Justice has never been this
dramatic.
A DIY crime guide. Their villain origin story (hope not).
Grace likes following rules, Ivy violates them.
They have nothing in common
except for their friendship with Maureen.Then, she died.Both girls are each other’s pain in the ass,
but they clearly have the same goal—
to serve justice.
By hook or by crook.But revenge is also top-tier acting, putting a body in the car trunk, a pen stabbed near the chest, a love match—and some crime tutorials from the internet.How insane can they go in the name of justice?
22 January 2024
WE SURVIVED WEEK 3 ☺️
One of the rules I made for myself this year: go out once/twice a week; short trip, a long one, go to places I like and I don't. I went on a solo trip, then with a friend. It may be normal for other people to do that, but not for me. So I'm trying this year. I took a lot of pictures and put a few on my accounts. Just... taking inspiration from everything. Some may end up in the stories I'm writing, most in my happy memories.
Let's love ourselves next week too.
28 January 2024
WEEK 4: RECONNECT AND DISCONNECT
I lost what I wrote here when I updated my website, but I'm pretty sure I was also in love with myself in this period of time.
7 February 2024
WEEK 5: THE COLD ALWAYS BOTHERED ME ANYWAY🎵♪
The first few days were rainy and the rest was cloudy. The sky only relented on Sunday. It has been a cold week and the best place was under the covers. Sleep was longer, extending to almost noon and so my day started after lunch. Tasks end late at night, sleep way past midnight.Due to the cold weather and great blackout curtains, I find more comfort in my bed than anywhere else. But I become lonely and lazy and overall bothered by everything. So, I changed the curtains into something peach and thin. And when the morning comes, despite the weather, the short in between of bright sky enters my room. Then I wake up earlier and be a productive member of society.Sometimes, our comfortable and safe layers isolate us from the better things we could be. Sometimes we need to peel it off.
So I did. I hope you too.What layers have you peeled lately? If you haven't yet, any plans?
12 February 2024
WEEK 6: EXPLORING LIVES
Living is a lifetime of learning. This is true especially for me this week. I have attended
a few webinars and aim to join a few more in the coming weeks. Although many have stated this, one does not feel the burden of studying if one is enamored with the subject. And I am in love with writing, its possibilities and the brilliant creatives in it.
Throughout the years, I was taught the importance of research in writing fiction. So I joined a tour with a friend; dived underwater to enter a cave, dipped into a jellyfish-filled sea under the scorching sun, and jumped from a high platform because once you climbed the steep rocky cave, there was no way out but a sea dive.
Why would I even do those just for a story that I am yet to write? Will it even see the end?
One, I have never been there. Although it's in the same province, I haven't explored the place until this week.
Two, I want to live a day in the life of the characters I write. Will they prefer water-based or oil-based sunscreen? Will they climb that rock too? Will they jump right away or will they wait for the cheers from the other group of tourists below? Is the meal too dry or is the buttered shrimp enough to make the fee worth it? How will they take their pictures, portrait or landscape? Will they struggle to tie the life vest like I did?
Those were just some of the questions.
They are yet to be answered and I am yet to write the first scene.How about you? What have you explored this week? Is there something you want to learn?
11 March 2025
WEEK: ABANDONMENT AND RESURRECTION
In the great words of my mother when I bask in the sunlight beyond the walls of my room, "Himala, nabuhay ka" (What a miracle, you're alive/resurrected/back.)I have returned with updates.A lot has happened ever since I abandoned my weekly blog. I'm not someone who leaves something so easily. I prefer to call it a 'hiatus'. Or perhaps I refuse to acknowledge my lack of commitment.I unpublished some of my online novels with the intent of heavy editing and writing the third book without the pressure from weekly updates (and to avoid suspicious publishing offers in my spam folder).I deactivated my personal social media account.I mellowed with casual socializing. Unfortunately, my close friends are either hundreds of miles away or busy with careers in the next town. So our weekly food trips are paused too.Please don't be mistaken, abandonment is done if necessary. I cast aside stuff too. However, some things are too personal to talk about and I'm not ready to be emotionally vulnerable right now. To make it short, I am glad I put myself again and chased the dreams I put on hold.Too many 'I'. And rightfully so.
(this blog is too long so here's a picture of Loki)
Now let's talk about good things.I'm recovering from a reading slump. I recently picked up a book I last read and shelved 2 years ago. I have less than a hundred pages left now.I'm editing manuscripts that have been in my drafts for years now. I also queried two of them and I'm waiting for responses.I went to concerts. I traveled. At some point, my friends and family didn't know where I was because I'd been frequently flying everywhere as if I were in different places all at once.A story I wrote, The Bathala Games, will be published by Penguin Random House SEA. It's coming this Jan/Feb 2026. I have a year to tell everyone about it and I hope they won't get sick of me.I also built a house. It's two-storey, white painted walls, and in a quiet area. It's stressing me out a lot and I'm still processing for an occupancy permit, but it's mine. And it's cute.Finally, let's talk about great things.For the first time, I cooked with scallions (not in the pictures) from my own garden. Growing vegetables taught me patience. It also taught me that no matter how much you cherish something, it doesn't always turn into something cookable (I feel awkward using this word, it's like a cute word that I shouldn't be using during big people conversations). Some of them wither.A cat has chosen me to be his servant. A stray kitten wandered into our house one day, and almost a year later, he's putting himself between me and finishing this blog (see picture).Bossy. A zoomer. A picky eater with a flappy primordial pouch. He's too demanding that I have no time for self-doubt and dark thoughts. This is probably what they call a soul cat.This was quite long (and rightfully so). I feel like I've repaid a year's worth of absence.Now it's time for questions, what have YOU recently abandoned? Do you have any regrets?