Dan and Phil Part 104: DAPG IS BACK FROM THE DEAD

[phancon]

I enjoyed that video a lot. I do really wish though that they (mainly Dan) would stop feeling the need to comment at the "most fun I've ever had"/tackle portion of the video. I don't see why they can't just let it exist as it is and move on. I've already seen people on twitter genuinely upset that Dan revealed he was being sarcastic. The Phil comment about "2 bros" can stay though lol. Anyway I enjoyed everything else in the video and do hope they do all the pinofs, I know it became sort of compulsary to do for them at pinof4, but I still think it'd be fun to look back with them.

[kiro56]

Such a nostalgic video. I loved it.

[momentojabali]

Hey guys! So I recently made an introduction post talking about how I started being a fan in 2015 and used to lurk here and I've finally decided to post here. Seems like the best moment honestly with the return of DAPG. Some thoughts:

Golf with friends: I LOVE this game I don't know what it is about it. I think it's just a great opportunity for their chemistry to show. It's also so funny to me how they openly (jokingly) hate it sometimes, specially back when it used to crash relatively often.

The collab with PJ and Charlie: I found it a bit difficult to watch because I felt like they barely let PJ and Charlie talk. And yeah the 10 seconds in total that we saw their faces made it more awkward than it should have been.

Question: do we all just agree that they hired an editor or have they confirmed it? It didn't give me that impression at first but then I saw a comment talking about it and the last thumbnail (the PINOF reaction) does look different from their usual.

[greenergrass]

I enjoyed that video a lot. I do really wish though that they (mainly Dan) would stop feeling the need to comment at the "most fun I've ever had"/tackle portion of the video. I don't see why they can't just let it exist as it is and move on. I've already seen people on twitter genuinely upset that Dan revealed he was being sarcastic. The Phil comment about "2 bros" can stay though lol. Anyway I enjoyed everything else in the video and do hope they do all the pinofs, I know it became sort of compulsary to do for them at pinof4, but I still think it'd be fun to look back with them.

This might come across a bit blunt and it's not directed at you, but I think if people are getting genuinely upset about a youtuber making an honest comment about something they said, it's on those audience members and not dan himself. It doesn't change whatever meaning people attached to the phrase just because the original statement wasn't what they thought it was. It actually made me immediately think of 'good riddance' by green day - a song that was super popular for graduations and other big life moments back when I was young, was actually written in a sarcastic tone, and then even changed meaning for billie joe at some point due to the meaning it had taken on for the audience. There's many examples of that, but that's just the first one I thought of.

Tldr; something can have different meanings over time and for different people, and that's fine

Question: do we all just agree that they hired an editor or have they confirmed it? It didn't give me that impression at first but then I saw a comment talking about it and the last thumbnail (the PINOF reaction) does look different from their usual.

I can't remember if they verbally confirmed it, but they have been crediting different editors in the descriptions of various dapg videos since the return so that is likely where the confirmation is coming from (if they didn't also explicitly confirm it? Someone else might remember better than me)

[Catallena]

Until now I didn't know people took 'this was the most fun i've ever had' so seriously. I've always interpreted as playfully sarcastic. Like yeah this wasn't the highlight of his life (or even the highlight of those days with phil) but it's not like he didn't enjoy it. He was just making a silly video with the hot emo guy from YouTube who happens to be his newfound soulmate. It meant enough to him that he kept the bloody piece of paper with the questions and even watching it back in 2023 he can't resist going on a little tangent about the chemistry he and Phil had even when they first met irl.

I think that when they react to PINOF 4 the "I feel special." "You are." bit will also get a little debunking. It's not a cute thing, but actually a somewhat edgy joke and I know a lot of people have misinterpreted that one over the years.

[Grey]

I just wrote a whole thing that was basically saying exactly what Catellena posted while I was writing it. That. Agree.

Also/ separate comment: I totally agree that the collab video was a mess, editing wise. I found it hard to listen to because they (especially Dan) kept talking over their guests (especially Charlie) who already weren’t featured much to begin with. It was kind of weird. But I’ll give them a pass because they don’t normally film virtual collab content like that. Hopefully if they do it again, they figure out some of the issues.

[Birdie]

I loved the video and I kind of wish they'd share more explanations like these, haha. Like, I never really thought about Phil's "Insidious" joke but I love that he explained it, that bit finally makes sense. I like the idea of them kind of de-romanticising some of the lore about early days Dan and Phil a lot. It can still mean what it means to the audience but more than a decade later I'm just really interested in what it meant for them at the time. The fans took a lot of that stuff and ran with it for fifteen years so hearing them explain what actually happened feels kind of special to me because it's just also one of those things they couldn't have done a few years back without some kind of big negative reaction, I think.

[greenergrass]

Until now I didn't know people took 'this was the most fun i've ever had' so seriously. I've always interpreted as playfully sarcastic. Like yeah this wasn't the highlight of his life (or even the highlight of those days with phil) but it's not like he didn't enjoy it. He was just making a silly video with the hot emo guy from YouTube who happens to be his newfound soulmate. It meant enough to him that he kept the bloody piece of paper with the questions and even watching it back in 2023 he can't resist going on a little tangent about the chemistry he and Phil had even when they first met irl.

I think that when they react to PINOF 4 the "I feel special." "You are." bit will also get a little debunking. It's not a cute thing, but actually a somewhat edgy joke and I know a lot of people have misinterpreted that one over the years.

Yep exactly. I think it's fine that people attached their own meaning to it and it was 'important' to some fans, but clearly making a youtube video answering random questions would not be the most fun he'd ever had in 18 years of life lol.

I loved the video and I kind of wish they'd share more explanations like these, haha. Like, I never really thought about Phil's "Insidious" joke but I love that he explained it, that bit finally makes sense. I like the idea of them kind of de-romanticising some of the lore about early days Dan and Phil a lot. It can still mean what it means to the audience but more than a decade later I'm just really interested in what it meant for them at the time. The fans took a lot of that stuff and ran with it for fifteen years so hearing them explain what actually happened feels kind of special to me because it's just also one of those things they couldn't have done a few years back without some kind of big negative reaction, I think.

Same same same! I love getting any behind the scenes info, big or small, so I love stuff like this. It also just feels more real of them when they don't pander to an audience and talk honestly about things, again big or small. I'm loving this new era for that in general, them being less guarded and more of a no fucks given attitude. I think some of the maybe younger fans get upset when their illusion/idea of something is ruined (which is fine, people are can feel personally sad about things), but I just don't like the idea of fans expecting creators to act in a certain way in order to not hurt their feelings.

[jmorton]

Quiz time!

[plinthofmylife]

Y'all, this is the first time in years I'm just BEHIND on Dan and Phil related content. I can't keep up. I'm out of practice for this kind of gamingmas pacing.

[Susanisnotafish]

Y'all, this is the first time in years I'm just BEHIND on Dan and Phil related content. I can't keep up. I'm out of practice for this kind of gamingmas pacing.

I live alone, so I sit down in front of the TV and watch each day’s video while eating dinner. I’m loving this ritual and will really miss it when Gamingmas is over and I won’t have them for dinner companions most nights.

[BrothAndBrine]

I always assumed, because all I had were assumptions, Dan was 18 without much life behind him, had been talking with this guy who he had so much chemistry with online and so much in common with and they did look like they had fun then and before the video and I thought he genuinely had the most fun he ever had then. To be a bit more precise, the tone of his voice in my rewatches over the years seemed genuine to me half the time and the other half the time, just saying something to say something.

This is akin to why I disliked English class symbolism and whatever. The author might have just included crap because it came in their head for a next sentence & sounded nice and there is no meaning that should be analyzed in classes for decades to come.

I thought it was interesting, for no good reason, that wanting to bang Voldemort/Phil looking like Voldemort was basically skipped.

[smoosh]

I think that when they react to PINOF 4 the "I feel special." "You are." bit will also get a little debunking. It's not a cute thing, but actually a somewhat edgy joke and I know a lot of people have misinterpreted that one over the years.

i’m wondering if it’ll even be included tbh. despite being a demon, i knew even back then that it was a common “mean” thing to call someone “special.” it was used a euphemism for an intellectual disability. so either they admit to a rude and outdated joke or they say that it was a real compliment which is hard for me to believe.

phil does seem like the kind of guy to be lifting people up like that (especially in the pizza mukbang where his affirmations to dan were lightning quick). but given what we know about their relationship and fanbase at the time, it’s unlikely they’d include it in there if it was truly what the fans were running with.

[mez29]

This is akin to why I disliked English class symbolism and whatever. The author might have just included crap because it came in their head for a next sentence & sounded nice and there is no meaning that should be analyzed in classes for decades to come.

The symbolism doesn't have to be a result of the author's intention though. Sure, they might well have written what they wrote because it sounded nice to them, but the very reason it sounds nice is because it's subconsciously informed by a lifetime of cultural knowledge, which will resonate with readers in a variety of ways. So it's valid to analyse the symbolism, not because the author necessarily explicitly intended it to be in the text, but because its presence in the text draws on specific cultural markers that in turn evoke particular associations for readers. Similarly, (not specifically directed at the person I'm quoting) I don't think anyone needs to reevaluate the structural foundation of Dan and Phil fandom because of whatever debunking they've done of an early influential moment. It has meaning within their fandom and it's had meaning for 14 years. The audience's interpretation ceased to be under their control the moment they put it on YouTube.

[gnostic]

God nowhere is safe from Word of God vs Death of the Author debate

[Levitating]

I cannot believe people actually thought that he was not being sarcastic with that line?! Dan's soul is sarcastic. How could it ever sound sentimental?! When has he ever been sentimental?

Perhaps only recently, during the You'll get through this night period.

And I have to jump into the death of the author thing because, first of all, a youtube video at the time was not "art" or even it is was, what they were doing was comedy; not artistic expression per se.

As for the "you're special", I do not think - again - that it was sentimental. It was Phil being nice but no transcendental meaning.

I loved the React to PINOF, in all of this! I would like to see more

I also agree with those who did not feel comfortable with how much Dan was talking over their guests At one point PJ and Charlie started saying "Over", as if to give more order to their vocalisations, and it made me wonder whether they were doing it to signal to the others that they needed to give each other time to talk and that the 'over' would help others (=DAN) understand when one was done, so to avoid cutting them off.

[blacknailpolish]

Hello, I’ve been lurking for a while since the revival of the gaming channel - I used to be a huge fan back in the day then dipped out when they did, and now I feel myself getting sucked back in

Hope this doesn’t come off weird or anything but wanted to get fellow fans thoughts…considering the conversation that happened here after Dan’s coming out video was really thoughtful about Dan and Phil’s wonderful relationship essentially being confirmed within reason/without crossing boundaries and making massive assumptions. I love the thought that they really have been together in all capacities for so many years. It’s beautiful.

So with that said, I recently watched the interview Anthony Padilla did with Dan back in January of this year. There’s a section where Dan talks about wanting to do things and make changes for himself based on sex, about wanting to be “f-able”, about how he could always try to look cute but before he came out it “wasn’t going to go anywhere”, and that now he’s “on the loose”…. Despite Dan being a huge jokester it made me feel like, wow maybe he and Phil really aren’t together?? Although that seems impractical based on all the other “evidence” lol

Anyway was curious what others thought even though this was almost a year ago lol

[000dia000]

"Twink death". Baby...

[liola]

It takes two is ALL I ever wanted for them to play since the gaming channel was resurrected. I can go watch and see who they choose to play and the frustrated screams.

[Levitating]

Less than 10 seconds in and Phil says "stop it; I'm your husband"

I love this too much (this trolling; this milking it; this not caring anymore about how sensible we might be about this; this pure well deserved for-profit clickbait) I love it too much ahah!

[princesstalsy]

Despite Dan being a huge jokester it made me feel like, wow maybe he and Phil really aren’t together?? Although that seems impractical based on all the other “evidence” lol

Anyway was curious what others thought even though this was almost a year ago lol

I'd love to start a conversation because I've wondered for years if they maybe aren't together (anymore), and I feel like there's 'evidence' of it but I'm scared to get jumped LOLLL.

[howadorableright]

Less than 10 seconds in and Phil says "stop it; I'm your husband"

I love this too much (this trolling; this milking it; this not caring anymore about how sensible we might be about this; this pure well deserved for-profit clickbait) I love it too much ahah!

i know i'm so glad they're capitalizing on it, they might as well after all the trauma im sure they have now

also I GOT MY LONG VIDEO!!! YESSSS!!! but will they actually play through the whole game...doubtful but i can dream

[blacknailpolish]

Despite Dan being a huge jokester it made me feel like, wow maybe he and Phil really aren’t together?? Although that seems impractical based on all the other “evidence” lol

Anyway was curious what others thought even though this was almost a year ago lol

I'd love to start a conversation because I've wondered for years if they maybe aren't together (anymore), and I feel like there's 'evidence' of it but I'm scared to get jumped LOLLL.

Haha no jumping from me! I feel like it's a totally valid question/speculation. Personally I do want them to still be together! And I also feel like...it's hard for me to picture doing everything they do with each other and owning all the things they do with each other and being as close as they are and both having the same sexuality and still not being together romantically. BUT, even with that, there are these moments where Dan makes these comments or jokes and I'm like...wow if my partner said that kind of stuff it would make me feel pretty insecure or upset. But that's just me so idk!

[jlynmrie]

So with that said, I recently watched the interview Anthony Padilla did with Dan back in January of this year. There’s a section where Dan talks about wanting to do things and make changes for himself based on sex, about wanting to be “f-able”, about how he could always try to look cute but before he came out it “wasn’t going to go anywhere”, and that now he’s “on the loose”…. Despite Dan being a huge jokester it made me feel like, wow maybe he and Phil really aren’t together?? Although that seems impractical based on all the other “evidence” lol

Anyway was curious what others thought even though this was almost a year ago lol

Honestly, if it’s not just joking around, I am more likely to interpret comments like these as an ethically non-monogamous relationship of some sort.

I and most of my friends are 30-something queers of various genders (as are Dan and Phil) and this sort of relationship dynamic is definitely more common and socially acceptable in our demographic than it seems to be for other groups. Dan and Phil remind me of one of my friends and his husband, whose relationship is emotionally monogamous, they aren’t dating or falling in love with anyone else, they are life partners and not interested in bringing anyone else into that - but also sometimes they sleep with other people and sexy fun times are all above board and not an issue for them Only rules are be honest and be safe. This has worked for them for over a decade now and they’re very happy together. I could see something like that for Dan and Phil maybe. Otherwise I think it’s probably a joke, because you don’t buy a house together with your ex-boyfriend.

[greenergrass]

I loved that! That was such a fun game, and a good mix of banter and entertaining gameplay, and I also like longer videos like that. I really hope they end up playing the rest of the game, both because it was a good video and because I need to see it through to the end.