#i love blair so much

[theyarewrestling]

Dan and Phil, The Blair Witch Project, and taking back agency.

In their latest video, «DanAndPhilCRAFTS - Slime» Dan and Phil have made a very clear homage to the 1999 found footage film «The Blair Witch Project» directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. The movie tells a story about a group of students, who travel to a small town in order to film a documentary about a local legend. In the process of filming, however, they get lost in the woods and never make it out of there, being haunted and then presumably killed by the witch. In this essay I am going to analyze how the visual narrative is structured in both films in relation to one another, the way «Slime» differs from «Blair Witch» and how that difference conveys the shift in Dan and Phil’s public presence.

Let's start with imagery associated with the paranormal in both films. In Blair Witch one of the signs of the witch's presence become the "dolls" made out of sticks. They are filmed by the characters, who are naturally freaked out by the dolls appearing seemingly out of thin air, signaling the presence of the dangerous and inhuman Other.

Dolls are also used in Dan and Phil's video, the main difference being that the pair are not haunted by the paranormal and unexplainable Other, no, they willingly put the dolls there, they are taking active steps in bringing about their own doom.

While in «Blair Witch» the dolls are placed ominously in between tree branches, filmed from below to make them look like they’re floating above the camera, being forces of a power that the characters ought to be afraid of, in «Slime» the dolls are nailed to a steady surface at camera-level, and while they do provide an unnerving atmosphere, they are not a danger to the characters, at least not a danger they’re not aware of.

The same can be said for other "occult" imagery and artifacts. While in «Blair Witch» the characters finding strange symbols and even bloody remains in the forest strengthens the tension and suspense, signaling the close presence of the witch, in «Slime» all of the unnerving, "occult" and "satanic" exists under the characters' control. Dan draws the symbol on the wall himself, the animal skulls are presumably also brought in by the characters. Instead of being signs of danger, uncontrollable, they are merely tools in the hands of the pair.

The interior of the shack where the students meet their end in the 1999 film is filthy and decaying, which only strengthens the fear within the characters and us as the audience. It is filmed using close up shots which show the shack in it's decrepit and unnerving state. The shack that Dan and Phil's video is filmed in also seems abandoned from the interior, it is broken down, dark and dusty. However, instead of being mortified, like the characters of «Blair Witch», they occupy the space quite comfortably. Instead of being haunted by the building, they become the ones who haunt it, once again taking back control of their own demise. The interior is filmed at strange angles, almost reminiscent of German Expressionist films, in which the odd angles conveyed the detachment from reality and perpetual insanity, which in Dan and Phil's case could be used to depict the pair's descent into madness which leads them to their ritual.

Nature plays a crucial role in «Blair Witch» as the witch herself is never shown. The characters are "surrounded" by the unnerving dark trees, which presumably hide the horror that is never allowed to be seen directly.

Dan and Phil make an obvious homage to that with their shots of the trees, however there is a major difference. While the shot is still desaturated and somewhat unnerving, the flowers on the tree are in bloom, symbolizing a new beginning and the hope that comes with it. The new "life" that is going to happen after the pair summons Baphomet.

In «Blair Witch» Heather's final message is a long shot filled with pure fear and desperation. Dan and Phil's shot mimicking it is almost unnecessary as it lasts only a few seconds, however in those few moments it manages to showcase the pair as a unit, they are calm and in the process of their ritual, determined to bring it to fruition. While Heather is left alone in the dark forest in which she will die, Dan and Phil are not alone: they are in this together, they are a team. If they die, it's because they chose to do so. "Creativity is nothing without friendship".

Now for the infamous "Blair Witching it in the corner". In this memorable scene from the 1999 film one of the students is stood in the corner facing the wall. Heather and the audience both know that, according to the Blair witch mythology, this position is a prelude to being killed, as that is how the murderer, who was persuaded by the witch, used to place his victims, for he couldn't bear to look them in the eyes. This face-to-the-wall position conveys pure helplessness at the hands of the persecutor. In «Slime» there is a scene that makes an obvious homage to the «Blair Witch» scene: Phil is stood in a dark corner of a room, the shot is in black and white. There is, however, a stark difference: Phil is facing the camera. With just this one change the scene no longer feels like a display of helplessness. Phil is looking straight at us, he is not a victim at the hands of unknown horrors, he is in control.

The way the "monster" is presented in both films differs significantly. A big part of the horror in «Blair Witch» is our inability to ever see the witch herself. The "monster" not being shown to the camera is a trope as old as low-budget horror: it helps build suspense and also hides the lack of budget. In «Blair Witch» the rapid movement of the camera also makes it feel like the horror is too great for a human mind to comprehend, too great to be caught on camera, Lovecraftian in nature.

The 1999 movie starts with the characters interviewing Blair locals, who tell the characters and us, the audience, the legend of the Blair witch. The witch was sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft, so she haunts those who try to disturb her peace. Here we can make the connection between those persecuted for "practicing witchcraft" aka being Other with being queer and being othered and, historically, persecuted for it.

This interpretation correlates well with the fact that the "monster", in this case the devil Baphomet, is present in «Slime». More than that, Dan and Phil actively seek him out. In the final scene of the short film, Baphomet has his arms around the pair, claiming them. The characters are willingly allying themselves with the Other. Dan and Phil see the "monster" and yet they do not run away, instead, they worship him. In the theme of reclaiming your agency, this could symbolize coming out, proudly and purposefully becoming part of the Other.

They are doomed from the start, but they are not helpless victims of the Other, scary and unknown, they are the ones bringing about their own doom. This is taking your agency back, and I feel like this narrative rhymes really well with Dan and Phil's current presence on the internet. While the early years of their careers were filled with public speculation and being stripped of their agency, something that "was just theirs" being scrutinized by the public, which definitely affected the way they had to behave, their current self-described "chaos era" is very different. They no longer make the effort to pretend to be anything they're not. They are the ones in control of the narrative, keeping their private life private, while also sharing way more openly and freely, knowing that we know and not really caring about the public's perception, as post coming out they have taken the power and agency back into their own hands.

#i cracked and wrote my own analysis #putting this under the cut cuz its long BUT IT HAS PICTURES PLEASE LOOK #sorryy if some phrasing is wonky or awkward haha i can't always tell what doesn't sound natural in english #there were a few more shots that were direct homages to specific blair witch shots but they dont differ much and idk what to say about thos #the beauty of experimental cinema specifically is how it can only mean as much as the viewer is willing to put into it #so by overanalyzing and creating our own meaning we're entering a dialogue with the film #we're a bunch of sick freaks who write essays for the love of the game huh #dan and phil #phan #<- for the bit

[fictionadventurer]

The more I learn about Civil War politics, the more I'm convinced that Lincoln's most impressive and useful leadership trait was that he never let his pride get in the way of doing his job.

Other people in Lincoln's position would have come to Washington with something to prove. They'd have resented the insults and tried to disprove them. They'd have tried to seize power and credit, rejected help, spent a lot of time trying to reach a certain level of respect.

Lincoln's response to, "You're just a backwoods lawyer with no executive experience who makes too many dumb jokes," was pretty much always, "Yeah. And?" He had no interest in petty personal power plays. He had a country to run. There was a war on. It didn't matter what people thought of him so long as the job got done.

He was aware of his personal shortcomings and was always willing to accept advice and help from people who had more knowledge and experience in certain areas. He presided over a chaotic Cabinet full of abrasive personalities who thought they were better and smarter than him, but he kept working with them because they could get the job done. For example: Stanton was absolutely horrible to him when they were both working as lawyers. Just incredibly mean on a personal level. But when Lincoln needed someone to replace Cameron, he swallowed his pride and appointed Stanton as Secretary of War, where Stanton proceeded to be mean to everyone in the world, but he whipped that department into shape and kept it running efficiently through a very chaotic war. Pretty much no one except Lincoln would have been able to put up with that. He could put up with people who were personally difficult if they could do the job he needed them to do--which he was only able to do because his own ego didn't get in the way.

Lincoln's example is a prime demonstration of how humility isn't underrating yourself--it's being so secure in your own abilities and identity that you don't need to attack anyone or defend yourself to prove your worth. He knew his shortcomings, but he also knew his strengths. He was willing to give other people credit for successes and take blame upon himself for failures if it kept things running smoothly. He was secure enough in his own power that he could deal generously--but firmly--with people who tried to undermine him. In a city full of huge egos, in a profession that rewards puffed-up pride, that levelheaded humility is an extremely rare trait--which is what made it so impressive and effective.

#history is awesome #presidential talk #so i went to a teeny backwater thrift store today #their tiny history book section just happened to have an old lincoln biography #i opened to the page about the cabinet #which describes the situation like 'seward was calling himself premier and lording it over everyone' #'blair was causing problems everywhere' #'welles was insulting everyone in his diary and especially hated stanton grant and seward' #'and stanton hated absolutely everyone in the whole wide world' #and as i was reading this i was internally kicking my legs with excitement and cackling with glee because this is the good stuff #i don't know why but i love these horrible petty men #they're like a bunch of raccoons fighting over territory in a dumpster fire it's so great #i read the whole chapter right there in the store #and it impressed upon me yet again how impressive lincoln was to put up with all these guys #(the writer was a bit simplistic and made a lot of these guys come off as worse than they were) #(like he made seward sound like a complete incompetent when he was a pretty good secretary of state) #(he had some grandiose ideas but the man deserves a lot of credit for keeping england out of the war) #(but for a one-chapter summary of these guys it wasn't exactly wrong and it was a ton of fun) #i very much did not want another book especially another american history book #but it was only fifty cents and i have a pouch full of spare change #and the writer's style was so much fun that i decided to take the book with me #i don't plan to read the whole thing (i'm sick of lincoln bios) but it's fun to dip into for things like this #and i had to talk to you about it

[r4c3rr]

incorrect quotes part 2

Finley: Wow, you’ve pissed off a lot of people.

Briony: Well, that’s what happens when you live out loud.

-----

Alistair: Could you be anymore annoying?

Marianne: Yes.

-----

Alistair: So..hypothetically… how does one make a date more.. interesting? i want to take Gavin out for one. Hypothetically, of course.

Isobel: Um, sometimes acting sorta mysterious can be intriguing??

Alistair: Got it, thanks.

later......

Gavin: So, where are we going?

Alistair: None of your damn business.

-----

Reid: Are you sure this is safe?

Isobel: I never said that.

-----

Finley: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much am I going to hate this little plan of yours?

Briony: About an 85.

FInley: Oh, good.

-----

Alistair: Marianne, I sense hostility.

Marianne: Good, because I hate you.

#all of our demise #all of us villains #alistair lowe #gavin grieve #reid mactavish #briony thorburn #finley blair #marianne lowe #gavistair #i love marianne so much i know she's a little shit but she's also just a little girl #i love how the last remaning lowe family members are like #older brother who is barely even alive starting a whole bakery in the middle of nowhere #younger brother who doesnt know whether he's evil or just socially stunted #little girl who probably squishes ant nests cuz she thinks its funny

[i-have-spirit]

Going through a Princess charm school phase, who knew?

#princess charm school #blair willows #barbie #original art #art #drawing #digital media #i love this movie so much

[blacknekolucky]

People would write on the walls little prayers to the Gods asking them, please, to give them their moment. This is our moment.

#A league of their own #I feel like we're not talking enough about this #carson shaw #lupe garcia #jess mccready #greta gill #I love how each name has it's personality #Specially obsessed with the 'Ana ♡ Blair' #And with Maybelle's heart-rate ass signature #(Both ana and maybelle are severely underrated btw) #I love them so much #Also can't get over the fact that Jo should be there too...

[duusheen]

A year that goes by 🥂

#ts4 gameplay #ts4 legacy challenge #ts4 challenge #ts4 screenshots #SO MUCH LOVE IN THESE HOUSEHOLD 😖 #wdym New Year is not in spring? Okay fine maybe i messed up the orden of the posts lmao #Wyatt and Winona are really lovey-dovey 🤭 #pollock legacy #leif pollock #daphne diamandis by aurorangen #winona pollock #rowena pollock #sirena pollock #blair pollock

[jeysuso]

Bianca Belair - WWE Monday Night Raw, 16th January 2023.

#bianca belair #biancabelairedit #wrestlingedit #wweedit #monday night raw #wrestling gifs #wwe raw #bianca blair crawford #THAT'S MY GIRL #THAT'S MY BABY #i love her so much #SO much #i was so hyped to see her back #it's only been like two weeks but man her absence is NOTICEABLE #mygifs*

[smallfortune]

DechartGames / then vs now

#detroit become human #dbh #dbhedit #dechartgames #bryan dechart #amelia rose blaire #amelia rose blaire dechart #gifs #connor army #i love them so much <3

[httpiastri]

my favorite boys 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

#them <3 #seeing them together makes me so #aaaa #so happy #the sm ep was *chefs kiss* #them talking about clem’s win :(((( #pls my heart #i love them so much #f1 #f2 #formula 2 #formula two #screaming meals #IndyCar #james harvey blair #marcus armstrong #clement novalak

[lesbianfakir]

While I’m on my horror kick (sorry it’s finals week and I need smth to obsess over) thinking about how I would LOVE to draw horror/macabre themed tutu art. I mean fucking hell if we assume the main characters of the prince and the raven are around mytho’s age, princess tutu is about a bunch of dead kids and the next group of children doomed to relive their fates!! Then you’ve got all the raven stuff + things going weird because of the heart shards. THEN you’ve got the horror of complete loss of autonomy (fakir physically being forced to write Duck’s death, duck being forced to dance). Idk I’m sleepy but there is a horror take on princess tutu out there and I want to see it.

#I would loveeeee to draw like #hmmm #there’s a certain aesthetic style that I think is attributed to Tim burton but I don’t think it’s ACTUALLY all from Tim burton #Henry selick erasure #anyways like in the vein of the aesthetics of coraline and the corpse bride #plus dark old fairytales #I’m just formulating some thoughts here #and puppet imagery!! #there’s a lot there #anyways ahahah I’m the guy who loves cute and silly things and also things that are terrifying #I’m the guy who’s like my fav movies are include finding Nemo and the Blair witch project <3 #anyways creepy/horror tutu!!!!! #so much potential #would make some cool art but I need to think about how I would do it #lea talks

[man-me--a-sand]

dazzler fans must be in the TRENCHES bc imagine you buy tickets to go see ur favourite artist and find out just before the concert she got crushed by a robot or is off in space or some shit id be pissed

#xmen #dazzler #alison blaire #plus imagine getting into her while she’s doin ok mentally. and then she drops off the face of the earth #and you hear she joined shield?? #and then she’s back and suddenly she’s all punk rock and vaguely murderous #i love her so much but like.

[phatcatphergus]

i beg chat acts normal about the haircut tomorrow. blair seems to be good at what they do and tubbo wants to be a full brunette again. he's been saying so for ages now. i like the blond but the number of posts i've seen mourning it is a little ridiculous. i like him trying new things so i'm happy he dyed it in the first place but i want him to be comfortable too

Chat will never be normal about his hair and that’s a fact.

It is sad that he’s been so uncomfortable with the dyed hair because it does look nice on him. I really just hope that he doesn’t have to dye it a crazy color at a certain point bc he will fucking hate that (also the colors chat would choose would be fucking awful. They wanted PINK for a while).

I will say… I’m mourning his floofy curls and that’s the only thing I mourn everytime he gets it cut short. :( I love his floofy hair

#I love his floofy hair when it’s not in his eyes and he likes it I should say #when it’s too long it’s always a rats nest #but a bit shorter with his curls is so nice #but blair did a much better job then that one hairdresser did when it was cut short #his eyes look HUGE now lmao #tubbo #tubathon #anon asks

[userlaylivia]

please nobody say anything about stydia, they are still endgame to me idgaf about the movie and it's implied they'll get back together eventually anyway they are show endgame that's all that matters!! and pls don't say anything about chair/roschel their my otps and I'm allowed to ship them! I also ship dair in gg and have more of them on my blog so!!

#I love all of them so much it doesn't matter who wins!! #I'll obviously choose delena lol #delena #damon x elena #stydia #stiles x lydia #roschel #ross x rachel #chair #chuck x blair #japril #jackson x april #kophie #kevin x sophie #mondler #chandler x monica #naley #nathan x haley #jacey #pacey x joey #lukekai #java junkies #luke x lorelai #scallison #scott x allison #javery #juliette x avery #grey's anatomy #the vampire diaries #tvd

[cupcakes-and-pain]

Guess who’s doing whumptober this year? (You don’t have to guess, it’s me)

I feel like I may have mentioned this already? But I don’t remember exactly and even if I did, I don’t think it was it’s own dedicated post. But now it is! Yay!

Without further ado, I introduce to you:

The Forgotten Heirs

The main whumpy aspects it shall feature are: child neglect (mostly just mentions in the story and no physical or verbal abuse), sibling caretaker and whumpee, caretaker-turned-whumpee, whumpee-turned-caretaker, underground/secret slavery, dehumanization, multiple whumpers, fantasy racism, royal BS, starvation.

Here is our two main characters, Eric and Blair Dandridge.

The Dandridge House, a family of vampires with a long line of both nobility and royalty, is known for their traditional values, ruthless political game, and tough love towards the members of their family.

So it is no surprise that when the Duke’s youngest daughter, Blair, did not develop persuasion or hunting instincts, they all but abandoned her. Shoved her into a small room up in the attic, meant to be never seen again. They even lied and claimed she died in an accident while playing outside, citing one of their numerous enemies as possibly responsible.

All her life, the only people Blair knew were the human slaves who cleaned and cooked for her, and her lone visitor: Eric, her older brother. Eric was the only one in her family that ever acknowledged her, and better still, her brother was endlessly kind and compassionate. Even when their family tried to discourage the boy with threats, her older brother sticked by Blair’s side. So when Eric mysteriously disappears and, despite running away and searching for Eric herself, isn’t heard from again for years, she is forced to accept the untimely demise, grieve, and move on best she can in the unfamiliar world outside her family’s castle walls.

Meanwhile, a lonely enslaved Eric is passed around from cruel owner to cruel owner, longing for home and slowly breaking under the stress.

This story is inspired by the phenomenal series Kane & Jim by the amazing @whumpsday. Go check out that story and blog if you haven’t already, there’s truly marvelous stuff over there.

(Quick note: Eric is a cis man, but he uses mirror pronouns. Mirror pronouns is when a speaker uses their own pronouns to refer to a person. My pronouns are he/him, so I’m referring to Eric with he/him. But if Blair, who uses she/her, was talking, she’d use she/her for Eric. Because in the story doesn’t have an official, in-story narrator, Eric’s name will be the only way Eric is referred to during descriptions (meaning no pronouns))

#the forgotten heirs #whump #whump community #whumpee #caretaker #vampire whump #vampire whumpee #nonhuman whumpee #long post #so Eric did get physically hurt by the rest of the family for being nice to Blair but that all happens after Eric turns 18 and stuff dw #does anyone want to ask me about my vampire lore?? I’d love to talk about my vampire lore #also feel free to ask to get put on the tag list #oh also. btw. #I am doing the “ai-less’’ one not because I particularly care about the drama but because they got their prompts out faster #and I like having as much time to prepare as possible

[jeysuso]

Bianca Belair - WWE Monday Night Raw 6th February 2023

#bianca belair #biancabelairedit #wweedit #monday night raw #wwe raw #wrestlingedit #bianca blair crawford #i love her so much i'm gonna be so sad if she loses the title #like i'm expecting it but :( <3 #mygifs*

[buckysteve]

anyway serena always loved dan the most and consistently chose him over literally all of her other boyfriends and flings whereas nate was always second best to her, but you guys still aren’t ready to accept that truth

#maia.txt #gossip girl #derena #dan x serena #i don’t love the ship in the later seasons bc they screwed w them too much and i think dan ended up loving blair more as an adult #also his character was a hot mess in s5 & 6 #BUT #serena alllllways loved dan the most #i’ll never understand why serena/nate are so beloved #they’re cute and blonde but that’s it #they have no depth