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Jackson Ramirez has always followed the rules-his family's, society's, everyone's but his own. Trapped in a life dictated by expectations, he buried his passion and silenced the voice that once made him feel alive. So when Kenzo Adachi walked into his class-blunt, intense, and always acting like he owned the room. Jackson couldn't help but feel . . . annoyed. Annoyed by his confidence. Annoyed by how he said whatever he wanted. Annoyed by how free he was. But Kenzo? He saw something else. He saw a bird trying to breathe through its cage. And Kenzo, the kind of man who lives by his own rules, was ready to go beyond the boundary-just to help Jackson learn how to fly.

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Ares Gabriel Salazar has always believed in love that when Cupid aims his arrow, you don't get a choice. You fall, hard. No rewinds. No escape. Just fate doing its thing. So when Aidan Lysander Angeles moves into the neighborhood, all clean-cut smiles and polite nods. Aidan may look like the perfect good boy, but Ares sees the restlessness in his eyes. The part of him that wants to break free, to be seen for who he really is. And maybe . . . to be loved. Ares didn't expect to be the one hit. But when you meet someone who makes your heart race and your beliefs shake, what else is there to do but fall?

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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.

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

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.