Discovering an abandoned town in the middle of a forest, Odeth is transported to a time when the ghost town was alive, but as someone else--Olivia Valencourt. *** Magic isn't real--except it is when Odeth wakes up as Olivia Valencourt, a student of Mirren Academy, a school for spell users like her. Well, like Olivia. Determined to find her way back home, she discovers the truth behind the once-alive abandoned town, and that she's not as much of a stranger to the place and to the person she's pretending to be. In finding friends, love, and herself while trying to change the town's fate, she finds that maybe Mirren Academy is already home. DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. COVER DESIGN: Louise de Ramos

THE LOSERS' CLUB SERIES #4 How does it feel to live with tons of what ifs and should-have-beens? Knowing that under different parameters, you could have worked it out. Knowing that if you only weathered the storm together, you could have built a home in each other's arms. Napakaraming sana--ganiyan ang naging takbo ng buhay ni Ysabelle Katana Montecer. Sana mayaman siya. Sana mas maganda. At sana may kapangyarihan siyang ibalik ang oras. If only she had listened to the little voice in her head, she could have been in a relationship with the only man who ever caught her attention--River Mattias Fuentabella. But it was too late for her. She was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. A heartbeat away from silence. Kahit ayaw niya, kailangan niyang tanggapin ang hatol ng tadhana. River would always be out of her reach. He was close, but not too close enough for her to hold. They could have happened. They could have been together. But sadly, they never were.

Lumaki si Christienne Red Valerio na nakukuha lahat ng kanyang gusto. She's a spoiled brat who loves to play and a well-known for breaking hearts. Wala siyang dare na hindi kayang ipanalo pagdating sa pambabasted ng mga lalake. She can easily make them fall on their knees except for this Buenaventura. A well-known cold and heartless Tres Buenaventura is on her list to make him fall inlove with her. Naging challenge iyon sa kanya lalo na't wala pang babaeng nakakakuha ng atensyon ni Tres and she wants to own it, she wants to win the challenge. Pero paano kung pati ang tadhana ay makipaglaro sa kanya? Matatakasan niya kaya ang larong inumpisahan kung nahulog siya sa sariling patibong at sa lalakeng tuso pagdating sa lahat ng bagay? Unfortunately, the player got played.

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.

(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?

Started: 04/27/2021 Ended: 08/24/2021 Ang hirap palang tumanda. Ang hirap magbayad ng bills. Ang hirap suportahan ng pamilyang akala ay isang milyon ang suweldo mo. Ang hirap ngumiti sa nanay na mataas ang tingin sa'yo pero hindi ka kayang ipagtanggol. Ang hirap tabihan sa hapagkainan ng tatay na pinag-uubusan mo ng pera pero hindi ka maalala. Ang hirap mag-abot ng tulong sa kapatid na baon sa utang. Ang hirap intindihin ng hipag na nakakapagpa-rebond pa kahit kapos na kapos na. Ang hirap pakisamahan ng bunsong halos ilahad ang mga palad tuwing makikita ka. Ang hirap ngitian ng mga taong tanong nang tanong kung bakit hindi ka pa nakakapag-asawa. Ang hirap humarap sa mundong isasampal sa'yo na mag-isa ka. Tulong, bigay, utang. Isang iling mo lang, madamot ka na. Kasama mo sila kapag may maibibigay ka, pero hindi mo sila mahahanap kapag wala na. Ikaw ang kakayod, sila ang tutuka. Ikaw ang iiyak sa pagod, sila ang magtatamasa. Iyon ang summary ng buhay ko. Sobra-sobra ang naririnig na paghingi, kulang na kulang ang naririnig na pasasalamat. Sobra-sobra ang pagpapasensya, kulang na kulang ang natatanggap na pagpapahalaga. Sobra-sobra ang binabayaran, kulang na kulang sa kasiyahan. Kaya nang dumating sa buhay ko ang nag-iisang lalaking hindi ako nakita bilang naglalakad na alkansya, ang nag-iisang lalaking nakinig sa mahabang listahan ko ng problema, ang nag-iisang lalaking nagbigay sa akin ng kakaibang saya, ipinangako ko sa sarili na sa gitna ng hirap ng pagtanda, magtitiis ako basta't siya ang kasama. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay pagtalikod sa minahal na pamilya. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay paglaban sa mundong pinatatakbo ng kapangyarihan at pera. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay ang pagdurusa't pag-iisa. Siya ang ginhawa, pahinga, at kasiyahan ko. Dumating man ang araw na tanaw ko na ang dulo. Dumating man ang araw na wala na kaming sagot sa lahat ng bakit at paano. Dumating man ang araw na pareho na kaming talo.

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

stand alone complete [unedited] To quote someone, no one can teach you how to write-because life is the one who would teach you how to pen the beginning, climax, and end of your story-but what if you don't like how life writes it? Athanacia Norainne Samonte only has one goal in life-to write until she's out of breath. She loves writing, as much as how the sun always shine after the night has fallen back to slumber. Kaya naman nang makita ang oportunidad na maging script writer ng isang student director na si Kiran Conjuanco-she did her best to be the only option that Kiran could consider. He was her stimulus to write better so he could only set his eyes on her written crafts. Yet, writing was never easy. In this economy, she has a lot to consider when it comes to pursuing passion over practicality. She has to brace herself from the criticisms that barks and bites her whenever they can. She has to see that she's never going to be the best writer-because there will always be someone who writes better. She has to accept that sometimes writing. . .isn't just writing. When life gives her a script that should have been shelved, can Nacia act off script from this film turning into tragedy?

To Caliber, Yolo and Trever weren' t just friends- they were everything. They were the people who made life feel bearable. But when their bond shattered, he was forced to seek shelter in a place that was anything but safe. Staying there meant confronting truths he'd buried, facing choices that pitted him against Redge- the one who ended up carrying the deepest wounds from Caliber's actions. Now, as he scrambles to undo the damage, Cali realizes the lines between right and wrong, regret and desire, guilt and something far more dangerous, are far blurrier than he ever imagined. And the question that haunts him most isn't whether he can fix what he broke- it's whether he even wants to let go of what he's been feeling all along. book cover by sereighn arts

In Olympus Academy, the first and only school to house Filipino demigods and mythological creatures, students are divided into four classes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. Carrying one of the titles comes with great responsibility, especially to Reign, a girl who continues to live through the privilege and burden of being an Omega. All eyes are on her class as a new student arrives, bearing a legend that many do not believe and some, refuse to. Reign decides to dive deep into the legends of Olympus Academy, in efforts to understand their new member, and eventually she will. She will come to know two cruel truths about their very existence: Mythological creatures like her are being hunted for power. And as for the demigods who belong to the same class as her, they were a consequence, a threat, an ultimatum of what was once destined. To be the hunted or become the hunters? To be the protectors or become the protected? The Omegas need to make a choice. But being descendants of the original Omegas, demigods who defeated gods, titans, and even overcame Chaos, the first deity to ever exist in mythology... They know they're just as powerful to choose another option that's not given: Become no one but themselves.