Dan & Phil Part 89: So what now?

[Tornbetweenfandoms]

I think the whole there has to be X videos for a merch release thing is a bit ridiculous. Like the designing and releasing of merch is them making art for us. If you don't want to buy it, don't.
You wouldn't say you're not buying an artist's album cos they've not posted on Instagram or not watch a TV show because the director isn't active on twitter.
Them spending time opening and running their merch company is something they did FOR US.
Yes they're making money, I'm not oblivious to that, but they have to make a living. If Dan decided to never upload again and instead develop his passion for marketing and product design and produce more merch why on earth would you not support that?

Idk everyone is obviously welcome to an opinion I just think it's really strange to want to put someone down who you support for sharing something they're passionate about.

I don't know if you're responding to me or rizzo, but this is not what we said. I'm always happy when they make merch and I'm literally the person who tries to explain to others that this is their job and they're supposed to be making money. No one is putting them down here.

I just feel like it would be better to hold off another merch release, or better yet, it would've been best to combine all of those into one. It just makes more sense to me that way.

However, if he does release a notebook and pencils, I guess it makes sense with the back to school theme. I'm merely impatient for more content, but I'm definitely not putting anyone down.

Also... yes, they run the merch company for us and we love merch, but don't make it sound like it's some super big favor or something... They make great money on it, which is awesome, but it's not like we need to thank them for selling us products.

I didn't mean it at anyone in particular, sorry if it came across that way, it's just all I see on Tumblr and insta and Twitter. People acting like dnp owe us anything. Like it's fun to get hyped and anticipate the videos but if Dan doesn't want to upload and just focus on merch, then good for him. I for one will not be buying cos super poor rn but will enjoy the hell out of any modelling photos!

[alien]

can someone help me understand what the thing is they're seeing their reflection on?

[bisky]

I think the whole there has to be X videos for a merch release thing is a bit ridiculous. Like the designing and releasing of merch is them making art for us. If you don't want to buy it, don't.
You wouldn't say you're not buying an artist's album cos they've not posted on Instagram or not watch a TV show because the director isn't active on twitter.
Them spending time opening and running their merch company is something they did FOR US.
Yes they're making money, I'm not oblivious to that, but they have to make a living. If Dan decided to never upload again and instead develop his passion for marketing and product design and produce more merch why on earth would you not support that?

Idk everyone is obviously welcome to an opinion I just think it's really strange to want to put someone down who you support for sharing something they're passionate about.

I don't know if you're responding to me or rizzo, but this is not what we said. I'm always happy when they make merch and I'm literally the person who tries to explain to others that this is their job and they're supposed to be making money. No one is putting them down here.

I just feel like it would be better to hold off another merch release, or better yet, it would've been best to combine all of those into one. It just makes more sense to me that way.

However, if he does release a notebook and pencils, I guess it makes sense with the back to school theme. I'm merely impatient for more content, but I'm definitely not putting anyone down.

Also... yes, they run the merch company for us and we love merch, but don't make it sound like it's some super big favor or something... They make great money on it, which is awesome, but it's not like we need to thank them for selling us products.

I'd say I have no issue with their ongoing release of merch without vids because, from my perspective, it seems like they just enjoy doing it and I view it as a neat creative outlet in its own right. As someone who makes (most of) her living off of making and selling my work/products, I totally understand if they are just more in a creative zone at the moment of releasing lines of merch designs, I share that kind of headspace with my own work.

Obviously I don't think we should "thank them" for selling us products haha and of course they make nice piles money off of it but I just get the vibe they're trying to focus on stuff beyond youtube/online content (which they make money off of too) and have more interest in trying to make cool things that can represent them in different mediums. and i say this as someone who likes both of their stuff enough but has no actual interest in buying merch from them, or most people. i just enjoy seeing what they come up with

But again I'm biased in my thinking as that is essentially what I do with my life lol.

(also hi first time poster sorry if i messed up any formatting and for jumping into a convo, i just think its an interesting one)

[obsessivelymoody]

Speaking of merch, and slightly off the topic (which I'm finding very interesting to read!!)...anyway, strange use of meme from the irl twitter account:

I guess it's funny?? It's so...random for that account though??

EDIT: disregard this whole post I have been properly trolled. Ignore me lmao

[flarequake]

That's a meme? I feel like I should have kids, I neither have ever seen the meme, nor am I sure I'd buy it for a kid if I saw that, bit gross, don't need the mental image of the life-size mold, but I guess it's funny

[bluecaterpillar]

can someone help me understand what the thing is they're seeing their reflection on?

they've got an outdoor mirror on the wall of their balcony, which their faces and the wicker chair they're sitting on are reflected in. you can see their living room windows behind them with the blinds down.

also you can see phil's back reflected in the windows and that is not just a backwards denim jacket, it doesn't have buttons anywhere. looks like a pullover type thing with a turtleneck collar and maybe a big pocket on the front? has dan managed to get him to make some more adventurous fashion choices than his usual conventional topman clothes?

re: merch. ngl i will side-eye another merch drop if it doesn't come alongside/after any new videos, because they didn't get their fanbase through selling merch. they have a fanbase because they are content creators, and merch is a nice way for fans to get a physical 'piece' of deppy and also give them more financial support than they'd get through adsense and #spon alone. non-fans aren't following them just so they can buy dh-branded pencils. regardless of how much money their content and merch brings in respectively, the main thing people are looking for from them is content, and we haven't got much of that lately. which is fine, they're entitled to their privacy and time offline and they don't owe us x amount of videos and social media activity, but lots of merch and no content would feel off to me as it would seem like they expect the fans to give more to them than they as creators are giving to us. am i even making sense, idk, basically what i'm trying to get at is that their merch supplements their online presence, it doesn't replace it.

[firsttimeposter]

can someone help me understand what the thing is they're seeing their reflection on?

also you can see phil's back reflected in the windows and that is not just a backwards denim jacket, it doesn't have buttons anywhere. looks like a pullover type thing with a turtleneck collar and maybe a big pocket on the front? has dan managed to get him to make some more adventurous fashion choices than his usual conventional topman clothes?

Sadly dan has just put a filter on phil which makes him ‘symmetrical’ so this is just his regular jacket twisted in some filter to make it look like a bold fashion choice.

[noodlebum]

Speaking of merch, and slightly off the topic (which I'm finding very interesting to read!!)...anyway, strange use of meme from the irl twitter account:

I guess it's funny?? It's so...random for that account though??

EDIT: disregard this whole post I have been properly trolled. Ignore me lmao

Ok that proper trolled me too. Am I being thick, or do they have the exact same Twitter username as the real irl? I've stated at them both in Twitter for ages now and can't see a difference!

[Catallena]

Speaking of merch, and slightly off the topic (which I'm finding very interesting to read!!)...anyway, strange use of meme from the irl twitter account:

I guess it's funny?? It's so...random for that account though??

EDIT: disregard this whole post I have been properly trolled. Ignore me lmao

Ok that proper trolled me too. Am I being thick, or do they have the exact same Twitter username as the real irl? I've stated at them both in Twitter for ages now and can't see a difference!

They used a capital letter i instead of a l. People on Twitter do that a lot, since a lot of desirable usernames are already taken.

[bluecaterpillar]

they look the exact same but the fake one is actually 'irimerchandise' but they've used a capital i so it looks exactly like an l.

firsttimeposter i'm confused over the symmetrical filter. phil doesn't look symmetrical, just warped. and i wouldn't have thought a filter could specifically pick out phil's jacket but not dan's knee and all the other non-symmetrical things in the photo. i tried looking for a denim pullover thing like what he appears to be wearing but tracking down the contents of other people's wardrobes is not a talent of mine, maybe someone else can solve the mystery

[alittledizzy]

re: merch. ngl i will side-eye another merch drop if it doesn't come alongside/after any new videos, because they didn't get their fanbase through selling merch. they have a fanbase because they are content creators, and merch is a nice way for fans to get a physical 'piece' of deppy and also give them more financial support than they'd get through adsense and #spon alone. non-fans aren't following them just so they can buy dh-branded pencils. regardless of how much money their content and merch brings in respectively, the main thing people are looking for from them is content, and we haven't got much of that lately. which is fine, they're entitled to their privacy and time offline and they don't owe us x amount of videos and social media activity, but lots of merch and no content would feel off to me as it would seem like they expect the fans to give more to them than they as creators are giving to us. am i even making sense, idk, basically what i'm trying to get at is that their merch supplements their online presence, it doesn't replace it.

I think that's why the merch doesn't bother me, personally - I don't view them making merch as a favor to us... but I don't view fans buying merch as a favor to them. It's a business transaction and for me the thing you get for supporting them by buying merch is... the merch that you bought. It's not an investment into them agreeing to make more content, it's just - they made a product, you liked it, you bought it. (Or you didn't like it and didn't buy it.) I don't view that as coming with any other video related strings attached.

[noodlebum]

Damnit I knew it would be something sneaky

I wrote this elsewhere but thought would put this here too... If they can think up a new series of videos they can do together, even with a timescale/limited run on it, then that'll be good for a bit.

What could go under that category do you think, besides games e.g. Undertale? Some kind of specific baking challenge with like 6 categories they post over a year? I don't know, I'm waffling now

[rizzo]

What could go under that category do you think, besides games e.g. Undertale? Some kind of specific baking challenge with like 6 categories they post over a year? I don't know, I'm waffling now

might i suggest.... a house renovation series?

[noodlebum]

Yessss

[madzilla84]

Someone (possibly jokingly) suggested on tumblr that they should rebrand the gaming channel to ‘Dan and Phil Try New Things’, and while I don’t think it should be the *whole* channel (because it would prevent them from doing/revisiting anything they’d done before) I think that could be a cute ongoing series, similar to what they used to do on lessamazingphil but a bit more developed. Could be anything - games, a hobby/activity, foods, a different type of cooking or baking, travel, decorating, anything. And could be done at home or wherever so it’s nice and flexible. (And Phil could #spon his shirts every time, and I might finally get to see Dan wearing the black one, everyone’s happy)

[alittledizzy]

Oooh, now I'm getting strong Draw My Life: Part Two from that IG story.

[AltMay]

Oooh, now I'm getting strong Draw My Life: Part Two from that IG story.

Yes, definitely and i'm so excited!

[Amiaw]

I’m scared now (also a good video to film that doesn’t show the apartment)

[blahblahblah8]

Ooh I’m excited, I was hoping for a talky video! If it’s a new draw my life there’s a chance he’ll talk about his relationship with dan. Or maybe he’s using it to announce something! Any other ideas on why he’s making an updated one?

[bluecaterpillar]

re: merch. ngl i will side-eye another merch drop if it doesn't come alongside/after any new videos, because they didn't get their fanbase through selling merch. they have a fanbase because they are content creators, and merch is a nice way for fans to get a physical 'piece' of deppy and also give them more financial support than they'd get through adsense and #spon alone. non-fans aren't following them just so they can buy dh-branded pencils. regardless of how much money their content and merch brings in respectively, the main thing people are looking for from them is content, and we haven't got much of that lately. which is fine, they're entitled to their privacy and time offline and they don't owe us x amount of videos and social media activity, but lots of merch and no content would feel off to me as it would seem like they expect the fans to give more to them than they as creators are giving to us. am i even making sense, idk, basically what i'm trying to get at is that their merch supplements their online presence, it doesn't replace it.

I think that's why the merch doesn't bother me, personally - I don't view them making merch as a favor to us... but I don't view fans buying merch as a favor to them. It's a business transaction and for me the thing you get for supporting them by buying merch is... the merch that you bought. It's not an investment into them agreeing to make more content, it's just - they made a product, you liked it, you bought it. (Or you didn't like it and didn't buy it.) I don't view that as coming with any other video related strings attached.

your reply to this is interesting and has actually made me think a bit more about what i personally get out of buying merch! when i spend money on their merch, i'm not just buying a t-shirt or a backpack. i'm also getting myself something which links directly back to them as people who i like watching and am invested in. so it's not just a physical object, it has emotional significance to me and whenever i use it i am reminded of them and the fact that they make me happy.

and what am i basing this emotional attachment on? all the videos, tweets, instastories, panels, photos etc etc that i've seen of them. i view merch in a different way than i view regular clothing stores or people who sell artsy posters on etsy, because of that personal investment. so when there's merch without content, i feel like part of the equation is missing. imo buying or selling merch isn't a favour deppy or the fans are doing for each other, but it's not a straightforward business transaction either. i see them as content creators first and foremost, and their merch is a nice thing to supplement that but it's not the main show, it's an add-on which is only possible because of the other stuff they do.

[Secretstanner]

Someone tell me why my heart jumped into my throat because he’s drawing on a white board!! I got the same feeling when I saw dans tweet about uploading. I really really would love a more honest draw my life. I’m not saying I’m getting my hopes up but... I am if it’s a IG hack video I swear! Someone think of other videos it could be because right now I can’t think straight.

[masterofgeometry]

omg gay storytime pls phil

[Ablissa]

I'm so torn because... if it is updated Draw My Life, he can't really skip talking about Dan, can he? But then again, he can, and I'd be a little sad lmao. I'm not expecting anything huge but like, if he talks about parts of his life that contain Dan, I want Dan to at least be mentioned. Otherwise it'll just be weird, so I think he might, but...

Phil isn't exactly a "tell-all" kind of person, so would an updated DML even make sense? What part of his life would it cover? The entirety? So many questions. He's really hyped up this video so much and I just want it to happen already. I'M IMPATIENT

Edit: I saw a funny tweet that seems like a solid alternative to our speculations

[Catallena]

I am intrigued. And nervous. But mostly impatient. Damn you, Lester! I was trying to keep my expectations low.

[yellowsubmarine]

Very excited for the new video Mr. Lester!!! Whatever and wherever it may be.

Offtopic but I could picture Dan living in one of those very minimalistic houses with everything monochrome and limited furniture, that's the vibe I got from looking at his IG desk and merch. But that would be difficult living with Mr. Pastel over there.

They really are a tumblr moodboard everywhere they go