#it took all my power not to make sera’s song I am my own muse

[escape-boards]

Horizon City’s very own criminal gang

Serafina (she/her or your/majesty) the queen

Jackie (he/him) the femme fatale

Spots (he/him) came with Jackie in a package deal and he can do literally anything but like, only mediocrely (actually SUPER helpful in a pinch)

[kkahii]

(i don’t listen to as much kpop as i did back then, but) here’s my fave 2019 girl group tracks before nye:

nine muses - remember (2019)

i love namyu, i think about them a lot. like a lot lot.

i sometimes spend my time crying over namyu while watching their stage mixes hbu.

aoa - queendom perf version of songs (miniskirt, egotistic cover, sorry), new moon mini album

i cried when i saw them as 5. i cried when i saw ot5 miniskirt, i cried when i saw their egotistic cover, and i cried when i saw sorry. (i’m a very emotional person lol.) but i mostly cried bc they’re a 2nd gen group who’s fighting to stay in the industry, you know? even apink eunji cried while watching them heh

and i watched queendom as it aired, it was very overwhelming, especially sorry. like. nobody tf knew it was gonna be a yeehaw, nobody knew chanmi was going to do the thing. sorry, man, sorry.

they immediately had come see me after queendom ended and i personally think they did great with their performances and variety show appearances despite the song not getting a music show win and despite the promotion period getting cut short.

apink - eung eung

When apink said they were so sick of their fairy idol status, they meant it and followed thru with their current concept/vibe with eung eung (not exactly girl crush and not exactly fairy/cute, it’s in a perfect blend in between that apink was able to achieve). if aoa hadn’t made a comeback and i wasn’t a namyu stan, eung eung would have been top of my list tbh.

Idk if it's the concept change or if times have changed and their previous fans have moved on to newer groups, but their physical albums sales (wc is considered a measure of fandom power) took a deep dive, if i’m not mistaken.

despite their fandom losing steam over the past few years, they’re still a great girl group and one of the few remaining 2nd gen ggs active rn (together with aoa, brown eyed girls, and sunny hill from the top of my head). mad respect.

exid - me & you

Their last korean comeback before they officially went on hiatus. i like exid enough, i know a lot of exid things and watch a lot of their variety shows but i wouldn’t call myself a stan and i actually don’t keep track of their schedules (unlike how i am with namyu and clc, now aoa recently), so i was just happily watching their mv and comeback stages not knowing it was their last ....lol

i only found out when i saw news of hani getting signed to another agency.....

ANYWAY. They said they're not disbanded, but who knows when their nxt kr comeback is gonna be tbh. all five of them have their own thing going on tho, mostly youtubers i think, but whatever pays the bills.

baek yerin - square (2017)

her unreleased track from way back 2017 only got released earlier this month and yes, I still haven’t been able to stop playing this song. sometimes on loop, like how aoa jimin is with into the unknown.

also, "I'm so so broke like someone just robbed me" speaks to me on a spiritual level because i'm both broke emotionally and financially.

clc - no, me, devil

clc had a great year tbh: finally managed to get 5k+ hanteo sales with no.1, got their first win, and released music at a relatively good pace within the year. All members have also had schedules or something except seunghee (???? I hope she's been busy).

Sorn kinda fcked up towards the end tho, but i'm hoping she learns and makes up for it. ONE THING tho. i know stans would do anything to protect their faves, but it was very disappointing seeing cheshires ~defend sorn by making shit up re: the timestamps of her posts. ppl be asking what happened and yall be like, “NOTHING she posted that one pic before the other and stan twitter just overreacting” please don’t do this. please don’t distort facts like timestamps of posts and all that. let her speak for herself and own up to it herself.

dreamcatcher - and there was no one left

i like that dk are doing their own thing with their kpop rock and elaborate choreography and mvs and all that, unfortunately, i am not into the genre...BUT THEN i saw someone say ‘hey this sounds like a city pop song (it’s not)’ so i gave this song a listen and now it's the only song ever? yes.

taeyeon - gravity

taengsic. hahaha, jk ......................unless??

lovelyz - moonlight / oh my girl - guerilla

i lumped these two together because i really like these songs but sometimes when i think about them, i can’t remember what they sound like for some reason. (sorry.)

aa team - instagram

hyejeong was so awkward lmfao remember that scene minnie was going to go for a hug but then hyejeong was like...not. dead. ALSO. hyejeong kept saying how minnie got hurt because she was rejected twice....but there she was not chosen at all :(

anyway. i’m a sucker for vocal/tone combinations like theirs. like say namyu hyemi + keumjo/sera/kyungri or clc seunghee + sorn/yeeun/yujin or taengsic (lol) ya know what i mean?

special mentions:

twice - feel special, beg - wonder woman, sunmi - lalalay, omg - destiny cover, g-idle - uh oh, cherry bullet - q&a, berry good - oh oh, wjsn - as you wish, ariaz - moonlight aria, rainbow - aurora

[mistralrunner]

Trespasser Liveblog, Part 1: Ruins and Reunions

I decided to post my reactions to playing Trespasser with my Inquisitor, Menel Lavellan, cause why not. I watched @inner-muse​ play Trespasser with her Trevelyan when the DLC first came out, so I’m spoiled for a good portion of it, but considering I forgot things, didn’t read many of the codices, didn’t have the context at the time to notice some details, and my Inquisitor is rather different from hers, I’m hoping to be surprised by some things.

The game starts out swimmingly as Menel Lavellan’s face isn’t fully loaded and looks derpy for the opening scene. I reloaded.

Negotiations at Halamshiral are always a kind of punch in the face for a Lavellan

I’m so powerful and yet I still can’t get a Dalish homeland.

The march parade thing is two competent diplomats and Cullen, but his whining is very useful for exposition and probably getting the general Inquisition member pov.

Ahh the theme. Ahh the anchor. It’s really happening.

Mother Giselle: The Dales are finally recovering Menel: *knows he should be happy the shemlen aren’t suffering and somewhat is but considering their homes are on land stolen from his people* *is polite and gracious anyway*

I am so happy I get to reference that conversation about the Inquisition putting down their swords in game yesss. I have a fondness for that sort of thing.

Varric you are the best for negotiating a deal with Wycome’s council, especially with cities like Starkhaven around.

I’m honestly surprised they referenced Clan Lavellan’s fate since Inquisition did such a poor job of tying in character origins. Happy, but surprised.

All hail Viscount Varric he who does not wear the silly pointy crown

I wonder what happens if your Hawke took the Viscount position in DA2 though. Cause Tamara Hawke avoided that route like the plague.

I hesitated re: where to go next and then headed over to the tavern cause new songs. Who are these diplomats that I should probably be speaking to first?

I do not regret making Cole more human cause it made sense to Menel and also fit with Menel’s character arc but I do not ship this ship. It came out of nowhere and the implication that romance is a part of becoming human kind of rubs me the wrong way. It’d be nicer if they were just buddies roaming about making people happy. At least Menel’s reaction mirrored how weirded out I am.

Hehehe Menel you nerd distracting Bull are you even taking this seriously. The Veil as a vibration repelling the Fade part is interesting though given what’s to come.

I just realized Dalish and Menel have the same hairstyle. Huh.

Serraaaaa <3

Menel is no Jenny but he is there to be a friend always.

Sera’s journal is a mix of humor and feels as always. I do wonder how obvious Menel’s pain is to the general populace, and not just observant people like Sera. I headcanon Vivienne and her tailor fashioned formal attire for Menel that cloaked the glowing to some extent.

Josieeee my diplomat buddy

I’m so happy she takes a break and that she considers me enough of a friend to invite me.

Glad to see it’s still Leliana despite the silly new hat. Wanting to borrow Scout Harding to find more nugs, and not hiring anyone without first observing them in a room of baby nugs.

Why is there floating cheese?

It’s just hanging in the air near the palace entrance.

For context I should mention I headcanon that Menel was already in talks with Ferelden about disbanding the Inquisition and relocating members and Ferelden is covering it up by acting buffoonishly belligerent cause the Orlesians will absolutely believe that. Of course things are still tenuous cause the Inquisition has power and Ferelden is probably concerned they’ll be betrayed.

Arl Teagan: Redcliffe remembers its savior. Me: Which one?

Aww I can read Alistair’s letter in his voice wait what how dare you

"Someone, presumably His Majesty, has drawn a stick figure weighed down by an oversized crown at the bottom of the page."

I wonder if that letter is different with a warden romanced Alistair, since technically my canon is that @inner-muse’s Cousland and my Mahariel were wardens together and her Cousland becomes queen.

Oooh the landscape is so pretty.

And that makes Menel sad. Cause Halamshiral.

Fitting the journey ends here at the place named for journey’s end

DORIAN

PFFT CYRIL'S THE NEW DUKE OF CHATEAU HAINE PFFT

All references to Chateau Haine amuse me.

Ugh I really hate the reuniting Briala and Celene option. All the options stink but maybe I should have gone for the triumvirate instead. It was out of character to put a warmonger like Gaspard in power for Menel and I headcanoned that the romantically reuniting dialogue didn’t really happen and it was more like Menel and Briala cornered Celene politically but ugh. The commentary is disgusting even without what I know of The Masked Empire and is hard to listen to.

A fountain with Orlesian lions is such a great commemoration for a Dalish elf

Leliana's right next to a chessboard wow

That Leliana conversation was so good on so many levels. Bonus points for the hand focus

"You and I have come so far through the darkness together. It is time for us both to live in the light."

Thanks Leliana I didn't expect these feels

Now can you please please repeat this speech to Rhovan Mahariel

Pupppyy

I'm still angry we didn’t get a mabari. Menel respects the mabari's intelligence and finds it typical of Orlais to abandon one but doesn't understand my resentment

The line about how the mabari should know where they came from is so Dalish

I forgot the dog treats gave you a constitution bonus!!

My initial reaction to said bonus was tied between “Scary mabari magic” and “Honestly Menel will need it”

Dorian needs a hug

Aaaaah creepy purple smoke things even before the Eluvians that spooked me

Okay there are chessboards everywhere. Even more fitting considering who we’re seeing at the end of this DLC.

Spa day with Vivienne! Admittedly I headcanon Menel has full body vallaslin so seeing him in the swimsuit is weird. .

Hehe Sera in the background steals the show.

Glad to know Vivienne still ships Cassandra and Menel

Love how Leliana has her own guard, nice helmets too, oh they still have the same weird face belt thing as Sebastian

I had a weird feeling about that guy and he vanished right in front of me in creepy smoke like the last one

Saved talking to Cassandra for last. I know what Varric tells her in the case of other romances, but would he really lie about a proposal in this case?

Probably

Casssaaaandraaa she’s so adorable when startled and would probably kill me if I said so

Seriously Varric. Not surprised at all, but seriously.

The awkward silence was excellent.

I really like how this was handled. Cause this is not the right time, they’re busy with their respective duties, Menel is increasingly concerned about the state of his hand, and an Orlesian council isn’t really that romantic to either of them, and they both recognize it and accept that.

But her line about not even the Maker can keep her away coming from Cassandra

You know, Varric technically wasn’t wrong. Cause a quasi proposal did kind of happen in the sense of a conversation about are you okay with a proposal sometime in the future

Okay meeting time, which is clearly not going to be interrupted.

Really Teagan those comments about the wardens were unnecessary

The exile meant that there were very few wardens to combat the Blight, which by the way nearly destroyed your country about a decade ago as opposed Sophia Dryden messing things up hundreds of years ago.

I get we have a tenuous secret arrangement but slandering the wardens is not the way to cover it up.

I kind of just want the Hero of Ferelden to barge into the Council cause that would be hilarious.

Also Menel seriously in pain and struggling to cover it up during these tense talks and Josie's look of concern

Nice, this time they actually have guards blocking off the area rather than just no one noticing the obvious bloodstains in the Winter Palace

Eluvian!

*Rhovan Mahariel’s furious screeching in the distance*

*touches the glass and it makes a fun splooshing noise and pretty light effects* *touches again*

Rhovan “DON’T TOUCH THE GLASS TAMLEN” Mahariel is so done right now

The Crossroads is so much prettier as an elf all the colorsss

I don't have to fight the guardian spirits I am so happy. I could only parse some of the elvish but I feel like it’s cheating to look up an official translation if there is one?

We can't imagine why the Qunari think the Inquisition is in cahoots with Fen'Harel it can't possibly be because the Inquisitor talked to the spirit guardians activated by an agent of Fen'Harel and they attacked the Qunari but let the Inquisitor pass

Huh Vivienne is the first to suggest the Fen'Harel as the deceiver thing is propaganda, fitting considering she knows courts

Constant glowingggg Anchor yes

Sera: The Dalish. Are going. To shit themselves. Menel, a Dalish: ...

Cullen shut up Josie's job is important

I'm so sorry Josie. Our plan is falling apart and I'm not helping. You’re so talented but you should not be carrying this weight alone.

Where is the Tirashan where elves like Sentinels supposedly are

I forgot how much I love Cole’s cryptic lyrical statements. All the alliteration makes me happy.

“Your hand hurts. A heartbeat, not yours, hammering the beat of a song in its final verse. I’m sorry.”

“The spirits have fled, flying, fluttering, fast to the farthest Fade. They’re afraid of the Veil tearing again. ”

Also not concerning at all, nope.

Glad to see Sera still ships Menel and Cassandra, even if her humor is admittedly crude.

"Elf-loovians" pfft

Sera: Are you all right with it? The...Creators? Menel: I don't think I am, Sera. Sera: I...don't know words that fix things. But you have friends. We're real. Please remember that.

Excuse me as I cry

Aaaah Sera says the Jenny near Wycome says my clan is doing well aaaaah

Eluvian, part II!

I already know it’s the Deep Roads, so looks like I’m bringing Varric along!

I am really intrigued by this Dalish elf writing these notebooks, and also the fact that there was another misplaced Dalish in Kirkwall besides Merrill and Feynriel’s mother. Admittedly Merrill didn’t really engage much with the alienage community until much later.

I really do appreciate the Qunari ingenuity in finding people who know things and extracting information and then building upon it. The independence and unwillingness to cooperate with anything they don’t control not so much.

Yeah the Fen'Harel and Mythal in cahoots thing is unnerving to Menel. Also it’s been two years and the Well of Sorrows failed to mention anything about that until now? And elfy ruins underground feels so wrong.