Men get truly excited over “bad” girls. Yeah, the type that looks sultry, suggestive in a very sensual way. They are the trophies rich old men flaunt for the world to see. If you snagged one, you are the man! You are a winner! Everybody else just drool.

But most men do not necessarily fall in love with them. We fall in love with the “good” girl- the wife material, the one we want to spend the rest of our lives with, the one we can never live without. We are constantly searching for that one girl that we want to get lost with- and make us willing to give our freedom up to. Yep, that one person that we are willing to be trapped with, on a small island, in the middle of the Pacific, after a stormy shipwreck!

And that’s where Maine Mendoza made her grand entrance into our hearts.

The dubsmash videos have nothing to do with it, really. The first time we watched it was like oh, another attention seeker, just like the rest of the world, trying to make it big somewhere. Or so, we initially thought. But it all made sense later.

It was when she became Yaya Dub that we immediately sensed the raw honesty of Maine’s personality in the character. Her real emotions shined through. She is not there for the financial benefits of fame but for the realization of an ultimate dream. Her expressions are very revealing- the first time she saw Alden was looking, her eyes sparkled and grew big, she dropped her guard down and revealed the sweetest smile, the purest face a thousand ships would launch for. A few times her jaw dropped and she fell into a convulsive, very animated excitement. When she got the flowers and chocolate the first time, when she was handed the teddy bear and when she saw Alden kiss her standee, she was unable to hold back her thrill! She can’t get as real as that.

Very subtle expressions of candidness make her really endearing. We especially fall for those very slight animations, the little head twitches, the spontaneous contortion of her face, the little flaring of her nose whenever she‘s getting into a certain mood. And then there’s her eyes! By God, I could swear there’s something in them that just melts the bejesus out of any hardened heart!

And we stalk. Realtalk.

We find ourselves scouring the Internet for anything and everything about her. We feel a sense of accomplishment finding old photos and videos. It is like trying to get to know her well, without actually taking her out on a real date. We find ourselves smiling, laughing, crying over things we see and read about her. We become very involved- the infatuation has now become an obsession!

The attraction, not surprisingly, is not really sexual. Don’t get me wrong. Maine is most definitely, seriously, very sexually attractive! But this is not the primary reason why we fall head over heels. And contrary to popular beliefs that we usually try to take advantage if we find out that a girl is attracted to us, most of us do get a genuine thrill on knowing somebody is taking an interest- and we do find ourselves actually trying to reciprocate.

In reality, we identify ourselves with Alden Richards. We want to be THAT guy, the one that Maine Mendoza only has eyes for.

He is not just the man, he is the man’s Man!

And we want him to feel the way we feel, to champion the standards and principles of how real men fall in love- anything less and he becomes the bad guy. That may also be the reason why Kulas wrote the song Hopia- we feel a little angry, frustrated at the thought that Alden is merely there for the art, for the fame- that he is not so much invested in the emotion, despite Maine’s effortless expressions that she is genuinely interested- showing her real vulnerability.

We become very protective.

It is not as much as trying to win her heart from somebody else, but trying to make her feel that if that guy is not that into you, we are here. We get filled with so much emotions that we feel like the knights of old, willing to become violent to protect our one true love! But as soon as we realize that Alden is beginning to show real interest, we back off and cannot but feel happy for Maine. We get back into enjoying the show, confident and very proud that our representative is willing to do everything to get the girl of his dreams, embodying our ideals and intentions the way we expect him to.

There is more to love about Maine. We can never fathom the influence and the effect she has on people, men and women alike. But for us, the male species of this phenomenal fandom, she represents the princess in the attic. The one who live with a secret love hoping to be noticed- silently, patiently waiting for her Prince Charming. And once he finds her, he will never be the same again. He will never be able to let her go. ~ Vilo