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nanabrainrot · 1 year

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I love your Lalo work ! Do you think we could get some stories about the way people react to Lalo and the MC (from To Bear a Cross, Companion Dog, etc) ? Like what did the people he hurt (for her) do ? How do other characters in BCS feel about the two of them ? Are they weirded out by the relationship ? Again, love your work <3

THANK YOUUU i was actually working on that already and made a little compilation of moments where people went "hey wtf is going on with that guy and his wife so enjoy these blurbs with Kim, Jim, Nacho, and MC <3 I might repost these in a chaptered version on AO3 to fill up my Lalo tab lol - ty for the ask!!

A Moment with Kim

Jimmy was confused at the woman sitting across from him in his apartment, accompanied by Nacho of course, but Kim was even more so. A pair of deep eyes seemed fixed on Kim alone, her face devoid of expression. He could tell she was matured yet was not positive if she broke 30 yet with the lack of lines in her face and the lack of white or grays accumulating in contrast to the silver streaks in Lalo’s hair and his face lined with wrinkles. “Uhh, Nacho, care to explain the little lady that’s been sitting here in silence since you got in? I can’t be breaking confidentiality with Lalo of all people unless you want me dead in the desert with my own balls in my mouth.”

Nacho sighed, glancing at the woman, all dolled up, who still staring at Kim’s face who was now shifting uncomfortably.

“Don’t worry, she’s Lalo’s wife,” Nacho responded lowly, watching you sit still like a tree on a day without wind. Jimmy narrowed his eyes, looking toward her a little closer and realizing that Lalo did not have a ring but in fact had a tattoo of a ring. Her finger lacked a tattoo of a ring, but a large diamond was shining on her finger. He wondered the insane price of it given Lalo’s seemingly endless supply of money of questionable origin. His charming nature screamed “player” to Jimmy so the concept of him having a wife at home was something beyond his imagination, especially a woman as meek and docile as the jittery woman staring his wife down.

“Oh! I didn’t know he was married,” Jimmy laughed awkwardly, leaning over the coffee table to offer his hand to shake. Her eyes moved off Kim and to the hand that was extended but not up to Jimmy’s face, something that caught Kim’s attention. Her brows twitched a little and her hands that were on the arm of the chair came together to fold together. Moments pass. No handshake.

Awkwardly, Jimmy withdraws the hand and uses it to scratch his neck. The eyes around the room focus on Lalo’s wife and her ensemble. She wore a deep gray v-neck with a golden chain about her neck dipping into the fabric that exposed her chest and a pair of black flared pants, like a yoga instructor would wear.. The little mary janes peeked out from the flares, shiny and bright. Jimmy could just about make out a piece of gold about her ankles with something written on them. The hoops in her ears obscured by the hair draping over her shoulders and it seems like she had cut choppy bangs solely for the purpose of hiding her face.

“Um, so how are you Mrs. Lalo? What brings you here with my friend Nacho?” he coughs in that raspy voice still trying to grin through the thick air she seemed to bring with her.

“I’m okay,” she murmured, low and barely audible, “I just wanted to check on his bail and stuff… I don’t really leave without him and he sent Nacho to get me to come get some air and get updates from you.” Her eyes moved back to Kim, staring again, with deep eyes that seemed to lack any spark. It was like looking at the glass eyes of a doll. “His bail? The hearing is tomorrow so we can work from there,” Jimmy started, “but it might be millions for him on these charges. Sorry about that Mrs. Lalo, I’m trying my best rest assured.”

“Mrs. Salamanca,” you replied a little firmer than Nacho would expect from your quiet nature and prior encounters with you. Although his first encounter you appeared shameless in your actions, but he assumed you only had any trace of confidence when you were in Lalo’s presence. Your body without him was tense like ice and suddenly melted to a cool water when he came around. But he couldn’t come around. Not unless Jimmy stepped up and got him out on bail.

“Hm?”

“His first name is Lalo. His last name is Salamanca. You would call me Mrs. Salamanca,” she responded, her eyes still on Kim and her knees turning more toward the woman. The attention on Kim appeared confusing at first but as Kim and Jimmy shared glances, she leans forward and you keen with interest at it with a head tilt. Eye contact.

You give her eye contact, something you deny Jimmy and, she noticed, denied Nacho too.

“Would you rather me tell you?” You seem to relax at this offer, your body releasing the tension at something in the room. As if a breath you were holding finally left.

“Yes please. But you aren’t Lalito’s lawyer, you’re the lawyer’s wife, no? Is that okay?” you inquire, brows narrowed at the woman. Nacho and Jimmy share looks over you, realizing the source of the tension seemed to be that the two were men. You kept looking to Kim because she was a woman too.

Why though? It couldn’t be a fear of men; you laid in bed with one of the scariest ones Jimmy had ever met. He wonders this internally as he and Nacho eye you lean toward her with your hands cupping your knees and shoulders coming a bit forward. “Spousal privilege. What’s his is mine and what’s mine is his, including his business if there’s a need for it. It’s a bit hard for Jim – Saul to tell if you aren’t looking at him though because he can’t tell if you’re listening.” You avert your gaze, shifting like you’re suddenly embarrassed and your mouth twitches like you want to smile but can’t like. Like it hurts to smile.

“I know…” you mutter, scratching your neck sheepishly, “I don’t look at or talk to men. Lalito is jealous and I respect that.”

A pause. Kim’s body language changes in disbelief, “So Lalo doesn’t let you look at or talk to men?”

“It’s not that I’m not allowed to. I do it so he doesn’t get violent with them. He thinks every guy has a bad motive with me,” you reply, “so I just don’t look at or talk to men so he doesn’t get mad at the guy. He’s impulsive, Mrs. Goodman.”

“You can call me Kim,” she breathes, leaning back into her chair with a sigh like she’s trying to analyze your personality and meekness in relation to Lalo. The blonde glances at the two men and asks, “Can you two just like step into another room then so she isn’t trying to dodge looking at you? I don’t know how often she comes out so it’d be nice if she can look around freely.” Jimmy jumps at the opportunity to leave the room, looking relieved, and tugging Nacho by the arm into the adjacent bedroom.

“That’s a great idea, babe! I’ll be in here, haha, adios!” Jimmy salutes as he ushers Nacho, who is muttering in confusion and protest and the contact Jimmy is having with him as he closes the door. You can hear the muffled conversation between them, Jimmy’s chipper gravely tone against the cool harshness of Nacho’s serious voice.

The air is different without men. Without any cologne or harsh musky fragrances; it feels perverted to know what another man smells like no less what his hands feel like if you decided to shake his hand. Lalo probably would’ve swatted it away you consider. It was too risky to potentially displease him and it was a decision made out of respect. “Thanks Kim. Not many people notice I’m… hesitant around men.”

“No problem,” she smiles tensely with a feeling of pity in her belly starting to make it twist. Did Jimmy make mistakes? Sure, every man does, but she can only imagine the kind of man Lalo is to you. Your meek energy and refusal to address men plants a seed of worry in her she can’t ignore but must in order to proceed. “His hearing is tomorrow and they’ll set bail for him. Then he’ll pay the bail and be home and you two can head back to Mexico. They’re just setting it up and paying it,” she smiles warmly.

The tension doesn’t leave you. You look like every muscle was locked in place as you peer up with deep eyes through your lashes. The chain on your neck says Lalo, she realizes. As do the hoops in your ears. The four fingers that weren’t your thumbs had LALO in big letters painted onto your acrylic nails of square, milky white. “Okay, how long will it take, Kim?”

“Depending on how long the money takes to come in, a day to five days-“

Your brows furrow, then relax. You sink back into the chair like a disappointed child; you likely weren’t used to being apart Kim realized. The indicators of possession on you made her stomach queasy. He was charming, sure, but he did everything without much thought. He punished ruthlessly and frequently; what did that mean for you?

Then why did you miss him so much?

“Okay, Kim,” you murmur, “nothing else?” She swallows, realizing the weight of your presence. Some insane drug king pin’s wife who looked more like a doll than a human, actions so calculated it was like you were a ball joint doll who was being twisted by invisible hands. Your back so straight, hair without a flyaway, and the deep eyes looking but not seeing. Looking but not acknowledging. Like she was a chair or a table but not a human. Unimportant.

“Nothing. Just hope bail is reasonable and the money comes quickly,” she replies with a forced smile. A small hum of acknowledgement, before you lean closer to her a bit over the coffee table but her behind still stuck to the less than luxurious chairs you seemed to be used to. “Can you call out and let Ignacio I’m ready to go home? I don’t talk to men, you know that now.”

The pit grows deeper. Lalo seemed to like you, why else would he tattoo a ring on? Drag you up from Mexico with him on business? Does he love you? Kim swallows and smiles. Does he hit you?

“Nacho, she said she’s ready to go home.”

It’s stupid. To look at the window at you driving away, but your head still hangs low as Nacho opens the door for you. You slide into the seat like your body made of liquid. Like you’re a doll. He closes the door, glancing up at Kim’s watchful eyes through the window above, and shrugs, as if to say: I don’t know either. Kim just wondered if she wanted to know.

She holds Jimmy a little tighter tonight, grateful for something she didn’t have for once.

A Moment with Nacho

On the drive home, Nacho only hears you sniffle. Turned from him all girlish with your knees facing the window as if you were one of his girls all mad at him. But you aren’t mad, just frustrated, that much he can tell. Your first meeting had been awkward but had been steered like a ship by Lalo who would ask you to do something and you would do it. Nacho wonders if you would hesitate if Lalo asked you to stand up and put a knife in your side.

You don’t behave awkwardly despite being seen like that, with eyes all narrow and wet. You loom around Lalo naturally as if his shadow. He wondered about you, thoughts picking at him as he drove to your temporary home with Lalo. Nothing was out of place thanks to you. Febreezes and diffusers listlessly filled the air with subtle scents that mask your probably expensive perfume. Again, your eyes flit sporadicallly as you take in the house when you get in. Nacho can tell you’re fidgety again which is likely from your anxiety being apart from Lalo. You scurry off to your room with no words nor glance, just the sound of your shoses clanking then socked feet padding to your depressingly big and cold bed toward the back of the house past the living room. A door slams and it’s so quiet he still hears you weep.

There’s no way you were right.

The way you existed as a moon of Lalo’s, as his shadow, his sex doll, Nacho wondered if any of your life wasn’t based around keeping him happy. Did you go to college? What was your favorite book? Do you have any hobbies?

The sobs lull down to sniffles he hears as he settles in the sofa to enjoy another sleepless night protecting Lalo’s wife. He fears he knows the answers, in your one word responses: no, no, and no.

A Moment with Jimmy

Jimmy is surprised that Lalo feels anything at all.

Him coming out of the courthouse, a free man, already had you in tears. Your face obscured by hair as you frantically got out of the passenger, only because Lalo opened the door, and threw yourself to his chest. Your arms were tight on him, like he was going to vanish at any second, and, despite the distance, he could hear small and whining sniffles. “Shhh, only some days not too bad huh?” he coos, petting her head before laying a loud cartoonish kiss on her head still buried in the florals of his loud button-up.

“So long, Lalo,” Jimmy could barely make out the muffled mumbles as Lalo pushed you by the shoulders. He had heard from Nacho that you weren’t necessary very expressive but when seen talking abt Lalo you tended to break. Often your conversations had to be initiated by someone else and often you only uttered soft one word responses: yes, no, or the occasional I don’t know. He never got a clear look at your face until now and he feels like he saw something he shouldn’t have just seeing your expressionless face all warped with tears. It lacked the perfect makeup you often had but you still looked so put together; no doubt luxurious treatments and products kept the flesh of your face so clear with the rich man rubbing at your biceps and kissing your forehead.

The big hoops he had seen replaced with little studs that looked like initials and your nightgown looked like a black sundress and fuzzy slippers showed your perfect, pedicured toes. He slams the passenger shut and opens the backseat for you, which you sniffle and scoot into immediately, like an instinct.

You were pliant and reacted to things like a reflex, as easy as blinking or breathing, you slip into the backseat and look out the window at him after settling into your seatbelt. Sheepish, wanton, and distraught. Jimmy had seen starving strays look less longingly at dangling meat.

“Thanks for making that trip for me, Mr. Goodman. You go home to enjoy your wife and me,” he grins a sly smile and winks, “I’ll enjoy mine. Buenos noches!” It’s a dark red shirt with a pattern on it that Jimmy can’t describe as Lalo slips into the passenger. He looks all warm and giddy, that soulless grayhaired bastard, and only looks back at you as his driver pulls off. It makes his stomach sink, watching you interact.

The deep eyes all wet with tears over a man with a kill count he wasn’t sure was under a hundred and you, who wouldn’t look at a man unless asked to. He recalls the face Kim made talking to you, your face all expressive out of nowhere and your hands twitching at the suggestion he would be away for five days. Your cold demeanor desperate with Lalo, your fidgety hands finding their purpose in pawing at him and clinging to him. It was like watching an animal documentary showing animals mated for life, like watching an addict beg for a fix.

Your deep eyes never acknowledged him, he notes again. Actually, your eyes never acknowledged anything but Lalo. The deep eyes skipping past the lamp lights, the bricks, and pretty bushes to a man that had him crawling through a desert and killed a civilian. The world was an accessory and Lalo was the main event for you.

When Jimmy gets home, he gurgles his mouthwash and wonders about Kim and her love. Years together and their relationship was natural like breathing and it was healthy, in most respects. But he wondered about the suffocation of a love like that and wondered if any part of the fixation and obsession was worth what he put you through.

Listerine meets the porcelain then vanishes into the drain.

A Moment that Matters

You can feel the weight of pity on you. The way people see him linger with you. It raises a question if too nosey, a brow if they are feeling expressive. Jimmy looked at you in disbelief, you felt the eyes on your back. Reduced to tears after some days apart because he was impulsive, because your husband was brutal and cruel and a murderer but he was your husband. That vow, way back when, meant something even if you didn’t want it to.

With Kim, she almost looked disgusted. That white lady feminist jargon that pitied you for this choice, the life you had as if there was any other option. What else was there? Sometimes, there is a vague feeling of anger toward Lalo. He never held to your father, he always insisted, it was because of Eladio or Hector or a bad mood, but it changes. You often brew on a quote your father said in passing, back to you as he washed corn cobs in the kitchen, saying: “Happiness is a choice.” Happiness is a choice. You could wither and weep the rest of your sad life as some maiden that required saving or you could be happy, you could be a happy wife in a big house with a husband who loves you. Everything else could be blurred between the lines. It didn’t need an explanation, it didn’t need Kim’s judgement or Jimmy’s face.

But Nacho. Nacho’s reaction to you left a lot to think about. Nacho always buckled to the demands of others; it was for his father’s safety you understood. It was that way for you too, but he’s a baby in the game. Not positive how young he is, but obviously he was many years your junior. The moment he saw Lalo’s cum in your mouth, your cooing into his side when he got home. He knew you waited by the door for him when his days at work were lengthy. It brings some shame, but not regret. Maybe embarrassment. His shock is what bothers you, as you dozed only a little as he talked of his girlfriends to Lalo. Sometimes they say no.

No? How do you say no? To your man? Your husband? The backbone of your joys and lifestyle; you wondered if it was the same. Kim carried herself in a way that didn’t require Mr. Goodman’s consent or permission. He didn’t loom over her. She was her own and a wife.

It didn’t make sense that Nacho’s girlfriends could say no and not feel their stomachs churn with shame at denying their man his most base pleasures. It would be inhuman. It wouldn’t be wifely. His shock is gone when he brings you home, replaced by the calm of acceptance. It makes your heart sink, for some reason. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing wrong with this, what you have, what you’ve nurtured and watered and accepted.

Happiness is a reflex, like blinking or breathing, when you weep into Lalo’s arms as he shushes you. Coos over you like a sad dog because you are one. You’re not his wife, you once heard him say some years back over a glass of his strongest beer and your little glass of juice (it keeps you youthful), you’re his pet.

What a good way to be; a spoiled pampered dog disciplined with a shock collar until happiness is a reflex. Listening is a reflex. Peace is a choice, you confirm in your head, curled into his side that night as he stares at the ceiling (he’s so handsome like this). This is a good choice road.

#nana writes #ask nana #nana writes bcs #lalo salamanca x reader #lalo salamanca x you #lalo x reader #lalo x you #eduardo salamanca x reader #eduardo salamanca x you

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corgoship · 1 year

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kim is the only unknown variable in plan and execution? what are you talking about? what about howard, who dies at the end?

Okay sorry this is embarrassing i mixed it up with point and shoot 💀 i don't have a defense other than i have only seen season 6 once and the titles are similar and i sort of merged them in my head. I could have gotten the hint with "execution" but. alas.

Okay, here's a new statement:

Everything I said was directed at Point and Shoot and i am boo boo the fool. NOW as for Plan and Execution! Also a great episode that holds a special place in my heart because I saw it along with P&S with my best friend in Canada in the summer last year. (Which is also why i viewed them as one).

P&E keeps you on the edge of your seat with the Kim and Jimmy plot to ruin Howie, and Lalo is also up to no good, you feel a sort of dread because you don't know how it's all going to come together. And it does at the end of the episode and it's AWESOME and then there's a cliffhanger and yeah - top tier television.

But... Ozzy still holds more tension to me, more devastating consequences. Because it goes off of the cliffhanger in To'hajiilee (like P&S continues from P&E). And everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, comes crashing down there! Walt, Jesse, Hank, Skyler, Marie, Flynn - everyone's lives just shatter in one fell swoop - and they managed to pack all of that into an episode so good it's currently ranked as the best of all time in television.

Better Call Saul has always had a slower tempo compared to Breaking Bad. And that's not a bad thing - it just means things develop slower. Which is in some ways better - some things have more time to sink in and you can feel the weight of them. Like the mcwexler breakup, which comes in Fun and Games, a whole entire episode after the climax! (I feel like for brba the "time to let it sink in" is Granite State btw).

That brings me back to Ozzy and how it's insane that to me that they pulled it off so well, pulling no punches. That kettle was ready to pop, and pop off it did, all at once, in a single episode, that is a turning point if the entire show.

I don't think combining the events of Plan and Execution, Point and Shoot, and Fun and Games into one episode would have been better than they are separately. By all means, Ozzy should feel overstuffed but it doesn't and it's this marvel of filmmaking (i guess the fact it starts during/after the shootout helps). I wholeheartedly believe it should have the first place.

Maybe I'm just biased because I DO prefer brba over bcs - I'll acknowledge that - but yeah, that's my reasoning. Also this is a personal gimmick but the way it ties to the actual poem Ozymandias is maybe one of my favourite things about brba.

(I realise I have neglected to mention Howie much. He's a character that I really do love, he grew on me after Chuck's death and he deserved better. Not in a storytelling way but as a person ;w; His death was a huge shock and the fact that they made fans wait 3 months for a follow up was insane. Bless.)

#I'M SO SORRY I GOT IT WRONG I SHOULD HAVE PAID MORE ATTENTION (and actually read the labels)#but thanks for the ask because!!! i don't get asks often!! so please yell at me more often!!#better call saul spoilers #breaking bad spoilers #brba #bcs #i am boo boo the fool

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ilyamatic · 4 years

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Echoes Day 10: Cuisine

I am skipping a few days in the @arcana-echoes because this right here? This is what I was made for. I love food and all my OCs do too so let's jump right in shall we?

Ayitian food is based off of Haitian food, so you are going to see a lot of seafood, bold flavors, and quite a bit of French influence. Not to mention it is going to be spicy. They say that every Ayitian is born with a scotch bonnet pepper in their mouths. So if they offer you food, tread lightly.

Some dishes that my OCs grew up with:

Pate: Pate are a puff pastry with savory fillings. They are often filled with ground beef, shredded chicken, mori [moe-ree] (bacalao/dried salted cod), or aranso [ah-rahn-sew](smoked herring). Andrico and Jai prefers the beef, while Jasna prefers mori. Andrés and Marie-Carmel will fight over the chicken ones but everyone agrees that aranso is the best flavor hands down

Banan peze: these flatted, fried slices of plantain are often served with meals. They can be found with fritay (fried foods) or with something saucy. They can also just be eaten as a snack. Banan peze can be either savory or sweet, depending on the ripeness of the plantain.

Diri ak djon djon: It is rice flavored with a black mushroom native to the island. Its dark color is achieved by soaking the mushrooms and then cooking the rice in the strained liquid. It is a bit labor intensive so it is often seen on the weekends, holidays, or special events. It is Andrés' favorite and adores it when it is cooked with tritri (dried baby shrimp).

Legume: Jasna's comfort food of choice, legume is stewed eggplant and other vegetables often cooked with meat or crab. It is often served with red beans and rice or over white rice with sois pwa (pureed bean sauce). Hearty and filling, it is the perfect dish after a particularly hard day.

Soup joumou: a New Year's staple. Made with a pumpkin native to the area, soup joumou is a dish that symbolizes victory. Due to its ingredients, it was a dish reserved for the ruling Augustine family. But once the island was free of their rule on New Year's day, it became available to everyone. So on the first day of the year, every Ayitian everywhere is having a bowl. There is much debate amongst the friends on who makes the best but everyone knows its Marie-Carmel.

Lalo: Lalo is a dish made with jute leaves, meat, and crab. Much like legume, the ingredients are stewed together until they are tender and flavorful. The jute leaves can be temperamental and can be slimy with cooked improperly so it is not a dish one would see often. Jai could eat buckets of it when done right.

Poisson gwo sel: Named after the rock salt often used to season the fish, poisson gwo sel is baked whole snapper. It is often baked with other aromatics that further flavor the fish on top of the salt, pepper, garlic, and parsley. While she makes the best soup joumou, poisson gwo sel is her favorite.

Poul ak nwa: Stewed chicken with cashews. There are hardly words that can describe it. Juicy, flavorful chicken. Crunchy yet creamy cashews. Serve it on a bed of white rice with a side of sois pwa and these Ayitian will love you forever.

Akra: Oh, akra. The delicious fried taro fritter that hardly anyone gets right. Perfected it is crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside with the right amount of spice. Andrico has gotten close and they hardly stay on the table when his friends are around.

Tassot kabrit: The one dish Andrico would refuse to share with anyone. Tassot kabrit are goat chunks marinated in sour orange juice and spices before being fried. It is juicy and salty and everything you need after too many nips of rum. Often served with banan peze and a spicy relish called pikliz.

Other common foods include:

Bread (Haitian style)

Hot chocolate (Haitian style)

Red beans and rice

Boiled plantains

Bouyon (soup made with greens, veggies, meat)

Griot (fried pork chunks)

Mais moulin (Haitian style polenta)

Fruits (mangos, soursop, papaya, coconuts, oranges, etc.)

#now im hungry #the arcana #fan apprentice #the arcana mc #arcana eotp #andrico the soft chaos boy #jasna the reluctant magician #jai the rebel #andrés the chosen one #marie carmel the runaway

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Best TV Episodes of 2020

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Sometimes it feels like there’s not much of a distinction left between “television” and everything else. As major media conglomerates hold investor presentations in which they present their upcoming streaming wares as “multiple-hour movies,” how is a beleaguered television fanbase supposed to distinguish TV shows from the dreaded, amorphous concept of “content”?

By episodes, of course! Episodes are one of the last remaining hallmarks of what makes the entity known as television distinct. Though we largely watch all our entertainment on the same kinds of screens nowadays, it’s television that lays claim to distinct episodes and distinct seasons as part of their larger gestalt. The Best TV Shows of 2020 deserve our commendation (and they will receive it very soon), but so too these smaller stories and pieces within them. The Best TV Episodes of 2020 are just as important to our appreciation of the medium and its long-term health.

Gathered here are 25 of Den of Geek’s favorite episodes of television in 2020. Voted on by our contributors, and arranged in alphabetical order, these are the half-hours, hours, and more that inspired and thrilled us in this most challenging year.

Better Call Saul – “Bagman”

In a season packed with memorable moments and 5-star episodes, Better Call Saul’s “Bagman” takes the cake as season 5’s finest hour and one of the absolute best episodes of television of 2020. Directly recalling Breaking Bad’s season 2 highlight “Four Days Out,” returning director and Breaking Bad auteur Vince Gilligan pulls out his old playbook and pumps “Bagman” up with high-octane shootouts, tense face-to-face showdowns, and his penchant for dark comedy.

As notable as it is to restage and one-up “Four Days Out,” “Bagman” also finally bridges the gap between Jimmy McGill’s new “friend of the cartel” world and that of his straight and narrow girlfriend Kim’s, a moment Better Call Saul fans have been anticipating and dreading with equal measure. Seeing Kim interact with Lalo, perhaps the best villain yet in the Breaking Bad/BCS universe, is a trip. Between Lalo’s cackling over the news of the burnt down Los Pollos Hermanos, surprise at Kim being “Mrs. Goodman,” and his lack of concern for “la cucaracha,” Lalo is a pure delight, even when he’s being stomach-churningly awful.

A desert twist on The Sopranos’ “Pine Barrens,” “Bagman” is a thrilling, highly consequential installment that is as equally introspective as it is explosive. I tend to bristle at episodes that so clearly ape Breaking Bad’s style and rhythms, but with Vince Gilligan at the helm, “Bagman” is purely undeniable. This is the moment that the show’s separate storylines began collapsing in on each other and truly feels like the beginning of the end for Better Call Saul.

– Nick Harley

BoJack Horseman – “The View From Halfway Down”

BoJack Horseman was never going to actually kill off its titular horseman. Though the depressive former ‘90s sitcom actor had been courting death for much of the series with addictions to booze, pills, and self-loathing, the show was always destined to end with him giving things another shot – again and again and again. That’s the point. It never ends. You’re stuck with yourself, flaws and all, and you’ve just gotta keep trying. BoJack indeed gets his umpteenth chance to start over in the series elegiac series finale, “Nice While It Lasted.” Before that, however, the show’s penultimate episode gets to vividly imagine what the end would look like for BoJack Horseman, and it makes for one of the series’ best episodes ever.

“The View From Halfway Down” picks up with BoJack drunk and at the bottom of a pool, slowly drowning. Meanwhile his consciousness takes a trip to a gaudy mansion where he enjoys dinner and a show with all the dead people he knows. Sarah Lynn, Corduroy, Crackerjack, Herb Kazzaz, and Beatrice are all there to enjoy their last meals (a single lemon for Corduroy, hospital food for Beatrice, and a pile of pills for BoJack) and then have one final sendoff before entering the infinite. This is where BoJack’s father, Butterscotch (incognito as BoJack’s hero Secretariat) turns up and delivers one of the most startling, affecting poems in TV history: “The View From Halfway Down.”

Near-death experience episodes are not uncommon on television (none other than The Sopranos may have had the definitive version with season 6’s “Join the Club”) but “The View From Halfway Down” somehow injects life (or rather dripping sludge of black death) into the stale concept. This might not be the final episode of BoJack Horseman, but it’s likely to be the one most people remember. It’s a discomfiting exploration of ego death…and death-death.

– Alec Bojalad

The Boys – “What I Know”

The Boys season 2 had its ups and downs, and a couple of episodes early on felt very low on action, but in the end, Amazon’s ultraviolent hit series managed to build towards a sophomore season finale that was so goddamn satisfying it felt almost illegal.

In “What I Know”, Karl Urban’s Bill Butcher finally faces off against Homelander and escapes with his life, while paying a devastating price. Hughie finds a way to drag himself up from a pit of despair and start a real relationship with Starlight. Kimiko and Frenchie get closer by working through their trauma together. Mother’s Milk is reunited with his family. And Stormfront? Well, that Nazi bitch gets what she deserved.

In fact, “What I Know” wrapped up most of The Boys’ ongoing plotlines so tidily you’d be forgiven for thinking that the action-packed episode was a series finale, not a season finale. Of course, The Boys had one final twist in store, but even if “What I Know” had been the last we’d seen of the show, it would have been just about enough to keep any anguish at bay. TV writers should study “What I Know” for future reference, cuz that’s how you do a season finale.

– Kirsten Howard

Dark – “Life and Death”

Since Dark knew that it was ending in its third season, there were plenty of mind-blowing episodes leading to a very poignant finale, but one episode that stood out was episode 305, “Life and Death.” This was not an episode that directly explored the deeper time travel mythology of the show nor did it feature the characters that were normally center stage. Instead, it shocked us with two acts of brutality by minor characters.

One involved the discoveries of Katharina, the much maligned wife, daughter, and mother who conducted a solo journey through time in search of her husband, Ulrich. The violence between Katharina and her mother provides surprising insights despite its unexpectedness. Meanwhile, another brutal act in the apocalypse of 2020 sheds light on how young Elisabeth evolved into a hardened warrior of the future.

– Michael Ahr

Dave – “Hype Man”

FX’s Dave was a bit of an odd duck from the get-go. Developed by and starring real life rapper Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd, Dave sought to encapsulate the strange contradictions of its title character. Dave is a comedy rapper…but he’s also kind of sincere? Dave is probably kidding about his malformed penis and all the trauma it’s caused him…but he’s also not? Dave is Lil Dickey…but he’s really just Dave? It was a tall order for a novice storyteller to work through, even with the help of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Jeff Shaffer as showrunner.

But roughly halfway through its 10 episode-run, Dave…and Dave figure themselves out and start to string together a series of truly quality episodes. The turn starts with “Hype Man,” the show’s fifth installment and perhaps its best. “Hype Man” follows Lil Dicky’s real life (and also fictional) friend GaTa. After Dave makes the decision to install GaTa as his hype man, viewers are entreated to bits of GaTa’s past where his untreated bipolar disorder leads to public disruptions and even a heartbreaking moment with his mother while tied to a hospital bed. In the present, GaTa can’t quite figure his new dosage of meds out and it leads to a decidedly less-than-hyped hype man.

That’s when GaTa reveals his diagnosis to his new friends. As the tears stream down GaTa’s face and as his new crew gracefully accepts him, just as he is, it’s clear that it’s a cathartic moment for all involved that goes well beyond just the confines of television.

– Alec Bojalad

Devs – “Episode 8”

Perhaps no show in 2020 was as beguiling or intriguing as sci-fi maestro Alex Garland’s first TV effort Devs. From its first episode which featured a mysterious murder and the introduction of an awe-inspiring machine, Devs promised a truculent sci-fi television experience. Of course, as is often the case with these things, the impact of the show hinged on how it chose to wrap up the story of Amaya’s secretive Devs program.

That ending, in “Episode 8”, succeeds because it knows the precisely correct ratio of answers to non-answers it needs to provide. This finale deftly articulates the show’s vision of determinism and leaves open the question of just how much of our fate resides in our own hands. It’s also downright Biblical at times with striking imagery, allusions to Christ, and even something resembling an afterlife.

Above all else, it provides one of the most charming bits of title trickery on television this year. “I’ll tell you a secret, Lily,” Forest (Nick Offerman) says to his fated counterpart. “I’ve been wanting to tell someone for awhile. The name of the project is not Devs. The ‘v’ is Roman…so actually a ‘u’.” Deus. Lily can only laugh – another tech CEO who thinks he’s God. It’s just that…this one happens to be right.

– Alec Bojalad

Doctor Who – “The Haunting of Villa Diodati”

“The Haunting of Villa Diodati” isn’t the only example of Doctor Who taking on the haunted house genre, but it may be its best. In this season 12 episode, the science fiction series pays homage to the arguable birthplace of the sci-fi genre: the Swiss villa where Mary Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein. There, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her fam meet Mary, baby William, Lord Byron, John Polidori, Claire Clairmont, valet Fletcher, and a missing Percy Shelley. With such a large guest cast, you’d think it would be hard to get three Companions in on the action, but first-time Doctor Who scriptwriter Maxine Alderton manages to do so, making good use of Ryan (Tosin Cole), Graham (Bradley Walsh), and Yaz (Mandip Gillip) especially, as the group gets split up while investigating the very real ghosts that seem to be haunting the villa.

With its literary in-jokes and honest-to-goodness scares, “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” would have easily been one of the highlights of season 12 if it was simply a standalone mystery. That it all ends with a third-act Cybermen twist that ties the episode to Doctor Who legacy and kickstarts the high-stakes, season-ending plot raises this installment from “good” to “great.”

– Kayti Burt

The Good Place – “Whenever You’re Ready”

Between BoJack Horseman’s “The View From Halfway Down” and The Good Place’s series finale, “Whenever You’re Ready,” it was a banner year for half-hour comedies addressing cosmic oblivion in 2020. While BoJack’s exploration of death is dark and spooky, The Good Place’s interpretation is one almost of celebration – a reward for a life, and many afterlives well-lived.

However one feels about The Good Place series finale, it’s hard to argue that the concept at its core isn’t ingenious. Our human protagonists Eleanor, Chidi, Jason, and Tahani, alongside their otherworldly friends Michael and Janet, spend almost a literal eternity grappling with the inequity of the afterlife’s rewards system. Then, in the final stretch of the show’s last season, the gang fixes the system once and for all and arrives at the actual Good Place. There’s only one problem: the occupants of The Good Place are shambling emotionless zombies whose dopamine receptors have been reduced to mush from eons of wish fulfillment and immediate satisfaction. That’s when Eleanor and Michael realize the afterlife’s missing piece: death.

This is not only a fascinating philosophical concept but it sets up a finale filled with goodbyes that all these characters so richly deserve. One by one our heroes decide when they’re ready, and then step through a door to enter the unknown. And of course it all culminates in what might be the best sitcom sign-offs ever from Ted Danson’s Michael: “I’ll say this to you, my friend, with all the love in my heart and all the wisdom of the universe: Take it sleazy.”

– Alec Bojalad

The Haunting of Bly Manor – “The Altar of the Dead”

Perhaps the only thing harder than pulling off an honest-to-goodness serialized horror TV show is doing so twice. But that’s exactly what Mike Flanagan was able to pull off this year with his Netflix followup to The Haunting of Hill House. Like Hill House before it, Bly Manor is based on the works of a classic ghost story writer, in this case Henry James. Unlike Hill House, however, Bly Manor takes a few episodes to really find its rhythm.

Once it does, though, there’s virtually no stopping it. And it’s all thanks to midseason installment “The Altar of the Dead.” It’s clear from moment one that something is off with Bly Manor’s housekeeper Hannah Grose (T’Nia Miller). This is the episode that finally begins to fill in some of the blanks in her story, and subsequently the story of the rest of the house. Much like Billy Pilgrim before her, Miss Grose has become unstuck in time. As Hannah jumps back and forth between her history at Bly Manor, the sinister nature of the property becomes clear. Through Grose’s eyes, we’re treated to the courtship of Rebecca Jessel and Peter Quint. Then we’re taken through all the way to Peter Quint’s death, subsequent possession of Miles, and Hannah’s eventual murder.

It’s not just that “The Altar of the Dead” clarifies the plot of The Haunting of Bly Manor so much that it damn near reveals all of it. And the show is all the better for it. Every episode after “Altar” is able to move forward with a confidence and assuredness that can come only after a masterfully executed setup. It’s all perfectly splendid.

– Alec Bojalad

How To with John Wilson – “How To Cook the Perfect Risotto”

How To With John Wilson’s charms come from the ways that the titular socially awkward documentarian highlights the surreal, funny, perplexing little moments that so frequently occur in public spaces. However, that surreality is turned up to 11 in “How to Cook the Perfect Risotto” as we watch the coronavirus pandemic slowly transform New York City from a bustling, odd metropolis full of characters that are more than willing to invite a complete stranger into their home for a cooking lesson, into a quiet ghost town filmed from the safety of Wilson’s apartment.

Wilson attempts to make his elderly landlord the perfect risotto as a way of thanking her for her kindness, which includes doing Wilson’s laundry, watching Jeopardy with him and delivering him delicious meals. Simultaneously as he’s trying to quit smoking, Wilson is comically frustrated by the endless variables that cause his risotto to not quite live up to his lofty expectations. As he tries to improve his cooking and keep his sanity during nicotine withdrawal, COVID-19 hits the city and causes Wilson’s perspective to completely change. It’s relatable, poignant stuff that sneaks up on you and offers a look at what life has been like in this pandemic in a way that no other piece of art has yet to capture.

– Nick Harley

I May Destroy You – “Ego Death”

‘Ego Death’ was a transcendent half hour. The conclusion to Michaela Coel’s autobiographically inspired drama about surviving sexual assault, it was as probing and inventive as the rest of I May Destroy You.

In the episode, Coel offered viewers three alternative endings. Her character Bella played out fantasy confrontations with the man who, a year earlier, had drugged and attacked her. One is a kickass heist riffing on movie sisterhood and rape revenge. Another is an anti-climax that offers scant closure. Another is gentle, romantic and utterly disorienting. Allowing for multiple interpretations and perspectives, they all happened, and none of them happened.

The climax comes with Bella’s realization that her trauma wouldn’t leave her unless she made it leave. The finale ends with a growing garden, a book reading and an inhalation of breath. With dogged commitment to honesty and no easy answers, it achieved in 30 minutes what some dramas struggle to say in a whole season.

– Louisa Mellor

Killing Eve – “Are You From Pinner?”

Killing Eve has been celebrated for its depiction of the cat and mouse game between its star characters Eve, the former MI6 agent played by Sandra Oh, and Villanelle, the assassin played by Jodie Comer who shares with Eve a mutual obsession. Season 3 experimented with different points of view and delved deeper into the mystery of The Twelve, but it was the backstory of Villanelle (formerly Oksana) in episode 5, “Are You from Pinner?” which really showcased Comer’s depth and the character’s complexity.

The beauty of the episode was the way it lulled the audience into a sense of comfort. Here was Oksana’s long lost family, and they seemed to be happy, fun-loving people who might even welcome their damaged prodigal daughter home. However, even after a joyous carnival, it becomes clear that her mother’s abandonment hides a deeper secret, and the resulting violence and moments of mercy heighten sympathy for the assassin like no episode before or since.

– Michael Ahr

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts – “Real Cats Wear Plaid”

That title alone would earn this episode a spot on the list but its story is even better! “Real Cats Wear Plaid” is the perfect combination of everything that makes Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts so unique and wonderful. There are giant cats who not only wear plaid, they carry axes, have giant yarn balls in their trees, sing ramblin’ folk songs, and love eating pancakes. Kipo has to find their leader named Yumyan Hammerpaw, whose namesake song is easily one of the best in the series, to get the cats’ help.

Watching Kipo not only break her friends free from the cats but slowly win over their trust gives us a good look at how she’ll overcome a lot of obstacles throughout the series. She doesn’t go with the simple solution; she uses her brain and her desire to make friends to win the day. Throw in some absolutely gorgeous visuals and you’ve got a warm, comforting, and totally unique piece of television that only this show could pull off. It’ll make a die-hard Kipo fan out of you, guaranteed.

– Shamus Kelley

Legends of Tomorrow – “The One Where We’re Trapped on TV”

“The One Where We’re Trapped on TV” was the high point of a season full of them for Legends of Tomorrow, showcasing everything this series is capable of. We got three note-perfect parodies of shows – Star Trek, Friends, and the funniest one, Downton Abbey – with wildly divergent tones; A+ workplace comedy and lightning fast plot propulsion; and a cast (especially Caity Lotz and Dominic Purcell summarizing and savaging The Wrath of Khan in 35 seconds, and Matt Ryan beautifully jamming parodies of four different Downton characters into one bit) visibly having the time of their lives. All of that was mixed in with serious, genuine, character growth and emotion.

It’s amazing that Legends went from a forgettable side jaunt in the Arrowverse to a stoner workplace time travel sitcom that culminated one season with a Voltron Tickle Me Elmo. Even more amazing is that Season 5 actually topped it, and “The One Where We’re Trapped on TV” was this season’s peak.

– Jim Dandy

Lovecraft Country – “Sundown”

Lovecraft Country was television’s most ambitious show in 2020. Playing with horror and science fiction tropes while mixing in history lessons and comparing the racism in 1950s American with the civil unrest of today, Lovecraft Country took bigger swings than Jackie Robinson clobbering an alien with his Louisville Slugger. Not every episode or moment of Lovecraft Country was successful, but premiere episode “Sundown” is one of the most self-assured, confident debuts of a series in recent memory, a mission statement that establishes characters and blazes through plot points that most shows would have spent a season laboring over.

Our hero Atticus “Tic” Freeman (Jonathan Majors) returns to Chicago to reunite with his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and old crush Leti Lewis (Jurnee Smollett) to go off in search of his missing father Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams) in Ardham, Massachusetts, a location similar to Arkham, which is prevalent in the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, the favorite author of both Tic and Montrose. In Ardham, the gang find horrors both fictional and painfully real. The hour-long episode feels like a miniature movie. Its best moment is a montage of the trio traveling through segregated America set to a James Baldwin monologue. It’s little touches like that that makes Lovecraft Country so unique, gripping, and grounded even with all of the supernatural elements on display.

– Nick Harley

The Mandalorian – “The Jedi”

Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian was an unexpected midseason payoff for everyone wondering if the story of Din Djarin and “Baby Yoda” would pootle along for a good while longer without answering many questions or tying their adventure into any past Star Wars mythology. This installment threw one game-changing piece of info after another at viewers.

We learned that the adorable green sprog had an actual name (Grogu), that he had been suffering from PTSD so severe that he mentally blocked out a lot of his past before being rescued by Mando, and that he would need to seek out a Jedi to train him to walk the path he might be destined for. Ah, and we also got to meet the live-action version of Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson in a very deliberate and self-assured way. After we spent a few minutes with Ahsoka, it was clear that Lucasfilm still had bigger plans for her character beyond The Mandalorian.

Putting aside the many other wonderful Western and samurai influences visually blessing “The Jedi”, the episode formed an important step toward a very different version of Grogu who may develop in future seasons, and as Tano infers, we might not like who he becomes if the darkness creeps in, which only strengthens the bond between Din and The Child, and our investment in the story itself.

– Kirsten Howard

Mythic Quest – “A Dark Quiet Death”

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet was one of 2020’s most pleasant surprises. Apple TV+’s comedy about a videogame studio running a successful MMORPG, worked for all the reasons one might assume. The core showrunning team of Rob McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and David Hornsby (all of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) had a solid handle on the show’s concept and characters, and they also clearly did their research on the videogame industry.

Still, in addition to all of that “expected” stuff, Mythic Quest excels in pulling off concepts that viewers might not anticipate from a nine-episode, half-hour sitcom. The ultimate example is “A Dark Quiet Death,” a fascinating installment of television that falls halfway through the show’s first season. “A Dark Quiet Death” completely abandons the show’s main plotline and takes viewers back to the ‘90s where two game developers, played by Jake Johnson and Christin Milioti, meet, fall in love, and decide to build something together.

Soon, however, the two designers are confronted with questions about commerce vs. art and must figure out how many compromises they’re willing to make. In the process they lose themselves, each other, and the art itself. Mythic Quest eventually brings things back tenuously to the present to reveal that Ian Grimm and the Mythic Quest team now occupy the warehouse studio space they once did. Refreshingly there isn’t much of a lesson to be learned from this adjournment other than: all of this is very hard and you’ll want someone by your side to help…but even that’s pretty hard too.

– Alec Bojalad

Outlander – “The Ballad of Roger Mac”

Outlander season 5’s long-awaited battle between the Regulators and Governor Tryon’s militia delivered the sudden and gut-punching loss of one of its fan-favorite characters, Duncan Lacroix’s Murtagh, and also did the impossible in the same episode – made viewers genuinely invested in whether the guitar-strumming Roger Mackenzie lived or died. Even if his past behavior hadn’t covered him in glory, no one wanted to see Bree’s beau go out at the noose-end of a redcoat’s rope.

But the real heart of the episode was the final scenes between Sam Heughan’s character, Jamie Fraser, who didn’t have much time to celebrate his 50th birthday, and his father figure Murtugh, a stubborn-but-loyal man that had saved him countless times since birth, as he unexpectedly passed the patriarchal torch on once and for all. As Jamie fell apart during “The Ballad of Roger Mac” so did we, and a standout episode in Outlander’s middling fifth season was forever etched on our memory.

– Kirsten Howard

Pen15 – “Opening Night”

At its core, Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’s brilliant coming-of-age comedy Pen15 is all about capturing feelings. This show, featuring Erskine and Konkle deftly embodying their middle school selves (all the while surrounded by actual middle schoolers), understands the feeling of your crush smiling at you, or the best sleepover ever, or the summer of infinite possibilities. Its season two finale “Opening Night,” is perhaps the best example of what the show does so well yet.

Much of “Opening Night” takes place after opening night of the school play, where Maya was the star and Anna was the tech queen. The girls and their families retire to a perfectly acceptable local Italian restaurant where Maya and Anna live out the copacabana scene from Goodfellas and just generally feel on top of the world.

Of course, in adolescence, nothing gold can stay. While “Opening Night” captures the thrill of a “best night ever” it also subtly, devastatingly presents Anna having to deal with the reality of her parents’ incoming divorce and Maya being rejected by a boy once again. Pen15 draws much of its comedy from the novelty of its core duo experiencing every new life event as the Biggest Deal Ever (™). “Opening Night” proves that that’s where the show draws its pathos from as well.

– Alec Bojalad

The Queen’s Gambit – “End Game”

For being one of the best shows of 2020, not much happens in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit that could be considered surprising. True to Scott Frank’s limited series sports movie (or bildungsroman) format, chess prodigy Beth Harmon displays preternatural talent, suffers some setbacks, and then comes out on top again. What makes the show excellent, however, is in its execution of that formula.

Nowhere is the show’s execution more acute and satisfying than it is in the finale, “End Game.” This final hour finds Beth finally heading to Moscow to take on her only real rival one final time. The outcome is never really in doubt, but the journey is a supremely satisfying one. There are no shortage of fist-pumping moments, from Beth winning the admiration of her chess idol, to all her friends jumping on the phone to pre-game her final match. It’s the final coda that lingers most pleasantly though. Now on top of the chess world, Beth heads outside to find several Russian citizens playing some exhibition matches. The challenge is over, the day is won, and now all that’s left to do is to keep playing. Not for anyone else but herself.

– Alec Bojalad

Schitt’s Creek – “The Presidential Suite”

The sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek had a lot of loose ends to tie. The saga of the Rose family, who lost everything but the town Johnny Rose bought for a joke took us on a redemptive journey, not just for them but for town as a whole. It would be easy for the sake of this list, then, to select “Happy Ending” the glorious, hyperbolic finale which includes David and Patrick’s wedding and Moira’s greatest ensemble yet as the best ep. Instead though, it’s this lower key episode from season we choose to celebrate for it’s pitch perfect mix of hope, humor and humanity. This is Alexis and Ted’s episode. While David and Patrick’s romance and nuptials dominate the later series of the show, in “The Presidential Suite” we see Alexis and Ted’s relationship come to a close.

Ted has been offered his dream job in the Galapagos Islands. Alexis’s career as a publicist is starting to take off. He’s travelled back to spend a long weekend with her but his plans got derailed due to some dodgy airline milk. So now the two have just one evening together, and it turns out it’ll be spent saying goodbye. In possibly the most devastating scene in the whole show the two have a private dinner at the Cafe Tropical, where they reflect on how the relationship has helped them both grow. It’s understated, it’s grown up and it’s deeply moving, with gravitas given to characters who are generally speaking not taken very seriously. It’s perfect. Elsewhere in the ep, the second Rosebud motel is almost ready to open and the Roses and the Schitts are competing to christen the best room for the night, while Patrick’s spray tan results in photographic hilarity. There are plenty of great gags – Patrick’s face being one of them – but “Presidential Suite” belongs to Alexis and Ted.

– Rosie Fletcher

Solar Opposites – “Terry and Korvo Steal a Bear”

“Terry and Korvo Steal a Bear” deserves a spot on our best-of list due to title trickery alone. The synopsis of Solar Opposites season 1’s penultimate episode reads “Terry, Korvo, Yumyulack, and Jesse team up to steal a bear from the zoo” but of course: precisely none of this happens. In reality Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan’s excellent animated comedy for Hulu plays a truly wonderful sleight of hand.

The entirety of this episode takes place inside young alien Jesse’s bedroom terrarium where she has imprisoned dozens of shrunken human beings. The show picks up with the goings on “inside the wall” several times throughout the season, but this episode devotes the entirety of its running time to the stories of Tim, Cherie, and all the other people inside this shockingly complex political ecosystem.

Perhaps the best thing any installment of television can do is to make us care deeply about something that we weren’t even aware of to begin with. And that’s the real strength of “Terry and Korvo Steal a Bear.” Though all of this is happening on a truly small scale, it’s hard not to get swept up in the drama of Tim’s fight against The Duke or perhaps even shed some tears at the loss of a very sweet mouse named Molly.

– Alec Bojalad

Ted Lasso – “The Hope That Kills You”

Any sports fan can tell you that it is indeed “the hope that kills you”. Hope is one of the most dangerous things to have in any endeavor you truly care about. After all, how can expectations lead to anything other than disappointment? Defying expectations, however, is Apple TV+’s sports comedy, Ted Lasso, which builds up a lot of hope through its first nine episodes, and then delivers on that hope in a truly satisfying way for the finale.

The Jason Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence-produced Ted Lasso has the sports movie beats down pat. American football coach Ted Lasso gets an English football coaching job through some truly ridiculous circumstances. His team, AFC Richmond, naturally struggles on the pitch but begin to flourish off of it thanks to the relentless optimism of their new gaffer. This remarkable finale is where the rubber finally meets the road. Can AFC Richmond win one game to avoid relegation and fulfill their coach’s hope in them? The answer, somewhat surprisingly, is no.

But the real accomplishment of “The Hope That Kills You” is that it finds hope and victory in defeat all the same.

– Alec Bojalad

The Umbrella Academy – “743”

The penultimate episode of The Umbrella Academy’s second season provided a hefty amount of buildup for the finale, but it was also distinguished by several major reveals and sacrifices, some of which have yet to be fully realized. In the space of a single episode, the apocalypse is averted (again), Hargreeves reveals his true nature (sort of), and the time travel cops of the Commission prepare for a war that perfectly sets up the finale.

The most poignant sacrifice is made by Ben as he explores the depths of Vanya’s mind to keep her from using her powers to start a third world war, but he was technically already dead and has taken a new form of sorts by the end of the season. But other sacrifices put this episode over the top, including the inevitable death of Kennedy and the destruction of the briefcase that could have taken Five and his family home.

– Michael Ahr

What We Do in the Shadows – “On the Run”

Imagine getting none other than Mark Hamill to guest star as a white-haired vampire named Jim upset about a rental agreement on your show. And then imagine not pursuing that rich vein of comedy in favor of having one of your other vampire characters don a “human” disguise and then hit the road merely to avoid paying off some bed and breakfast debts. Well you don’t have to imagine such a scenario if you’re the folks behind FX’s hilarious and brilliant What We Do in the Shadows. This TV adaptation of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s classic mockumentary film remained as bold and experimental as ever in its second season. Nowhere was it bolder, however, than in the instantly iconic “On the Run.”

“On the Run” exploits one of the tried and true rules of comedic storytelling on television: give Matt Berry the ball and let him cook like LeBron James. Berry has the time of his life in this half hour as Laszlo flees his Staten Island home and heads into hiding in Pennsylvania as Jackie Daytona, normal human bartender. It’s just remarkable to watch Laszl…we mean Jackie Daytona have the time of his life as a pillar of the community and major booster of the local girls high school volleyball team. Of course, the piece de resistance, is everyone’s shocking inability to recognize him as an undead bloodsucker. Even Hamill’s Jim the Vampire doesn’t recognize his foe until Laszlo pulls the signature Jackie Daytona toothpick out of his mouth.

“On the Run” may be pound for pound the funniest episode of television to air this year and all we normal humans are better for having experienced it.

– Alec Bojalad

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ronalyncambelizaesperanza-blog · 6 years

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Friendship to Relationship

Tama ba na ma in love ka sa kaibigan mo? Ang kaibigan ba ay pweding mapunta sa magka-ibigan? Sa pagkakaibigan nagsisimula ang lahat, siya yong taong handang pasayahin ka kapag may problema ka, siya yong taong handang dumamay at makinig sayo kapag kailangan mo ng masasandalan. Alam niyo ang ugali ng isa't isa, alam niyo ang lahat ng nangyayari sa buhay ng isa't isa, pero ang tanong alam din ba niya ang tunay mong nararamdaman para sakanya? Hi! Ako nga pala si Catherine, but my friends call me Cathy. Kilala ako bilang isang babaeng responsible, No Boyfriend Since Birth at priority ang pag-aaral. Simpleng babae lang ako, hindi marunong gumamit ng pangkilay, mas komportable ako kung liptint ang gamit ko, at kunting pulbo lang ayos na. isa sa pinakagusto kong makamit sa buhay ay makapagtapos ng pag-aaral para matulungan ko ang pamilya ko. Since elementary honor student ako, takot magka-boyfriend at sagabal lang iyon. I'm grade 7 student noong nagkaroon ako ng mga lalaking kaibigan, super close ako sakanila. Dumating na din sa puntong nagseselos na yong classmate ko dahil palagi ko daw kasama yong boyfriend niya, wala naman dapat siyang ikaselos dahil ako at si Carlo ay magkaibigan lang at hanggang doon lang yun. Sa lahat ng lalaking kaibigan ko si Carlo lagi ang umiintindi saakin, lagi siyang nandyan sa tuwing kailangan ko ng masasandalan, sa tuwing may problema ako siya lagi ang nandyan para makinig at payuhan ako. Masayahin si Carlo siya ang nagsisilbing clown ko sa mga panahong malungkot ako. Hanggang si Carlo at ang kanyang girlfriend ay naghiwalay dahil sa di nila pagkakaintindihan. Ako bilang kaibigan ni Carlo, lagi akong nasa tabi niya para i-comfort siya, laging pinapaalala na malalagpasan din niya at magpakatatag siya. Carlo survive his heartbreak. Isang araw habang kasama ang buong tropa sinabi niya na may nagugustuhan na siyang babae at tropa din namin, si Marie. Marie is my best friend since elementary, we are the same No Boyfriend Since Birth kaya naman basted agad si Carlo. Simula noon ako nalang ang kinakausap ni Carlo, kami lagi ang magkasama, mas lalong naging sweet si Carlo saakin, mas naging maalaga syempre diko nilagyan yun ng meaning kasi imposibleng magkagusto siya saakin lalo na't parang magkapatid na ang turingan namin. Makalipas ang ilang buwan, I'm In love to the Guy that I've Never Dream na maging crush ko, dahil alam ko naman sa sarili ko na mag best friend lang kami at malabong magkagusto din siya saakin dahil hindi naman ako yung mga tipo niya sa babae. Sa tuwing paparating siya nakakaramdam ako ng excitement, sa tuwing wala naman siya lagi ko siyang hinahanap, ito ba ay sinyales na I'm In love with My Best Friend??? At oo nga, in love ako sa best friend ko. Diko muna inamin sakanya dahil takot akong ma-reject at baka ito ang maging dahilan ng pag-iwas niya. Nagpatuloy ang samahan namin, laging magkasama, nagtatawanan, at nagkukulitan. Minsan ko na ring binalak aminin sakanya dahil sobrang hirap itago yung feelings lalo na't lagi ko siyang kasama, pero nabigo ako. Isang araw niyaya niya akong lumabas, diko inasahan na yung araw na yun ay ang araw na aamin siya ng tunay niyang nararamdaman para saakin. May gusto siya saakin, oo in love din siya! Tinanong niya ao kung pwedi niya akong ligawan syempre pumayag ako at inamin kona din sakanya na I'm fallin' in love with him. Makalipas ang isa't kalahating buwan ng panliligaw niya ay sinagot ko siya. Naging masaya ang relasyon namin, naging matatag kami, at legal kami both side. "Hindi masama ma-in love sa best friend, kasi diba masasabi mo lang na mahal mo ang isang tao kapag kilalang-kilala mo na siya? Eh sa pagiging mag BEST FRIEND lang naman nakikita ang tunay na ugali."

T�

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the1997diaries · 6 years

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100 Facts About Me

I don’t really know why I wrote this one on Christmas eve but I just want to share these bits and pieces of me with you guys cos why not? Hehehehehe. Am I being too vain now? Btw have a very Merry Christmas to all. Hope you’re all doing good and having a good time.

My real name is Marie Grace Q. Jolo.

I was born on the 29th of August, year 1997.

Currently taking up Business Administration - major in Marketing Management at National University-Manila.

I’m an Ornithophobic.

I can’t stand the smell of rotting feet.

I wish I could read people’s mind.

I’m an EXO-L, Blink, Reveluv, and iKONiC. Annyeonghasseyo chingus!

That is why I can sing Korean songs~~~

I admire guys with a ring on their finger. I don’t know why I find it so adoring with men. Like feeling ko ang lakas makagwapo.

I prefer staying at home all day.

I do brush lettering.

I’m in love with colors eg. faded pastel pink, pastel gray, and white.

My favorite subject is biology but I don’t appreciate the presence of animals.

I’ve been in two schools when I was in elementary. I started grade school at Holy Trinity Academy but I graduated from The National Teachers College.

I’m moody— that’s what people say.

I’m scared of nuns. Lalo na sa mga nakaitim. Hindi ko alam tawag dun sa damit nila, basta yung itim na ganun. Hahaha

I hate hospitals like I always feel uncomfortable or maybe I just don’t like seeing people who are in such pain and those dying. Tbh I don't like to see people’s tearful eyes and losing hope.

When I was young I’m scared of going to restrooms so I always pee in my underwear— my mom always scolds me.

I don’t appreciate mayonnaise except with burger.

I have trust issues.

I’ve become a class president for like two consecutive years in high school.

My skin is indescribably sensitive— I get wounds unconsciously.

I’m a shy person. I don’t talk to a lot of people but I’m not suplada.

My sense of smell is the strongest among all my five senses.

I hate commitments— just because I don’t know how to handle them.

I don’t know how to express my thoughts in the right way people can understand.

I can’t sleep with lights off.

I think I’m awkward.

I am right-handed.

I don’t drink Milo, I eat it.

Fave author: JK Rowling and Colleen Hoover.

I’m a fan of Taylor Swift.

I’m a YFC for 5 years now.

I’d rather collect shoes than clothes and bags.

I love coffee. Ordinary coffee. Yung timpla ko lang.

I don’t like pure chocolates. I want it to have something with it like; a chocolate brownie, hot chocolate drink, chocolate sandwich, chocolate donut.

I really want to be an interior designer. I love moving things around; changing curtains, the smell of a newly washed bedsheet, countertops and islands. Organizing rooms and offices and lofts and things like that.

I have a collection of Total Girl magazine when I was young. I got the influence from my elementary best friend but either my mom or dad threw it away when I went to college.

I am a Manila girl since birth but I got to move to Quezon with my parents when I turned high school.

I really have a wavy hair just like my dad.

I am too emotional like sobrang babaw ng luha ko.

I have a small box of memories where I store every piece of memorable days and experiences. But unfortunately, I lost one box when I was in high school without any knowledge of its whereabouts.

I love doing arts and crafts. I have an artsy heart.

My sisters and I share a room.

I do still believe in chivalry. I wanted my first boyfriend to be my last and the father of my children.

I love watching YT videos and reading random blogs.

I have a thing for romantic-mysterious-sci-fi-supernatural movies, series or stories.

I can’t help but cry whenever I watch any version of Romeo and Juliet either a theater play or movie.

I am a big shipper of Wesley-Dobrev (Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev), Madden-James (Richard Madden and Lily James) and WilKate (Prince William and Kate Middleton) love teams.

All-time favorite foods: sinigang, brownies, pizza, and donuts

I’m a picky eater.

I didn’t have a stroller bag when I was in elementary but I remembered asking my parents for it and when I transferred to a new school, it’s like the whole elementary department were all in 3rd and above floors so parents really know best.

I am a perfectionist— OC girl here.

I love collecting pens and stationeries even though I don’t really use them cos they’re all cute that feel like I’m just gonna ruin their cuteness.

My feet size is 8 sometimes 8 and a half. I have a combination of my mom and dad’s feet; wide and long.

I have eczema when I was young and that returned when I was in 2nd-year high school.

We used to spend our summer vacation in Quezon with my grandmother or with my Tita in Cagbalete Island where I really got to enjoy my childhood and learned a lot. Especially how to “mag-igib ng tubig” every dawn or else we’ll not have water the next day.

People would always say that I have a weird voice.

I love watching wrestling but I closes my eyes with serious moves.

I love taking random photos.

I used to blow bubbles whenever I feel tired and hopeless.

I used to make my dad his coffee when I was young.

I got a little bit abuse by a man in green while I was riding a jeep in fifth grade. That is why I hate green color.

I like doing surprises.

I used to watch Jimmy Neutron, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Madelaine, Spongebob when I was in elementary before and after school, all that in Tagalog version.

I wrote a story way back in sixth grade but I lost it and I am so sure that it’ll hit the market nowadays.

I am patient whenever I do something I like.

London is my dream destination;

Canada or SoKor is where I want to live; and

New York is where I want to work.

I’d like to have my own publishing company and to have my self-titled magazine.

The note app and phone calendar on my phone serve as my personal diary— I wrote almost anything there.

I have my own way of talking to God.

I believe in fairy-godmothers

My favorite Disney princesses are Belle and Aurora.

I’m in love with Olaf.

I really want to blog many things but I suck at expressing myself.

I don’t know how to draw but I want to be an architect. HAHAHA that is the point of learning, right? To learn...

Perhaps I can’t cook decently cos no one eats my cooking.

I’m perpetually tired.

I prefer American series than Kdrama. But there’s this thing, I like the story concept of both but I just feel like stories of kdrama could really get along with American superstars more. It is just me? Nevermind me. But KPOP is life. Love you BI.

I can’t stand watching horror films without someone beside me.

I don’t like spices like di ko talaga naeenjoy yung food.

I loathe confrontations.

The superpower I would want to have is to never to need to sleep cos…

I hate the idea of needing to sleep at night and

I hate goodbyes and goodnights.

I can’t sleep without a blanket, either hot or cold weather.

Sofia Andres is my wardrobe goals.

I’ve mastered faking emotions.

I never left my country and I would love to someday.

My fave flowers would be; pink and white roses and sunflowers.

I want to write my own novels someday.

I always have a water bottle in my bag. Also an antiseptic alcohol.

I’m not flexible, literally.

I used to love outdoor activities when I was a kid.

I like playing with only my shorts on when I was a kid and then when I needed to pee, I’ve realized that I’m all naked and that’s really awkward.

My height is 5′1 and I weight 50kg.

I love dancing and singing without people watching.

I can’t whistle.

#random #personal

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fuckdamn · 2 years

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kim is my girlhusband. jimmy is my malewife. jesse is my boygirlfriend/girlboyfriend/poor little meow meow/best friend and confidant and my silly rabbit. nacho is my babygirl and also my roommate who i have will-they-or-won’t-they tension with. lalo is our neighbor with a checkered past who we both have a crush on. howard is my special little nepotism princess. gus and i are penpals who write cryptic yet sensual letters to one another by hand. mike is a regular who is always exceedingly polite and kind and tips me at least 30% every time he’s here. chuck is a rude customer but i feel kind of bad for him despite how rude he is. we had to throw walt out of the restaurant because he asked to fistfight our line cooks. badger and skinny pete are the line cooks and i’d trust them with my life. marie and i tried to start a book club but she kept forgetting to read the books. skyler actually did read the books plus she brought wine. jane is the cool older girl who took me under her wing when we were in high school. hank thought he was typing in the search bar and tweeted sex gifs

#lotte.txt

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papermoonloveslucy · 7 years

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LUCY GETS HER MAN

S1;E21 ~ February 24, 1969

Directed by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs

Synopsis

Harry's old Army buddy is working in Counter-Intelligence and needs a stenographer to help get the goods on a suspected spy (Victor Buono). Naturally, Lucy gets the assignment.

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter), Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter)

Guest Cast

Victor Buono (Arthur Vermillion) was a character actor whose screen career began in 1959. He was nominated for a 1963 Oscar for his portrayal of Edwin Flagg in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, which he quickly followed up with Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte, both starring Bette Davis. He is perhaps best remembered for playing arch-villain King Tut on “Batman” (inset). Buono died in 1982 at the age of 43.

Buono uses a thick middle-European accent as Vermillion. According to the dictionary, ‘vermillion’ (or ‘vermilion’), describes a deep, brilliant shade of red. ‘Red’ is slang for a communist, based on the color of the communist flag, which ties into the spy theme of the episode.

Mary Wickes (Isabel) was one of Lucille Ball’s closest friends and at one time, a neighbor. She made a memorable appearances on “I Love Lucy” as ballet mistress Madame Lamond in “The Ballet” (ILL S1;E19). In her initial “Lucy Show” appearances her characters name was Frances, but she then made four more as a variety of characters for a total of 8 episodes. This is the first of her 9 appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” She also played Isabel in “Lucy Goes on Strike” (S1;E16). Their final collaboration on screen was “Lucy Calls the President” in 1977.

Wickes only has 40 seconds of screen time at the very start of the episode. Before Mary Jane Croft joined the show, the character of Isabel was intended to be a secretary friend of Lucy Carter’s who works in her building. Wickes only played the character twice before moving into different characters for the rest of the series.

Robert Carson (Buzzy Brock) was a busy Canadian-born character actor who appeared on six episodes of “The Lucy Show.” This is the second of his five appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”

Buzzy was an Army Colonel at the Pentagon during World War II. He got a Purple Heart when his desk collapsed! He is currently working with 'Counter-Intelligence'.

Chicago Tribune, February 24, 1969

This is the third spy story on “Here’s Lucy” in just five months, preceded by “Lucy's Impossible Mission” (S1;6) and “Lucy and the Great Airport Chase” (S1;E18). Spy series' such as “Get Smart” and “Mission: Impossible” were tremendously popular at the time. Craig mentions a show called “Spy Mission” and Kim talks about “Counter Agent,” both made-up TV spy programs.

Lucille Ball and Victor Buono were both featured in “Like Hep!”, a Dinah Shore special that aired a few months after this episode. In it, Ball did a variety of sketches, including one set in a speakeasy with Buono as a mob boss.

Upon arriving at work, Lucy off-handedly says “another day behind the iron curtain.” The Iron Curtain was the name for the imaginary boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The use of the term contributes to the spy nature of the story, but seems a bit precipitous considering the plot has yet to be revealed!

Isabel calls Harry Jack the Ripper, comparing him to the famous London serial killer. There was also a character named Jack D. Ripper in the 1964 iron curtain comedy Dr. Strangelove. Could this be another vague and precipitous reference to the episode’s theme?

After Isabel and Harry continually bump into one another going out the door (doing a sort of ‘after you’ dance) Harry calls her St. Vitus. Saint Vitus (290-303 AD) was a child saint from Sicily. In the late Middle Ages, people celebrated the feast of Vitus by dancing before his statue. The name "Saint Vitus Dance" was given to neurological disorders like epilepsy. It also led to Vitus being considered the patron saint of dancers.

We learn that Harry was an Army major during World War II and worked at the Pentagon.

Buzzy calls Harry 'Foamy' because he wore out twelve foam rubber cushions on his swivel chair. Clearly Buzzy and 'Foamy' (aka Harry) were desk jockeys during the war. The script doesn't specify, however, why Buzzy is named Buzzy.

When Kim comes home from school, she asks her mother if Jerry called. Presumably, Jerry is her boyfriend. Jerry was also the name of Lucy Carmichael's son on “The Lucy Show.” She uses her childrens’ questions as a memory test for her upcoming spy assignment.

Kim says her birthday is the 17th of next month. In real life, Lucie Arnaz's birthday is the 17th of July.

The song Kim and Craig play for Uncle Harry, to show him what life with teenagers in the house might be like, is a jazzy version of “I Know A Place” by Tony Hatch. The song was recorded in 1965 by Petula Clark. It is here performed without lyrics with Kim dancing and Craig playing the drums. Lucy danced to the song in “Mod, Mod Lucy” (S1;E1). Clark will do a guest appearance on the series in season 5, although she will not sing “I Know A Place.”

When Lucille Ball enters Vermillion's hotel suite at the (fictional) Crescent Palms Hotel wearing a black wig, she gets a round of applause from the studio audience.

If the horse statue in Vermillion’s hotel room looks familiar, it is likely the same horse used later that year on the set of “The Brady Bunch” (1969-74). Both shows were filmed at Paramount Studios. Similar horses also turned up on “Bewitched” (1964-72) and in the film Bell, Book and Candle (1958) starring Ernie Kovacs. This iteration of the horse statue has its saddle and reigns painted black, but they are otherwise identical. Equine statuary was quite common in mid-century decorating.

Vermillion, under the guise of a greeting card writer, dictates correspondence to

Gregory Schmidt, General Delivery, St. Louis, Misery

and another to

Igor Shaffsky, Hotel Scimitar, Istanbul

He eats his notes. Is he really a spy or just really hungry?

When Vermillion looks around the room to see that they he and Lucy are alone, the soundtrack plays “Mission: Impossible” style music. The TV score by Lalo Schifrin was extensively used in “Lucy's Impossible Mission” (S1;E6).

Victor Buono is best known for his role in the Bette Davis / Joan Crawford 1962 horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, a movie that was mentioned on “No More Double Dates” (TLS S1;E21). Lucy Carmichael rejected the film for date night as “too scary”. Coincidentally, both shows were the 21st aired episodes aired in their first seasons!

This is not the first time Lucy has mined humor from being sat on by a larger actor. She was underneath a tubby tourist (Audrey Bentz) in “The Tour” (ILL S4;E30) and a girthy granny (Reta Shaw) in “Lucy Misplaces $2,000″ (TLS S1;E4).

Lucy Ricardo also “wore a wire” when trying to record a confession by who she thought was a Texas oil swindler in “Oil Wells” (ILL S3;E18). Both times her urge to be wired for sound was misguided.

Thinking they were enemy agents, Lucy Ricardo also spied on the “New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21). Like Vermillion, the O'Briens were not who Lucy first assumed they were but they sure talked a good game!

This is not the first, nor the last, time Gale Gordon will get into unconvincing drag without shaving off his mustache!

FAST FORWARD!

On August 16, 1971, Victor Buono and Lucille Ball were both guests on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”. Kaye Ballard was the musical guest.

Vermillion is not the last character to be a writer of greeting card verses...

It would also be the occupation of Ben Fletcher (Don Knotts) when “Lucy Goes on Her Last Blind Date” (S5;E16).

Sitcom Logic Alert! Craig just happens to own a pocket-sized miniature tape recorder. Doesn’t every teenager in 1969?

Color Blind! Vermillion tells Harry (as the Bellboy) that he “never wears blue” yet he is clearly wearing a powder blue tie. Is he just trying to get rid of Harry through intimidation?

Product Dis-Placement! The brand name of Craig’s drum set is partly taped over. The top loop of the ‘R’ reveals that it is made by Rogers. Founded in 1849 in Farmingdale, NJ, by Joseph Rogers, the company went out of business in 2006.

Where the Floor Ends! In the lower right corner of the above screen shot, viewers get a glimpse of where the Carter’s wall-to-wall carpet ends and meets the cement stage floor!

“Lucy Gets Her Man” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

A nearly five minute scene without Lucille Ball, when Kim and Craig convince their Uncle Harry to keep an eye on their mother, is a bit awkward and too long. Mary Wickes is given virtually nothing to do in this episode. Her lines could just as well have been spoken by an uncredited day player. Lucille Ball's scene with Victor Buono, however, is quite good and Gale Gordon in maid drag (with his trademark mustache) is well worth the wait. The surprise ending actually makes sense and is very funny, if a bit abrupt.

“Ja. Yust like mama!”

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carsusan0-blog · 5 years

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A Healthy Hedonist’s Guide to Mexico City

Mexico City has been top of my travel wish list for some time.

It seemingly has everything: walls of crazy colors, vibrant vegetation on (and inside) every block, dirt cheap accommodations and uber rides, a thriving contemporary art scene, and ALL THE TACOS. Needless to say, when I got invited to a wedding in Guadalajara this fall, I made stopping in Mexico City an essential leg of the trip flanking the weekend of festivities.

If you’re visiting Mexico City as a gluten-free goddess like myself, you will have an epic few days of eating your way around the city. Since the cuisine is primarily reliant on corn, there are very few risks of cross-contamination, though if you have a sensitive immune system like me, it’s a high possibility that you will return home with some sort of critter, even if you stick to the fancy restaurants. It’s the price of admission!

Tummy troubles aside, I have no regrets. The street food around the city rivals the best restaurants, and it’s hard to resist sampling some of the region’s typical dishes straight from the “specialists.” Still, we also made it a point to tick off some of the most popular upscale eateries off our list, and those too did not disappoint.

A few things to note: though the city is much safer than it used to be, it’s still best to use uber versus taxis (again, they are insanely cheap) and not walk around alone at night in certain areas. We stayed at a lovely B&B in Condesa for under $100 a night. I’d highly recommend making that neighborhood or Roma your hub. Polanco is fancier, has less of a personality and isn’t as central.

Like Los Angeles, the city is quite spread out, but if you bring walking shoes you can still cover a lot on foot—most sites are about a 30 minute walk from Roma or Condesa (or a $4 uber).

As for the food scene, like most big cities, you can find great versions of any regional dish, but I’d recommend not leaving without trying chilaquiles for breakfast, tacos al pastor (Mexico City’s most famous taco), pozole rosso, and sangrita, a tomato-based drink that’s served alongside the best sipping tequilas to cleanse your palate. I could have drank a jug of it with every meal.

Rarely will you find a flour tortilla, which means less risk that there’s an issue with tortilla chips being thrown into the same fryer, but if you’re celiac, it’s still worth inquiring about cross-contamination and mole preparations, since it’s an everything but the kitchen sink sort of dish. I’d highly recommend, if you’re worried and don’t speak much Spanish, that you check out my friend Jodi’s gluten-free travel card for Mexico City and her travel guide for Mexico.

Read on for some of the best restaurants we ate at in Mexico City, sites and activities that shouldn’t be missed, and some other helpful recommendations I got before our trip, including where to find the best gluten-free and vegan options.

With health and hedonism,

Phoebe

THE BEST UPSCALE AND TRENDY RESTAURANTS IN MEXICO CITY

Pujol (Polanco)

If you’ve sought out restaurant recs from any gringa “foodie,” Enrique Olvera’s world-renowned spot for artistic tacos was probably top of the list. He was featured on Chef’s Table a few seasons back, and like my globe-stalking of this Slovenian star, I knew that I needed to add Mexico City to my travel list just to taste his 1,000 day mole. The restaurant lived up to the hype and may just be one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. It’s especially enticing for gluten-free folks since you’re able to eat 95 percent of the menu (save for dessert).

Reservations need to me made a month or so out for the Taco Omakase or the Tasting Menu. We did the latter, which I was kind of bummed about because the concept of 10 courses of tacos might be my dream, but it ended up blowing my mind. Chef Olvera’s food is pristine, but unfussy. Surprising, yet comforting. It’s exactly what you didn’t know you wanted to be eating.

Our favorite dishes were the octopus, softshell crab, quail egg papadzul, and all the street snacks. Also, order the tamarind margarita and thank me later.

Contramar (Roma)

This daytime seafood spot, with waiters toting giant clams and crab claws, feels like you stepped off the wrong plane and ended up in Miami. It was described to me as where the Mexi Mad Men go for their power lunches, and I was so into this idea, and the tuna tostadas included in it, that I went not once, but TWICE during my stay.

In addition to the atun, you should also try the crab tostadas, fish al pastor tacos, and if you have enough people, the whole fish with green and red salsa, which comes with a basket of warm tortillas. Everything is incredibly fresh and expertly cooked. They also served one of the best sangritas (little shot of bloody Mary-like mix that’s served alongside sipping tequila) that I tried in Mexico.

Paramo (Roma)

If you’re in Mexico City on a Sunday, make a reservation at this cozy, Mexican speak-easy, which is one of the few places on our hit list that was open that night. It’s a fun, lively crowd – a mix of locals and tourists – and between the exposed brick and twinkle lights strung along the ceiling, feels like somewhere in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The service is a little slow, but luckily the delicious cocktails will keep you entertained. It’s a great spot to take a group since you can order any of the tacos as cazuelas—larger casseroles of the filling that you can share and DIY in your own warm tortillas.

Rosetta (Roma)

I know, I know. You didn’t come all the way to Mexico City for Italian food. But if you’re looking for an escape from the parade of tacos, Rosetta has a charming ambience that’s very much of the city: a candle-lit interior that’s covered in plants, including trees that are taller than most on the exterior sidewalk. They have plenty of vegetarian options, among them a mean mushroom risotto and a delicious beet appetizer with pink mole. Make sure to make reservations in advance, or try going for lunch when it’s easier to walk in.

THE BEST CASUAL RESTAURANTS AND TAQUERIAS FOR LUNCH AND BREAKFAST

Fonda Mayora (Condesa)

We ate at this little breakfast spot in the Condesa / Hipodromo neighborhood on our last morning before leaving for the airport. They had a great chilaquiles and rancheros, along with plenty of other options. If you have a stomach of steel, you can even try the green juice!

Lardo (Condesa)

A sister restaurant to Rosetta, this chic daytime cafe strikes a great balance between Mexican influences and more familiar dishes. For breakfast, the black rice porridge with mango is delicious, as well as the poached eggs in red sauce. They also serve an assortment of teas and homemade nut milks for your coffee. The interior is beautiful and I almost attempted to steal one of the stools and bring it back in my carry on.

Los Creadores Del Taco al Pastor (Condesa)

We mostly ate our tacos on the street in Mexico City, but after missing out on the city’s most famous taco—al pastor—we decided to pop into this taqueria that pretty much serves only that…since they claim the invented it. I’m sure Eater has sussed out the best al pastor (a shawarma-style pork with slices of pineapple) in the city, and that this is not it. But we couldn’t tell! I loved every bite of these juicy little guys, especially with the salsa and pickled vegetables served on the side.

La Clandestina

This mezcal bar was a great place to stop before or after dinner if you want a chill place to have one more sip of smoky libations. It’s in Condesa, right near many of these restaurants. I loved the spicy margarita, and a friend of mine ordered an interesting one with avocado and basil!

OTHER EATERY AND BAR RECOMMENDATIONS

We didn’t make it to even a fraction of the recommendations on our list. Here are some more in the same area that we want to try next time:

San Angel Inn — In the south of the city, which is why we didn’t make it, but incredibly charming for lunch in their courtyard among MXC elite. Very romantic!

Lalo – Another great breakfast spot similar to Lardo.

Masala y Maiz – In a slightly more far flung neighborhood near Casa Barragon. We were told to go for lunch and check out the cool interior and cuisine, which is Indian meets Mexican!

Azul – A spot for healthier Mexican favorites with great veggie enchiladas.

La Buena Tierra – Another veg-centric place for vegetarian options.

Tacos Veganas – A completely vegan taco place in Condesa!

Marrakech Salon – Sweaty silly fun drag bar, Mexican queens singing in Spanish standing on top of the bar in sequin dresses…on my list for next time.

COOL STORES WE VISITED

Goodbye Folk

If you’re into vintage finds or custom shoes, you should definitely stop in this little shop that sources great hipster shirts and sweaters, and also locally-made leather shoes and boots. It’s not too far from Rosetta and Arena Mexico if you need somewhere to stop on your walk to either.

Onora

In the upscale neighborhood of Polanco, this home store is small but packs in a lot of beautiful, artisan finds. If I wasn’t going straight to dinner at Pujol, I would have walked out of there with an entire dinner set and pile of linen napkins.

Lago DF

Also in Polanco, this trendy boutique has lots of local clothing designers if you’re looking for a chic caftan. They also have some vibrantly colored tequila glasses and other home goods.

THINGS TO DO AND SEE IN MEXICO CITY

The Best Markets of Mexico City

One of the most fun things to do is eat your way around some of the various markets. San Juan is the largest, and you can find a few tours during the day or at night through Eat Mexico if you want to really cover a lot of territory. A friend of ours raved about the nighttime taco tour. Mercado Medellin near Roma is a smaller indoor market but much more of a local’s affair. It’s a great place to pick up some dried chiles to take home with you or sample al pastor tacos. Mercado Roma is a more upscale hub of food stalls from restaurants around the city – similar to Chelsea Market in New York. They have an outpost for La Otilia, a gluten-free bakery! I didn’t love their cookies, but it’s a good option if you’re craving a sweet. Mercado de Artesanias is the craft market that is overflowing with finds. Great as a weekend activity if you like to shop and want to find some incredibly affordable wares.

Casa Barragon

This is the home of the most famous architect in Mexico, and definitely worth a visit. Tours book up months in advance, but if you are willing to risk it, I’d recommend just showing up early and hoping that the people there take pity on you, as they did us! The hallmark of his designs is that you can’t tell what kind of colorful treasures reside on the interior. This was one of the highlights of our trip.

Arena Mexico / Luncha Libre

If you’re skeptical of the magic that is Mexican wrestling due to the mediocrity of the movie Nacho Libre, please keep an open mind. This was the most fun thing we did in Mexico City and I am still giggling thinking about it. You will be surrounded by locals drinking, booing, cheering, you know…telling the wrestlers to go F themselves. It’s a rip roaring good time, especially on a Sunday afternoon in between meals. The stadium is small, so you really can’t go wrong with your seat, but I would recommend facing the side of the arena where the players walk out. The Luncha Libre show is on Tuesdays and Weekends. You can buy tickets at the booth right before the show – they don’t really sell out. Just try to avoid the annoying scalpers outside, who can be quite aggressive.

National Museum of Anthropology

We were told that this was a museum not to be missed, but honestly, we were a little lukewarm on it. If you like antiquities, old pots and the like, you will have a great time. It’s vast and very well organized. The building is also very cool. We were probably too hungover to fully appreciate it. It was also a Sunday, when tickets were free, and it was a zoo.

Xochimilco

My biggest regret is not making it to the floating canals on the outskirts of the city. As we learned at the Anthropology museum, Mexico City used to resemble Venice when it was first settled, meaning most of the city was built on the bottom of a lake bed that once housed a complex system of canals and waterways. Xochimilco is what’s left from that period. It’s a fun place to ride around in colorful, very instagrammable “gondolas.”

I was only in Mexico City for a weekend and was mostly interested in eating, so there are many sites that I didn’t get too. Also keep in mind that Mexico City has a great contemporary art scene (most of which Charlie has already done a million times) and many museums worth visiting.

Have you been to Mexico City? Tell me your favorite restaurants and sites! I will add them to the reader rec section and also to my to-do list for next time I go down there.

Source: https://feedmephoebe.com/a-healthy-hedonists-guide-to-mexico-city/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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joannchiann05 · 5 years

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Mah! Pah! Malapit na po tayong ma absuwelto sa mga pinag kakautangan natin!!😊 Malapit na din po natin mapaayos yung bahay natin☺️ Malapit na din po tayong maka bili ng sarili nating sasakyan☺️ wag ka po mag alala kame na pong bahala mag paaral kay Mary Jane☺️!! Mag sisikap po kameng mabuti para naman madala namin kayo kung saang bansa nio gustong pumunta☺️! Di man po namin nasasabi sa inyo na love namin kayo in verbal, Mahal na mahal po namin kayo! Napaka swerte po namin at kayo yung parents namin😘!! Salamat po sa pag hatid sundo samen! Kahit na sobrang gabing gabi na ko umuuwi😂 Thank you din po sa lahat ng mga pangaral nio kahit na sobrang pasaway ako😂 Yun po we love you mama and papa😘! Syempre last but not the list!! Tito/konsi Bome❤️ salamat po kase laging open house mo samen pag need namin mag overnyt😂 lab na lab ka namin tito❤️ lalong lalo na mga friends ko (#monggies) love na love ka nila😘 your the best tito talaga😘 parang anak na din turing mo samen! Kaya gagawin namin lahat para maging proud kayo nila mama at papa! Kahit wala po kayong anak ni tita! Nandito po kame we will take care both of you po!☺️ Mahal na mhal po namin kayo❤️😘 muah 💋!! last wish pa po pala! Pa sponsor naman po ng drinks sa graduation namin😂 mga 20 cases po sana ng San Mig. Light, 20 pcs. ng Alfonso, isang kahon ng empi, 10 pcs. ng The bar pink, 10 pcs. Ng red wine bahala na po kayo kung May or Novelino, 5pcs. na din po ng 1.5 na coke para dun sa mga friends ko na di umiinom ng alak!! Sana pag bigyan nio na ko last naman na ehh😂😂😂 aring😂😂 HEHEEHE! #graduating (at Santo Domingo, Nueva Ecija) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxm6nsrhJS3IBFVkLs47w2FlfAFk700oBfrGKw0/?igshid=wgb5f5m7egss

#monggies #graduating

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lakambinimagph · 5 years

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The Chronicles of a Supermom: A Mothers' Day Special

It’s that time of the year again - the time when we get to honor and to show our love and our appreciation to our ‘ilaw ng tahanan.’ Whether it may be a teenage mom or a single mother, a lesbian couple or a gay couple who raises their own bundle of joy, whether it may be grandmommas or aunts who become one’s mother figure, or a single dad who assumes the motherly role for his kids, this day is for all of you. But wait, have you ever wondered why and when did people start celebrating “Mothers’ Day”?

Before there was a Celebration...

Before “Mothers’ Day” was even a thing, the ancient Greeks and Romans held their own festivities to celebrate motherhood, guised as the Greek goddess Rhea and the Roman goddess Cybele; however, it was the early Christians who introduced the idea of a “Mothering Sunday.” The “Mothering Sunday” was a festival not necessarily devoted to mothers and motherhood; rather, it was when Christians would return to their mother churches for a special service. This was not even celebrated during the month May! The “Mothering Sunday” was celebrated during the fourth Sunday of the Lent. As years pass by, this festival was celebrated in the manner we all know at present - give flowers and tokens of appreciation to our mothers.

A few years before the Civil War, a lady named Ann Reeves Jarvis helped establish a club called the “Mothers’ Day Works Club”—a club which aims to teach West Virginian women on how to properly care for their children. Aside from being a ‘school for mothers,’ this club also became a unifying force and a support group for the region during the Civil War. During the mid-19th century, Jarvis organized the “Mothers’ Friendship Day”—an event aimed to reconcile the Union and the Confederate soldiers. Another revolutionary woman who contributed to the celebration we know today is Julia Ward Howe. In 1870, Howe created the “Mothers’ Day Proclamation” - an action calling for mothers to unite to promote world peace. Three years after, she campaigned for the celebration of “Mothers’ Peace Day” which was celebrated every 2nd of June. Other revolutionary people who lobbied for the unification and the celebration of mothers and motherhood were Juliet Calhoun Blakely, Mary Towels Sasseen, and Frank Herring.

It was on the record that it was not until the 1900s when “Mothers’ Day,” because of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis, was fully and successfully established. After her mother’s death, “Mothers’ Day” started as an honorification of all the scarifices mothers make for their children. The rest, as they say, is history.

In celebration of today’s Mothers’ Day, we, the Lakambini team, featured the some of the mothers of today.

The Challenged Newbie Mom

“Motherhood is not just having your own child, but rather it is how you care for other people. Hindi dahil wala kang anak, hindi ka na pwedeng magpaka-ina. Pwede kang magpaka-ina in your own way hindi lang sa isang bata, pwede rin sa sarili mong kapatid, pwede rin sa iba. It’s just how you care for other people and how you nurture them to become better people and better versions of themselves.”

It was a rollercoaster ride for 20-year-old mother Danna Ruiz. Being in her third year in college, transferring to a different school, and finding out that she was pregnant, she was bombarded with a plethora of emotions. It felt surreal to have a baby growing inside her. She admitted that running away crossed her and her partner’s mind, in fear that once they confronted their families, they will not get the reaction and the support that they were hoping for, but despite the fear and the hesitation, not once did abortion crossed their minds.In the end, they chose to be open to their families and spilled the beans of their pregnancy. It actually turned out to be better than what they expected.

Apart from the support and the understanding they received from their families, they also sought and gratefully received support from the institution they were in.

“Naging understanding and accommodating ‘yong school administration. Naiintindihan nila kung bakit hindi ako nakakapasok minsan, kung bakit late ako pumapasok,” she explained. Sometimes when she brings her baby to school, her friends, classmates, and even her professors help take care of her child so that she can focus on her school works.

Growing up in the province, there is a stigma attached to a small-town girl like her. Being a consistent honor student, a daughter of a teacher, and a granddaughter of a politician, there are expectations of her becoming. She says that she and her partner values their privacy as a family, not because they are ashamed or because they have anything to hide, but because they want to avoid and protect their child from the cruel world. “Hindi mo rin kasi alam kung gaano sila ka-genuinely interested doon sa bata. Baka magtanong sila for the sake na may ma-tsismis,” she explains. Some of her closest friends to whom she personally broke the news to always tell her and always encourage her to finish her studies for the sake of her baby.

One of the challenging aspects of motherhood (and parenthood) is learning how to raise a child in the way they have not experienced. “Paano namin mapapalaki ang isang bata, paano namin aayusin ‘yong pamilya na kami, parehas kaming galing sa pamilya na hindi ayos. Kasi kung pag-aalaga, madali lang ‘yan. Matututunan ‘yan, pero kung paano magpaka-nanay at magpaka-tatay, ‘yan ‘yong isang malaking challenge lalo na kung wala kang role model na maganda.”

“Kanya-kanya tayo ng coping mechanisms. Pero hindi sagot ‘yong sukuan mo ‘yong bagay-bagay. Hindi iyan isang problema. Isa ‘yang challenge at responsibility para magtanda ka, at kung umabot man sa punto na hindi ka paninindigan ng lalaki, kayanin mo para sa anak mo. Hindi na lang ito tungkol sa’yo, may buhay nang umaasa sa’yo.”

The Young, Christian Mother

“Motherhood is like a stage play. Imagine you are performing something on stage, in front of judges, you have to give your best shot because the moment the audience thinks you are not good enough, it’s like you did not give your best care to your child. Being a mom is one of the hardest things to do but definitely all worth it.”

Johnielle Grace “Jheng” Vera is a 20-year-old english major, a former student-athlete, born and raised in a Christian family, and a mother to a 2-year-old little girl.

Her story was not an easy one. Between trainings for their institution’s volleyball team and having an irregular menstrual cycle, it did not cross her mind that she could be pregnant. She was already in her second trimester when it was confirmed that she does have a little bean growing inside her. Once she got home from a trip to Laguna, her partner suggested they see an Ob-gynecologist.Jheng was barely 18 years old when she found out.

She was at the peak of her youth - the part of her life when she should be carefree, when she should be enjoying the best things in life: college, hanging out with friends, parties, sports, and all the other things teenagers are known to love and enjoy, but no. She was thinking of the ‘what abouts’ and the ‘what ifs.’ She was anxious. She was scared.

“Nawala ako sa sarili ko. Gusto kong ipalaglag. Gusto kong magpasagasa. Gusto kong magpahulog sa hagdan. Lahat basta mawala ‘yong baby sa tiyan ko. Sobrang stressed at paranoid ako no’ng mga unang weeks na nalaman ko ‘to. Sising-sisi ako sa lahat ng pinaggagagawa ko. Iyak dito. Iyak doon. Ang hirap magpanggap na okay ka. Ang hirap magpanggap na kaya mong magbuhat. Ang hirap itago ng tiyan. Ang hirap itago ng mga gamot at ng gatas ni baby,” she said.

In the society that we live in, engaging in pre-marital sex is discouraged and frowned upon. Imagine how scary tt is for a young adult, who was raised in an environment that is grounded on the teachings of the Bible, to be pregnant at a tender age of 18, but Jheng was very grateful.

“Ang laki ng pasasalamat kong Kristiyano ang tatay ko. Kung hindi, napalayas at nabugbog na sana ako. Pero hindi, ang unang sinabi niya “Huwag ka nang mag-alala. Aalalayan kita. Haharapin natin ‘yan.” Doon ako sobrang humagulgol. ‘Di ko akalaing ganito pala talaga kabait ‘yong papa ko. Sobrang thankful ako na tinulungan niya akong i-open ito sa buong pamilya. Nag-iyakan lahat, siyempre. Niyakap ako. ‘Di akosinabunutan o kinladkad. doon ko naramdaman ‘yong suporta ang pagdamay nila sa akin.”

She has one more hurdle to conquer - opening it to the church. Jheng was very active in church and in its activities. She was one of the most requested young adult to perform a special number every Sunday. She admitted that she cannot go to church or even face her church mates. She was held back by the shame and the fear she was feeling, until such time when she started to crave for the warmth and the comfort of home, of her brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Nag-pray ako nang sobra. Iniyak ko nang iniyak kay God lahat. Sobrang ang bait Niya. Sa kabila ng pagkakamali ko, gumamit pa rin Siya ng mga tao at bagay na makapagpapakitang sobrang tapat Niya. Hindi ko kayang nasa bahay lang ako kaya humugot ako nang humugot ng lakas ng loob hanggang sa ayon, for the sake of my baby… nag-church na rin ako,” she said.

The reaction she got was far from the reaction that she was expecting. Despite everything that happened, she was still greeted with warmth and love.

She sometimes envy her peers who get to live their teenage lives to the fullest; and, more often than not, thoughts about how she should be enjoying her teenage life instead of being at home and caring for a child have crossed her mind. She admits that being a teenage mom is hard. But despite the passing jealousy and the ‘what ifs’ lurking in her head, she continues to grow and to appreciate the little things in life because of her precious daughter.

“To all the teen moms out there, I know it is hard, but one thing I have realized is that the most important thing you must learn is to know what love is - God. The moment you start knowing Him, you will learn to be kind, strong, and understanding. Life is short so be with your children always. Treasure every single moment because you will never know what tomorrow brings. You are God’s instrument to your children. You are the one who will teach them the best things this world could give. and lastly, remember to let God be the center of your life and everything will follow.”

Mothers, may it be expecting moms or first-time moms, have different stories to tell, but at the end of the day they all have one thing in common: Yes, motherhood is hard. Yes, being a mother is hard. You’ll have your fair share of struggles, of good days and bad days, but at the end of it all, the love you have for your children will always overpower the pain and the struggles that you felt in the past, you are feeling at present, and you will be feeling in the future. This, ladies and gents, is what makes mothers the best superheroes we will ever know.

Cheers to all the beautiful mommas out there!

Words by Jannah Lei Junatas

Graphics by Jemimah Keziah Cresencia

#careful whisper #mother's day philippines

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stargazerlilyum · 5 years

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PARENG JAMILA!

Love, Your FOP Group 2 Fam 💕

Pare! Happy Birthday. Ikaw talaga ang isa sa mga inspiration ko sa medschool. Kung gaano ako nag-papanic during exams, ganun ka kachill lang. Kung may di ako alam, tinantanong ko agad sayo. The best ka talaga. Kaya ngayon, sa birthday mo, I wish nothing but the best for you. Wish ko na lalong ibless ni God ang life mo. At lalong magtagal pa kayo ng boyfriend mo. Hehe. Thanks for being a great friend, dude pare chong. Hahahaha. Have the best birthday! God bless. 🙂

- Cooper

Eyy pare!

Una sa lahat maraming salamat sa di mo pag iwan sa clineval fam. .HAHA. .isa ka sa mga pillars ng team kaya buti nalang di ka umalis. .pangalawa sa lahat, ang dasal ko para sayo sa bday m at para sa taong ito ay mas maging klaro sayo ang tatahakin mong landas. .mas maging klaro ang purpose mo in life. .haha naubusan na ko ng tagalog. .anyways, glad to be your friend and groupmate as always. .love you pards!. .Godbless and happy bday!. .😊

- Clai

Hi Jams!! Happy happy borthday to you!!! Continue being the smart, sassy, kalog you. Sobrang nakakaaliw yung biglang comments mo na hindi namin nahahalatang ang sobrang funny!! Wish ko lang sa birthday mo sana happy ka. Continue reaching for your dreams kasi may isang naniniwala sayo dito! Happy birthday!

- your sister from another set of parents, Geb 🙂

Happy birthday, almost seatmate! Im thankful to have a friend as astig as you. Hahaha. But seriously, it is nice to have you around. Hope you enjoy your day!

- Jami

Pareng Jamila !

Happy Birthday !!!! 🎉🎂 Happy new year din pala 😂. Thanks for being that friend na mabilis makavibes hahahahaah. Miss na kita ang layo na ng chair mo huhuhahah 😢. Ayun, I hope God will bless you more this year in all aspects of your life be it in academics, health, family, lovelife, etc. Sana ma-enjoy mo yung birthday mo 💖Happy birthday ulit !

Love,

Lyra Marie

Hello, Jamilla! Alam kong masayahin kang tao so on this day sana maging extra happy ka, yieeeeee! Na-miss ko yung pagshare mo parati ng food sa class. Thank you for feeding your gutumin na seatmate (bakit ang conyo 😂). Nagpapasalamat din ako dahil you’ve always shown compassion and kindness, lalo na nung last year when I didn’t know I needed that so yeah, thank you. 😊

Always know na andito ako when you need someone to talk to, kahit yung mga katatawan at kalokohan lang 😂. I pray that you continue to be humble and nice. Happy birthday, Pareeeee! Love you ❤️

- Ate Liza

Happy happy birthday, pareng Jams! Not used in calling you “pare” but eto ‘yung tawag nila sa’yo. HAHA! I just hope na you continue being you coz I think you have a warm personality. And ‘yung feeling na kapag kasama ka, parang laging masaya lang kasi lagi ka rin nakasmile. 🙂 Group 2 is always here for you! Enjoy your day!! God bless.

PS. Wala ng makakahuli ng panonood ko ng GGV kasi ang layo ng seats natin sa isa’t isa. HAHAHAHA.jk

- Sushie

Hi, pareng Jams! Happy birthday 🥳 Enjoy your special day. Keep on slaying med school. Stay kind and beautiful. God bless :))

- Iris

Happy happy birthdaaay Jams! Thank you for being my friend who I can always count on (especially sa clin eval sgd natin girl super thank you sa pagshare sa format na ginawa mo 😭💕). Hope you have an awesome day! Sulitin mo na habang wala pang masyadong acads work hahaha. Wish you all the best! God bless you always! 😊

Love,

Chels 💕

Happy birthday Jam! Thank you for being one of the people who always got our backs during group works or any academic related thing that we’re both a part of! It might not look like it but I actually look up to you kasi girl, acads + love life + sleep =???? How do you even do it? Haha, hope you have fun on your special day and we always have your back! God bless ❤️

- Jemu

Hi Pare :))

Alam mo ba na isa ka sa mga taong inaadmire ko sa pagtime manage and sa study habits? Haha sa sobrang nice mo maghandle ng acads stuff, nakakainspire na matuto din magmanage ng time ng maayos 🙂 Thank you for being one of the responsible batchmates I know and also a good friend. Grateful ako na nakilala kita and sa mga times na nakakakwentuhan and tawanan kita haha I’m looking forward to more med school years of friendship to come!! Happy happy birthday Jams❤️

-Hail

Dear jams,

Happy birthday to you. May you and your jowa be always in love (a wow). True to life baka hindi talaga ako makakapasa ng med school without you. Sana before you get too busy na magawa mo na ang mga gusto mong gawin in life and steady ka lang and enjoy your life everyday for what it's worth (a wow agen). Sana matupad lahat ng wish mo sa candles mo today lol.

- Pao

Happy Birthdaaay Jams!

FOP Group 2 Fam is very lucky to have such an intelligent and hardworking groupmate, and more importantly, a cool and good friend like you! 💕Because I saw how resilient and persevering you are, I never doubt that someday you’ll be able to achieve your goals and reach your dream of becoming an OB-GYN! (Tama di ba?) hehe Malay mo, tayo pala maging partners sa practice balang araw, yung nanay yung pasyente mo, tapos pasyente ko yung baby hehehe 😄 Also, I hope you enjoy your day, lalo na’t wala pang masyadong school work 😊 Again, Happy Happy Birthdaaay!

Love,

Lily 💕

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mgkj-g · 7 years

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5th

05/12/17

To the love of my life,

Kenneth means… handsome.

James means… a follower.

While Gonzales is one of the most popular surnames in the country.

What a beautiful name.

It suits you perfectly.

Hi babe! Hi! Hello! Hi! Hello! Hehehehehehehehehehehe

Happy 5months of... courting? Well hehehehe

Happy 5 months of love, babe! 😊

Who knows we could make this through? Yeah, I know masyadong mababaw yung sobrang kaligayahan ko na ika-limang buwan natin ngayon. But it really feels like we’ve been together for years. Like really? It’s our 5th month? I thought it’s our 5th year already. Hmm, soon. Through God’s grace and the power of our love. Char hahahahaha.

But to be frankly honest,

How I really wish to be there by your side right now to celebrate this special day of us in each other’s arms. How I really wish. Haaay.

I want to see you.

I want to hug you.

I want to kiss you.

I need to see you.

I need to hug you.

I need to kiss you.

I just miss you so much.

Every second and every minute of the day, you never fail to come and visit my mind as always. It makes me feel alive. Everything goes fine whenever I think of how much I love you.

I love you so much, baby.

Back when the time I met you, I never thought of having you as the man of my dreams. I just see you as a normal guy. A random guy who would just come and go in my life. We became friends through radio broadcasting. The funny thing here is that even when I hate you, I don’t want you to go away from me. It’s like I want to hate you and love you at the same time. Maybe because I am really bound to loving you.

You made me realize that it’s not always dreaming of a man who would love you madly, deeply, and unconditionally that makes a great love story. Sometimes all you should do is to open your eyes and look for that man in front of you who offers you his life to spend the rest of his life with you. And I am very happy that God gave me you.

Our training lasted for several months and as RSPC went near every one of us got nervous yet excited. But in my case, I felt sad as well because if one of the groups wouldn’t make it to the nationals, surely, the bonding moments would be close to an end. And it did happen. Our Filipino team won 4th place. That only means that I would never get to see you again. I would never get to hear your voice again. I hate it because I am already falling for you and suddenly you’re leaving. Kaya siguro maraming campus journalists na pinipigilan yung sarili nila na mainlove sa kapwa nila campus journalists kasi nga masakit naman talaga. Syempre kahit naman babae ako aba may kirot din yun sa puso lalo na ‘pag hindi mo na makikita yung taong inspirasyon mo every training. Yung tipong ginagalingan mo sa airing para magpaimpress sa kanya. Hahahahahahaha.

That time I told myself that maybe it’s time to forget you. I wouldn’t get to see you anymore. I even don’t know if you even like me or it’s a one-sided feeling. But then, after the competition, we go talk virtually. We chatted on facebook. I was giving you advises to keep going and make that comeback happen. And everything goes well unexpectedly.

I don’t know but after that conversation, I feel like we’re going to talk more. Wow! Assumera si ate mo! Hahahahahahaha. I was claiming that opportunity of talking with you a chance given by Him that maybe my love I feel for you is worth a try. Char hahahahahahahahaha. But really, the love feels like heaven and that you’re worth keeping.

So, to make the long story short, you became mine and I became yours.

Kenneth, thank you.

Thank you so much.

It has been five months already but I am so thankful that He blessed me someone like you.

You are more than what I deserve.

I couldn’t believe that someone like you would love me this hard. You took care of me more than I took care of myself. You make me laugh to the point that I’m crying so hard and my tummy gets hurt because of joy. You make me cry like an ugly duckling. You loved me more than I loved myself. Thank you so much, baby.

We really have different perspectives in everything. But then, thank you. Thank you for respecting my personal opinions. Thank you for listening. Thank you for understanding. You will always be my favorite listener.

There are times—well many times actually hehehe, when I get jealous about your exes. I don’t know. I just can’t help it. I feel like they are taking you away from me. Because right now, that is what they are already doing. I know you might think that I look obsessed with you. Whaaaat!? Hahahahahaha. Sorry about that babe. I just love you so much.

I know that there are lots of girls who are far better than me. More gorgeous. More beautiful. Sexier. More attractive. More flawless. More stunning. But, just telling me how beautiful I am in your eyes, it makes my heart cry out of joy. It touches my heart. I feel like I am beautiful. And I am more thankful because despite of my not-so-good physical appearance, you still see me as your queen.

For the past five months, we’ve been through a lot. And I know that we are going to face more obstacles in the way. The journey is not easy. And I know that as days, months and years go by, it is going to be hard. Thank you for holding my hand in this wonderful journey of love. And I choose you to be my partner in taking this journey of lifetime. I will always choose you, over and over again.

Babe.

I love you.

I won’t go away from you. My heart is always yours.

And I hope you stay with me, too.

My mind would never get tired of thinking about you. My eyes would never get tired of looking at your handsome face and your beautiful smiles. It feels like that part of your face is meant for me to see. My heart beats more lively when I think of you.

I will always be here to listen. I will always be here to laugh with you. I will always be here to cry with you. I will always be here to rock the world with you. I will always be here for you.

I am looking forward for our future, babe. I know that nowadays, it’s too rare to see couples in our age lasts. But may God bless our relationship to make our love work.

I hope we never get tired of loving each other. I hope we never gave up from loving each other. I just hope and wish all the best for us. For the love we build together. We can make it.

I am sorry, babe. This is the only thing I could give you. I couldn’t give you the material things as of now. I couldn’t give you back what you have already gave to me. I couldn’t give you chocolates, flowers (yeaaah! Boys need flowers, too! Hehehe), photo album of memories just like what you see in the social media and so many more. This is all I can do for now. I want to see you right now, hug you and kiss you. But you are too far from me. Maybe when I get home.

But even if you are far from me,

I love you more than the bad days ahead of us.

I love you more than any fights we will ever have.

I love you more than the distance between us.

I love you more than any obstacle that could try and come between us.

I love you the most.

I love you, Kenneth James Gonzales!❤

I will always love you.

Happiest 5th month of love!

I’m looking forward for more seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years of love with you.

Lablablablablablablablablabloveyou!