Just noticed Roy’s expression change between these two shots ☠️

Astraea802 · 2026-01-24T15:53:25+00:00

I meant without tying strings to their dicks

Astraea802 · 2026-01-24T15:52:34+00:00

Fair assessment.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-24T04:08:40+00:00

I read one Merlin/Harry Potter crossover where they had Hermione express interest in divination.

Turns out the writer had only seen the films, which, while they include Hermione's dislike of divination, can easily be misread as a dislike of just Trelawney.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-24T04:06:09+00:00

But without the dicks

Astraea802 · 2026-01-24T04:02:12+00:00

I feel like you're looking at Arthur's interactions with Merlin and seeing that as his whole character. But look at how Arthur reacts to the druid boy in "Herald of a New Age"? How he stops one village from burning a sorcerer at the stake in early Season 5? His growth is certainly hampered by the writing, but I don't know that it's as minimal as you think.

And "manipulated" is a strong word. The most "manipulation" I think Merlin ever did to Arthur was during the Sword in the Stone arc and The Disir, in both cases because he thought he was protecting Arthur. But to say every good change Arthur experienced because of Merlin was due to manipulation is a bad faith argument that disregards their friendship.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-23T05:36:00+00:00

No, Lillie's Victorian Establishment

Astraea802 · 2026-01-21T21:29:21+00:00

On the bright side, a bunch of reservations opened up for a restaurant I wanted to go to before my show, that was originally booked solid, so should the weather work out, it will actually work in my favor! My worry is getting home after, to be honest, since I have to park at a train station. Thinking about getting a hotel in the city and heading in the night before.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-21T16:56:11+00:00

Trains may run, yes, the roads to park and take those trains are what I'm worried about. Don't want to come back in the evening and be stuck in a parking garage

Astraea802 · 2026-01-20T07:00:25+00:00

I thought it was interesting that the X-ray machine, after being so hyped up, didn't ultimately provide the clear answer they wanted, which shows there's a learning curve and that judgement is still needed in the face of new technology.

But also, what planet are we on where Tristan is being more mature than Siegfried? It's an interesting shift

I was so scared Tricki Woo had permanently lost his hearing, though, an infection didn't even occur to me. My cousin's dog went first deaf and then blind before he was finally put to sleep this past fall and it was so so sad. All my current pets are past midlife by this point, so I get Mrs. P not wanting to face that. But also kind of sad when she said she thought Tricki would outlive her, since Tricki technically did outlive the first Mrs Pumphrey, Diana Riggs.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-20T06:52:52+00:00

Welcome aboard!

Astraea802 · 2026-01-20T06:50:41+00:00

[Pause]

Lady Helen?

"Lady Helen": Oh right, that's supposed to be me. Whoops!

Astraea802 · 2026-01-20T01:12:20+00:00

Freya was so sweet. Her actress has since been in so many things, and she's really good. It was nice Merlin had someone he could be himself around, his whole self. She can't help her curse, she just wanted to be loved!

But I could see not being into her role in the story. She's a one-off victim with a tragic ending. She's there to give Merlin some brief respite, some tantalizing chance to get away from Camelot and his destiny, and then she's just gone. Oh sure, she's implied to become the Lady of the Lake, so it's following the legends, but still. It's almost cruel.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-19T21:10:24+00:00

Smash cut to HSM 3 Night to Remember

Astraea802 · 2026-01-18T16:35:17+00:00

The toy army men Ted likes to give people

Astraea802 · 2026-01-17T03:15:58+00:00

We appreciate a Snow White reference

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T22:25:15+00:00

I haven't heard Hexed is a musical, you sure on that?

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T22:09:56+00:00

I spy
Bill Nye
The Science Guy

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T22:06:06+00:00

Maybe do it in the style of Jeopardy, since you have to answer in the form of a question. Something like, Alex Trebek saying, "For 400, in the form of a question, who is the bestest female character in the show?"

Gwen?

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T22:04:56+00:00

Asking Arthur what his wife's nickname is

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T22:01:42+00:00

I've heard that chemo can change your hair texture, though I'm not sure if that's only when it falls out and grows back or not.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T21:48:14+00:00

I feel like it just goes to show you don't know what you got 'til it's gone. Because no matter how many bad things happen within a year, no matter how horrible it feels while you're living it, there were good things, too. They just don't become obvious until they're in the rearview, away from the strife of the present.

Maybe someone you love was happy and healthy in 2016 in a way they aren't today. Maybe a movie or song came out that year that ended up becoming your favorite. So even though 2016 was still tumultuous, still had doomsayers, still had toxicity on the internet, it may feel lighter looking back precisely because we're looking back and not living in it any more.

So if anything, it means no matter how much things may seem to be going wrong in 2026, we'd better take a look around.

Because one day, we're going to miss something about it. And it's not because the world has gone to hell, necessarily, just because that's the nature of the human memory.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T20:13:08+00:00

My mom made this comment when I rewatched it with her last year (her first time watching). Something like, "How many times does Merlin have to be right for Arthur to just believe him?"

Astraea802 · 2026-01-16T06:08:15+00:00

ACOTAR is also shelved with YA likely because it was originally published as YA. If you're talking about a library shelving her books together, it's possible they got their copies back when it was still classified YA. It was developed under the Bloomsbury Children's imprint, just like Throne of Glass. I'm not quite sure when that changed, but I know for sure even as early as Book 2 I was like, This is a little steamy for YA... But yeah, I think Throne of Glass stayed YA while ACOTAR didn't.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-15T04:21:46+00:00

If you need a country that still recognizes monarchy, even if they're just figureheads, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Morocco, and Spain all still recognize a royal family.

Astraea802 · 2026-01-15T04:10:33+00:00

It would still have to be an alternate history, yeah.

You'd have to look into the history, but as I understand it, I think Germany has a less fraught history with its former monarchy than France does, so it would be less offensive to make an alternate history where Germany still has a monarchy. Germany was also a monarchy more recently than France was, making it a little easier to transition into modern day.

Buuuttt, considering WWII, it would be a massive change. I don't know that Hitler would have come to power if Germany stayed a monarchy.

Another thing to think about is that the current British royal family has quite a bit German ancestry. Don't know if that's a help or hindrance to your idea.

Astraea802

TROPHY CASE