November 3 was indeed a day that none of the AlDub Nation has expected to come. In the point that it seemed the fandom is indestructible, there came a plague that would set the world into its knees: The Hackers. Yes, in all honesty, I would like to express my disgust with what occurred when hackers used Maine's account in order for them to spread their advocacy, and encouraging the AlDub Nation to join their "Million Mask March". Their activity and desperate attempt for attention is so low, dirty, and cowardly that they had to actually peeve a girl's social media account to, what, make sacrifices and forward their cause. Anonymous PH has mentioned that they only used Maine's Twitter account for the sake of that purpose, nothing more, and that it would be returned to her. Naturally, including me, we would assert that since Anonymous is an organization famous for its hacking abilities in stressing their point, such as hacking government websites in support of the oppressed and deprived, I would believe in their words.
However, what happened after that was beyond our belief. The hacking grew worse and has infiltrated Maine's different accounts, including that of Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and even her email. And to our disappointment and anger, we have fought the hackers in ways we know how; even if it was so little. But despite that only a few of us in the nation knows how to counteract the hacking activities, including that of Carlo Ople, Pratiksha Rao, and Abbie Real, many of us, in the spirit of Bayanihan, have expressed our support to Maine so she could feel that there are people who are behind her all the way. Millions of tweets have poured in, everyone was on Beast Mode, more than enough to feel one's esteem raised and the nation's morale unshaken.
And it was no later found out that in the midst of all the chaos between the AlDub Nation and Anonymous PH, there were a few minor-aged hackers who went into the scene and tried to disintegrate the fandom by attacking different accounts and associating it with celebrities and shows of the other network. And while many of us believed that Anonymous PH was still behind the fiasco, it no soon later happened that Anonymous' FB account has been hacked too, or so we would believe it's the case. How was I able to assert the idea? Understanding how Anonymous works, and having so many members, not all of them are of the same objective. Yes, there are some who acts as royalty by vanquishing the evil, but others are merely in the membership for the thrill of the game. Unfortunately, there were individuals that pretended to be Anonymous still and used the opportunity to induce confusion and fear, saying that they would release information that could compromise Maine's popularity, such as nude photos, and other secrets that are usually found in private messages and hidden albums. However, I am more than proud to feel that nothing has been found. Then what followed after was a gross attempt to taunt the undaunted nation. They used words that would violate Maine's morality. But that didn't do much. We're a lot stronger than to be shaken with such filthy language.
Because of the said event, the AlDub Nation now has a new movement of providing netizens the power of information when it comes to securing and protecting online accounts from the clutches of hackers. It went well. I was even prompted to check everything on my end to assure that I am safe and protected. At the end of the day, Anonymous PH got nothing of the support they intended in the first place. They now look terrible in the eyes of the masses. Their mission of gaining our sympathy took a wrong turn and became their disadvantage. Did the nation crumble? No. We became stronger than ever before. Our bond as a fandom has been fortified and strengthened because of these events. Friendships were further established. The accounts were returned to their rightful state... And now, Maine Mendoza became the second in the world to have a secured version of Twitter, next to that of Justin Bieber. How's that y'all?!
Too Short to Disregard
When Maine appeared on the Tuesday episode wearing shorts, the first thing that came to my mind is this: "Hey Alden! I'm wearing shorts. Come here! Scold me! I need you here!" For some of you that may not know, the modesty issue began during one of the shoots in the upcoming movie, My Bebe Love. If you have been scouring around for updates about the couple, then you could have seen one video clip when Maine was so flustered in fixing her clothes beside Alden. At first, I thought it was her fixing a lapel since she's moving her hands at her back. But when I noticed how Alden looked with that stare of concern for his partner's shirt, considering that the neckline was too low and maybe the blouse was a bit high when sitting down that her lower back's also showing, Maine can't help but become uncomfortable, if not shy, knowing that the person beside her actually expressed worry with her manner of dress. There was even one clip when Alden whispered to check her neckline. It may not be too frequent, but guys who act like that has great respect for women.
Going back to Tuesday's episode, Maine came in wearing shorts, feeling bad with what happened to her accounts. It was like she's in the state of rebellion, defying what Alden counseled her to do recently. If you have observed, Maine was into wearing pants, leggings, and anything that would keep her from showing her legs, as seen in the previous episodes. It had been well on the first week. But this time, she expressed her disappointment that she wanted to challenge the man to go to her and comfort her. She was demanding for his presence. She wanted him to come. But for whatever reason there is, things transpired as they were and Alden just stayed in the studio the whole time. Assumption? Did you even notice why Joey, Allan, and the rest of the cast stressed Maine's shorts? It's because all of them knew what Alden's standards were, especially to the kind of girl he loves. He wanted Maine to be modest, not for the mere pleasure of "owning" what can be seen for his eyes only, but of his noble intentions for her not to be disrespected, looked upon with lust, and make her a feast for the eyes of malicious men. Nope! Alden's not the type to like things like shorts that show the legs or clothing that reveal too much flesh. He has a younger sister to begin with. And he's just being protective of Maine, in the most gentlemanly of ways. And you could see in Alden's eyes in that episode that he was still concerned as to why Maine wore the shorts he already warned about.
Effort Maximum
When Alden saw Maine on that episode, he was worried because of what happened to her, more than the accounts she have. And if you think that asking what was wrong was kinda insensitive, then you could be wrong. Sometimes, asking the said kind of question, though sounding blunt and disrespectful to some, actually initiates openness and finding out if the person being asked would be more than glad to accommodate and state what the problem is. Ironically, the question "Are you okay? Is there a problem?" is a well-thought question that senses the urge of another to prepare conversation. If the answer is a simple no, then it only means that the individual would rather keep things to himself/herself, with no further questions asked. But in the event that the individual responded to the question in a manner direct to what is needed, then it means that both parties are willing to engage in some light talk or some interrogation to find out what can be done to take care of a problem or situation.
Maine's mood was actually more than enough of an opportunity for Alden to play the part of being the sweet and loving boyfriend, doing his role of making his partner happy. It's a lover's role to make sure that his companion is at his/her happiest. He started by throwing in some pick-up lines that he himself feels kilig in sharing. Yes, Alden's the one feeling the romantic chills that his dimples cannot hide or his spinning cannot resist. You could see that he spent time to bring in something new to make Maine happy. There have been numerous attempts, but it ended up in failure, with the girl still sad and upset. Alden even sang for her and she was still unmoved with her feelings.
November 3 was the first ever LQ recorded on screen. We are to understand that Maine's going through a lot, especially considering that social media accounts are her life. It was her avenue of fun and escape. It was her bread and water, more than just a way of deviating her thoughts and easing her stress. She breathes words on Twitter and becomes happy when she connects with her friends and loved ones. Losing it would mean missing a part of her. With knowing where she's coming from, we could be more tolerant of being pabebe every once in a while. Understand that her nature is so sincere that she does not know how to pretend feeling happy while her heart feels otherwise. But what's not to love? It's her personality that makes her and she's charming for the way she is.
When all else failed, Alden requested to spare some time away, preparing for something else to make Maine happy. What's to be done? Has he planned a way to bring back the smile to her face? If it was not mushy lines and serenades, then it has to be something creative. And what he did actually surprised everyone, even Maine! When she saw that Alden came in dressed as a Lola, you could sense in her face that she's trying not to laugh, most probably for the sake of giving justice to her role as a person whose heart cannot be swayed by mere acts of entertainment. But heck, if it was in real life, I guess she could have laughed rolling on the floor. I actually felt sorry for Maine to play the cold-hearted snow princess. Alden had pushed and tried hard, giving his effort to make his forever be happy again. But no, he felt bad too and gave up crying... The question Maine asked, I could say is a question of affirmation, of confirming the reason behind Alden's actions. And to my satisfaction, he responded to the question straight, honest, and lovingly sincere. I actually felt sorry for the man when he put everything down, moped on the floor, and cried.
But as Sir Joey said, "ganyan talaga ang mga babae."
Lessons about Appreciation
I loved it when Lola Nidora shared lessons about appreciating the effort of the person, regardless how big or small is at stake. I was moved with the words that helped Maine see the hard work that Alden gave to make her smile again. That there is no need to make things hard for the individual to exert effort and make things more complicated.
Vengeance of Emotions
With Alden now sitting on the floor, feeling down and troubled, it was now Maine's turn to woo the guy and patch things up. The sorrow was real. I could feel that Alden was really hurt when Maine hurt his feelings. For a second there, it was like Richard's actually sitting down, waiting for him to be picked up by the person whose heart is his. He even had to wear glasses to hide it. It was now Alden's turn to make pabebe and give Maine a bit of a hard time and make her feel how he feels.
As real and as genuine as things are, Maine thought of the one thing that could make them go back together... Ice cream! In the moment when asking for an apology does not stand with a heartfelt "sorry", she had to think of something to cure the pain and to make things sweet for the two of them, all over again. Insensitive? I don't think so. In fact, Maine had to recall some of her most precious memories because I believe it was ice cream that patched some of her worst arguments with fellow siblings and young friends when she was a kid. For goodness' sake, the girl is only twenty, and using diplomacy in fixing relationship scars is not fit for her kind of personality. She's unique in her own way.
I had to commend Alden for doing that, for making Maine feel accountable for what she did. He actually loved the feeling of being wooed by the woman he loves. Though it was not on queue, his dimples showed. and his eyes expressed that he's really loved, at the moment he heard Maine offering ice cream. I personally think it was cute, and he must have felt it too. But he had to endure Maine feeling sad for a bit. If he gave in too soon, then the effort would be for naught. So he had to be patient and wait for a little longer. He had to squeeze some more feelings into the apology.
The pinky swear didn't work. No, not this time. But Tinidora knew that Alden may be doing a bit much already that he had to put an end to the suffering. Thanks to her, Maine's smiles were all about again and the quarrel between the lovers was taken care of. Dubsmashing came back to life. But it was Alden's compliment that completely turned things around when he said that Maine looks beautiful when she smiles; a praise exclaimed at the most natural moment, something that Alden would even say when there were no cameras rolling.
But when everything else went back to normal, and the segment was over that day, Alden was not done in doing his moves. He prepared a fansign that would affirm his emotions for Maine at the moment, now feeling even more in love with the woman he fancies. It was actually unexpected on Maine's part, as you may have noticed that she didn't prepare a fansign to respond with. In summary, it was all that he feels, his sentiments for the pain and the sorrow. He would love to make a wonderful memory out of the quarrel they had that day, being fearless in using the very cause of their argument as a keg to use in bringing out his best of feelings.
Maine, kahit na-hack ang account mo,
ang puso ko hindi maha-hack...
Dahil ikaw ang may hawak ng...
Password nito :)
And in all fairness, Alden's strategy worked at best. Why? Whenever Maine moves her fists or her fingers at the point she's feeling that romantic chill, you know that it's genuine; that she's hit straight on and loving it. And to even affirm the love, she's pushing Lola Nidora... Because Lola knew that Alden's moves worked effectively!
Animosity in the Transparency
On the November 4 episode, there were some members of the AlDub Nation that became a bit upset, if not felt uncomfortable that Maine is showing her "rude" side where she continually disapproved Alden's statements. It was noticed that everything began on the previous day where her mood was sour. Based on observation, the audience let Maine's attitude slide because things were bad for her that day. But in the event when she was actually happy, and still continued on blocking Alden's words, it became a bit unruly and unacceptable, according to the sentiments of many. Different individuals have commented that Maine was actually insulting and disrespectful. However, I do have some say on the matter, which many of our members should reflect and understand.
First of all, when the said blocking statements were mentioned, and Alden being actually happy about it, we'll know that it was nothing to him. We saw a side of her that's more transparent than the rest of her attitudes in the last 16 weeks. Yes, she actually felt comfortable that she was no longer shy to show that personality of her, the pessimistic, to Alden. It was an indication that their feelings toward one another has already escalated to something more tolerant and more loving. What's my point exactly? If you love someone, then you can easily love both the good and bad. If it could have been just any other person, then Maine's statements could easily hurt. But because Alden loves Maine in a whole new way, even the bad is worth loving, even to the point that it becomes funny and amusing. That is why many of the people who have been in real relationships actually agree that Maine's actions were nothing but of comfort and ease, and nothing more.
That's the real beauty of being engaged in a true relationship. Everything, even the negative, makes a companionship more colorful and meaningful. It's the moment when compromise and chaos culminates the romance and love between two understanding individuals. When one is transparent in showing his or true colors, then it could be said that a couple has already reached the bounds of courtship. Why? Because in the realms of courtship, one has to show his or her best foot forward to find favor to initiate the next phase in a relationship, from simple friendship to being real lovers. And when you truly love someone, acceptance, tolerance, patience, and understanding are replaced by attraction, infatuation, and expectation. There is no need to hate Maine for what she is. It's all part of her personality, an identity that is truly her own. Alden would be more than glad to embrace all of it, as a profession of true love towards the girl that God gave.
Those are my thoughts folks. These are merely my points of view and you may or may not agree. Regardless of which, I would just like to clarify some of these things for the enlightenment of some of the members of the AlDub Nation that still has reservations to the sincerity and honesty of both Alden and Maine. I'm a fan but I am more loyal to the right and the truth. If you happen to see issues that would be worth your time reflecting, I would be more than glad to drop some pennies of my thoughts to open the minds and the heart of this amazing and loving fandom. As Alden said, "just call my name and I'll be there."
