LOGLINE
In this sometimes farcical, sci-fi thriller with a Romeo and Juliet twist, a time traveler from 1988 embarks on a mission to find an antidote for his girlfriend, who is in a coma. However, he risks becoming stranded in New York in 2025 when an internet writer uncovers his secret and decides to write a GUIOPERA about it.
LATEST UPLOAD
Friday, October 3, 2025 – 4:00 PM (Central Time, USA)
CHAPTER 3
“1988”
PART 1
Inside the late-model golden Holden Commodore, Iakopo sat, looking straight ahead, his eyes glazed over.
He was parked outside the Wellington Hospital emergency room. A series of seemingly unrelated incidents had led him to this point. On the radio, the same song kept on playing—over and over.
“It’s Friday night…” The din was unbearable. Iakopo lazily and haphazardly reached for the off button yet again, only for the song to return moments later.
“Fuck!” Iakopo shook his head in hope of ridding himself of the fucked up haze through which he saw the world.
The last thing he remembered was clocking out at the construction site and thinking it was Friday, and how he couldn’t wait to see Diwa.
Was this a Hallucinogen Persisting Perception event? Iakopo pondered. In other words, was this a flashback due to previous use of hallucinogenic substances? A possible hangover from his days with the Network as an infantile savant from the ages of five to seven years old.
It had been a while since he’d experienced an episode, as it were, four years maybe. And that time he ended up in the police cells.
Iakopo gripped the steering wheel as he did what he always did: pray. “Dear Jesus, get me through this, and I promise you, I will do your will. Forgive me for my sins, and thank you for your blood on the cross that I may have a chance at everlasting life! Amen!”
Tears streaked his face when he reared his head from his desperate plea for salvation and deliverance from his current state. Iakopo leaned over and opened the glove box. Inside, a bottle of Jim Beam stared back at him with an unredeeming, mocking glare. After a moment of indecision, with one hand, Iakopo took the drink and drank till there was no more bourbon. And with the other hand, he replayed the never-ending song, turning up the volume till the drink and the music mellowed him, sending him to one of his many happy places.
PART 2
The smile he was famous for beamed through his eyes as he leaned over the counter. The amount of cleavage the nurse was showing could mean a couple of things. Iakopo took it as the uniform was too big for the woman, who was someone’s daughter and or sister.
“Can I help you?” The nurse smiled.
“Is there a phone I can use?” Iakopo smiled back as the nurse reached for a rotary phone and put it on the counter.
“Between us, I’m not meant to. There’s a pay phone over there.” The nurse confided as Iakopo took the phone and started dialing. The ring tone reverberated in his head as Iakopo waited.
“Hello?” His mother, Alofa’s voice hung in the air as Iakopo realized he’d rung her. Between it and the nurse smiling at him, Iakopo had to turn away from the nurse.
“Mum!” Iakopo managed.
“Yes, Iakopo?” Alofa’s voice was hesitant as if she was anticipating the worst from her son.
“Is Dad there?” Iakopo asked.
“He’s on his way home,” Alofa confirmed what Iakopo already knew.
“Okay, thanks, Mum.” Iakopo hung up and dialled again.
“Jacobe Castro, here!” The forthright voice said as Iakopo placed a hand over the mouthpiece.
“Ask for Diwa!” Iakopo whisper-shouted at the nurse who took the phone from Iakopo.
“Is Deena there, please?” The nurse frowned awkwardly.
“You mean, Diwa?” Jacobe, Diwa’s dad, responded on the phone. Iakopo nodded to the nurse.
“Yes!” The nurse confirmed as Iakopo took the receiver back.
“She’s at work,” Jacobe replied as Iakopo pressed down on the switch arms of the phone, ending the call.
PART 3
Just then, the sound of a hospital bed’s casters as they rolled along the shiny linoleum floors came onto Iakopo’s radar.
Somehow, in the conundrum of what he was doing here and how he ended up in his present state, an answer always presented itself. It was the story of Iakopo’s life.
“Diwa Castro!” An orderly about the same age as Iakopo’s dad, Kalei shouted to the nurse as he pushed the bed past them.
“Phew!” Iakopo sighed in relief as he looked around for anyone who might recognize him. The answer to his question had been answered. That is what he was doing here, at the hospital.
“That’s my sister, I’m Dean Castro,” Iakopo announced. “I’m her next of kin,” Iakopo told the orderly and then the nurse.
***
Later, Iakopo raised his head. The din of hospital monitors echoed as he looked around.
He sat next to a hospital bed. On it, Diwa, hooked up to the monitors and a respirator mask, lay motionless.
It was Christmas Eve, and the clock on the wall read 8:05 p.m. He and Diwa had planned to meet up at the karaoke bar where she worked, where they would start their Christmas celebrations, a tradition they had started two years ago.
TO BE CONTINUED
GUIOPERA ’25 CHARACTERS
IAKOPO
Iakopo Ioane, a 23-year-old dishwasher from New Zealand, possesses a laidback charm that conceals a cut-throat instinct and a warrior’s heart and grit.
DIWA
Diwa Castro, 23, holds a law degree but chooses to pursue a music career instead of working for her father’s multinational corporation, which frustrates the Filipino tycoon.
COOPER
Cooper, a police officer in his 30s, is frequently overlooked for promotion, so he moonlights as a driver and bodyguard for Jacobe Castro when the tycoon is in New York.
J-NEO
J-Neo, a middle-aged internet writer and creator of the GUIOPERA, is tipped off about Iakopo’s New York City arrival in 2025.
DR. SONYA NICKEL
Dr. Sonya Nickel, 26, the discoverer of Nickel Cell Disease (NCD), is currently in psychiatric care in New York and may possess crucial information for Iakopo’s mission.
JACOBE
Jacobe Castro, 44, arrived in New Zealand aged twenty with his mother and just a suitcase; since then, he has transformed his dreams into a global hotel empire.
CASSIDY BUTCH
Cassidy Butch, 28, is the no-nonsense country singing host at the Alfabet Jones Experiment—a music lab and karaoke bar in NYC.
ATHENA
Athena, 40s, Diwa’s estranged birth mother, waits patiently by the phone for the day her daughter will need her mother more than anything else in the world.
ALFABET JONES
Alfabet Jones, an ’80s and ’90s music producer who no one has seen in nearly thirty years, is rumored to have released new material, or is it just another internet hoax.
GUIOPERA ’25 SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
01 - D-I-W-A (Feat: DIWA)
01 - D-I-W-A (Feat: DIWA)
Known as Diwa’s Anthem, D-I-W-A captures Diwa’s defiance against haters, turning their labels into fuel as she reclaims her identity with raw honesty, free love, and unapologetic self-expression.
[VERSE 1]
My name is Diwa
That’s Diva with a “w”
Though I’m nothing like one
People call me one
So what the fuck
I’ll give them want they want
[BRIDGE]
D-I-W-A
What the fuck do I appreciate?
Mmmhmmm
Let me see
[CHORUS]
Free love
And a token for the woken
Let the fossils lay
Where they may
And the stupid
Eat their putrid
To be totally truthful
I actually don’t fucking care
Vocals & Background Vocals: Diwa
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
02 - Merely Me (FEAT: Diwa)
02 - Merely Me (FEAT: Diwa)
Inspired by author Michelle M. Pillow’s Merely Mortal book series, Diwa’s song is a haunting reflection on desire, fear, and fragility—capturing what it truly means to live within the depths of humanity.
[VERSE]
Born with this
Human heart of mine
Scared of the dark
It’s what I was taught
To fear, and to hark
For it will devour
All that I am
[CHORUS]
I am hunger
I am thirst
I am lust
And all those things
That I deserve
They’re merely me
Vocals & Background Vocals: Diwa
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
03 - COUNTRY MILE (FEAT: IAKOPO)
03 - COUNTRY MILE (FEAT: IAKOPO)
Iakopo’s “Country Mile” is a vow set to melody—on bended knee, he offers forever love, boundless as a summer mile, in a timeless proposal to Diwa.
[VERSE 1]
Never ever felt
Like this
The way I do
About you
It’s the truth
My forever
[CHORUS]
My love for you
Is longer
Than a country mile
In the summer time
Yes it is,
My love for you
It’s wider and longer
Than a country mile
[VERSE 2]
And so on bended knee
I ask for your
Hand, heart and soul
And everything
That you hold dear
My forever
Vocals & Background Vocals: Iakopo
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
04 - Step 2 Ma Country Ass (FEAT: Cassidy Butch)
04 - Step 2 Ma Country Ass (FEAT: Cassidy Butch)
Cassidy Butch’s “Step 2 Ma Country Ass” mixes wit, grit, and defiance into a country-fried declaration of self-worth and unapologetic strength.
[VERSE]
Where I come from
A hoe down got nothing to do
With your sick side bitch
Where I come from
Bless your heart
Might as well be
Fuck you very much
[BRIDGE]
Yeah
that’s how we do
Around here
So you might as well
[CHORUS]
Come on
And step to my
Country ass
You heard her
Step to my
Country ass
Till you can’t no more
Step to my
Country ass
Step to my
Country ass
Till you can’t no more
Vocals & Background Vocals: Cassidy Butch
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
05 - Please Find Me Now (FEAT: Diwa)
05 - Please Find Me Now (FEAT: Diwa)
In GUIOPERA ’25, Diwa’s haunting ballad blends inner searching with physical disappearance—her voice echoing through marquee lights, a plea to be seen, found, and ultimately, to find herself.
[VERSE]
Lost in mind
Forever seeking
But never quite reaching
Whatever it is, I need
[BRIDGE]
Always dreaming
Always needing
[CHORUS]
I am the one
Lost downtown
In marquee lights
Do you see me
In the crowd
Please find me now
Vocals & Background Vocals: Diwa
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
06 - Finding You - Lofi Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo)
06 - Finding You - Lofi Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo)
Transcending time and dimensions, “Finding You,” is Iakopo’s response to Diwa’s cry for help, “Please Find Me Now.”
[VERSE 1]
Sometimes I get scared
That you don’t feel
The same way I do
But all I gots to do
Is dream of you
[CHORUS]
Cos finding you
Is what I’m here to do
Cos finding you
That’s all I do
[VERSE 2]
Wherever you are, I will find you
Whenever you need me, i’ll be yours
If you ever doubt it, just reach out
Try me, I dare you, do
[CHORUS]
Cos finding you
Is what I’m here to do
Cos finding you
Is what I’m here to do
[VERSE 3]
Wherever you are, I will find you
Whenever you need me, i’ll be yours
Alls you gots to do
Is dream of us!
[CHORUS]
Cos finding you
Is what I’m here to do
Cos finding you
That’s all I do
Vocals & Background Vocals: Iakopo
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
07 - Part Timer (FEAT: Diwa)
07 - Part Timer (FEAT: Diwa)
In “Part Timer,” Diwa responds to criticisms of Gen Z’s commitment and work ethic.
[VERSE 1]
Never ever gave fifty
It was always one hundred
Every single fuckin’ day
Which ever way they cut it
I was always grinding
Yet they call me the Part-timer
Cos of the way I make it look easy
You see It probably take you the whole 8-8 hours
What I do in my sleep
Or at least with my eyes closed
[BRIDGE]
With one hand tied behind my back
And the other flippin’ you off
[CHORUS]
And that’s the reason why
they call me
the parttimer
there ain’t no other
rhyme or reason
It’s just because
I make it look
So fucking easy
That’s why!
Vocals & Background Vocals: Diwa
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
08 - Sweetest Duet - R&B Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo & Diwa)
08 - Sweetest Duet - R&B Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo & Diwa)
“Sweetest Duet,” the title says it all in this Karaoke favorite for the ages!
[VERSE – IAKOPO (MALE)]
Hey!
Is that you?
Hiding in plain sight
Here, come here
Babe, oh baby
[BRIDGE AKOPO (MALE) & DIWA (FEMALE)]
Now that we found
Each other let’s make it
Let’s make this happen
[CHORUS – IAKOPO (MALE) & DIWA (FEMALE) ]
Let this be
Our sweet duet
Just you and me
It’ll be our
Sweetest duet, yet
Just you and me!
[VERSE – DIWA (FEMALE)]
Hey!
Is that you?
Hiding in plain sight
Here, come here
Babe, oh baby
[BRIDGE AKOPO (MALE) & DIWA (FEMALE)]
Now that we found
Each other let’s make it
Let’s make this happen
[CHORUS – IAKOPO (MALE) & DIWA (FEMALE)]
Let this be
Our sweet duet
Just you and me
It’ll be our
Sweetest duet, yet
Just you and me!
Vocals & Background Vocals: Iakopo & Diwa
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
09 - T Y J 4 W M U T (FEAT: Cassidy Butch)
09 - T Y J 4 W M U T (FEAT: Cassidy Butch)
T Y J 4 W M U T, an acronym for “Thank you Jesus for waking me up today,” reveals another side to gender-bending country singer Cassidy Butch.
[VERSE 1]
When life gets hard
And the living ain’t no longer
As easy as it used to be
Just take a knee
And look around
At what he’s done for you
Today
That’s when
I look up to the heavens
And I say
[CHORUS]
Thank you Jesus
For waking me up
Today
Ooohhh! Yeah!
I said
Thank you Jesus
For waking me up
Today
Ooohhh! Yeah!
[VERSE 2]
Before this
I was blind and angry
But now I see
The light of day
And I can find
My way
Vocals & Background Vocals: Cassidy Butch
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
10 - It's Friday Night (For Me & My Lady) (FEAT: Iakopo)
10 - It's Friday Night (For Me & My Lady) (FEAT: Iakopo)
“It’s Friday Night (For Me & My Lady)” marks another pivotal moment in the GUIOPERA ’25 storyline.”It’s Friday Night (For Me and My Lady)” by Iakopo signifies another crucial moment in the GUIOPERA ’25 storyline.
[VERSE]
Clock hits five, and I come alive
Been grinding all week long, now it’s my time
The work’s been hard, but I just got paid
Got that Friday feelin’, you know what I mean
The work is done, can’t wait to see my baby
Kickin’ off the boots, I’m ready to move on
The sun is settin’, and the moon is risin’
Gonna give it my all, ain’t no regrets
[CHORUS]
It’s Friday night, and I’m feelin’ right
Got paid today, gonna forget the world
The weekend’s here, and we’re gonna get it
Let the good times roll, for me and my lady
It’s Friday night, and we have each other
A little fun’s all we need, can’t wait to see her
The grind’s been tough, but now it’s time
For good vibes, good times, with me and my lady
[BRIDGE]
Turn the music up
Let it carry us away
Leave this world behind
It’s just me and my lady
Vocals & Background Vocals: Iakopo
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
11 - Dance It Off - Minimal Beats Radio Edit (FEAT: Diwa)
11 - Dance It Off - Minimal Beats Radio Edit (FEAT: Diwa)
“Dance It Off” is Diwa embracing freedom as she navigates the challenges of sudden fame.
[VERSE]
It don’t matter
What it is
Come on down
To this place I know
It ain’t nothing
But a hole in the wall
Leave all your cares
At the door
[BRIDGE]
And get ready
Just Get ready
[CHORUS]
Dance it off
Just Dance it off
It don’t matter
What the situation is
Just Dance it off
Vocals & Background Vocals: Diwa
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
12 - Clap Back - Disco Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo)
12 - Clap Back - Disco Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo)
Iakopo, usually a quiet, unsuspecting character, also finds solace on the dance floor in “Clap Back!”
[VERSE]
Clap back
if you feel it
In your soul
Clap back
If you believe it
In your heart
Clap back
If you feel it
Deep within
[CHORUS]
Clap back
Let me hear ya
Clap back
Uh hah
Clap back
That’s how
[OUTRO]
Clap back
Vocals & Background Vocals: Iakopo
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
13 - Finding You - House Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo)
13 - Finding You - House Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo)
Transcending time and dimensions, “Finding You,” is Iakopo’s response to Diwa’s cry for help, “Please Find Me Now.” This the House version.
[VERSE 1]
Sometimes I get scared
That you don’t feel
The same way I do
But all I gots to do
Is dream of you
[CHORUS]
Cos finding you
Is what I’m here to do
Cos finding you
That’s all I do
[VERSE 2]
Wherever you are, I will find you
Whenever you need me, i’ll be yours
If you ever doubt it, just reach out
Try me, I dare you, do
[CHORUS]
Cos finding you
Is what I’m here to do
Cos finding you
Is what I’m here to do
[VERSE 3]
Wherever you are, I will find you
Whenever you need me, i’ll be yours
Alls you gots to do
Is dream of us!
Vocals & Background Vocals: Iakopo
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones
14 - Sweetest Duet - Ballard Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo & Diwa)
14 - Sweetest Duet - Ballard Radio Edit (FEAT: Iakopo & Diwa)
“Sweetest Duet,” the title says it all in this Karaoke favorite for the ages! This is the Ballard version.
[VERSE – IAKOPO (MALE)]
Hey!
Is that you?
Hiding in plain sight
Here, come here
Babe, oh baby
[BRIDGE AKOPO (MALE) & DIWA (FEMALE)]
Now that we found
Each other let’s make it
Let’s make this happen
[CHORUS – IAKOPO (MALE) & DIWA (FEMALE) ]
Let this be
Our sweet duet
Just you and me
It’ll be our
Sweetest duet, yet
Just you and me!
[VERSE – DIWA (FEMALE)]
Hey!
Is that you?
Hiding in plain sight
Here, come here
Babe, oh baby
[BRIDGE AKOPO (MALE)]
Now that we found
Each other let’s make it
Let’s make this happen
[CHORUS – IAKOPO (MALE) & DIWA (FEMALE)]
Let this be
Our sweet duet
Just you and me
It’ll be our
Sweetest duet, yet
Just you and me!
Vocals & Background Vocals: Iakopo & Diwa
Concept & Lyrics: John Reyer Afamasaga
Production: Alfabet Jones