Sudahkah kamu tersenyum hari ini? Pagi ini sangat cerah. Seiring fajar melepas rindunya, para manusia terbangun meyambutnya. Kian lama kita semakin terhanyut dalam nuansa hangat. Mendengar kicauan burung, melihat langit biru muda yang terbentang luas, dan tentunya, membaca pesan singkat darimu. Siapa yang tidak tersenyum?

Sudahlah, tak usah ditutupi. Aku tahu kamu pasti juga sedang tersenyum.

Cukup sebelas digit huruf untuk menyadarkanku dari kantuk. “Selamat Pagi”, lengkap dengan emoticon senyum yang membuatku terbayang indahnya senyummu, komplit dengan segala euforia ini.

Semakin cepat waktu terlahap, tidak terasa mentari dan segala kawanannya menghilang. Datanglah malam. Kita lelah, semua lelah, tertarik menuju kasur; melepas letih.

Genaplah satu hari selesai. Terasa pendek dan cepat, tapi tak apalah.
Toh aku sudah tidak sabar untuk tidur; agar melihatmu tersenyum kembali besok.

@albert_karwur
10 April 2014

Dunia yang Gelap

Dunia ini sebetulnya gelap. Sangat gelap. Gambaran yang terlintas semasa hidupmu hanyalah imajinasi; rekaan pikiranmu sendiri. Itu hanyalah dogma yang tumbuh dalam otak. Dan semua indra yang kau dapati, bukanlah indra kehidupan. Meraba, mencium, membaui, melihat, mendengar; anjing juga dapat melakukan itu semua kok. Mereka yang kau lihat hanyalah topeng, suara yang kamu dengar cuma angin yang ingin mengusikmu; menjatuhkanmu. Wajar saja karena manusia memang sehendaknya selalu memiliki keegoisan untuk membentuk dunia idealnya sendiri; yang kita sering sebut pendapat. Semua 'indra' yang lain hanyalah penyedap rasa; yang membuat dunia semakin realis.

Indra sejati hanya milik mereka yang menyala. Mereka yang membakar dirinya sendiri; ditengah gelap malam. Seolah lilin-lilin yang menghiasi jagat, mereka akan bersinar. Tentunya, mereka akan meleleh lebih cepat, daripada mereka yang berlindung dalam fiksi; demi menjaga api yang kian redup. Bukan persoalan siapa yang lebih lama bertahan dengan apinya, namun seberapa terang api itu terpancar. Kehadiran mereka ini yang membuat dunia berimbang, setidaknya ada penerangan kecil di setiap sudutnya.

Paling tidak lebih baik dunia yang gelap dengan lilin-lilin yang sederhana, penerangan yang secukupnya. Daripada dunia yang terang sehingga terlihat semua kebusukkan manusia.

Mungkin lebih baik begini. Entahlah,

@albert_karwur
25 Februari 2014

Foto

Foto itu menggambarkan seribu kata. Tidak perlu caption atau penjelasan lebih, itu sudah cukup. Bukannya mau subjektif, hanya saja senyummu itu tidak menipu. Tanpa kau jelaskanpun, aku sudah tau kamu cukup bahagia. Tapi kamu itu, memang tidak adil. Kamu memilih tersenyum, mencuri hati semua orang. Kamu memang cantik. Siapa yang tidak terpukau melihatmu ? melihat duniamu ? Kurasa itu sebabnya juga; banyak yang mejagamu, mengkhawatirkanmu. Bagi beliau yang berlaku demikian, sungguh terimakasih banyak. Terlalu berharga senyum itu, aku sungguh takut ketulusannya rusak. Senang, tapi juga sedih; karena tidak bisa menjadi beliau. Beliau yang mengisi harimu, dan menyelimuti hatimu. Bukannya tidak mampu, tapi belum bisa menjadi Beliau. Aku hanya berdoa yang terbaik untuk esok hari. Terus berharap, kelak kapan kesempatanku berfoto denganmu.

Kelak, suatu saat nanti.

Tunggulah.

@albert_karwur
1 February 2014

Parfummu

Aroma yang kau sebar, bukan yang kusukai. Baunya bukan seperti ini, lebih lembut; yang ini rasanya seperti bau pohon cemara ditengah hujan gerimis. Pilu, seolah berwarna biru. Bau ini terasa pekat di hidungku, sangat menyengat; tidak seperti raut di wajahmu. Jangan kau gambarkan tawa dengan bau ini, terasa munafik.

Darimanakah kau dapat wewangian ini? Kudengar parfum ini kau dapati dari kios di persimpangan jalan menuju tugu tua. Kuakui, parfum buatan kios tersebut banyak disukai orang, hanya saja tidak cocok denganmu. Ini terlalu pekat dengan bahan-bahan anorganik; mungkin saja sudah tercampur dari bahan-bahan yang dapat merusak kulitmu.

Lihat mukamu, palsu bukan? Sudahlah, jangan menangis. Aku sudah tau reaksimu akan begitu, klasik sekali. Aku tidak marah kok. Kenapa sedih ? Kau rindu dirimu yang lama bukan ?

Beruntungnya aku sudah siapkan resep parfummu itu, karena aku sangat suka itu. Bahan-bahannya organik, langsung dari taman desa kok. Kau hanya butuh 3 buah jahe pertemanan, 2 siung bawang semangat, dan setetes madu kekeluargaan; rebus dengan daun tawa. Jadilah parfumnya; kini, semprotkan saja sekali ke tubuhmu.

Harum kan?
Kenapa hanya menyengir?
Kau pasti senang kan?

Aku sudah tau reaksimu akan begitu, klasik sekali.

@albert_karwur
13 January 2014

Gosip itu kata Sifat

Salah satu  tindakan yang paling saya benci di dunia ini adalah bergosip. Apalagi kalo tidak hanya membicarakan orang lain, tapi lebih merujuk kepada menjelek-jelekkan orang lain. Tidak ada gunanya, tidak ada hikmahnya. Kalanya pada jaman sekarang banyak sekali manusia dengan jenis seperti ini. Saking banyaknya, mungkin kini kata kerja tersebut dapat digolongkan dalam kata sifat. Iri hati, dendam, terluka, salah pengertian, dan masih banyak lagi alasan manusia melakukan tindakan ini. Apalagi kalau anak muda jaman sekarang yang biasa habis putus, pihak laki-laki menjelek-jelekkan mantannya; begitu pula pihak perempuan. Seringkali tindakan ini juga dijadikan propaganda politik untuk menjatuhkan seseorang. Seseorang menyebar isu yang nyentrik, dan umumnya bersifat menjatuhkan dengan tujuan agar pandangan masyarakat sekitar berubah.

Dapat dikatakan dalam peristiwa ini ada 3 pihak. Pihak pertama adalah orang yang memiliki masalah dengan orang lain (pihak kedua), sedangkan pihak kedua bergosip pada lingkungan pertemanannya (pihak ketiga). Umumnya dalam keadaan begini, pihak pertama dan kedua akan saling menjelek-jelekkan satu sama lain pada pihak ketiga. Saya kira ini cukup keliru. Sifat kekanak-kanakan untuk bergosip ria ini pasti sangat disebabkan oleh terlalu sempitnya pikiran sehingga tidak mau berpikir objektif; berpikir dalam banyak perspektif. Pasti setiap orang yang melakukan tindakannya berbuat demikian sehingga membuat orang lain tersinggung karena berpegang pada nilai kebenarannya. Ia merasa tindakannya paling benar; dan tentunya sejalan dengan ideologi yang dianutnya sehingga pada akhirnya bergosip pada pihak ketiga, dengan harapan untuk menyelesaikan masalah, ataupun kepuasan semata. Hina sekali.

Hal ini tidak akan menyelesaikan masalah, malah membuatnya tambah parah. Masalah akan melebar ke lingkungan. Sekalipun akhirnya masalah terselesaikan; tetap akan menyisakan noda dalam benak lingkungan sekitar. Masalah seperti ini dapat terselesaikan dengan bertemunya pihak pertama dan kedua secara empat mata, dan bermusyawarah untuk menemukan titik terang dari permasalahan tersebut. Saya kira, masyarakat dewasa semestinya tau akan solusi ini namun tidak pernah terbersit untuk melakukannya. Kalaupun ada, pasti merupakan kaum minoritas.

Harapan saya hanya agar dunia ini bisa menjadi tempat yang lebih nyaman tanpa kehadiran perilaku-perilaku tidak terpuji seperti itu. Toh, kalaupun digosipkan seperti itu biarlah nantinya lingkungan sekitar yang menjudge sendiri apakah orang tersebut sesuai seperti yang digosipkan atau tidak.

@albert_karwur
11 January 2014