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sexy-sapphic-sorcerer · 2 months

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1: Magic is a Metaphor < 2: Morgana is a Lesbian < 3: Merlin is Gay < 4: Arthur is Bi

Do you remember when you were bullied in middle school? Because if you're reading this, I think it's fair to assume that you were. And your parents would say to you, 'that boy is just being mean to you because he likes you'. That's what this is.

Arthur is just so repressed. He has really bad daddy issues, and he doesn't know how to express his emotions, and he's really uncomfortable with physical intimacy, especially with other men, especially with Merlin. And this isn't me trying to psychoanalyse away his heterosexuality. It is a very evident part of his character.

And another big part of his character is that he has inherited all of these bigoted ideas about magic from his father that he has to work to overcome. Because, of course, Arthur himself is born of magic, but his dad is so ashamed of it that he hides the true circumstances of his birth from Arthur. Honestly, I don't know exactly how that would fit into this whole metaphor. I do have a half-formed theory that it could be interpreted as an allegory for intersex identity, I know that a lot of people headcanon Arthur as trans, so idk there could be something there. But regardless, it is only through his relationship with Merlin that he is able to overcome this magicphobia, because he realises: how could it be wrong when everything about Merlin is so right. And I just feel like there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

Of course, I have to mention this iconic quote from the audio commentary of the final episode: when the executive producer refers to Arthur taking off his royal seal to give back to Guinevere as passing over "the last vestige of his heterosexu- oh sorry, I mean his marriage." So, they knew exactly what they were doing.

I also thought I would just draw your attention to the fact that at one point Arthur says, "I only care about my men, they're more than friends, more than brothers." Now, I think we can all agree that out of context, that is a very gay thing to say, and yet somehow the context is even gayer, because Arthur is pretending to be talking about the Knights of the Round Table, but he's actually talking about Merlin, how Merlin is the only person he cares about, more than a friend. And then Merlin responds, "I understand. I wish I didn't, but I do." It's barely subtext at that point. This of course, brings me to my final argument:

Arthur risked his life to save Merlin at least eight times. It could be more than that, I genuinely lost count. And you have to keep in mind that Arthur is the King of Camelot and he doesn't have any heirs. It is quite important that he stays alive. And yet anytime that Merlin is in the slightest bit of danger, he will just drop everything to protect him.

And it's really only in those moments where he's faced with the thought of losing Merlin that he shows him genuine emotion. Such as in this scene (which was cut out of 4x02 purely because it was too gay) where Arthur is planning to sacrifice himself to protect Merlin, again, and he gives Merlin his mother's sigil, the only thing he has left of his dead mum and he wants Merlin to have it as something to remember him by. Also, apparently in medieval times giving someone your family crest was basically a marriage proposal, so that's pretty gay.

You know what else is pretty gay? Telepathically communicating with Merlin and then immediately leaving Gwen in the middle of an active war. This is literally the last time that Arthur and Gwen ever see each other. Poor Gwen.

In conclusion, Merlin is the story of gay sorcerers and bisexual knights getting into love triangles. Everyone in this show is queer and you cannot tell me otherwise.

#because I realise this is the first post you'll see on the dash: this is all taken directly from a tiktok I made over a year ago #my thoughts on this point especially have developed a bit since then. and this is written for a more entry-level tiktok audience #so it's very lukewarm takes to my fellow soldiers in the trenches #but I'm not expecting this to get much notice and idc/idk how to articulate my thoughts better so just take it for what it is #arthur pendragon #merthur #bbc merlin #merlin #merlin meta #the magic of metaphor

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petrichormeraki · 9 months

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I love how spiteful Danny is. Also contrary to most I think it makes a lot of sense that he uses his powers for spiteful reasons (even when the consequences/implications are super fucked up *ahem POSSESSION*) because like,,,,that makes a lot of sense for a 14 year old boy who gets bullied. Of course he's gonna use his cool powers to get back at people or make his life more convenient. He's 14. I know when I was 14 I was definitely not thinking of the consequences of my decisions on a grand scale, that shit comes with wisdom and time lmao

#he also learns from his mistakes in this sense #like that episode with poindexter #idk this may be a lukewarm take in the fandom actually but i saw some people shitting on him for stuff he does with his powers and like.#y'all. he's 14. and this show was written in the early 2000s #anyway ncsnzvgks #danny phantom

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violent138 · 23 days

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Kara Zor El totally had that terrible teen-girl obsession phase where she dyed her hair black, wanted to be a reporter, and meticulously documented and listened to Lois' favourite songs from their karaoke nights.

#*shrugs*#thoughts were had #Idk I'm sleepy #Kara zor el #lois lane #lukewarm takes #kara zor el #superfam #superman #superman comics

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tellyphonestuff · 8 months

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I do not give a single shit what anyone else says Bo Burnham is a lyrical genius. "I spit gold bars 'cause I was molested by my uncle Midas"? GOES HARD. "Fucked a girl in an apple orchard, then came in cider" EATS. ALL OF YOU BO DENIERS SUCK MY DICK

#bo burnham #words words words #oh bo #music #hot take #lukewarm take?#idk if this is a hot take or not #whatever

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panaceatthedisco · 7 months

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Love how the entirety of the bad batch is just different shades of ADHD and/or autism

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rochenn · 3 months

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Number 21 for the game? Be as rancid as you like :)

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

Rancid license received. Rancid takes will be delivered swiftly! :D

Ok so I will defend TCW to my last dying breath, and yet as someone who used to think that Star Wars lore is so messy due to the decades of multimedia, I have to say that just this show alone LOVES to contradict itself. I've done the sweaty stinky TCW worldbuilding research and by all accounts it doesn't make sense. The goddamn Hardeen arc 💀 this show manages to pull off the most world-breaking shit in such an entertaining and endearing way that it becomes easy to look past the glaring screaming flaws somehow. Like yknow. It's good!! I has substance! It also sucks a little though?? (<- quintessential Star Wars experience ig)

Also, the Mandalorians, or at least the part of their culture that everyone zooms in on. You know the one. It's been sucked completely dry for me and I've always felt a lil icky about the portrayal of this hashtag ancient highly religious highly militaristic people in The Mandalorian. That mix of societal traits never bodes well. It feels like the writers of the Mandalorian and adjacent shows like TBoBF didn't realize that and glorified their own creation to an uncomfortable degree. TCW actually handled this pretty well, with Mandalore being troubled and torn by its martial traditions and dragged down by a power-seeking traditionalist militia, because that's just what tends to happen in societies like that. The Mandalorian though... idk season 3 was too much of a mess to even say anything abt it lmao I'm just unbelievably sick of Grogu's face. Chucking this green gnome with malicious intent, hope something eats him like he ate that lizard lady's unhatched children!

#i love the clone wars. they're so good. and so... wonky....#ask #choose violence ask game #idk if these are even rancid takes they're kinda lukewarm i'm so sorry

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abiiors · 3 months

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literally no one asked for this but i am so tired and sleepy and filter-less rn so i must make it known anyway

i need them to replace bmm with literally any other acoustic song!!! or turn one of your songs acoustic idk, people acoustic i wanna fucking see that, show me your talent (this is a joke pls do not do people acoustic if you’re lurking here matty) (that one acoustic performance of oh caroline i am looking at you — you are gorgeous stunning perfect)

iilwy is starting to become like somebody else for me in that i am sick to death of it i have started skipping it every time 💔

#hot takes????#maybe lukewarm takes idk #the 1975 #personal posts

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batsplat · 4 days

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You cannot imagine how giddy I get when I see you've posted a nice long thesis on the riders. And the timezones work as such that I see it during breakfast and it MAKES MY ENTIRE DAY. The content just keeps tumbling around in my brain the whole day. Thank you!!!💛💛💛

this is so incredibly kind that I really don't know what to say... so I'm going to fire off a random undercooked take that is very very far away from thesis territory. featuring the 2015 season

in 2022, jorge gave one of his own regularly scheduled takes on the 2015 season. he offered up a bit of an unusual opinion by focusing on the argentina clash that year - which he that "crucial" in the collapse of the marc/valentino relationship:

(god, can you imagine having a workplace falling out so bad that seven years later it's still an active topic of speculation what exactly the precipitating event was, and several of your coworkers enjoy regularly weighing in with their thoughts? like man they'll never be allowed to rest)

I find this really interesting coming from jorge. one of the fun things about that season is the degree of genuine ambiguity that exists about all of the major on-track flashpoints. was one of valentino or marc responsible for the argentina crash? was the cutting of the chicane at assen premeditated by valentino? and, of course, did valentino really kick marc at sepang? that being said... the argentina one has always been the one where it just seemed... unfortunate timing, shit happens. it's more on marc, he made a misjudgement and also just took a bit too much risk in the context of the title fight, but complete racing incident. that's the reason why this is a slightly odd take from jorge. it's the one incident nobody really has pinned on valentino, certainly not the commentators or the commentariat or otherwise or anyone

to be clear - this post isn't about figuring out what 'really happened' at argentina 2015, it's more about... well, how it was perceived at the time, and what that tells us. but, just to quickly get this out of the way: from the outside (and with the obvious caveat of 'what do I know'), it's a little tricky to see how you'd solely blame valentino for the collision. valentino is by this point clearly ahead of marc, he's literally just been bumped into by marc so may also not have been 100% in control of the bike, and he's taking a regular line into the next turn... when marc essentially rides so closely to him that valentino turning the bike takes out marc's front wheel. even if vale's deliberately trying to ride defensively against marc, he's perfectly entitled to do so. I know jorge doesn't actually specify valentino crashed marc out deliberately, but given the specific situation, I feel like that's what you're implying when you're saying he's "responsible". you're suggesting valentino knew where marc was and essentially purposefully moved the bike across to wipe out marc's front wheel and... look. I suppose it's possible, though valentino's also allowed to some extent to deliberately make the life of the guy behind him harder. more likely, this is just what happens when two hard racers race each other and insist on practically sitting on each other's bikes when they're on track together - sometimes it'll go wrong. except, of course, that won't stop controversy from breaking out... especially not when it's these two. here, from one of the write ups of the race, is a description of the two of them I've always been fond of:

which is very them, yes. same type of guy, slightly different flavour, both with carefully cultivated reputations. but look, the main takeaway is this: we don't know their actual intentions. I don't know if valentino deliberately made contact with marc. let's be honest, marc doesn't know if valentino deliberately made contact. only valentino knows that. jorge lorenzo certainly doesn't know that. so why is this the incident he brought up?

in part, I'm curious how jorge even got that impression that marc was mad, and also why he thinks valentino was to blame. the latter, okay, jorge isn't naturally inclined to be generous towards valentino's particular style of racing, not least because he's fallen foul of it a fair few times over the years (though I'd say valentino on occasion was rather less subtle than that against jorge lol). but why is this the thing jorge brings up? I mean, you'd think he'd point to assen as the turning point, given he was literally sitting in that extremely awkward post-race presser and clearly very much enjoyed the whole thing. does he know marc was mad at valentino for argentina? that marc "didn't like it"? was this some kind of paddock rumour at the time? would there have been any basis for that rumour?

so, marc himself was quick to publicly deny that he was angry at valentino, something he reiterated at the next race in jerez. immediately post-race, he said the following:

and the official statement:

it's still far from the snarky digs of the post-assen presser, but to me this is a little open to interpretation. I always find 'learn' a very interesting verb. casey over the years was particularly keen on using that word, typically in relation to valentino, to the point where when you see that his tweet commemorating valentino's retirement includes the phrase "I learnt a lot from you".... well, that can be read in lots of ways, not all of them positive. it kind of depends on what you're learning, right? when casey uses it, the implication is basically that valentino was an asshole and casey had to learn to play his games and be more selfish fighting vale. marc uses the word four times in the interview, plus again in the statement. valentino has a certain reputation, a reputation marc is of course more than aware of. he is known for... not being a cheat, necessarily, but being a little underhanded in his tactics, a little devious. yes, valentino did a good job in managing the race, but also in the "melee". "you learn different things and different strategies". what kind of different strategies, marc? are we sure he's talking about tyre preservation here?

(speaking of tyre preservation, one of the reasons why marc was probably feeling particularly disinclined to let valentino go without a fight was the fuckery with the tyre choices. long story short, tyre choice was a big talking point due to the extreme wear they'd had the year before and the extra compound bridgestone had developed. marc made a bit of a show of faffing about with a late switch that he kept concealed until basically the last moment, presumably to fuck with his competitors who were tensely waiting to see what he'd pick. valentino, who had opted for the hardest option, said after the race that he'd ignored what marc was doing because he knew there was only one choice for the yamaha anyway. so in the end it didn't really work to unsettled his key rival and also... well, I mean, marc was two laps away from the tyre choice working in the race, but not quite! just couldn't build up the lead he needed to prevent valentino from reeling him in)

also, "in the end you can see perfectly what happens" is not technically the same thing as saying valentino was not to blame for the incident. it's a phrasing that shies carefully away from actually giving marc's own take on the incident. basically telling the viewer to draw their own conclusions from what they've seen on tv - even though of course marc does make clear he sees it as a racing incident. it's the kind of vague statement that marc has occasionally popped out over the years, at times perhaps implying more than outright stating he has a problem with a certain incident, which does make you maybe raise an eyebrow or two at how he words it here. it's just... listen, it could be 100% innocent and the whole thing isn't flirting with disaster as much as assen is, far from it, but it's the kind of thing where with 20/20 hindsight you do kinda go. hm.

there is a little more evidence that marc was indeed mad at valentino for what happened at argentina... if valentino is to believed and marc's manager told him so directly after sepang:

(why, if you are marc marquez's manager, do you go to valentino rossi after sepang 2015 to tell valentino you think marc was angry at him for losing him the title. why would you do this. what are you trying to accomplish here)

do I believe this conversation happened? yeah, kinda, because it feels like an odd and very specific thing to make up. that's just a gut feeling thing - I have zero evidence either way obviously. I think at most it's plausible valentino misinterpreted what alzamora was saying. of course, the words "as much" do set off an alarm bell or two, maybe suggesting alzamora didn't directly tell him the bits about argentina and assen. but, y'know, it's also entirely possible marc did think valentino had deliberately taken him out in argentina, especially in the heat of the moment - and his team would very much have been aware of his feelings on the matter. not fun to crash out of the penultimate lap. not when clashing with the championship leader, who is also your hero and who you've generally gotten the better of... not easy not easy

anyway, again, this is definitely a bit of an undercooked take, but it's always nice to get a little bit of insight into what the paddock vibes were at the time. if there are many people - and if there were many people back then - who think that valentino had deliberately taken out marc, that he should have apologised to marc, that marc was mad at valentino.... if it got back to valentino through alzamora, did he hear it from other people too? to what extent was this kind of thing common wisdom within the paddock, or are these takes literally nobody but jorge believes in? we don't know, but it's interesting! argentina is kinda the unloved child of 2015 divorce incidents. partly because it does look so innocuous, partly because it's harder to ascribe ill intent, partly because the two parties are far more pleasant to each other in the aftermath. that's why jorge coming back to this specific incident has stuck with me... in all honesty, I don't really trust jorge to be a particularly good judge of marc and valentino's interpersonal chemistry at any given moment in time, but did he see the cracks beginning to emerge so early in the season? to what extent did argentina already make things visibly less comfortable between the pair of them? why does jorge think marc wanted an apology?

if marc really was particularly angry, then it does go to show how quickly he flipped the switch himself when it came to valentino, swiftly reappraising him as a serious rival who should be treated as such. also, let's put aside a minute what valentino's actual intentions were... it's revealing if marc did think valentino was deliberately fucking him over here. (which, given he's repeatedly using the word "learn" - if he does think valentino's responsible as jorge suggests, then he also doesn't think it was just an innocent lil mistake. you don't 'learn' from your hero making an error, you learn from them riding in a way that wins them the race by crashing you out.) like, y'know how in this post I was saying marc obviously was perfectly aware of valentino's past history, including the feuding and controversy of it all? I mean, if you want proof of how aware he was, look at assen 2015! he's clearly immediately suspicious of valentino and his motives... because he knows what valentino's like, because he knows that 'planning to exploit a grey area in the rules by deliberately allowing marc to make contact before cutting the chicane' is absolutely the kind of sneaky shit valentino is renowned for. what if marc does share jorge's belief that valentino is responsible for the argentina crash? if marc thinks valentino did so deliberately, then that tells you something about how marc sees valentino, no?

obviously they both massively over-correct when they arrive at jerez, which is how we get 'in bed remains the same' and lingering hugs feat. hip-stroking in parc fermé, all that stuff. if it did plant a little seed of suspicion, a little seed of doubt, then that maybe helps explain why they were focused on each other more than they were on the guy who won the next four races - even when it became increasingly clear jorge was the championship favourite. which is what it comes back to for me - the fact that such a seemingly innocuous incident was allowed to blossom into so much more shows there was already something there between the pair of them. the championship might be one thing... but somehow, if given half a chance, they were always going to see each other as their number one rival

#this is so lovely to read seriously... I'm awful about compliments but it really is appreciated #all I have to offer is lukewarm takes in thanks #bunnbunn #//#brr brr #this isn't really relevant but jorge's 'on race day something always happened' like 'rain'... buddy that. that is part of the game. come on #silverstone was WET wet misano flag to flag motegi drying track. it's not like Big Yellow got out the rain machines #he's right that the 2015 season shouldn't have been close given he was fighting a washed up 36 year old but like. buddy that's on you #also I'm gonna be honest the time stamps are completely misleading... all scheduled or when the insomnia wakes me up too early #'why schedule for the middle of the night' idk it's a slightly silly habit I picked up as a teen for a different blog and never kicked #something about spreading out posts without distracting myself during the day by making last minute edits #I find athletes easy to understand because I operate on a similar wavelength of natural neuroticism

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moodlevoodle · 2 months

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if you’re ever feeling bad about yourself just know you’ll Never be as boring or lukewarm as moistcritikal

#i rlly don’t like him im sorry #every time i hear him he is giving the most lukewarm take #and then everyone’s acts like he’s so brave #might get killed idk #my post #moist critikal

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heartburstings · 2 months

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bc no "jason was a bad boyfriend and a bad person" takes are so fucking interesting to me. not deeply and importantly interesting, no. amusingly and superficially interesting. like oh i'm so fucking sorry he didn't react perfectly to homophobia! wooww you're right he's so stupid he should have just stayed with peter no matter how real and dangerous homophobia is/was!! you're so smart do you want a cookie? do you want a warm freshly baked cookie for your cold little take? it must be so hard to demonize the characters you don't understand or like, and so much harder to just focus on how those BAD characters SHOULD behave for the happiness of the character you DO relate to. it must be soooo tough!

dw i got a present for you here i got a brand spankin' new cold take for you: peter is a bad boyfriend and a bad person because he didn't listen to his boyfriend's concerns and dismissed him and called him a coward for not coming out with/for him and went so far as to cut him off for being frightened of how bigotry might destroy his life. what a pressuring dickhead! how dare peter be so stupid and not understand that jason just wants to be safe and stay alive? if only he went along and stayed in the closet a little longer none of this would have happened!

DO YOU SEE HOW YOU SOUND? THAT'S HOW YOU SOUND. now go forth and do the hard work of sympathizing with characters you don't like because as much as there are people who relate to peter there are also people who relate to jason and i want you to know that i use jason as a litmus test of how you treat and/or think of actual "imperfect" gays and victims. yes, jason hater! you, TOO, can participate in the homophobia and pressure which killed jason mcconnell! now be beautiful and true and find it in you to take something else away from this play. you can do it i believe in you. you can be kind and give that boy some fucking grace. you don't have to love him you can still hate him just have some nuance. please.

#wynn speaks #haven't been in the tags for a hot minute so idk if this is still something people say. but fuck it i'll put it in the tags.#bare: a pop opera #bc at the same time i think this is one of those things someone will always say.#whether they think it's funny to say it or they actually think it. either way i care not. i'm sick of it i'm sick of stuck in thick of it #also to clarify on the piss on poor website: THAT PETER TAKE IS NOT AN ACTUAL TAKE.#it is a tool i am using to show the peter-equivalent of lukewarm unempathetic jason takes.#and i DON'T use the word unempathetic lightly. there is such a lack of care and sympathy there #that it sometimes feels like these people see bapo as a tragedy for peter more than it is for jason.#but it's both of their tragedies.#or maybe i'm just yelling at clouds. who knows. whatever

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