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Hello, this is Yam! I officially completed What Love Is on May 3, 2022 this year after writing it persistently for 9 years! 9 years! Can you imagine that?! HAHA
I wanted to post this end credits slash hanash slash yamyam's note slash acknowledgement slash trivia slash basta!! (LOL) the day after I posted the last chapter which is supposed to be on May 4, 2022, but I couldn't gather my thoughts, my feelings, my words, my self... OTL
Completing a story is supposed to make you feel fulfilled (at least that's how I remembered it the last time I finished GFFH2:OHG in this platform...) pero... after finishing WLI, I was actually the opposite. I felt empty. Pakiramdam ko tinanggalan ako ng laman? Gano'n, hirap i-explain.
Anyways, after like a month of being MIA and just living life listlessly, now, I have finally gathered myself. Hence, I have finally managed to write this end credits page I've been meaning to write ever since May 3!
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Acknowledgements
💙 Ang mga unang pumapasok sa isip ko na gusto kong pasalamatan upon completing this book, are none other than my 3 close friends: Ian, Kia, and Amiel. These 3 people are the people who helped me big time with WLI's original song compositions. These 3 would give time and effort to record the song I wrote nang walang bayad, just them really supporting me and passion! Kung wala kayong tatlo, WLI would have been like song na lyrics lang at walang melody. So thank you super sa inyong tatlo! I wouldn't have pursued writing WLI if you guys didn't say yes to recording the original songs I wrote. Salamat nang marami para sa maraming bagay. It still breaks my heart that Amiel isn't around anymore. Kung may biggest regret man ako about the ending, yun e yung hindi siya naabutan ni Amiel, na hindi niya natonohan at nakanta yung kanta na dapat ay kanta ni Ace :(, at na maraming plano related sa WLI na kasama dapat siya na he wouldn't be a part of anymore... But- on a brighter note, I'm really glad we did the recordings. At least in WLI's original songs, at least there, he still lives, and will continue to live and exist...
💙Sunod kong gustong pasalamatan, lahat ng taong nagturo't nagpaintindi, nagsabi't sinabihan ko ng 'mahal kita'. What Love Is is a story about love. Kung anong depinisyon ng pagmamahal na meron ako, malaking parte no'n, kayo ang humulma.
💙To all those amazing artists ng lahat ng kantang featured dito sa WLI, pati na rin yung mga hindi featured just my bg songs whenever I'm writing a chapter, sobrang salamat! Ang laki ng ambag ng mga kantang yon sa feels nitong libro.
💙To all those amazing writers of all the books I've read na mas nagpalalim at mas nagpaintindi sa akin ng kahulugan ng pag-ibig, sobrang salamat din!
💙To all those romance manhwas, mangas, kdramas, movies, na napanood ko at tanging bumubuhay sa romantic bones ko, thank you for giving this romance writer the romantic feels she couldn't get from the real world lmao
💙To Cary for all those awesome commissioned art I used in the epilogue, lalo na yung animated version ng last page (kissing scene ni Mika and K) acckkkk!! Super thank you huhu. The epilogue was so much better because of your drawings! Salamat din sa mga fanarts for the epilogue and for all those fanarts for WLI from before!
💙And finally, to you. You who have came this far. You who have witness the growth of my characters and have grown alongside them... maraming salamat. Thank you for bearing witness to my characters journey. Thank you for crying and laughing together with me and my characters. Salamat sa pagsama sa paghatid sa kanila. Salamat sa pagsabay sa pag-uwi. Salamat sa hindi pagsuko. Salamat sa ilang taong pagkapit. Salamat sa pananatili. Salamat sa laging pagbalik. I hope this book changed you somehow. I hope you found it worth it. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
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Trivias x Confession? LOL
💙Nanto-troll lang talaga ako sa posts ko sa fb or anywhere na mag-u-unfollow kayo sa akin pag pinost ko na ending ng What Love Is. I did that para mas may thrill. To give you anxiety. To manipulate you into thinking na baka walang makakatuluyan si Mika in the end at na tragic yung ending LOL
💙No'ng ginawa ko si Mika, si K yung kasama niya, hindi si Hell. Simula pa lang, si K na talaga. Sanay na kasi ang tao na pag nabanggit sa other story ng writer, sigurado, yun yung main lead. Since Stanford si Hell and was featured in my story GFFH, expected ng tao si Hell ang end game no matter what. Pero ginawa ko si Mika na kasama ay si K talaga.
💙Sinulat ko ang characters nila Mika, K, at Hell, with one ultimate intention. To teach them each a lesson by the end of the story. Nag-set ako ng 'lesson' na they ultimately need to learn by the end of the story, if they didn't, that's when I'd consider my story tragic, if they learned their lessons, then to me, it's a happy ending (regardless of what anyone else out there says).
Ang lesson na ginusto kong matutunan ni Hell ay kung paano bumitaw. Kasi doon talaga siya pinakahirap. Hindi siya marunong.
Kay K naman, the opposite. Ginusto kong matutunan niya kung paano kumapit, how to take up space and claim what is rightfully yours without thinking you don't deserve it.
Opposite silang dalawa ng lesson, pero yung bearer ng lesson ay iisang tao lang. Si Mika.
Si Mika naman, ang gusto kong matutunan niya is yung unahin niya sarili niya, yung nararamdaman niya. Kasi, parati niyang iniisip muna kung may masasaktan siya tapos iaadjust niya sarili niya e para lang di makasakit, kahit siya yung dehado. So I gave her something na 'hindi niya kayang hindi piliin' tapos required siyang 'may masaktang sobrang dear to her pag pinili niya yon'. Si K at Hell yon.
So yeah, lahat sila bida for me kasi kailangan nilang makilala isa't-isa for them to each learn their lessons. Kahit pa hindi si Hell ang end game, it doesn't mean he is a side character. No. He is as much a lead character as K and Mika. Pantay-pantay silang tatlo for me (regardless of what anyone else out there says).
💙Nagbago ng slight ang ending ng WLI. The initial plan was si K at Hell ang may concert. Their concerts were on the same day. Tapos mato-torn si Mika kung sino ang pupuntahan. K's concert was supposed to be 'One in a million' ang title, kasi 'one in a million' for him yung chance na siya ang piliin ni Mika, tapos yung kay Hell naman 'One last chance' because he wants one last chance from Mika. May original songs dapat silang kakantahin on their respective concerts na ang title ay parehong Mika. LOL. Bago ko simulan ang WLI naisulat ko na yung dalawang kantang 'yon, tapos may tono na, hindi lang recorded lol, tapos hindi ko nagamit in the end kasi nga change of plans hehe. Sa initial plan ko kasi walang ideya si K na siya na mahal ni Mika kaya anxious siya no'n? Tapos si Hell naman hopeful pa? Pero ang nangyari, both parties became aware beforehand na si K na talaga ang mahal, squashing K's anxiety, and Hell's hope for another chance. K and Hell ended up going to Mika's concert instead of her going to either of them. To me that's better since bakit si Mika yung dapat pumunta sa kanila e siya yung iniwan nilang pareho! Anong iniisip noong bata kong sarili't ayon yung initial plan niya sa ending!! WAHAHA
💙Nawala si Yani sa picture kasi after maybe 20 chapters of WLI nag-fizzle out yung idea ko sana para kay Yani. Ang plano ko kasi Yani would teach Mika about mature love? Ang mangyayari kasi dapat, pagpasok ni Mika sa Hoshi, bigla na lang paglabas niya for vacation, she would lose contact with Yani. Mawawala ito ng walang paalam. They would lose contact and Mika would be left wondering why her biggest supporter is suddenly not there, tapos malalaman niya by the end na nabuntis ito at nagtanan at nagpakalayo-layo because of it kasi conservative at religious yung pamilya nito. Conservative at religious din si Yani dapat who always says na she would only have sex after marriage, and it would kinda show Mika how love can make you bypass even your beliefs? Kinda like that. Kaso nga masyadong nakomplikaduhan ako and nawala yung spark ko for Yani's part of the story, so yon. Hindi ko na siya binalik sa story kasi decided na ako na pag isasalibro ko na talaga ang WLI, Yani won't be in the book anymore. So yon, if you're wondering about Yani, there's no appearance or anything mentioned about her because she's gonna be cut out completely.
💙Hell is also a part of What Love Is Not (WLI's twin book centered on Heaven x Mykel) kaya hindi detailed anong nangyari sa kaniya in relation to Heaven, kaya hindi na-discuss yung issue at healing niya in relation to Angel's death, it's because I would go in detail about it in WLIN. That's the reason why may loose ends pa yung story ni Hell compared to K and Mika kasi those ends would be tied completely sa twin book ng WLI na WLIN ;)
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Other hanash
💙May special chapters pa after this! For example Mika and K's wedding, Vincent x Dayanara's wedding, Mika and K's honeymoon, detailed pasko ni Mika x K, Hell, other UB members. Mika's panganganak, pagbubuntis, pagsasabi kay K na buntis siya ganern lol. Little snippets of K and Mika as bfgf. Basta, marami! HAHA! Some special chapters will be posted here. Others would exclusively be inside WLI's self-pub books.
💙Speaking of WLI's self-pub, yes, it will be self-published! By Kpubph! Follow their page sa fb to be updated. November ang target release ng book so I am actually already editing the manuscript. Uuwi ako ng Phils sa November para hands on ako at nasa Phils ako upon the book's release! So yes, there would be signed copies! WLI is really long so it will be cut into 3 books. Boxed set po siya mga bes! So yeah, sorry, but for sure medyo pricey siya. 1k + for sure kasi nga tatlong libro tapos may book box. Other details about the self-pub I will post pag concrete na at solid na lahat ng details, sa ngayon ito muna.
💙Bukod sa mismong book ng WLI, I am also planning to release a special book na naglalaman ng small snippets, small moments, small convos, small chapters ng dating life and married life ni K at Mika. Since hindi lang kayo ang bitin sa landian at moments no'ng dalawa, ako rin! HAHA! Sa epilogue lang kasi lumandi at kumibo si K! Ano ba yan! HAHA. The idea is, the book would look like a cassette tape? May side A at side B? Side A will contain snippets of their dating life, Side B will contain snippets of their marriage and parenting life. So bale hati sa kalahati yung libro? Baliktaran ganon. HEHE. I might publish this first, una pa sa self-pub ng WLI if I gathered enough content already, or pwedeng sabay ng release ng WLI self-pub, or pwede rin namang after ng self-pub, depends lol.
💙I also have a plan na magrelease ng manga version ng buong epilogue ng What Love Is. May kausap na akong artist at pumayag naman na, but matrabaho ang manga at magastos din, so we'll see. But that's a project I'd really want to be tangible in the future. We'll see.
💙Magbubukas din pala ako ng merch store ng WLI. Will sell WLI related items, like poster ng Star-x, cupsleeve ng Star-X, mock-up albums and cds and posters ni Mika, photo collection ni Boss V, and many more! LOL
💙And finally, I would like to announce the name of my official fandom? Dejoke. HAHA. Gusto ko lang sanang i-aannounce yung official na gusto kong itawag sa mga readers ng stories ko, especially those who have read What Love Is... I want to call you guys the same name as Mika's fandom: 'Loved Ones'. A fandom that is loved, who loves a writer who loves to write everything about love. Some of my readers call themselves Yammybears and that's okay too, pero kasi the name doesn't have any vital connection to what I write at all? Kaya medyo awkward siya para sa akin? HAHA. Bukod sa hindi ako mahilig sa bear or gummybears, wala talaga siyang connection to me and my stories kaya hindi ako gano'n kaattached? Yung ibang author kasi their fandom name already says what they mostly write about or what message they want to convey, like for example yung Solidier ni Aprilavery, ang message niya is 'To always be brave' something like that, tapos ang name ng readers ng stories niya ay Solidier which sounds like the word soldier who are associated mostly with the word 'brave', 'di ba ang solid lang? I wanted the name of my readers to be like that. Hindi ako makaisip dati, pero upon coming up with Mika's fandom name for the epilogue, narealize ko na it was also the name I wanted for my readers. Kasi, kung tutuusin, pareho kami ni Mika ng core message, ng purpose. I write to let people know they are loved. To remind them of that fact when they forget. To write and make people feel that. So 'yon, from now on I would refer to you guys as my 'loved ones'. If you read and love my stories and me, feel free to call yourself a 'loved one' hehe. P.s. plano kong magrelease ng official shirt for the fandom. Merch dapat 'to ng fandom ni Mika pero gawin nating dual purpose, ito rin magiging official shirt ng mga hardcore readers ko at ng WLI. Tshirt siya na minimalist na may nakasulat na 'I am loved.' Pps. fav shirt ito ni K currently. He's a proud member of loved ones pero sa fandom lang siya ni Mika kasali, ayaw niya sa fandom ko, walangya hahaha.
Ppps. hahaha lahat ng merch na ititinda ko sa merch store ng WLI na related sa fandom ni Mika meron pareho si K at si Hell LOL skl. Si K ay proud isuot yung official shirt ng fandom ni Mika while si Hell ay tuwing nasa bahay lang or matutulog lol. Vocal fan si K while closeted fan naman si Hell lmao
💙It's June 13 today at the time of posting this note, right? June 12 naging si Mika at K sa epilogue, so technically today would be their second day, tapos kahapon naging sila? Ganon? Plano kong magpost ng short special chapter this June 13, tungkol sa June 13 aka M and K's second day as a couple. Yun ang first ever special chapter ko for WLI, so do look forward to it? Maikli lang yon so sana maipost ko tonight? LOL
💙Muntik ko nang nakalimutan, about the back stories nga pala, I would finish writing them and would go into details sa book na ng WLI. Pero don't worry sa mga di makakabili, I would post those 'lost chapters/pages' here in Wattpad as well pero mauuna lang makabasa yung mga makakabili ng libro since I would post those chapters like a month after WLI's book distribution.
💙If you have any further question about anything related to WLI, I'd gladly answer them if I find it matino and worth answering or if hindi mababasa ang sagot dito. Can't promise I'd absolutely answer all questions but I will try if I had the time.
💙Again, thank you so so much for the 9 years! Excited na ako sa book version but the editing part and all the things I need to do for it kinda makes me cry in agony LOL Pero ginusto ko ito so yeah balanaaaa lol
💙To end this note, here's a song a reader (Diana Mantala) wrote for WLI ( the book/ story itself). Melody/guitar by my friend Ian Millar, sung by Diana herself. To me para itong graduation song nating mga natapos na ang What Love Is. Do listen to it if you have time :)
Promising you a better book version of this story and better and more feels stories than this in the future,
~Yam💙