《Prelude to Forever : Alden & Maine》One Shot #1 - Uncertain Smile
Advertisement
"IN THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF THE NEW FORMAT, EB WAS GETTING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FROM VIEWERS BECAUSE OF YAYA DUB. APPARENTLY, JENNY SAYS "HINDI TYPE NG MGA MATATANDA ANG NAKASIMANGOT SA TV."
JENNY WAS DELIBERATING OVER WHAT TO DO WITH YAYA DUB WHEN HER FLOOR DIRECTOR TOLD HER THAT MAINE HAD A CRUSH ON ALDEN RICHARDS, WHO HOSTS EB'S "THAT'S MY BAE" SEGMENT IN THE STUDIO. JENNY ASKED ALDEN TO SIT IN THE AUDIENCE AND WATCH THE "JUAN FOR ALL, ALL FOR JUAN" SEGMENT, WHICH WAS BEING BROADCAST TO THE STUDIO FROM A REMOTE LOCATION. EVER THE TROUPER, ALDEN AGREED, NOT KNOWING WHAT JENNY'S INTENTIONS WERE."
-Excerpts from the Jenny Ferre interview for "The YES Ultimate Kalyeserye Scrapbook (Written by Candice Lim-Venturanza), p. 42-43, YES Magazine November 2015 Issue. Ms. Ferre is the senior vice president for creatives and operations of Television and Production Exponents Philippines Inc. (TAPE Inc.), producer of Eat Bulaga.
-----------------------------------
ALDEN
July 16, 2015. A day that started like all other days of work for Alden. He reported for work at Broadway, studied his lines for That's My Bae, got dressed and did his segment. By the end of his segment, he was really hungry. As he was about to take his lunch in the pantry, Jenny Ferre, their SVP for Creatives and Operations called him.
"Alden," She said with a nod, seeming pre-occupied. Ma'am Jenny was like that, her mind was constantly working, always processing new ideas. It seemed that her latest idea would involve him.
"I need you to sit with the audience while Juan For All is on air," She said, writing her thoughts down as they discussed. "Just sit there, wala kang ibang gagawin. Nood ka lang ng Juan for All."
Although he thought it was a weird request, Alden nodded. Whatever the plan was, if it would lengthen his stay here in Eat Bulaga, he was all for it. He loved working here, the Dabarkads were all supportive and welcoming to him. And sitting there with the audience to watch Juan for All would be easy.
Advertisement
The commercial break was over. Alden sat Indian style on the floor near the Audience gallery and gazed at the monitors. Juan for All was always fun to watch, because Jose, Wally and Paolo always delivered the laughs. He looked up to them, knew how difficult it was to be on location and yet, they consistently provided the funniest moments on live TV. His thoughts took him away from the starting spiels of Jose and Paolo, but seeing her entrance in the scene caught his attention.
Maine Mendoza. That's what her name was. He knew her from her popular dubsmash videos, some he had watched and enjoyed when he searched for dubsmash material as pegs. She was wacky in an endearing way, and he heard about her addition to the Juan for All cast as the snobbish yaya who never smiled.
Standing on that banca, she was in full character mode, her nose turned up on the people around her. They got off the banca and joined Jose and Paolo, exchanged a few pleasantries and went through the problem-solving portion. Not once did he see her smile, she was consistently poker-faced or looking at Jose with disdain as he barbed her with his teasing. She dubsmashed her lines effortlessly, like a pro.
Up to this point, Alden still could not understand what his role was. The cameras showed him watching them in a few frames but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. And then it happened.
He was watching her perform the Mukangkaw dubsmash and she was killing it. He was enjoying her performance when she unconsciously glanced at the monitors and saw him watching her. She faltered and went out of character. Helplessly, she smiled, and got teased mercilessly for it.
"Hala yaya, naco-conscious ka kay Alden," Miss A said, stating the obvious.
Advertisement
Totally losing her composure, she gave a full-blown smile before hiding her face behind her fan. Her face totally transformed with the smile. Her expressive doe eyes lit up, her lips revealed beautiful, even pearly whites. She was pretty when she smiled.
The teasing went on and Alden was a bit sorry for her. It must be embarrassing to be put on the spot like that. But like a pro, she played with the moment, flirting coyly with him on split-screen.
Alden smiled back and waved hello. Her smiles were infectious, and he couldn't help but play along. In jest, she made a silly face and waved back. The cute wave got the audience roaring with laughter, him included. She blew him a kiss and he playfully caught it, feeling a tingle of happiness.
For the rest of the segment, he was more aware of her and forgot he was hungry. Alden also noticed other things about her. He liked that she did not wear too much make-up because she looked fresh despite the heat of the sun. When it suddenly rained, she did not run for cover and kept her composure, looking cute in a hat Jose found for her.
When she and the guys walked to the house of the sugod-bahay winner, he noticed her wearing denim shorts and admired her long shapely legs. She also cried for the winner who lived alone in her house. He liked that she did, it showed she had a soft heart.
By the time the segment was over, he felt happy without knowing why. Ma'am Jenny tapped him on the shoulder, thanking him for indulging her.
"Bukas ulit Alden ha," She said with a smile.
That night, Alden went online to watched Maine's dubsmash videos again.
MAINE
The segment was over but her heart was still beating fast. Maine wasn't sure of the aftermath of today's Juan for All episode. The Broadway team shared the surprising response of the studio audience regarding her encounter with Alden. While she was happy that it worked, she was worried too. What did Alden think of her? While she did all her routines in character as Yaya Dub, she wondered what he thought about her, Maine. She probably looked silly.
"Tapos na palabas, uy," Wally joked. He already changed from his Lola Nidora garb and sat on the bench beside her.
"Kuya," She said tentatively. "Ok lang ba yung kanina?"
"Oo naman, ano ka ba?" Wally said with a smile. "May problema ba?"
"Wala naman. Nagulat lang ako kanina na nanood si Alden, natawa tuloy ako. Baka magalit si Ma'am Jenny."
"Hindi magagalit yun. Mukha ngang dahil sa nangyari, tatagal ka sa Juan for All eh."
"Talaga po? Bakit po?" That was good wasn't it?
"Basta." Wally smiled at her and playfully mussed her hair.
She blushed, remembering Alden's smile, and her stupid wave back at him. Arghhh, what was she thinking?
That night, Maine did her spiel in front of a mirror, checking to see how she looked. She drifted off to sleep with a smile, as she imagined flying kisses and dimples waiting for her the next day.
Advertisement
Brute Force
A nameless undercover cop wakes on the shore of a virtual beach as a monster, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. All he has is a letter from the man who killed him, detailing his brutal murder at the hands of the Russian Mafia - and the fate that awaits his sister once the mob finds her.To save his sister and himself, he must survive. He must fight... and he MUST win. But to do that, he needs a name. The name of a champion, a name that embodies the speed, grace and majesty of his monster type, the Reaper Nemesis.And so begins the legend of M.T Noodles the 4th, PhD. Sometimes funny, often violent, this series features a smart monstrous MC, semi-crunchy leveling and Pokemon-style battling.
8 230The Adventures of Asher
Asher works part-time all over his neighborhood, slinging soup out of his friend's food truck and generally enjoying life as a 20-something year old. Then everything changes after he gets home from works and decides to sign up for an online game of Dungeons and Dragons. A mysterious god. A new world with magic powers and monsters. He's dropped right in the middle of all of it and he needs to go through puberty a second time? These are his adventures.
8 189Erased
Alone in a vast expanse of knowledge and void of any previous memory what else was I to do but learn? The world above awaited me, but down here it was all I could do to read about it, prepare for it. How long would it take for me to see my first of the Learned Races, or encounter my first monster? To simply see a [City Guard] or a [Warrior] maybe even a [Mage], even then I'd be sated no matter how basic the Class. I wanted to witness what I read about, the fantastical [Secret Stache] of a [Treasure Hunter] or a [Pickpocket] using [Deft Hands]. These were natural occurrences above, but alas, I was below. And this deep down, I'd see my first horror before seeing any mere monster. My escape were the books but soon I'd turn that knowledge into a real escape, I'd emerge from this dear library and claw my way above. But I'd need to prepare myself, I just didn't know how yet. So back to my books.
8 219Halo:Nightstalker
After coming face to face with the barrel of the original Daisy’s gun, Daisy’s clone retreats to her room, expecting to die soon. She now knows she has lived far beyond what was expected and is on borrowed time. When she goes to sleep, she doesn’t expect to wake up – and she definitely doesn’t expect her body to be hijacked by a Symbiote named Nightstalker.Desperate to separate herself from the original Daisy and enticed by the promises of a stronger body, the clone agrees to become Nightstalker’s host. She also gives herself a new name – Amaranth – as she prepares to begin her own life. Immediately, Amaranth becomes a hero in Fairfield and finally feels in control of her own life, but Amaranth isn’t able to disentangle herself from Daisy’s life as easily as she expected.To make matters worse, unbeknownst to Amaranth and Nightsalker, the powerful, secretive research facility that the Symbiote escaped is watching them… and waiting.(Set shortly during the first part of Halo legends: homecoming. Cover by RKS-Kogiro)
8 106Into The Fray
In a war-ridden world where metaphysical powers are the norm, Alma Gustafsson, a defect with no abilities whatsoever, stood at the top of it. An elite captain with a tactical mind, capable of fighting the invading forces with utmost efficiency and discipline, amplified by an immeasurable amount of sheer dedication. This mission was supposed to be a standard one. Get behind enemy lines, kill the metal puppets, destroy the flying fortress, escape with body and life intact. To be the first one to stare at the eyes of their true enemy was surprising enough, and dying was already a sharp reminder of what she is: A defect that has no place in the battlefield. But somehow, meeting an old man in the middle of the forest was more important to her than the events that transpired. “Your grit is one of a kind, girly. I need that.” Said the old man, giving her a chance to go back out there and fight once more. It was a stupid offer, making her choose between eternal happiness of heaven and the meaningless fighting that she has done all those years. However, she never took herself as a smart person. And as she embarks on a journey to protect her world, she will find herself at a crossroad that will determine the fate of the universe...
8 265The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]
Kyle Goldman is having a bad century, multiple of them. Kyle is immortal, destined to live the same mediocre life over and over again. Worse, he remembers each time through life. Every betrayal, every life lesson, every combat spell, he is destined to learn them all again and again. Every life he re-awakens during the Awakening Trials. Trials designed to pull out the full magical and spiritual potential of a Space Force Candidate. Depending on how well he does in these trials can change his entire career. Since this is his thirteenth time through the trials he is well aware of their importance. Even better, he knows how to cheat. Having prior knowledge of the trials and their ever increasing difficulties is the ultimate form of cheating. Especially when the rewards for completing each stage of the trial is an increased Attribute point. He's lived each life to its fullest, some dying as a famous ace pilot. Others dying as an expeditionary Marine on long range space recon. Each life ultimately leads to the same inevitable end, he makes friends, tastes happiness for a brief moment, and then is betrayed. The betrayal always changes, but always hurts the same. From there a deep spiral occurs, leading to his inevitable, but often glorious demise. This time he vows to take things differently. He still plans to ace the exams, but then he will do the unthinkable, he will resign his commission as an officer. To live as an overqualified regular citizen of the free worlds. With the knowledge of spell craft deeply ingrained in his mind from his previous lives, he is set to make try number thirteen his lucky number after all. There is only one problem. The Government saw his test scores and now they won't stop to have him in their ranks. It looks like the betrayal will come earlier than expected in this, his thirteenth try at living the same stale existence. Themes Include: GameLit Elements, Progression Fantasy, with Space Tech and interstellar battles. Schedule: Monday through Friday Cover Art: Thanks to Asviloka
8 218