OLD SUMMER TRILOGY #3 "Winning is everything. If you don't win, you are a failure." Ice is living by those words. After her mom fails to participate in the figure skating championship because of a tragedy, she is expecting four of her daughters to pursue the same goal. Ice feels all the pressure when her sister wins during her time but pursues a different field upon winning. For Ice, the only important thing is figure skating. Nothing else matters. She is only allowed to feel something when she wins or loses a competition. Until she meets Lyonelle in the sports center during summer training, the swimmer who has already won every swimming competition he participates in. Unlike Ice, Lai has it easy. He can have fun, flirt, and be playful and still win. He is not pressured, because he doesn't think winning is the only thing that matters in a competition. He thinks enjoying what you do matters more. "And a smile from you matters too," Lyonelle teases Ice, but the latter just looks at him with no emotion on her face. "Ah, I failed... but it's okay. We still have sixty-four days of summer to spend together."

A dumb suggestion from my friend says that there's a foolproof method to know whether you like someone romantically or not. It's simple. All you have to do is close your eyes, think of that person, and imagine kissing them. Kapag nandiri ka, e di hindi mo gusto. But if the opposite happened, e di, delikado ka na. I'm a hundred percent sure that I only see Chio Cervantes as a friend. I just got confused because he's suddenly everywhere right after my ex-boyfriend got into a relationship with a girl he told me not to worry about. Besides, hindi ko rin siya type. He's noisy. He's shameless. He procrastinates a lot. He likes wiping the sweat off his forehead and wipe it on my arm. He drives with both his hands which somehow doesn't look appealing . . . and for some reason he doesn't refuse picking me up even when it's late at night. He always brings an extra handkerchief because I keep on forgetting mine along with a shirt I can borrow in case I need to change. He brings me good food to take my mind off deadlines. He doesn't hesitate to communicate his feelings and I honestly envy him for that. And he makes me laugh. Whatever. But just to be sure, at dahil madali lang namang gawin 'yong method, I closed my eyes and imagined his lips against mine. I realized one thing after opening my eyes. I'm in deep trouble and there's no way of getting out. BETWEEN YOUR LIPS AND MINE Cervantes Series Second Generation #1 2022, ynativity

[BOYS' LOVE] As tall as a building. As cold as ice. As breathtaking as flowers. As fiery as a volcano. We may know what it looks like, but we are oblivious to what it seems to be. ⋆౨ৎ⋅˚₊‧⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅‧₊˚ ⋅୨ৎ⋆ Growing up, Beniel Florus Matrinidad was always close to the beauty of Aphrodite. Despite his beauty and the countless men who made their move to him, he didn't entertain any of them. He may look innocent, but he knows how to handle himself, especially men. His only goal, when he and his friends transferred to a new university for their final year, was to graduate. Build a house for him and his grandmother. Have a stable job and live a happy life. Not until he met his roommate, Ashton Rize Tecson, a fiery, tall, basketball player from Summit Peak University known for his frigid aura. He doesn't talk much. He doesn't smile that much. In short, Ashton is the ultimate opposite of Beniel's type; the least Beniel could do is not fall for him. But he did. Were the looks and intimacy enough for love to bloom, or was love more than just what we see and feel? Were the sayings proved that having a crush on someone was just a phase? What happens when two opposites collide? What could go wrong when you place something where it simply doesn't belong? Like water on fire, or a flower in a volcano.

[THIS IS THE SECOND PART OF A TWO-PART STORY.] 'Do what makes you happy; be with whoever makes you happy,' they say. But what if the things or people that make you happy aren't what you need? There are some things that go together that make you happy but don't necessarily result to something good in the long run. But you keep coming back to it. Like your heart is bound to keep wanting it. Like drugs and candy. Like cigarettes and alcohol. Like tempting fatty foods and a high-sugar drink. Like two hearts bound to retrace its steps back to each other, craving for the familiar rush. And after sleeping with her ex-boyfriend's best friend, Nadia finds her and Elias in this same category. Lovestruck Series: HEARTBOUND (Part Two of Two) ynativity, 2024 Cover illustration by charameldraws

OLD SUMMER TRILOGY #2 Being the niece of the volleyball team's coach, Alia is hired to design the uniforms of the players. Seven, who has had a crush on her since the first time he saw her on the campus, feels shy and awkward whenever her presence is there. What more if one summer, the whole team will have to train in the coach's province near the ocean, where Alia is also having her vacation? Every night, since Alia cannot go to the house where the team is staying, the two would just write silly letters to each other and put them in a bottle, then hang the bottle in its usual spot.

Growing up together, Luciana Raphaella Tiongson believed her friendship with her best friend would last for a lifetime. Until she needed to move and they simply grew apart. She tried her best to hold on, but the connection she treasured was already severed to shreds. There was nothing left to do but to let him go. Raffie continued to live on with projects after projects when she received the best offer she could ever imagine. It was a complete three-sixty with Raffie going back to where her dreams started. In her old bedroom with her childhood best friend inside a makeshift fort, watching films together with honey-dipped popcorns. Until the severed pieces became whole again, making her remember how everything used be. With only her and him and no one else in between. Only Yours - an epistolary novel Completed (2025).

There are some things that aren't worth keeping. Nastia Kahlila Quijano has been convincing herself that walking away was the right thing she did. Even if it's already been three long years ever since she left. But with every passing second and every in-between of those years, she couldn't seem to getaway with the feelings still lingering in her system. She was haunted by the ideas of him, what might have been, and their memories together. Each day, each night; it was a choice she didn't want to regret. She was determined to move forward. But the biggest relapse struck her unexpectedly. All of her effort and hard work went down the drain. She couldn't seem to pull herself back from the memories reeling her in. From the phantom lurking in the form of her next door neighbor seemingly pulling her back to his arms. Maybe she should run away. Far enough where they wouldn't meet ever again. Far from his reach. Maybe she should treat him indifferently until he finally gives up. But Nika couldn't seem to handle the thought of him walking away and ending up with someone else. She couldn't have that either. Maybe, it was time for her to let things happen like clockwork. Maybe fighting it was futile. Maybe the right thing to do was run back to him. In his arms wide open. A place in the world that's only meant for her. Maybe, this time, they were meant to be. Book cover by: goldenaraw (on twitter)

Paano magkaroon ng connection sa cute (kahit ninakawan ka ng sukli) na ilang beses mo nang nakakasabay sa jeep: Step 1 Nakawin (debatable) siya sa date niya sa Fair. (Nakaw pa rin ba kapag siya ang naunang lumapit?) Step 2 Manghingi (Important: huwag nakawin) ng halik (na first kiss pala niya) bago umuwi. (Important ulit: ihatid kasi late na.) S̶t̶e̶p̶ ̶3̶ Tapos, bahala na. CERVANTES SERIES The Art of Free Falling © ynativity