I find a lot of Ines portrayals in a more intimate context kinda frustrating, because if you don't ship Wines you are accused of being a homophobe/think W is a kid/just don't like W, while some HoeInes shippers don't think too hard about how this relationship works, and Ascalon/Ines is nonexistent outside of my head. And don't even get me started on the horny dudes and their delusions…
With the new chapter potentially adding another person to her harem, I decided to just write down the aspects I think are important in a relationship with Ines. TLDR: she is a pretty uncompromising girlfriend who needs a lot of space to herself, so most people would find her either too distant or too controlling.
The most obvious obstacle for a relationship would be her ability to perceive people's intent. Ines's profile emphasizes that trust is incredibly important to her, however, that goes both ways. In general, trust is one of the most important things in a relationship, and that includes letting your partner keep their secrets. Not everyone would be comfortable dating someone with inbuilt lie detector, even if they don't have anything to hide. And, of course, if they are unsatisfied with her for some reason, they can't hide it either.
And it's not like Ines would intentionally spy on her partner; if anything, I think her display of trust would be keeping a bit of a distance between them. The thing is, she likely could use her Arts from birth (as is typical for a Leithanian) and she spent most of her life anticipating danger. She is someone who scans her surroundings the moment she wakes up (we see it in DM), not using her Arts at all may feel like sensory deprivation (Hoederer noticed she wasn't using Arts during their stay at Babel, which suggests there were some oddities in her behavior). She probably needs to do some scans for the peace of mind, so her partner needs to be open-minded enough to accept occasional violations of their privacy.
This is why I think setting boundaries is very important for Ines. Not only to establish her own, but also for her to know how close is too close for her partner's comfort. She doesn't want to know too much, so if her partner consents to let her use her Arts or openly warns her when she oversteps, she would appreciate it.
Another problem with her Arts (and Oripathy) is how it affects her health. I think, people underestimate how debilitating worsening vision can get. As someone who experienced temporary loss of central vision (aka reverse tunnel vision), I can attest that she would need someone who would not only be ready to take care of her, but also be someone she would trust to do it unconditionally. It is embarrassing when you struggle with or can't do at all even the most simple tasks, and with Ines's temperament I'm sure it would feel outright humiliating.
At the same time, for all the comments they are sure to receive, she wouldn't mind taking care of her partner. She knows they would do it for her, so it is only natural to do the same for them. However, she would only go as far as she expects the other person to go for her, since for her it is a form of payback. She would find people who expect others to care for them without offering the same in return annoying, so all the guys screaming "mommy!" at her every picture can go fuck themselves.
Then there are her complicated feelings towards her race. Whether you read it as a foreigner trying to become a native or as a trans allegory, I believe it is important for her to feel accepted. Ines calls herself a Sarkaz mercenary, yet she struggles with accepting herself as a Sarkaz (like when she tells Scout she isn't one), but at the same time it gets to her when people don't consider her one (W in DM, half the people she meets in chapter 12). As a result, this topic is kind of a minefield for anyone who would try to get closer to her, since they would need to be careful not only with the acknowledgement, but also with the compliments, and just generally have a good understanding of her perspective.
One other thing I see being mentioned by some shippers and dudebros is how they think her idea of having fun with a partner involves shittalking and just generally being a bitch. The thing is, Ines actually likes being left alone. Yes, she is normally very assertive, but her trust tap shows she enjoys quiet company and her sewing hobby suggests she prefers staying in-door doing her own stuff. And before anyone gets a wrong idea, I'm not saying she would suddenly turn demure in a more intimate situation, I simply think that she is actually a quieter person in private, and that she would prefer a partner who can respect that. Considering her abilities and line of work, she accumulates a lot of anxiety and stress, so it is important for her to find some quiet corner without anyone to annoy her to relax.
Finally, she would value stability. Her concern is about "now"; she tells Paprika that she believes in concrete things like eating when you are hungry, but as a mercenary even something as simple as having enough food isn't a given. It is important to have an anchor in the turbulent world of constant war, however, with how skilled Ines is, she would have rather high standards for people she can rely on.
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Meta + gymnast
Let me ramble pls || always accepting tbh
Lena was in competitive gymnastics ranging from about 4 until she was 12, just after her mother passed. There was a studio down the street, and Ciara, Lena's mother, found it to be a good outlet for a hyperactive child in a recovering neighborhood. Her father made decent money, but the setting made it difficult for Ciara to shield Lena from the atrocities that still occurred. So gymnastics was a good distraction and a better outlet.
It provided an outlet, but also somewhere where Lena could focus her energy. If she wasn't in school or spending time with friends, she was at the studio, working on her bar work, or her floor routine. She was relatively decent at it, performing in highly competitive meets both locally and occasionally, across the country. The rigidness of gymnastics helped to build a lot of self-discipline and passion in her, both skills that she still carries with her.
Additionally, the functionality of gymnastics has helped her quite a bit both in the academy and with Overwatch. The freedom of motion that gymnastics training brings, along with the knowledge of how to warm up, how to throw your body weight around, and how to recover after falling or stumbling are all very important skills that she continues to use in her field of work now. The physical conditioning lent itself well to the demands of the militaries, strong legs lending themselves well to long runs and early morning cardio workouts.
Her main areas of gymnastics included artistic, tumbling and floor routines, most of which require a lot of flips, bends, and physically throwing her body around. That also translates well into her current position, where she might propel herself up the side of a building or down a long path. While, yes, she can use the accelerator to assist, Lena prefers to use physical force to get there. It prevents wear and tear on the accelerator and avoids periods of burnout.
Gymnastics helped her get the Slipstream position, guided some of her recovery afterwards, and molded the way she approached working out, training, and fieldwork.
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SEPARATE, #separate #synonym #ingles #part #never #disjoin #disunite #divorce #antonym #unite #fasten #tie #conjoin #wed #portugues #separar #parte #nunca #desengatar #desunir #divorciar #rasgar
SEPARATE, #separate #synonym #ingles #part #never #disjoin #disunite #divorce #antonym #unite #fasten #tie #conjoin #wed #portugues #separar #parte #nunca #desengatar #desunir #divorciar #rasgar
Inglês: Separate,
Synonyms
Part, never, disjoin, disunite, divorce, tear, rend, remove, disintegrate, detach, disconnect, divide, dissipate, scatter, segregate, diverge.
Antonyms
Unite, fasten, tie, conjoin, wed, link, amalgamate, consolidate, integrate, incorporate, connect, fuse, confound, mass, herd, congregate, convene, gather, collect, meet, converge.
Português: Separar
Parte, nunca,…
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This Week in BL - It's 2024 & I'm talking about TayNew... really?
(They pretty much told us all to sit down and shut tf up, 'cause they got this. AND THEY DO.)
Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.
Feb 2024 Wk 3
Ongoing Series - Thai
Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 9 of 12 - I broke. In my defense, it was Monday, I needed comfort, and TayNew were right tf there. Ya know what? They are great in this show. It's a great adaptation. I might like it more than the JBL live action. You know why? Really, honestly WHY...?
That was a PHENOMENAL KISS. Those boys did Thailand fucking proud. They did fandom a solid. Thank you OGs for reminding us how it's done. I was getting used to SloppyHot. And SloppyHot has its place, but that TayNew rooftop kiss was a top tear class act. It was tender and sweet and respectful and joyful. It was eye work and breath work and years of practice. How very far BL has come while still staying so much the same. TayNew - I salute you!
(Read all about distribution issues here.)
The Sign (Sat YT) ep 12fin - we waiting, I guess? Bah.
Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - The recipe book thing was so damn cute and I love a claiming. YOU KNOW I LOVE A CLAIMING!
In fact, I love OffGun.
I love food based BL.
I adored seeing a reboot of "the infamous dragging".
But I don’t love anything else about this show. Sigh.
1000 Years Old ep 1 of 12 - Finally we get our gay vampire BL from Feel Good Bangkok. Stars Shane (My Engineer) and fresh face Opal, directed by Champ (2gether). It’s kind of odd but enjoyable. A group of teen UFO seekers find a vampire instead. Opal looks a bit like a mix between Newnu + Leo (VIXX) - so cute + edge. Also, nice to see Shane again on our screens after so long.
Finally, I like the subtle (and sometimes not subtle) presence of ghosts permeating this show. Do the friends know she's there? Do they know she's dead? Is the existence of paranormal accepted but not that of aliens? Or are the two combined? Is this lazy writing or just fun world building? Who cares! It's enjoyable.
For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 12fin - the nail painting bit was very cutie queers and I've not seen it done in BL before, so that was nice. For some reason captions never dropped for me on this last episode, but it didn’t really matter. Not much happened and I understood everything anyway.
Quick pitch?
From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night based on a y-novel, about a young man nursing a heartbreak who has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. This turned out to be a pulp that wasn’t half as good as it should have been and even less memorable, but not terrible. 5/10 DON'T BOTHER unless you're v bored
City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Oh it is such a pulp: the acting is not good and the script is terrible. Of course, I’m mildly enjoying it. Very good dream kissing. There's something appealing about these main characters - I think it's the moot crushes. We rarely get to see that. These days everything feels very one sided, this... isn't.
A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV) - Khonprot, a third-year hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks maybe a boy has a chance.
I tried but I can't get into my WeTV account anymore and I'm way too lazy to figure it out. I'll catch it grey if I can, since I've rebooted the bootlegging side of my BL life for Cherry Magic anyway.
So this show may stay in this section, or I may bump it down to "it's airing but..."
If anyone is watching it, let me know if it's good?
Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) 7-8fin - Ugh it was GREAT, despite some pretty telling flaws. I ended up feeling like some of the filming was amateurish (very overworked low angles - director's first feature, I assume), and the narrative is a little disjoined and on the nose, AND the subs are clumsy (which I don't expect from KBL) BUT I still loved it. (FYI - I wouldn't be so harsh on a BL for this kinda thing except one from Korea.)
Quick pitch:
This isekai-based KBL is about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness. Like many queer narratives, this show is actually about self worth, trust, and found family, and it is VERY on the nose. But I don’t expect subtlety from my BL and I enjoyed it's truly lovely redemption arc and earnest performances. While I found the narrative a touch disjointed with overworked filming angles and poorer than average captions, this is certainly much better than early KBL in terms of consistency of tone, script, and immersion. Highly rewatchable and charming, which counts for a lot. 9/10
Trigger warning for suicide depicted.
Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 6 - Gosh, it’s so lovely. But I do just constantly want to give them both hugs.
AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh look, Taiwan has created yet another BL where I spend most of the time watching it grinning like an idiot. Surprise surprise. The pet name thing was fucking adorable. Also Taiwan once more proving they come by their "kings of kissing" title honestly. I mean to say. In a week of good kisses this one was just... WOW.
On the other hand, some of the underpinning themes are starting to v worry me (ownership, consent, age), and we only just got started, and I don't trust this production company so... I have concerns.
But also... YAY KISSES!
(I'm made of weak moral fiber.)
Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - Like many other shows on this list. I just enjoy it the most when the two leads are on screen together. So this episode was kind of lacking because they were apart for most of it. I also am starting to agree with the tone of the plot, that maybe they ARE better off as friends not lovers. (And I'm sure I'm not supposed to want that.) Oh Japan, must you?
My Strawberry Film (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 8 - Oh it’s good. In the arthouse lane so don’t expect sweetness & light or an HEA. If there’s no cartoon aspect to a JBL, there’s usually no joy. But it is certainly good. Teens uncover some old film and a mystery around a pretty girl. The background music is wildly annoying (and rarely in the background).
It's Done
What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.
The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam, it's on YouTube. I will give it a try when I have a window of time.
Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch.
7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) - Gave me Luminous Solution vibes have decided not to watch.
It's Airing But...
Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - rumors are it's interesting. I'm waiting to know how it ends.
Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.
Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.
Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.
Next Week Looks Like This:
2/24 Unknown (Taiwan Youku) 12 eps - Older brother tough guy breadwinner looks after his sister and defacto adopted little brother. Little bother falls in love with him and is sent away after a stolen kiss. But when he comes back…
Sam Lin has a cameo so even if I wasn't already excited, I'm in. We should be on our guard though, Taiwan will occasionally go edgy, dark, and sad... this could go there.
One assumes GMMTV is filling in the BL time slot with something queer on their YT Channel after Cooking Crush ends, they gonna lose subs if they don't. But I've not been paying attention to the chatter so I don't know which of their line-up it will be. I think G4 are filming/off radar now, and Earth is in that het noona thing? Plus they gotta sort out the IP for MIx-Up and Ossen. So it won't be one of the announced adaptations. They'll hold My Golden Blood for the high season, so I think it'll be one of the lesser known lead-outs. Wandee or Only Boo maybe? But they only just started filming those. Are we getting our long awaited GL? Anything else left from 2023 that I forgot about?
Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.
THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS
Two crawling kisses from Thailand this week. Now this is a fetish I didn't know I had. Turns out, we love this one! (*waves hand in air* I speak for all of us now.)
Cooking Crush
City of Stars
Possibly the best tsundere to cinnamon roll pivot we've had in a long time.
Also the best asshole to KING pivot. Could we have a whole drama staring this character now? Please?
And finally our sunshine learning to love himself.
SIGH. what a lovely show.
And a good SMILEY kiss from a KBL.
And then some cute cuddles? Korea is spoiling me these days. I'm catching expectations now. What's next? Japan learns to kiss in their light BLs? Ha! I kill me.
(All Love for Love's Sake).
(Last week)
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