They say that happy-go-lucky people bury their deepest pain behind smiles. For Maverick Evander, an architecture student, was entangled in a web of uncertainty by his parents' decision to separate. Beneath his playful image and a well-known loud circle, he was able to carry a facade-a mystery no one could ever decipher. How can you read someone when they are just black pages in the book? That's how engineering student Rade Archiel Tejano sees Mavric: a blinding sun you could only graze upon. And the more he tries to solve the puzzles in Mavric's mind games, the more Mavric's wall thickens. Will Rade be able to crush someone who is already broken? Will Mavric top someone when he's the one who's falling? In a play where one had to win, both of them fell...hard.

In a society where blue is classified for boys and pink for the girls, Shiloh Ching Escarra struggled during his childhood when he discovered his fondness for the toys and colors that were only labeled for the girls. Despite confining himself in the darkness, Brent Matthew Jarsdel, his roommate and the son of his mother's friend, gradually peeked through his thick walls and found a way to paint his world according to what color he genuinely prefers. In the midst of those unexplainable feelings, confusions, and judgements, Brent was willing to risk it all; to fight for the love he unexpectedly found; to build him a home where his true colors would finally be accepted.

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Two men. One secret conversation. A truth that broke everything. Tyler hated Mikael long before he fell for him, and falling for him might be the one thing he can't charm his way out of. *** Tyler Coast Alderidge Cervando has always had everything, except genuine connection. Charming and privileged, he returns to the Philippines for college carrying ambition and old grudges. Chief among them: Mikael Jasver Chua, the last person Tyler expects to matter to him. What begins as rivalry quietly shifts when an anonymous late-night conversation strips away titles, wealth, and walls, and two people begin to see each other clearly for the first time. But when the truth surfaces, so does the damage. Tyler & Mikael is a story about what happens when two people who were never supposed to fall in love... already have.

Santiago Alverio is torn between family expectations and his own internalized fears from homophobic relatives. As he enters a casual fling with Diablo Delgado, he discovers that love, patience, and acceptance might be the blueprint to healing and embracing his true self. *** Santiago Alverio has always lived by the rules of his family, peers, and a silent world that tells him who he should be. As a civil engineering student, he hides behind toxic masculinity and the fear of being noticed because of expectations and a homophobic upbringing. Then comes Diablo Delgado--fearless, affectionate, and unapologetically himself. What begins as a no-strings "friends with benefits" arrangement slowly converts into something deeper. With every touch, every unguarded smile, Diablo breaks the walls Santi has built around his heart. But love is never simple. Santi is caught between family pressures, societal judgment, and his own insecurities. Will he ever realize that happiness was never about meeting expectations but about choosing the person who makes him feel whole? DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Rayne Mariano ILLUSTRATOR: Ri Ot

One punch, and the world tilted off its axis.

LAW SCHOOL SERIES 1 - Clay sings his heart deeply with honesty despite its brokenness. But the cracks inside didn't stop him from expressing himself. Burying his past, he carries on with his present- parties and clubbing with his fair weather friends, sober concerts and busking, dates and hookups with men, name it all. As law school shook up his life, men became his earthquakes. He knows that he is not made for loving even if he longs for it, so he allows himself high from every euphoric romance he encounters, dreaming of his fantasies. Yet this long daydreaming ended when he finally meets the man willing to clean the toxins of his life. Rhythms of Laws is the heartbeat of Clay, singing his pain and healing inside law school. Even Clay himself wouldn't have thought that there is beauty from the harmony of his agony. Rhythms of Laws - Law School Series 1 (Ongoing Revision)

A love letter, a confession, and a blossoming heart. I got nothing to lose, only my heart to break.

(Game Series # 9) Mauro Eugenio dela Rama's life revolved around school and work. At times, he felt like drowning pero hindi siya pwedeng magreklamo kasi pinili niya naman 'yon. For him, he'd rather be exhausted with his 9 to 5 and 5 to 9 kaysa humingi ng pambayad ng tuition sa tatay niya. He was doing fine kahit nahihirapan siya. Akala niya hindi niya kailangan ng tulong... Then he met Atty. Achilles V. Marroquin. Mauro thought that he was just being nice to him dahil abogado na 'to ay siya ay 'di hamak na struggling law student lamang. Kahit nahihiya siya, humingi siya ng tulong dito. Kakapalan niya na ang mukha niya kaysa bumagsak siya sa subjects niya. He thought he was just being regular nice to him... hanggang isang araw ay napapatanong na lang siya sa sarili niya kung normal pa ba 'to o nilalandi ba siya ng abogadong 'to?

Might not. Probably won't. Maybe never. Unlikely. Doubtful. Despite being everything he could have been, Elize constantly settled in the dark, lurking with the impossibles and uncertainties. He believed that he would grow up and take the path of life in a single route with one straight line; no turns, no shortcuts. Perhaps it was because his one and only flesh and blood prompted him to think that if he didn't act like how he was made and how he was supposed to be, he would never reach the light at the end of the tunnel, or never reach his dreams, never be accepted, never be treated seriously...never be loved. The word "Always" was never in Elize's vocabulary-an exception with always doubting, always trying, always...just dreaming. But never the good kind of "Always". Then he tasted it, the bittersweet sensation in his tongue when his mother left him to work abroad. Elize then started to thrive, meet new friends, socialize, be a human...fall in love. For the first time, Elize felt free, felt genuine, felt...guilty? Guilty...was it because he felt glad his mother left, or because he met someone that made him start to feel the Always' in his Nevers? Regardless, he dedicated his whole life in chasing that assurance in his world of doubts, and he simply could not back out now. But when good things come to an end, the choice is yours if you want to let it go, or fight for it. If you choose the latter, make sure to draw blood and fight until you're dead. Just like Elize did.