Dan & Phil Part 37: A better way to live

[anathema]

That's an interesting observation. Maybe there ARE games that Phil is better at and they don't film them because Dan is afraid of looking bad. Lbr though, probably not. Poor Phil is hopelessly outmatched at most games it seems.

Do you ever think that maybe it isn't necessarily that Dan doesn't want to lose on camera, but more that they decided Dan will hardly ever lose? Just like Philena points out:

I actually kinda like the fact that Phil isn't the best at the games. He still seems to enjoy them, and it's fun to cheer for him to come from behind or just scrape by to win.

you want to root for Phil because he's the underdog. And it's turned into this whole schtick they have. Dan's the "pro" (I use that term loosely) gamer of the two and Phil's the hopeless, lovable underdog. You go into a video expecting Dan to win. Most of the time he does, but sometimes, in a turn of events, Phil wins and everyone rejoices that he finally beat Dan.
Sometimes I wonder just how structured their gaming videos are. I mean, I don't think they're scripted, but I do definitely think they have an outline of how they're planning on things to go. I mean, how many times has Dan had something in the bag, and then somehow he just happens to weirdly mess up and then Phil wins? We also have cases like the whole Christmas flashgame thing where we have proof that they screwed with the results of D vs. P to make it more dramatic*. Just to be clear, I'm not ragging on D&P if this is the case. I don't have a particular problem with it if it turns out they do plan out who will win games (thought it is slightly off-putting).

If you're wondering what the Christmas falshgame thing is:
Basically, in this video, they say they're gonna do best out of three. Phil wins the first game. They claim Dan wins the second game, but that's not the case. Dan scores 298. Phil scores 321 (which you can see in the corner of the screen here). But, they don't ever mention Phil's score. Phil says Dan won, and Dan even goes on to say "Dramatic climax! That wasn't even planned." Then Dan goes on to win the third game, thereby winning Dan vs. Phil. And while maybe it wasn't necessarily planned from the beginning that Dan was going to win, they at least knew that if the same person won the first two games they were going to lie and say they each won one so that it would have a "dramatic climax".

[lefthandedism]

Registered solely to squee over the Quick Draw video! SO much flirting and little glances - I actually cannot believe how adorable they are. For a while my interest in them died down but I really like their new relaxed vibe lately.

Welcome! This is certainly the place to squee.

I personally never thought I'd have the slightest interest in watching gaming videos, but with these two it's always fun (and flirty).

[kuensukki]

Hello my friends, I have currently been overwhelmed but finally caught up in the beautiful land of DnP and boy are they happy and comfortable in the position they're at. Phils video and liveshow were adorable and I was squealing when he said he was worried about Dan falling. Also the ioM pictures are the death that keeps on giving

The gaming video today was so cute and I analyzed their banter as banter, and didn't see any really harsh criticism coming from either side. They also had so many synchronized mind meld moments and some blatant flirting that lead me to feel very alone. Dan does tend to get a bit obnoxious when he wins a lot and I got a bit annoyed by that in this game but I didn't think he was harsh to phil. I feel like phil understood he wasn't doing well in the game and so he kept antagonizing himself and dan also added on to that. With things like this, its kinda clear to see Phil's pretty bulletproof because he will happily/proudly be the butt of any joke. I think I saw this in TATINOF documentary when most of the scenes showing them "struggling" were of phil being a clutz or not being able to get a move down but consistently getting up and doing it again. It's an endearing quality I see in him where he's comfortable enough in his own skin to poke tease at himself and allow other's to do so without taking any offense. And he's more likely to display himself as a loser and be willing to show that he will keep attempting until he improves.

Dan on the other hand, does tend to be more sensitive and take things to heart. That's why he tries to display himself as always knowledgeable almost as if he's seeking a unspoken sense of validation from the audience. It why pretentious dan sometime shows in liveshows. It must have stemmed a bit from risking his conventional education route to a non conventional one therefore always wanting to be presented as successful. He also seems to take every word someone says seriously therefore phil's less likely to tease him and instead be more conscious in making sure he is enjoying himself and being good at what he's doing.

I think in a way they both tend to balance each other out where Phil will allow himself to be the silly friend if it means that dan is comfortable in a certain setting. It's also why, deep down, I know the DP power duo wouldn't have lasted this long if phil was the more famous one. I don't think dan could have handled that if I'm being blunt. Not attacking his character, but based on his mannerisms, attitudes, he needs to be the most successful in what he does and having a close friend/partner would put unnecessary pressure on him to match up.

Re: Dan being mean to Phil I didn't see it in this game, all I saw was fond, friendly banter so I can't speak of it but it did used to be a thing I noticed in some old videos so I wouldn't disregard it completely. Recently, I was rewatching the "Blindfold Makeup Challenge" and noticed several instances of Dan being rude to Phil even though he did the exact same mistakes as Phil yet Phil only giggled it away. I think it was clear that he was overcompensating the fact that he had chosen to do an obvious bf/gf tag with phil (on his main channel nonetheless) and chose to act annoyed instead of enjoying the experience.

6:07 acting disgusted of touching phils mouth when he's the one that put his hands there
8:08 being annoyed at phil for moving when he was aggressively sticking a tube of lipstick on his lips

Anyway, after watching that I can see improvements in both dan and phils behavior. Phil today was actively participating in teasing dan and insulting his artwork when he had the chance so I think the plane has become more equal. They are both grown men who probably communicate and understand each other more than anyone else. And they've been attached to the hip for 7 years so by now they understand everything they do and say and try to work around each other. It's what makes them so perfect, theyre patient and understanding of each other's insecurities and are always careful to not insult to a point where they know the other person is hurt.

[SexyTrashCan]

That's an interesting observation. Maybe there ARE games that Phil is better at and they don't film them because Dan is afraid of looking bad. Lbr though, probably not. Poor Phil is hopelessly outmatched at most games it seems.

Do you ever think that maybe it isn't necessarily that Dan doesn't want to lose on camera, but more that they decided Dan will hardly ever lose? Just like Philena points out:

I actually kinda like the fact that Phil isn't the best at the games. He still seems to enjoy them, and it's fun to cheer for him to come from behind or just scrape by to win.

you want to root for Phil because he's the underdog. And it's turned into this whole schtick they have. Dan's the "pro" (I use that term loosely) gamer of the two and Phil's the hopeless, lovable underdog. You go into a video expecting Dan to win. Most of the time he does, but sometimes, in a turn of events, Phil wins and everyone rejoices that he finally beat Dan.
Sometimes I wonder just how structured their gaming videos are. I mean, I don't think they're scripted, but I do definitely think they have an outline of how they're planning on things to go. I mean, how many times has Dan had something in the bag, and then somehow he just happens to weirdly mess up and then Phil wins? We also have cases like the whole Christmas flashgame thing where we have proof that they screwed with the results of D vs. P to make it more dramatic*. Just to be clear, I'm not ragging on D&P if this is the case. I don't have a particular problem with it if it turns out they do plan out who will win games (thought it is slightly off-putting).

If you're wondering what the Christmas falshgame thing is:
Basically, in this video, they say they're gonna do best out of three. Phil wins the first game. They claim Dan wins the second game, but that's not the case. Dan scores 298. Phil scores 321 (which you can see in the corner of the screen here). But, they don't ever mention Phil's score. Phil says Dan won, and Dan even goes on to say "Dramatic climax! That wasn't even planned." Then Dan goes on to win the third game, thereby winning Dan vs. Phil. And while maybe it wasn't necessarily planned from the beginning that Dan was going to win, they at least knew that if the same person won the first two games they were going to lie and say they each won one so that it would have a "dramatic climax".

Yeah I remember that! At a certain point you can see Dan's face change as he realised Phil let him win

[SexyTrashCan]

Registered solely to squee over the Quick Draw video! SO much flirting and little glances - I actually cannot believe how adorable they are. For a while my interest in them died down but I really like their new relaxed vibe lately.

Mhm^.^ seen quite a few little glances and flirting or subtle nudges in the gaming videos so far this year.

[Kathrynxjane]

I loved the game! Dan heckled Phil exactly how I heckle my loved ones during an intense and silly game. I can see why some think it's mean, but I think it's normal with exciting game play

I completely agree. When watching the video, i felt exactly the same as Dan. Phil did not draw very well even with his right hand. Dan had reason to tease him about it. It wasn't meant in a hurtful way, I couldn't see Dan meaning it in a hurtful way anyway. Playful banter.

It is normal to heckle a loved one during the game. I do it all the time. Phil probably does it to Dan, it is just that we do not see it as often as Dan heckling Phil.

Anyway I loved the gaming video. The last two videos nearly had me in tears. When the AI said "The Great Wall of China", I had to stop the video because I was laughing too much. I think they probably should have done one full round each, then a decider if needing too as I think Dan had some much easier ones than Phil (Elbow ffs). It might have been a bit fairer on Phil that way.

[lurker]

Hello my friends, I have currently been overwhelmed but finally caught up in the beautiful land of DnP and boy are they happy and comfortable in the position they're at. Phils video and liveshow were adorable and I was squealing when he said he was worried about Dan falling. Also the ioM pictures are the death that keeps on giving

The gaming video today was so cute and I analyzed their banter as banter, and didn't see any really harsh criticism coming from either side. They also had so many synchronized mind meld moments and some blatant flirting that lead me to feel very alone. Dan does tend to get a bit obnoxious when he wins a lot and I got a bit annoyed by that in this game but I didn't think he was harsh to phil. I feel like phil understood he wasn't doing well in the game and so he kept antagonizing himself and dan also added on to that. With things like this, its kinda clear to see Phil's pretty bulletproof because he will happily/proudly be the butt of any joke. I think I saw this in TATINOF documentary when most of the scenes showing them "struggling" were of phil being a clutz or not being able to get a move down but consistently getting up and doing it again. It's an endearing quality I see in him where he's comfortable enough in his own skin to poke tease at himself and allow other's to do so without taking any offense. And he's more likely to display himself as a loser and be willing to show that he will keep attempting until he improves.

Dan on the other hand, does tend to be more sensitive and take things to heart. That's why he tries to display himself as always knowledgeable almost as if he's seeking a unspoken sense of validation from the audience. It why pretentious dan sometime shows in liveshows. It must have stemmed a bit from risking his conventional education route to a non conventional one therefore always wanting to be presented as successful. He also seems to take every word someone says seriously therefore phil's less likely to tease him and instead be more conscious in making sure he is enjoying himself and being good at what he's doing.

I think in a way they both tend to balance each other out where Phil will allow himself to be the silly friend if it means that dan is comfortable in a certain setting. It's also why, deep down, I know the DP power duo wouldn't have lasted this long if phil was the more famous one. I don't think dan could have handled that if I'm being blunt. Not attacking his character, but based on his mannerisms, attitudes, he needs to be the most successful in what he does and having a close friend/partner would put unnecessary pressure on him to match up.

Re: Dan being mean to Phil I didn't see it in this game, all I saw was fond, friendly banter so I can't speak of it but it did used to be a thing I noticed in some old videos so I wouldn't disregard it completely. Recently, I was rewatching the "Blindfold Makeup Challenge" and noticed several instances of Dan being rude to Phil even though he did the exact same mistakes as Phil yet Phil only giggled it away. I think it was clear that he was overcompensating the fact that he had chosen to do an obvious bf/gf tag with phil (on his main channel nonetheless) and chose to act annoyed instead of enjoying the experience.

6:07 acting disgusted of touching phils mouth when he's the one that put his hands there
8:08 being annoyed at phil for moving when he was aggressively sticking a tube of lipstick on his lips

Anyway, after watching that I can see improvements in both dan and phils behavior. Phil today was actively participating in teasing dan and insulting his artwork when he had the chance so I think the plane has become more equal. They are both grown men who probably communicate and understand each other more than anyone else. And they've been attached to the hip for 7 years so by now they understand everything they do and say and try to work around each other. It's what makes them so perfect, theyre patient and understanding of each other's insecurities and are always careful to not insult to a point where they know the other person is hurt.

kuensukki, i really enjoyed reading your analysis! i've been thinking about this part, though:

It's also why, deep down, I know the DP power duo wouldn't have lasted this long if phil was the more famous one. I don't think dan could have handled that if I'm being blunt. Not attacking his character, but based on his mannerisms, attitudes, he needs to be the most successful in what he does and having a close friend/partner would put unnecessary pressure on him to match up.

i understand where you're coming from, but i've been wondering, is there really a measure which makes dan the more famous one out of the two? in terms of subscribers, sure, but i thought in terms of views both of their main channels performed comparably. (but please do correct me if i'm wrong!) i also think that seeing how closely they've been intertwining their careers it doesn't seem like the comparison of their channels matters much to them, which i think might have happened just as well if phil's main channel performance was better than dan's. i don't know, it's all speculation of course, but while i see that dan might be more confident this way round, i find it hard to imagine that their dynamics/relationship would depend so drastically on it. maybe it's still the aftermath of dan's genuine happiness over phil winning at the bonca's speaking, though.

when did dan's subscriber count surpass phil's, anyway? i tried to find it out but all i got was that it happened before 2013, apparently.

[starlight-still]

All I have to say is…

Top Five Moments of Mutual Adoration from the Quick Draw Video! (yay)

5: 2:28-33. Phil’s like “me and Bianca” and Dan’s like “don’t name the A.I. Bianca!” I kinda felt like this was them still giggling with each other about the whole p**ngate thing

4: 11:51- 12:10. Phil sees that Dan got an easy one and decides he’s gonna give him a super special Phil-tacular handicap…by touching and shaking him! Dan then releases his most eloquent string of expletives since that one scary week video. Phil cracks up and is laughing too hard to bother him any more. Can a love language be gleefully shaking or swearing at someone you care about until they're bent over in a fit of giggles?

3: 12:34-39. The Silence. Needs no explanation

2: 0:11-12. Phil mimics Dan’s fist-under-the-chin gesture with that cheeky little grin on his face, then quickly drops it the moment Dan looks at him with that “Oh! Hehe…I’m listening,” look. Then, at 1:12-1:19, Dan makes what I believe is known as the priss face then mimics Phil’s dramatic “Dan versus Phillll!” And then Phil kinda casts his eyes down and smiles slightly, as if quietly saying “I love us.”


1: 15:09-19. When you realize that the whole thesis of the video that Dan cared enough about to bring back up in the end is that he loves and appreciates Phil’s creative mind for what it can do regardless of whether it fits into a category of "artistic" or not. I wonder if this was prompted by some kind of external critique regarding whether he’s really “creative” if he's not "artistic" in certain ways (many of us go through it, I hope he returns to the topic in his ls). Or perhaps it’s Dan’s way of easing some of Phil’s doubts as he’s been working on those new projects. I’d like to believe it’s the latter and, if so, that is the most precious birthday/Valentine’s Day/friggin’ life gift that one can give to a loved one

As for Phil being terrible at the game, I hate to say it but I think that was just their MO going into the video to make it more hilarious. Same with the intense banting from Dan. I’ve noticed that Phil tends to start laughing when Dan gets ridiculously swear-y…it’s almost like he does it when he wants to distract him or cheer him up or simply have him at his mercy in stitches.

Those of you who are concerned about Phil taking it all from Dan…you cannot convince me for a minute that that man cannot hold his own in an honest-to-goodness off camera bant-off. I hate the expression “look out for the quiet ones”…but in this case, I think it totally applies

P.S.- Dan’s wispy forehead curls And Dan's neck Remember I have a thing for vampires

P.P.S.- I played that game a little last night and it’s pretty amusing. My robot was a dude (we’ll call him Bruce) and he was just a tad better at guessing, though I did have a few “wtf how could you not know that’s an x????” moments. Try it if you haven’t already with your partner or friend and you are sure to have some brilliant bants of your own

[alittledizzy]

i understand where you're coming from, but i've been wondering, is there really a measure which makes dan the more famous one out of the two? in terms of subscribers, sure, but i thought in terms of views both of their main channels performed comparably. (but please do correct me if i'm wrong!)

I would say Dan is more popular by the metric of view count, which is what they actually earn money on anyway.

Dan's last solo videos (considering solo as something without the other person in the title/thumbnails) are at:

2016 Memes: 2.3 million
I Nearly Blinded Myself: 3.5 million
ISG 8: 2.8 million
Dan's Diss Track: 6.8 million

Whereas Phil's, even if you leave out the one that's only a week old (since it'll inevitably break a million):

2017 Wants Me Dead: 1.2 million
A Very Sleepless Night with Phil: 1.4 million
Taking Quizzes About Myself: 2 million
I Killed My Houseplant: 1.7 million

They're comparable ratio wise to the subscriber count but in terms of actual views on individual videos, Dan wins.

I do agree that I don't think popularity matters much, I think it's pretty much a joint effort all the way around. But I do also agree that if it were flipped and Dan were the less popular one, he would have a lot more of an inferiority complex about it. It's not a failing between Dan and Phil, it's just the way Dan's personality is wired. He's in a position now where he has the option to not tell us about the things he's not good at, and make sure we know about the things he is. He takes advantage of that to keep himself feeling more comfortable and less anxious.

I think a good example of this that he can't avoid is the piano. He's not the best, he knows he's not the best. He'd like to be, but he's not. He doesn't want to play until he can play well and when he does decide to just try and go for it all he can talk about after is how bad he did and how much it frustrates him that people talk about it even though he knows he's not the best ever yet.

[silverwinter]

I'm about 10 minutes into the new vid and I've had to stop watching in order to calm down. How does Phil put up with the continuous stream of ridicule. They're not "Banting". Dans being an asshole imo. Yes Phils drawings are terrible but Dan's aren't that great either. If I was Phil I would probably have left the room or hit him.
Aaaaagggh it's so stressful to watch.
I know Dan feels like he has to keep talking to fill the silence and Phil is being REALLY quiet, but he's probably quiet BECAUSE Dan is heckling him.
I just want to slap Dan and take Phil out of the room and hug him.

He's not being an asshole at all, they're just joking around in the video obvs.Besides, it bothers me to see people criticising Dan for being loud or talking a lot; that's just the way he is and he can't change the way his voice sounds. I think it's mean to make a personal dig at him like that imo and it makes me uncomfortable every time I see it on idb.

I do find it amusing though how Dan is loud and annoying and Phil gets sympathy, yet Phil actually blatantly cheated in the game but that's overlooked because it was all in good fun. Mhmm

??? i know this was a couple pages back, but this made me so uncomfortable...no one was making any judgments regarding dan's tone of voice or the loudness of his voice. it was the words coming out of his mouth that someone found upsetting, so i'm confused as to why you jumped to these conclusions?

and idk, maybe it's just me, but it really does bother me when people try to shut down conversation on here when people raise concerns just bc they disagree. like the part in your post that i bolded...why act like your opinion is the be-all, end-all? i don't disagree with you that dan was joking, but i feel like these forums should be a place where people are allowed to have differing opinions and people are allowed to respectfully disagree and so it really does make me feel uncomfortable seeing people being shut down so aggressively.

[uglyamerican]

I didn't get the impression that anyone was being particularly harsh. Anyway, I can't get enough of Dan's frustration with Phil, even after considering that it's all a joke.

[SexyTrashCan]

...Thank you Phil?

[bee]

...Thank you Phil?

I think he's sitting there watching the lamp relaxing (or trying to) and reading Twitter and deciding we all could use some lamp relaxation

I personally wouldn't mind a whole video of just the lamp, this is too short!

[alittledizzy]

Vote for the next thread name here!

[flarequake]

I had the lava lamp video playing for a minute while I was doing something and it is relaxing. I couldn't think what he meant by green blobs at first, though.

[lurker]

i understand where you're coming from, but i've been wondering, is there really a measure which makes dan the more famous one out of the two? in terms of subscribers, sure, but i thought in terms of views both of their main channels performed comparably. (but please do correct me if i'm wrong!)

I would say Dan is more popular by the metric of view count, which is what they actually earn money on anyway.

Dan's last solo videos (considering solo as something without the other person in the title/thumbnails) are at:

2016 Memes: 2.3 million
I Nearly Blinded Myself: 3.5 million
ISG 8: 2.8 million
Dan's Diss Track: 6.8 million

Whereas Phil's, even if you leave out the one that's only a week old (since it'll inevitably break a million):

2017 Wants Me Dead: 1.2 million
A Very Sleepless Night with Phil: 1.4 million
Taking Quizzes About Myself: 2 million
I Killed My Houseplant: 1.7 million

They're comparable ratio wise to the subscriber count but in terms of actual views on individual videos, Dan wins.

I do agree that I don't think popularity matters much, I think it's pretty much a joint effort all the way around. But I do also agree that if it were flipped and Dan were the less popular one, he would have a lot more of an inferiority complex about it. It's not a failing between Dan and Phil, it's just the way Dan's personality is wired. He's in a position now where he has the option to not tell us about the things he's not good at, and make sure we know about the things he is. He takes advantage of that to keep himself feeling more comfortable and less anxious.

I think a good example of this that he can't avoid is the piano. He's not the best, he knows he's not the best. He'd like to be, but he's not. He doesn't want to play until he can play well and when he does decide to just try and go for it all he can talk about after is how bad he did and how much it frustrates him that people talk about it even though he knows he's not the best ever yet.

thank you for explaining the stats, alittledizzy! i agree with basically everything else you said. re: the piano, i wonder if the possibility ever crosses dan's mind that people are happy to see him play because he's returning to something that apparently makes him happy, no matter how good/bad/mediocre he plays. but that probably ties back to what i recall you mentioning several times, how he seems to always take the negative message out of something, which would be either "no one realizes how bad i actually play and i'm embarrassing myself" or "they're flattering me", instead of acknowledging that someone can, in fact, see that he's no concert pianist, but enjoy listening to him play nevertheless.

[dontpanic]

I know the conversation has gotten deeper by now (which ) but I feel like the reason phil lost was because the mouse was too sensitive. he complained about the mouse being too sensitive a couple of times which is why his lines always went too long, while dan's probably used to a mouse with high sensitivity. I mean, they're both roughly equal in the art department imo, so I don't think they picked this game because dan would be better at it...they probably just didn't thik to adjust the DPI on the mouse

i understand where you're coming from, but i've been wondering, is there really a measure which makes dan the more famous one out of the two? in terms of subscribers, sure, but i thought in terms of views both of their main channels performed comparably. (but please do correct me if i'm wrong!)

I would say Dan is more popular by the metric of view count, which is what they actually earn money on anyway.

Dan's last solo videos (considering solo as something without the other person in the title/thumbnails) are at:

2016 Memes: 2.3 million
I Nearly Blinded Myself: 3.5 million
ISG 8: 2.8 million
Dan's Diss Track: 6.8 million

Whereas Phil's, even if you leave out the one that's only a week old (since it'll inevitably break a million):

2017 Wants Me Dead: 1.2 million
A Very Sleepless Night with Phil: 1.4 million
Taking Quizzes About Myself: 2 million
I Killed My Houseplant: 1.7 million

They're comparable ratio wise to the subscriber count but in terms of actual views on individual videos, Dan wins.

I do agree that I don't think popularity matters much, I think it's pretty much a joint effort all the way around. But I do also agree that if it were flipped and Dan were the less popular one, he would have a lot more of an inferiority complex about it. It's not a failing between Dan and Phil, it's just the way Dan's personality is wired. He's in a position now where he has the option to not tell us about the things he's not good at, and make sure we know about the things he is. He takes advantage of that to keep himself feeling more comfortable and less anxious.

I think a good example of this that he can't avoid is the piano. He's not the best, he knows he's not the best. He'd like to be, but he's not. He doesn't want to play until he can play well and when he does decide to just try and go for it all he can talk about after is how bad he did and how much it frustrates him that people talk about it even though he knows he's not the best ever yet.

I've always kind of wondered, would dan actually be more comfortable with a smaller audience?
when he used to be more "opinionated" and did stuff like playing the piano and singing in a way he didn't pass off as a joke he had a lot less subscribers.

He's in a position now where he has the option to not tell us about the things he's not good at, and make sure we know about the things he is. He takes advantage of that to keep himself feeling more comfortable and less anxious.

hasn't he always been able to do this? if anything i would think it's harder for him to hide things he's not good at, he has an audience bigger than the population of Missouri, it must be so hard to keep things private. and if dan thinks "being judged is scary" then a bigger audience = more judgy people = more anxiety = meltdown and sadness.

and when it comes to phil, would dan be uncomfortable having less subscribers? i totally could be wrong, but did dan ever act like he was uncomfortable back when philly had more subscribers? he did the whole "me and phil are our own persons" thing, but that was more "we're not dating" rather than anything to do with respective sub counts. and it's an isolated example but like at the boncas dan was more than comfortable with phil getting the attention, he actively supported it ("phil lester everyone").

Plus phil started off with more subscribers and dan was a fan, so even when they both gained popularity if phil still had a higher sub count i don't think dan would be wallowing (my favorite word) with an inferiority complex, he would easily be able to reconcile it with "he started off with more subs." And even if phil was getting twice as many views as him I doubt dan would feel worse about himself...as jane Austin put it: "it is a truth universally acknowledged that a dan in possession of a phil will be ridiculously, genuinely, and adorably supportive of the phil."

and ffs phil was adorable in the drawing video how is he human???????? him telling dan to shut up is my aesthetic

[realeyesrealize]

A bit late to the party but I just wanted to share my thoughts on yesterday's video. I absolutely loved it and actually laughed out loud quite a few times. It felt just like hanging out with some pals and it had this effortless vibe to it that made me really happy. I say effortless in the best sense of the word, the bants were fluid and not strained at all, they seemed invested in the actual game, and their dynamic is so pleasant to watch (at least for me, I know some people were uncomfortable with certain parts of the video). They really know how to make almost every game entertaining.

On a related note, I love being reminded of how we are in a different era. All this sharing, leaving certain moments on videos that 1 or 2 years ago they would've edited out the very second they got their hands on the footage, how fucking comfortable they seem with each other in the public eye (aka videos). I'm so, so here for it and I couldn't be prouder of them for reaching this point in their professional and personal lives

Also, danny fire, no, I can't imagine what playing monopoly with Phil is actually like but if you want people to sympathise with you, you could start by uploading a monopoly dan vs phil so that everyone can see what a little shit Phil is. It's a win win situation!

[SexyTrashCan]

On a related note, I love being reminded of how we are in a different era. All this sharing, leaving certain moments on videos that 1 or 2 years ago they would've edited out the very second they got their hands on the footage, how fucking comfortable they seem with each other in the public eye (aka videos). I'm so, so here for it and I couldn't be prouder of them for reaching this point in their professional and personal lives

Yeah I've been binge watching some of their gaming videos from 2015 and there is a difference in the best kind of way

[kuensukki]

I've always kind of wondered, would dan actually be more comfortable with a smaller audience?
when he used to be more "opinionated" and did stuff like playing the piano and singing in a way he didn't pass off as a joke he had a lot less subscribers.

hasn't he always been able to do this? if anything i would think it's harder for him to hide things he's not good at, he has an audience bigger than the population of Missouri, it must be so hard to keep things private. and if dan thinks "being judged is scary" then a bigger audience = more judgy people = more anxiety = meltdown and sadness.

and when it comes to phil, would dan be uncomfortable having less subscribers? i totally could be wrong, but did dan ever act like he was uncomfortable back when philly had more subscribers? he did the whole "me and phil are our own persons" thing, but that was more "we're not dating" rather than anything to do with respective sub counts. and it's an isolated example but like at the boncas dan was more than comfortable with phil getting the attention, he actively supported it ("phil lester everyone").

Plus phil started off with more subscribers and dan was a fan, so even when they both gained popularity if phil still had a higher sub count i don't think dan would be wallowing (my favorite word) with an inferiority complex, he would easily be able to reconcile it with "he started off with more subs." And even if phil was getting twice as many views as him I doubt dan would feel worse about himself...as jane Austin put it: "it is a truth universally acknowledged that a dan in possession of a phil will be ridiculously, genuinely, and adorably supportive of the phil."

and ffs phil was adorable in the drawing video how is he human???????? him telling dan to shut up is my aesthetic

To the bolded part: yes and no. The bigger audience does bring more judgment and anxiety for dan but it also brings the validation and importance that he seems to need and thrive on. alittledizzy says it well: he likes the validation and feedback not the fame. I think it's easier to see Dan being so supportive of phil because he's at a position to offer that support. I tried looking back to see any shows of support and they both seemed to be supportive starting out so there's nothing to conclude from that. And 2012 was a year where Dan was trying to prove he could really be successful while doing youtube and trying to be recognized for his individual efforts and successes instead of an extension of phil. If the opposite was true today, then I would think dan would compare himself and try to figure out why he was working just as hard as phil and not getting the same or better results. It's honestly a difficult position to be in, where you are constantly compared by the fans and confronted by the number of subscribers, so I can see someone like phil handling (and he has) that better then dan. He just seems more secure in who he is as an individual and less likely to compare/put himself down because he isn't as popular. That's just my interpretation of it, I'm sure there are others.

Anyway, this is more of a problem of the past. Nowadays, even though dan is more "famous" on paper, they both have so much involvement in each others channels that the success they have acquired has become more of a joint effort than an individual one. With helping each other film and edit and also all their big projects being joint ones its more likely for them to celebrate each individual success as something they both worked together to accomplish.

[SquishPhan]

Well Phil just opened a can of worms.

[papierklemmen]

Well Phil just opened a can of worms.

RIP. let's see how long it'll take till fans start gifting him nail polish and pester him about painting his nail.

[pilotlight]

Well Phil just opened a can of worms.

He had to know the kinda response that was gonna prompt.

I kinda know what he means though, I've gotten sucked into watching random makeup tutorials just because they were relaxing, and I don't wear makeup.

[psychicmoth]

Well Phil just opened a can of worms.

He had to know the kinda response that was gonna prompt.

I kinda know what he means though, I've gotten sucked into watching random makeup tutorials just because they were relaxing, and I don't wear makeup.

Yeah, he knows what he's doing.

Although I don't paint my nails, I like to watch nail art tutorials too, it's pretty relaxing

He should check it out Sveta Sanders' channel, she is the queen but I must admit that Simply Nailogical is more his style

[malday]

Well Phil just opened a can of worms.

A holosexual can of worms.