Haru Nikko (日光春)

[UPDATES + BOOK REC ✨]
          
          
          
          As part of the challenge to reach 320+ followers this weekend, I am excited to say that the latest chapter on my Writer’s Guidebook on erotica/NSFW content will be dropping on Saturday. Oh boy! I pray those bots (and the Wattpad mods) don’t come after me ( ；∀；)
          
          It’s pretty relevant considering the rise of Internet censorship these days. 
          
          ✨ As for the book recommendations, I highly encourage you guys check out this forbidden love story called “The Guard and The Guilty” by @MiriammDallairee and “The Peculiar’s Tale (UNCUT Ver.)” which is a Filipino-language story by @AnakniRizal that follows a young girl who can see the future — which is kind of like if Final Destination was a high school anime ✨

We kind of live in a world where it’s now becoming acceptable for the government to control our overall online experience. From age verification systems in multiple sites requiring you to disclose personal info to banning even anime and horror, it comes to show that censorship only does more harm than good.
          
          Instead of punishing actual bad actors, it ends up punishing the ones deemed to be undesirable (a.k.a. the skeptics and everybody else who clash with the status quo). It ends up preventing kids from learning about critical thinking and confronting uncomfortable topics in a responsible manner.
          
          So far, this problem is mainly occurring in the US and Europe.

Today on July 30th is Int’l Friendship Day and Paperback Book Day. A great opportunity to share your love for books with friends. 
          
          While I do love reading digital books, I would still love to own physical copies (though saved for a few top favorites as I try to limit how much stuff around my place). 
          
          Aside from Xiran Jay Zhao’s “Iron Widow” and “Heavenly Tyrant”, I hope to be able to buy the Frozen 2 novel called “Dangerous Secrets, written by Mari Mancusi, which is a story about how Elsa and Anna’s parents actually met. 
          
          I highly implore everyone to read books, regardless if it’s popular fiction or not. Not only will it help improve your overall vocabulary and communication skills, but also empathy. It exposes you to different ideas, perspectives and worlds never seen before. 
          
          However, I am pretty much a sucker for any type of interesting book with nice illustrations in them.

People on Tumblr and AO3 be like: Write whatever you want. Don’t like, don’t read. 
          
          People on Wattpad: REEEE! HOW DARE U NOT CATER TO MY SENSIBILITIES AND WRITE STORIES I WANT? IMMA REPORT AND CANCEL U! 

[BOOK RECS]
          
          
          Howdy fellas! I hope y'all have an amazing weekend. As I work on one of the most controversial topic in my Writer's Guidebook, I hope you guys throw in some love and support to these writers and their works! I am glad to help give attention to various indie authors alike, big or small. Let's start off with ... *drum roll please!* 
          
          
          
          • "War of the Lost Powers" by @sunrisen2010
          
          A queer supernatural story about a group of kids who discovered they've had powers but they must keep it a secret for their own safety. 
          
          You have twelve-year-old Amber (a girl with telekinetic abilities), Blake (a teenage boy with sensitive hearing and the ability to sense darkness within people) and Hazel (a.k.a. the outgoing and talkative "Poison Ivy" who is gifted with the ability to control plants).
          
          
          • "WE ARE WHAT SURVIVES" by @TwigWise03
          
          A fantasy romance story set in a war-torn future of gods, ghosts, and forgotten machines, a skull-faced soldier named Dalia is sent to investigate a buried weapon - and finds a living myth instead.
          
          
          • "Secrets Behind Finding Rafael" by @VChesterG 
          (Language: Filipino)
          
          A Filipino queer erotic horror story that follows a group of seven teenagers who used to bully someone name Rafael Chavez, a discreetly bisexual guy, and now must find him within twenty-four hours or else they'll be held accountable for his death. In that short amount of time, the secrets of each of the seven bullies will be unravelled.
          
          This book is also published under PSICOM (which is one of the biggest publishers in the Philippines). 
          
          
          • "My Lady Hiraya" by Steven Sy
          
          A queer fantasy romance story inspired by Filipino mythology that follows Elise’s dogged pursuit of her lost love and the love she finds along the way. Her quest leads her to Hiraya, an immortal monster hunter with secrets deeper than the shadows of the haunted manor she calls home.

Now those sussy bots are gone (hopefully!), as part of the challenge to reach 320+ followers, I will be sharing my thoughts on one of the most divisive topics in my Writer's Guidebook, which is erotica/NSFW content — and they are very common in fandom spaces like Wattpad so stay tuned (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ 
          
          P.S. I will try my best to make it as Wattpad-friendly as possible, so expect to see a lot of censored words and overly generalized terms so I don't end up pissing off this zesty orange app's mods *groans (눈_눈)*
          
          Despite not being into raunchy stuff as much as the next guy, I believe it's important we have meaningful conversations about them and give people, especially the youth, to learn how to deal with those uncomfortable stuff in a healthy, mature manner instead of outright banning them altogether. 
          
          I do agree that nobody should shame you for actually liking NSFW content either. Like sure! You can have your toxic yuri and draw weird furry art all you want as long as it's crossing anyone's boundaries (ie. making NSFW art of someone and spamming them with it).

As much as I like the cool rainy season, I have to admit the floods and typhoons suck! Anyway, hope y’all are safe and well (U・x・U)
          
          A quick friendly reminder to anyone who may have stumbled upon my Writer’s Guidebook, kindly take it with a grain of salt. I just dropped a couple of interesting topics in regards to self-inserts and writing POCs (people of color). 
          
          I especially enjoy writing the POC chapter as I wanna share about some things I learned especially about Arab Islamic culture. For example, drawing human figures in any way is considered haram because apparently it’s the equivalent of playing God. 
          
          So to any of my lovely Muslim neighbors, kindly correct me if I’m wrong! I don’t mean to offend anyone ( ✌︎'ω')!

[FUN FACTS + RECS ✨]
          
          
          
          • To anyone looking for an interesting manga to read, I highly recommend you go check out “Gachiakuta” by Kei Urana (a gritty action manga set in a world where people can turn garbage into useful weaponry) and “The Future I Saw” by Ryo Tatsuki (which became known for predicting most of historical events including the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan and death of Queen Elizabeth). 
          
          • Also, to anyone who may have stumbled upon any of my works, just know that they’re made to be these kinds of books which are a lot accessible and interesting to me (FUN FACT: Both TCOTRB and AMANDI were worked on through my phone). 
          
          • This is kind of a ranting PSA but if you have any problem with me, please kindly let me know so we can talk it out or just block me in case you hate my presence — because seriously, attempting to stalk and hack someone you have grievances with is just foolish.

Noo ... No! Not one more step, sussy bots! Just so you know, I’m ace — ACE-TRONOMICALLY EXCITED FOR THE SUPPOSED RELEASE DATE FOR “THE LOVERS” BY STUDIO HEARTBREAK! *\(^o^)/*
          
          To those who don’t know, “The Lovers” is an upcoming Filipino queer animated short film about a young seafood chef name Sara Baylon who one days falls in love with a mysterious mermaid (sirena). 
          
          Now, here’s the catch: The mermaid is about to be turned into a fine meal for the governor’s inauguration dinner at her late father’s restaurant. She is caught between her feelings for the creature and living up to her family’s reputation in hopes of saving the restaurant. 
          
          We’re finally getting some updates after two years now. For now, I am betting they’re gonna release it on October 8th (which is Int’l Lesbian Day). 

MWAHAHAHA! You fool! You sussy bots think I wouldn’t notice? (*-`ω´- )人
          
          I’m not interested in chatting with y’all so go take your sketchy links with you and buzz off! I only engage with real fans, artists and writers. I wanna thank the people who continue to support and read my books. 
          
          Anyway, it’s been raining a lot here in our country and I’m stuck at home due to the serious floods around our area. I think it’s an awesome opportunity to talk about the perks and pitfalls of going indie.
          
          Now, don’t get me wrong! The thought of actually seeing your books on physical shelves would be great. At the same time, I would appreciate it if I get to have full creative control and keep the rights over my ideas. 
          
          I know y’all gonna say I’m just overreacting and making sh** up, but I wanna make sure I get to work with the right people whom I could trust and also able to give my work the appreciation it deserves. 
          
          Being indie happens to allow me to create the kinds of stories which I’ve always wanted to see. Of course, that means lack of protection and resources hence why self-published authors on Wattpad often get stalked by scams and bots.