Dan & Phil Part 37: A better way to live

[MoonPride]

ugh, the video was fun, but goddamn do i hate baby stuff and deppy's fake oohing and ahhing... call me when dab is a teenager.

Fake? Not sure what video you watching but they seemed really into it to me.

[Ticia]

Good to know that both Dan and Phil think the way to get more investors is to lie

Really liked the vid, I sincerely hope they keep up with this uploading schedule for a long time.

[papierklemmen]

lol phil identifying with tabitha at 7:00. "she's everything i dream to be". good to know!

[psychicmoth]

Oww this video was so cute :')
Dan's face when he discovered the bear sofa was priceless

But I didn't get the notification from Youtube, so weird D:

... Write some bad fanfiction together #couplegoals

I love/hate them so much sometimes

[Amiaw]

Bless Phil and his crop top- best part of the video

[lurker]

i didn't think i would like toddler dab, but i thought the video was very cute and funny. part of that is probably that i'll always be there for redecorating and outfit planning in general and dan literally spending all their money specifically. i also didn't think i'd do anything else but groan about yet another furry / scaly joke, but i actually laughed at the drago part (wtf sims), so this video has been full of surprises for me. to me their cooing and awwwing didn't seem fake either, i mean of course it might be exaggerated, but for example declaring dab's room "goals" didn't sound like it.

not to interpret too much into a sims video i thought it was interesting that phil was initially mentioning possibly cutting dab's hair and then said to keep it, the bonnet story from "meet my mom" sprang to mind and i was wondering if he initially thought it was "too girly" or something along the lines and then discarded the thought. kind of the same as declaring dil's new outfit horrible and then saying it looked good some time later, maybe? although with the latter, it honestly seemed a bit as if he wanted to apologize in case he had offended anyone? am i reading too much into this? probably, but does anyone else have thoughts on it?

[shoe]

3:40 - 3:56 Phil has better parenting instincts than Dan confirmed. They really need to start paying attention to the needs panel and feeding Dab before the hunger gets red, potty training him before he uses his nappy, or it will be chaos.

I liked the video. I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't fully explore the outfit options, I was looking forward to their reaction to the tiny lion hoodie and onesie. I didn't predict them immediately going for the bear chair though

Also Dan saying "punch me" and Phil's soft punch, the way Dan's cheek squished

[fancybum]

Listen, I don’t give a crap about the Sims and children just ruin everything (in Sims, as in life), so mehhhh the only draw is watching Dan and Phil while hoping they set somebody on fire ahem, but anyway:

6:22 Dan’s giggle noise at Phil’s “The baby’s like ‘what is my father now’”
punch me
6:48 Phil to Dan about Tab’s panties: “Could we get Dil to wear that?” what is happening in this vid
7:06 Dan: “let’s go on spring break and write some bad fan fiction together. Couple goals.” Phil: “it’s true"
???!?!?!!?!?!?
8:50 Dan: “it’s a scaley, Phil, we’ve taught each other about this”
10:00 Phil: “Well, he could go hug Drago. Make it a three-way relationship” Dan continues on his own tangent.
(I really wish Dan would engage with some of the comments Phil makes that he kind of steamrolls past, because. Well, just because. There’s a goldmine there that neither of them are digging into when the opportunity presents itself and I’m frustrated)

16:05 Phil: “I’d want to use that [potty]”
Dan: Because you want to poop in someone’s mouth
Phil: Yeah.
Dan: What’s wrong with you

16:25 Phil’s “what?” and smile ow my heart (same vein of adorableness as the ‘what have I forgotten’ part of Bubble Bobble)
17:30 Dan: “I like that they just had a toddler and Dil is literally drinking in the bath”
Phil: “Same”
same.

18:12 Dan: “They’ll be going out for family excursions and then people will be like ‘omg that family coordinates’”
maybe like matching black outfits when out and about i mean what
also: Phil’s face. the. whole. time.

23:30 Dan: "—and play with others at the dollhouse” immediate look to Phil, maybe to ask about what dollhouse? Then quick cut (because Phil shut it down? No time to look into it this ep?)
23:50 Talking about that Danish crime drama show I still don’t understand the title of? Inside domestic jokes
24:25 Dan: “Punch me, fucking punch me in the fucking head” Phil laughs/‘punches'/laughs
I’m also literally dying.

Anyway I liked it. Sims are whatever, I know what to expect, so I am adequately satisfied. Would have preferred another Happy Wheels with the carnage and blood; different tastes, what can I say.

[pastelspectre]

aaaa i loved the new sims video!! i got such domestic vibes i can tell i think they will be great parents someday but that is just how i see it. i love how excited they got over toddler Dab it was just an adorable video all around

[papierklemmen]

7:06 Dan: “let’s go on spring break and write some bad fan fiction together. Couple goals.” Phil: “it’s true"
???!?!?!!?!?!?

d&p are the actual authors of all the shock fics confirmed.

17:30 Dan: “I like that they just had a toddler and Dil is literally drinking in the bath”
Phil: “Same”
same.

+3 same.

23:50 Talking about that Danish crime drama show I still don’t understand the title of?

lol it's forbrydelsen (the killing)

[yupitsme]

7:06 Dan: “let’s go on spring break and write some bad fan fiction together. Couple goals.” Phil: “it’s true"

???!?!?!!?!?!?

That part reminded me of Trump (Just to be clear, the 'it's true' )

[fancybum]

23:50 Talking about that Danish crime drama show I still don’t understand the title of?

lol it's forbrydelsen (the killing)

Ohhhhhhhhh bless you thank you

7:06 Dan: “let’s go on spring break and write some bad fan fiction together. Couple goals.” Phil: “it’s true"
???!?!?!!?!?!?

That part just reminded me of Trump

It made me think of The Hand and The Urge, taking a break (well, work break) to literally write fanfiction together, don't be sullying vampire Phil and Harry Styles's butt with Twitler. (But wait do you mean like Trump being president is a bad fanfiction, or have I missed some horrible Trump/fiction meme I don't want to know about)
edit: oh just saw your edit, gotcha lol

[lurker]

talking about what they tag their videos with, kinda talking about views too, just some irrelevant, long, rambly stuff lol
[offtopic]

i noticed when i viewed the page source for dans video '2016 in memes' (was just having a look at what they tagged stuff with, it interests me) he listed things relevant to his video, like #memes and #furry (lol) then i looked at phils most recent one, '2017 wants me dead' and noticed he tagged things relevant like #fire and then #dan' and #danisnotonfire whereas dan didn't tag phils name? this has no relevance whatsoever and literally means nothing but it interested me that phil tagged dan as 'dan' and 'danisnotonfire', i know he mentioned him in his video, but so did dan with phil. does it mean that phils video would come up more often if people search 'dan and phil' rather than just like amazingphil? are tags important to the youtube search results, does this affect their video views? am i being stupid and dumb? (probably)

[/offtopic]

[offtopic]

i just randomly noticed that dan tagged the sims video on tumblr as "danisnotonfire" "dan howell" "amazingphil" "danandphilgames" etc.. maybe the double tagging is something along the lines of dan "branding" (idk if this is the correct word here) more as dan howell and less as danisnotonfire, same with how the channel descriptions used to be "dan's channel" in contrast to "amazingphil"? or maybe people searching for dan's videos might not search for "danisnotonfire" but rather "dan" or "dan howell"?

[/offtopic]

7:06 Dan: “let’s go on spring break and write some bad fan fiction together. Couple goals.” Phil: “it’s true"

That part reminded me of Trump (Just to be clear, the 'it's true' )

it's really good that you clarified because i only read the first sentence and was mildly horrified for a second or two

[CoolDoggo]

I think Dab is the only devil i mean child i could >not< hate with pure passion, maybe it's because of his cool hair?

Toddlers were always my least liked age group in The Sims. Just like in real life. I hate children. Fight me, Helen

But seriously, I can't wait til Dabby ages up to a child and goes to school, I can imagine little Dabs doing homework and hugging with his scaly friend

[fancy_nancy]

That was so boring to me, which is sad bc i usually love their sims videos I got the impression Dan was likes babies way more than Phil, am I imagining things?

Toddlers were always my least liked age group in The Sims. Just like in real life. I hate children. Fight me, Helen

omg same

[pilotlight]

I'm such a sucker for their latest Sims videos, jesus. If someone had told me, like 2 years ago, that I would be happily watching and rewatching something like this and grinning like an idiot the whole time, I would have thought they're insane. I was never been someone who didn't liked kids, but I wouldn't have expected to be awwwwing along with them over the cute toddler stuff.

4:44 "What's a dad outfit?"
Apparently the answer is a crop top, short shorts, and neon sneakers. Good to know.

I also liked their synchronised recoiling in horror at about 15:07 when Dil was tossing Dab around. Considering his track record with dishes + their own clumsiness, I don't blame them.

[SquishPhan]

That was so boring to me, which is sad bc i usually love their sims videos I got the impression Dan was likes babies way more than Phil, am I imagining things?

I didn't get that impression at all. Felt like they were both really excited.

[misakichan274]

I loved this video so much! They seemed so genuinely excited and happy; Phil especially was so cute, sassy and hilarious and all around lovely.

I think Dil and the Sims videos have a soft spot in their heart as they have previously often expressed fondness and nostalgia (maybe more than the audience) for Dil's milestones (wedding, pregnancy, baby etc) as maybe even their favourite of all DAPG. This imo is apparent and adds to their reactions, happiness and genuine cheerfulness especially in the recent ones.

Anyway, I found myself awwwing and beaming like a fool all throughout seeing them so excited for their virtual child and family
and the domestic couple-y discussions, kill me dead

[sia]

Can't believe such a cute and simple video got so many mixed responses They both seemed to me like they genuinely though that Dab looked cute and they both seemed like they have no clue what so ever how to deal with toddlers in real life and don't wish to deal with one Phil seemed a bit less persona-ly to me (looking disinterested), but I believe that the reason was that he is the one that knows how to play sims and he was guiding Dan with what to do, or maybe he is so into sims that he was genuinely interested in how toddlers work, because they are very different now than they were in past iterations?

[mez29]

6:22 Dan’s giggle noise at Phil’s “The baby’s like ‘what is my father now’”
punch me

ah yes! and also Phil's laugh just before that at 6:14

[uglyamerican]

I'm going to try squeezing in the Sims ep. later tonight, but I've go to watch a webinar in like 3 minutes, so I'll make it quick: (Self-professed) intellectuals like Dan (and my snotty self, ahem) can sometimes be lowkey condescending without even realizing it - I doubt he's consciously doing it - except possibly when reprimanding bad behavior. Anyway, I think he's said previously that 25% of his audience is male, which is good for his genre - Caspar Lee has also said he has 25% male viewers. Let's face it - he started out as a cute teenage boy, and that naturally attracts pre / teenage girls. Dan's not an outrageous a-hole / inane stunts / prankster type that tends to attract young males, and he should be proud of that (although his inexplicable connoisseurship of Rap / HipHop should gain him some middle class white suburban boy love.)

[sia]

Also I was thinking about the debate earlier about how expansive younow chats are and where do they draw the line with the selling out thing. Of course they are definitely not the worst but they do things that many other edgy youtubers shade all the time, like playing that dragon apps, the whole younow thing (like does it really has so much better chat system? really?), shamelessly promoting their merch.. And listening to the Dan's livestreams he sounds like he is not that kind of person who would do stuff like that, talking how much he values authenticity and sitting on videos to make them good and all that, so one could wonder if they are just a big liars.

On the other hand Phil has very different relationship with entertainment both the one he makes and the one he consumes, and if Dan is really as half of a procrastinator he says he is Phil actually does a lot of background work, I mean this is no secret, he was the one that organised the whole gamingmas, but I wouldn't say he picked a lot of flash game out of malice but simply because he resarched what do other people play and what appealed to him and what they could freely talk over and not miss anything important and Dan just had to sit there and provide his relatable reactions (scream), so Phil doesn't wierd everyone out with talking about breasts too much.

Maybe Phil's opinion on what is using his viewers and what is selling out is just different than most people's, I mean he is the one that is shamelessly into reality shows to the point he applied to the big brother, plays timewaster apps in his free time, was into sims and other thing that are persived as girly and cheap entertainment, so maybe he is not just a money hungry person but actually kind of progressive in that way that he believes that any entertainment that makes some person happy is valid and it doesn't need a flock of white males to make it so and that people are free to spend their money as they see fit. But one could argue that things are not that simple with their very young and impressionable audience, but one could also argue that that is then parents responsibility.

On the other hand a lot of Dan's interests are more traditionally boyish, especailly the ones he only mentions in the passing (like that he played age of empires during the weekend, which I always smile a bit when he says that because that is my favorite game and I consider myself female, but speaking of the average), so that would explain why he has some more ingrained bias about what is quality entertainment and what not (aka the male serious filmmaker in the comments he feels he should oblige to), but follows Phil's ethics on their joined content.

Now is Dan wrong or is he not, are female teens actually shalow fans that only stan for the looks and dissappear as soon as the hairlines start to recede and therefore it is safer in the long run to appeal to boys? Or is all just some sexistic crap? I have no statistical answer to that and I would love to find one, but I imagine it would be hard to obtain.

[captainspacecoat]

I really enjoyed that video, it was a nice, gentle reprieve from the rapid disintegration of the world as we know it tbh (I'm really stressed and overwhelmed if you couldn't tell). I sometimes find their sims videos a bit tedious, but there was just something really calming about watching them coo over a lil tiny sim toddler and because I'm trash I got such a kick out of them talking about coordinating outfits with their kid and planning his aqua-themed outfit etc.

I felt Dan actually carried the video as he seemed more enthusiastic, but then again Phil did also come across as very soft and fond. I also found the image of them falling asleep watching Norwegian crime dramas really adorable

Anyway yeah in summary, they couldn't have uploaded that video at a better time as I desperately needed a calming reprieve from the current horrors of the world

[Catallena]

Well aren't they just adorably precious pieces of shit? That video was so cute, I don't even like kids wtf @ me.

Commentary:
- Getting my always looming cloud of negativity out of the way first; I adore Dan's wavy hair, but with this haircut it ain't a good look ._.
- But the rest of them looks soft and cute so yay!
- They're so excited about having a toddler, awww.
- Dan nudges Phil at 'teach it to walk, talk and use the potty' and Phil makes an excited sound and claps.
- In sync 'through the roof' movement.
- Dan's lamp->cramp pun fails, Phil is an angel about it.
- 'Dan I hate that.' He sounded so serious, how often does Phil veto shit like that in their household :')
- Dan is less of an angel about Phil's failed joke.
- 'We are the worst parents.'
- Phil proves himself to be the better parent, remembering that the kid needs to eat.
- They're so weird about breastfeeding.
- 'What's a dad outfit?' *D&P dress Dil up like a cheap gay porn star*
- Phil was bit weird throughout this, like I'm always ok with more neutral faced Phil instead of permanent but it was weird..
- Phil in a crop top, did you mean half of Tumblr's wet dream?
- Phil cheekily asking whether Dil could wear panties. Also Tumblr's wet dream (not on Dil, but on Depz).
- 'Let's go on spring break and write some bad fan fiction together. Couple goals.' I wonder what their AO3 is.
- Phil finally decided he got his money's worth on the fireworks one and splurged on a new spark effect?
- 'It's a scaley Phil, we taught each other about this.' UHM??
- I'm serious Phil's entire way of speaking and moving is so different and not persona like. I like it but I do wonder if he was tired/bored/done with this game. Or am I going mad, that's possible too.
- 'I'm hyped for this.' Phil says in a complete monotone voice which is attractive ngl. Mate u ok?
- Oh and now he's good old energetic Phil again. This commentary has turned into Phil Watch.
- That kid got thicker and more voluminous hair than I ever will. Yes I'm jealous of some pixels FIGHT ME.
- The reaction to the bear sofa
- 'I'd use that one.' 'Because you wanna poop in someone's mouth, what's wrong with you?' Another kink Dan isn't into.
- 'We're not gonna get Dab a tablet.' Phil is the traditional parent type.
- 'They just had a toddler and Dil is literally drinking in the bath.' 'Same.' Phil is also the alcoholic parent type. Flaming shots to drink those sorrows away.
- Dan is gonna be the fashionable parent who buys their kid expensive shit despite that they'll grow out of it within a day..
- 'Potty help with daddy... which could be a very different video search depending on what website you're on' Dan totally writes little! fics on that AO3 of his.
- Them just going awww over everything melts my heart.
- 'Punch me, fucking punch me' and then Phil nudging Dan's face with his fist. Kill meeeee.

I really loved this, Sims is such a hit or miss series isn't it? I might just pretend Happy Wheels didn't happen and that this is the first vid of the year.

[fancybum]

On the other hand Phil has very different relationship with entertainment both the one he makes and the one he consumes, and if Dan is really as half of a procrastinator he says he is Phil actually does a lot of background work, I mean this is no secret, he was the one that organised the whole gamingmas, but I wouldn't say he picked a lot of flash game out of malice but simply because he resarched what do other people play and what appealed to him and what they could freely talk over and not miss anything important and Dan just had to sit there and provide his relatable reactions (scream), so Phil doesn't wierd everyone out with talking about breasts too much.

Maybe Phil's opinion on what is using his viewers and what is selling out is just different than most people's, I mean he is the one that is shamelessly into reality shows to the point he applied to the big brother, plays timewaster apps in his free time, was into sims and other thing that are persived as girly and cheap entertainment, so maybe he is not just a money hungry person but actually kind of progressive in that way that he believes that any entertainment that makes some person happy is valid and it doesn't need a flock of white males to make it so and that people are free to spend their money as they see fit. But one could argue that things are not that simple with their very young and impressionable audience, but one could also argue that that is then parents responsibility.

On the other hand a lot of Dan's interests are more traditionally boyish, especailly the ones he only mentions in the passing (like that he played age of empires during the weekend, which I always smile a bit when he says that because that is my favorite game and I consider myself female, but speaking of the average), so that would explain why he has some more ingrained bias about what is quality entertainment and what not (aka the male serious filmmaker in the comments he feels he should oblige to), but follows Phil's ethics on their joined content.

Now is Dan wrong or is he not, are female teens actually shalow fans that only stan for the looks and dissappear as soon as the hairlines start to recede and therefore it is safer in the long run to appeal to boys? Or is all just some sexistic crap? I have no statistical answer to that and I would love to find one, but I imagine it would be hard to obtain.

I think one of the main differences between them is their approach to their individual content. Dan rocks back and forth agonizing over creativity/authenticity/meaning (before giving up and doing another ISG instead, no offense), whereas Phil literally just picks an idea/theme and does a video and if he's happy with it and it makes someone smile, that's great. And along with that, I would say he's more business-oriented in that he doesn't care about doing a challenge if it appeals to him (where Dan basically criticizes challenges across the board and when he does do them, like the Photobooth challenge or Face Swap, he's always sure to be clear we know that he knows it's easy fluff content and is basically defensive about it or feels a need to explain the reason he 'stooped' to doing it (while in the process un?intentionally throwing Phil's channel under the bus every time lmao)). Phil spends less time concerning himself with the opinions of other people and just does whatever both appeals to him and fits into the palatable packaging of YT trends (like the 'British Boy Irish Girl' spin with Hazel's collab and including the glowing knife in this year's first video + unabashedly clickbaity titles) and his fuller use of search tags as mentioned earlier. He just treats all of it more like a traditional job than Dan does. Dan gets caught up in themes and deeper meanings to the point of self-sabotage and inaction.

And I think that all applies to their interests as well. Phil enjoys what he enjoys (even trashy reality tv and time-wasting apps) and again, doesn't give a shit about how it looks to other people. Like with the X Factor, Dan gets just as into it as Phil, but he feels the need to qualify that he was forced to watch it and yes it's trash, don't judge him for watching pleb entertainment please (truly the irl embodiment of me, an intellectual). He's always pre-emptively defensive about anything he believes he could be criticized for. It's in this way that Phil is more definitive than Dan. He likes what he likes, he does what he does, and as long as what he puts out measures up to his own standards (in views, revenue, engagement, whatever) that's fine. Which is fine as it's literally his job and being aware of the numbers and altering what he can to improve them where possible is just smart business. It doesn't mean he's a shill or only sees his audience as a cash machine, it just means he takes his job seriously and doesn't bother feeling guilty about 'playing the game' when he can stand behind how he plays it. And then there's Dan, who resents the game to begin with and resents everybody for playing it, resents himself having to play it, resents the judgemental eyes of everyone watching from the sidelines telling everyone who's playing it wrong, blahedy blahedy blah.

And the whole 'male filmmaker critic' thing: as much as he sticks up for his predominately younger female fanbase ('don't underestimate teenage girls' or whatever the quote from the Sunday Times was) and is genuinely appreciative of everybody, there's still a need to be taken 'seriously' (whatever that even means on any given day) by dudes as well. Chris has slipped into this quite often, wishing for a larger male audience, too, and I think it just comes back to not feeling able to trust the feedback they're getting. Because if the majority of your audience just seems to want to fuck you (because a lot of what you see is just comments about and thirst over your appearance), then looking for a hint of validation from straight dudes (ie. people who can look at your content objectively without the bias of also wanting your ass) makes sense. So it's not as simple as just being sexist, it's a whole other complicated mess that just peripherally may include it. Yay.

edit: Also explains him always trying to brush off comments praising his appearance as ironic and just an inside joke, because accepting them at face value ('wow my audience really wants to bone me.. thanks..?') is too uncomfortable and lessens the value of anything else complimentary. ~uncomfortable sexual dynamics~