Dan & Phil Part 50: Should we kiss now?

[alittledizzy]

gif credit to pseudophan


image credit to pinkalicious-definition

[alittledizzy]

Here's what you missed on IDB! A summary of part 49:

- The Great Hair Debate, Phil Version
- Lamenting/nostalgia over the BBC days, thanks to a new article mentioning them as former djs.
- Gaming video! Dan and Phil "wreck some losers" in Mario Kart.
- Collab video! Dan and Phil play with a puppy, and also Cat was there I guess?
- Wow, People Have A Lot of Opinions On Teeth
- Youtubers React! Dan and Phil react to oh god no why no fucking kpop again why do the Fine Brothers hate us
- Gaming video! Dil gives birth, all of Phil's mpreg dreams are alive.
- Anthony Padilla starts some drama.
- Fanfiction: the ethics and the motivation of a reader, what does it all mean?
- Livestream! Dan gets controversial about Yuri on Ice and oh buddy do people have thoughts to share. Queerbaiting convo for paaaaages.
- Livestream! Phil says basically nothing controversial at all and idk pretty much everyone just thinks he's pretty cute. (And some people think he's boring. Also, there are some diagrams.)
- Danthony, part the first. (The collab.)
- Phil time travels back to April to post a picture of a cocktail from Signapore.
- Pikachu is gay, and London is literally Dan's city. (They celebrate London Pride with respective tweets.)
- Gaming video! Dan and Phil play The Higher Lower Game. People scratch their heads wondering why Dan loves this so much.
- Danthony, part the second. (The interview where Anthony says Dan's an inspiration. Also the text message screencap. Also a whole lotta fanart liked.)
- IDB delves into one of it's longstanding pasttimes: judging Dan for what he wears.
- A brief and eloquent return to the YOI conversation.
- Dan and Phil played DDR, and felucca blesses us with a DDR compilation.
- Dan does Tinder (spon)

[droopy]

Phil says basically nothing controversial at all and idk pretty much everyone just thinks he's pretty cute.

This could be used to describe the latest livestream, or just Phil as an internet icon in general.

(also for the "friendship ended" meme, it's my favorite and your rendition is so beautiful.)

[eevee]

I’m going to put this at the top because it’s important and everyone’s probably just going to skim the rest for their username lol:

Dan is out now. Dan was not out before. And I’m extremely happy about it.

Yes, male attraction/crush mentions are old news. But Dan has never post-2012-I’m-straight-era discussed his dating preferences this clearly. An off-hand comment about another man’s attractiveness is not the same. This is a huge step for him, because he is confirming that he is bisexual by insinuating that his dating preferences are both male and female. Still don’t believe me? Explain this:

Why would he be so nervous about the video if there wasn’t something nerve-wracking about it? Why?

This video is the most confirmation we’ve gotten in the past few years of his sexuality. Why am I extremely happy about it? Because I’m proud. I’ve ben a fan since 2011. I watched the whole public sexuality progression.

So for me, I’m expecting Dan’s default to be “I’m straight.”

Maybe I just haven’t gotten used to everything yet and I’m slow on the uptake, but every time he has a male attraction mention I’m slightly surprised, but happily surprised, not because I don’t think he likes men but because I’m very used to him being vehemently against the idea of him liking men. And every time I see that that’s changed, I feel happy for him and proud of him. Because he’s accepting who he is within himself, and accepting sharing himself with the world.

So this is why fans are happy about it. It's the biggest thing he's taken as of late to handle the subject matter of his sexuality on his youtube, right next to the diss challenge, which was almost at this level. This is just one step further, he confirmed his male attraction, we're happy about it. and we don’t deserve to be told “it’s old news.”

further reasoning from our very own Katka, very well-put:

Dan treated his male matches exactly the same as his female matches in the video, he didn't point them out, he didn't try to explain why they were there, he just included them when he didn't have to (he could have set his Tinder to only show him female matches or he could have edited the men out but he didn't).

I think Dan is attracted to men and women, but him using men and women in this video didn't "confirm" it any further for me. In the same way that if a gay guy did the exact same video, but had women, it wouldn't confirm to me that he's clearly straight/any sexuality that isn't 100% straight.

I know this is your opinion and you didn't mean to do this, but this really saddens me because I know this is a mindset that a lot of people will have and they will continue to think Dan is straight. It's just plain sad. I feel like Dan is trying to be obvious about his sexuality because he doesn't want to make a definitive statement (i.e. a coming out video). It makes perfect sense why he wouldn't want to: he would feel like he was asking for attention, he would feel like it's crossing personal boundaries, and thats not the usual content that goes on his channel or even happens in his liveshows. It would be awful to make assumptions about him, but there's a point where the signs are so clear (as clear as even explicitly STATING HIS SEXUALITY a long tome ago, but whatever) and so obviously there that NOT thinking he's not straight is just sort of...blind. it's heteronormative, is what it is.

THIS. PREACH. It is heteronormative, and it’s coming from the idea that being not-straight is a negative thing, so it’s insulting to assume that of someone.

I agree that Dan wouldn’t make a coming out video. He doesn’t want to make a big deal about it. He doesn’t normally make life update videos like that. He doesn’t want the focus to be on his personal life/sexuality…although it’s unavoidable that it is a focus…but he wants the focus he projects to be about his work on youtube, his work in his brand, yknow, his accomplishments that don’t have anything to do with his sexual orientation, since he’s a complex person who isn’t defined by one thing, like sexuality.

Thanks for saying this, lilmango.

Youtubers can be lgbtq+ and have a channel that doesn’t involve it as a main focal point. Just like Youtubers can be straight and have a channel that isn’t all about “MY STRAIGHT DATING EXPERIENCE??” “WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE THE TOKEN STRAIGHT FRIEND.” “STRAIGHT BAR DOS AND DONTS” like come on.

LGBTQ+ issues/topics is a genre of youtube, sure, but lgbtq+ Youtubers can make videos of whatever genre they want to. God forbid a Youtuber be bi and not make a formal coming out video.

Forgive my attitude here, but like..... What's Dan gotta do to entertain you folks?

giving you a huge here riz. Honestly, with Dan, his videos are never that great. And every time, people point that out, and act like there’s a higher bar. Maybe some people are new and are expecting sonic gaming from years ago or whatever, but Dan’s content hasn’t been spectacular in years. And you don’t need to complain about it every time.

I don’t love Dan’s videos but for me, if I didn’t hate the video, I consider it a good and enjoyable video. My bar is lower, and I get more enjoyment out of Dan’s videos as a result. It’s not the main content I’m here for, but I enjoy most of them enough to watch them for fun. If I don’t like it, I don’t rewatch it. Simple.

I don’t know why every time, without fail, we need to talk about how we didn’t like the video that much. It’s not just one or two people. It’s exhausting. If you don’t like Dan’s content most of the time, don’t watch it. No one’s going to revoke your fan card if you don’t watch Dan’s channel.

He’s making the same kind of content that he’s been making for the past few years. So I ask the same question as riz: what more do you want?

Also v impressed none of these convos or even photos leaked in the last few days?? (If they were legit. They seem to be...)

yo good point maybe he gave them NDAs LOL.

I don’t think he edited them all himself because that’d take a lot of graphic design time and work…and it probably wouldn’t look very good in the end.

This also gets me wondering where he filmed this video. The date in tinder was recently, I think post-move. I don’t think he would’ve done this in the new apartment, though, because it would give any fans a HUGE clue as to its whereabouts. I also don’t think he would do it in the old apartment because fans could be lurking (unfortunately, people did this). I’m chuckling to myself about the possibility of him traveling to a town with an older demographic to do this to try to avoid any fans finding him, lol!

Tbh for me though, I don't mind him being self-depreciating, it's one of the reasons I quite enjoy watching him and probably why I enjoyed the video.

Same! It’s nice to see you side with the humor. I don’t have the right to tell people what is and isn’t triggering to them, but these jokes aren’t tasteless. They’re very popular and trendy right now, which means that the majority enjoys them and doesn’t find them problematic. Maybe it’s coping for some people and maybe it’s just joking about how much of the young generation seems to be mentally ill, or that our world is doomed bc of global warming. There are lots of reasons for this joke and that’s why it’s so popular.

I’m not saying this to call people wrong, I just don’t want people to be triggered by jokes. So I’m saying this to hopefully help people agree that the jokes aren’t making a mockery of mental illness.

And I personally do enjoy these jokes, haha. But that’s just my opinion.

i'm just thinking...comparing dan's and phil's tinder spon i actually wonder how on earth phil got away with his idea.

Good question. I think Tinder was just happy to have someone with such a big audience shout them out at all. Like how companies pay to have their name or logo on/in stadiums, arenas, etc. Or product placement. It’s just getting the name in people’s heads and hopefully starting conversation about it. In this case, it worked!

He looks absolutely lovely in that shirt I love it so much!

yo SAME he looked fiiiiiine

[captainspacecoat]

Thought I'd add my thoughts even though everyone's probably over it by now! (the perks of being an Australian on break from uni who slept in):

I loved the video! I was tentative about it at first, but it exceeded all my expectations. I infinitely preferred it to his last vid, which I personally found to be nonsensical, poorly thought out and pointless. This one, however, was entertaining to watch, well-paced (I actually thought it was the perfect length), and genuinely a good advertisement for Tinder in terms of utilising the app and demonstrating how to use it.

re: sexuality - I'm so happy for him that he felt comfortable talking to men and women! Strongly disagree that it was just to widen the pool of people available to talk to, as like dizzy said there's an abundance of women in London. As someone who already believed he isn't straight this hasn't further confirmed his sexuality for me, but I do think it is significant that he chose to undeniably demonstrate his attraction to multiple genders on a main channel video, without making a huge deal out of it. Props to him

Vanderlyle I totally get what you're saying (and agree with you!), but I think in this case LGBT+ people are simply expressing happiness that someone they admire is also not straight. It is exciting/affirming to know that someone you look up to experiences sexuality similarly to you, and after so clearly being uncomfortable with his sexuality in the past it's nice to see him so seemingly blasé about his attraction to multiple genders now.

Of course people are more than their sexualities, and we would all do well to remember that, but in this case Dan's sexuality is relevant due to the video he just uploaded in which he demonstrated attraction to men as well as women on his main channel (not that he hasn't done that before, but people will always choose to ignore it), so it's gonna be a current topic of discussion.

re: mental health/branding - Agree with those who've said Dan never considered dropping the self-deprecation to be a part of his rebranding. He got rid of his username, as well as some very outdated, cringy aspects of his branding as those no longer resonated with him. That's all, and to expect anything else of him ultimately comes down to the individual's responsibility.

I actually don't think it's fair to say that Dan's self-deprecation is simply his persona, or to suggest that he has objectively grown out of it over the past five years. We ultimately don't know him enough to make definitive statements about his mental health. Sure, he is financially successful, appears to have a close circle of friends, and seems to have become more secure in himself with regards to his sexuality/identity. None of that means he isn't suffering with poor mental health, and I can't think of a single example to suggest that Dan's self-deprecation/negativity etc aren't at least somewhat genuine.

If someone can point me to an example of Dan's newfound positivity/wholesomeness/healthy coping mechanisms that'd be great, but I'm just confused as to where people got the idea that Dan is objectively, definitively, undeniably in a better place now therefore he must be putting on or exaggerating his depressive tendencies. At the end of the day, we don't know him. For all we know, he really does feel that way about himself and gets stuck in negative thought patterns and struggles with his mental health. I'm sure he's aware that, superficially, things are much better for him than they were five years ago, and I doubt that's lost on him. Doesn't mean that necessarily translates to his mental health though.

I'd also add that the self-deprecation schtick added to the video. The whole point was to not take himself seriously, he was trying to portray himself as a bit of a mess to see whether people would still be interested. If he'd taken serious photos or been super polite or whatever the video wouldn't have worked, as the whole point was to make it all out to be a bit of a joke. He was implying that he isn't really well suited to dating apps (he even questioned why on earth Tinder would have asked him to spon them), so the self-deprecating humour was, in my opinion, part of what carried the video.

Also, Dan didn't invent black humour. It's been around a long time, and it's a huge part of British comedy especially. I totally understand people's discomfort with it, especially people who have suffered themselves with mental illness so are especially sensitive to people seemingly making light of such a serious topic. Even I am sometimes a bit :/ about it, but it is a form of humour that I don't think is objectively offensive (unlike, say, humour that pokes fun at minorities etc), as in many cases it's coming from people with mental health problems themselves.

[Vanderlyle]

Vanderlyle I totally get what you're saying (and agree with you!), but I think in this case LGBT+ people are simply expressing happiness that someone they admire is also not straight. It is exciting/affirming to know that someone you look up to experiences sexuality similarly to you, and after so clearly being uncomfortable with his sexuality in the past it's nice to see him so seemingly blasé about his attraction to multiple genders now.

Of course people are more than their sexualities, and we would all do well to remember that, but in this case Dan's sexuality is relevant due to the video he just uploaded in which he demonstrated attraction to men as well as women on his main channel (not that he hasn't done that before, but people will always choose to ignore it), so it's gonna be a current topic of discussion.

yes! that came across more astringently than i wanted - i guess i just feel like dan has made it pretty clear that he doesn't find sexual identity to be his primary source of self identification personally - but that absolutely doesn't mean others shouldn't or don't.

i was taking a cue from what cherrybomb said as well that like - i guess i just feel like it shouldn't be a big deal and i don't think dan wants it to be a big deal. i don't want to take the wind out of any sails and i didn't mean we shouldn't be happy to find representation, but in terms of the speculative comments - i think dan just wants his sexuality to be as common as his tea preference. i think he is working towards a world where declarative sexual identity statements are unneeded bc anything is accepted/ expected and i guess i find that the speculation takes away from that goal?
idk - it's late so this is probs nonsense. & to all

[kuensukki]

I
I don’t know why every time, without fail, we need to talk about how we didn’t like the video that much. It’s not just one or two people. It’s exhausting. If you don’t like Dan’s content most of the time, don’t watch it. No one’s going to revoke your fan card if you don’t watch Dan’s channel.

He’s making the same kind of content that he’s been making for the past few years. So I ask the same question as riz: what more do you want?

Bruh the same could be said on why we always have to force positivity and unanimously good opinions cuz god forbid someone doesn't like the content and posts an opinion about it. No ne should have to fear going against majority opinion. Isn't that the point fo a forum, to be unapologetic about your opinions no matter how repetitive or negative they are. If someone wants to complain that phils ls are boring or that they don't enjoy dans content they should be allowed without the pitchforks coming after them. I feel like every time I write a post I always have to be super careful to not offend or come off as biased/overly critical but why should that be a thing?? Expectations come with being in the limelight and so does liking and disliking a creator's content. People should have the right to voice that without being shamed or accused of "wanting too much or expecting the impossible".

[argo]

I left on page 34 of the last post and came back to 6 pages and a new post



I liked the video! That sloth gif had me cracking up that person was a winner and Pernille with the "what's a meme lol" what a pure soul

Anyway I'm going to Hawaii for a week so I hope when I get back there's some more fun deppy content! Interested to watch Dan's ls next week, maybe while I'm sipping mai tais

[uglyamerican]

I left on page 34 of the last post and came back to 6 pages and a new post



I liked the video! That sloth gif had me cracking up that person was a winner and Pernille with the "what's a meme lol" what a pure soul

Anyway I'm going to Hawaii for a week so I hope when I get back there's some more fun deppy content! Interested to watch Dan's ls next week, maybe while I'm sipping mai tais

....
I'm pretty sure there's broadband internet in Hawaii, so...

[uglyamerican]

As a fledged member of the TeamBi/Pan/Omni... nothing's really changed, right?

[eevee]

kuensukki I'm not saying don't share your negative opinions, I'm more saying why continue to watch Dan if all the content disappoints you? And I'm seriously wondering what people want from him if this isn't it. It wasn't a rhetorical question. I invite everyone to answer it, I would love to know.

But blueapple_x brought up a good point to me privately "for me personally, reading a post that says "this video wasnt groundbreaking. I didnt really enjoy it" is exactly the same as "this video was amazing. I really enjoyed it". I dont think one should be called out just because it's negative"

that's a damn good point to be honest

sorry kuen and anyone else who might have been offended, I just really care about Dan, haha. I let it go to my head a little too much.

uglyamerican maybe they're on vacation and will be too busy to hang out on idb, lol.

[argo]

I'm pretty sure there's broadband internet in Hawaii, so...

Yeah that's not what I meant I think I'll probably be busy and will just catch up on YouTube and internet stuff when I come back. Obviously I will have internet there

[uglyamerican]

I'm pretty sure there's broadband internet in Hawaii, so...

Yeah that's not what I meant I think I'll probably be busy and will just catch up on YouTube and internet stuff when I come back. Obviously I will have internet there

Yea, I know what you meant, but p r i o r i t i e s.

[kuensukki]

kuensukki I'm not saying don't share your negative opinions, I'm more saying why continue to watch Dan if all the content disappoints you? And I'm seriously wondering what people want from him if this isn't it. It wasn't a rhetorical question. I invite everyone to answer it, I would love to know.

But blueapple_x brought up a good point to me privately "for me personally, reading a post that says "this video wasnt groundbreaking. I didnt really enjoy it" is exactly the same as "this video was amazing. I really enjoyed it". I dont think one should be called out just because it's negative"

that's a damn good point to be honest

sorry kuen and anyone else who might have been offended, I just really care about Dan, haha. I let it go to my head a little too much.

uglyamerican maybe they're on vacation and will be too busy to hang out on idb, lol.

stop being so precious eevs. I'm not offended at all just trying to make a point!! I get caring, I think we all care and love them too much, to a point that sometimes critique is taken personally (im guilty of this with phil sometimes) but I never want there to be a culture where people get overly defensive or scare others from saying something that not everyone will agree on or have heard before. The whole back and forth is what forums are about and we as individuals can disagree and still like each other at the end of the day.

[uglyamerican]

Yea, adding that the DH tinder vid is v. funny. Good job although it's not going to entice me to subscribe, sry

[argo]

Yea, I know what you meant, but p r i o r i t i e s.

Aw okay (it probably will be hard to stay away tho )

[karma_yeah]

I'm tired and need to go to bed, but I wanted to take a minute to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Dan's video. Everyone's pre-upload anxiety had me nervous, but I thought it was well planned out, focused, clever, articulate (ok, I may have a thing for his proper British accent), and he is quick witted and FUNNY!! with just the right amount of sarcasm and irony (for me anyway)

I agree with others who've asked: "What would it take to please some people?" I think ultimately the answer is, that it's simply not possible. So I hope he makes what makes him happy.

Re: rebranding/too much DINOF persona: I think he is who he is, and that its unrealistic to expect something "completely different" because he transitioned from using the name danisnotonfire to Daniel Howell. He's someone who thinks about the meaning of life, why we're here, are we doing anything meaningful, the inevitability of death and making the most of the time you've got, etc. and that's what we're going to get. I'm good with that

He's also someone who doesn't want to be defined by his sexual orientation. It would be nice if people weren't hyper-focused on that (I don't mean people here, I mean the general "phandom"), but I think, like with most things, people are on a spectrum that ranges from sexuality being central to their identity, all the way to it not being significant at all. Maybe it's just that the ones for whom sexuality is a core part of identity also happen to be the loudest, so it's more visible?? idk, but that doesn't make it any easier to put yourself out there, so as much as he likes to think of himself as a "human being with below average qualities", I can't disagree more.

The video has over half a million views in 6 hours (ok, 3 of those are mine), so I think Tindr's going to get their money's worth. So kudos to Dan and I hope to see more.

[eevee]

stop being so precious eevs. I'm not offended at all just trying to make a point!! I get caring, I think we all care and love them too much, to a point that sometimes critique is taken personally (im guilty of this with phil sometimes) but I never want there to be a culture where people get overly defensive or scare others from saying something that not everyone will agree on or have heard before. The whole back and forth is what forums are about and we as individuals can disagree and still like each other at the end of the day.

you get me kuen I agree, I wouldn't want to contribute to silencing anyone's opinions on an open forum. I definitely agree that everyone should feel entitled to share their opinion here! That is what it's about.

I agree with others who've asked: "What would it take to please some people?" I think ultimately the answer is, that it's simply not possible. So I hope he makes what makes him happy.

he absolutely should make the videos that make him happy! At this point I'm genuinely curious as to what people would enjoy seeing from him, haha.

[alittledizzy]

I agree with others who've asked: "What would it take to please some people?" I think ultimately the answer is, that it's simply not possible. So I hope he makes what makes him happy.

he absolutely should make the videos that make him happy! At this point I'm genuinely curious as to what people would enjoy seeing from him, haha.

danthony sex tape

[Grey]

Saffarinda: A lot of people use tinder and he's hot. I highly doubt he'd have trouble getting responses from only women. I think it's clear that he chose men on purpose, not just because he needed more responses.

000dia000: It never occurred to me while watching that he was making fun of gay relationships? How? He didn't make a big deal out of the person's gender he was responding to. One of them I don't even know their gender because they had a name from another culture that I don't know the associated gender. It could be a guy. But it didn't matter to the point of the video. So I don't see how he was making gay relationships the punchline of the joke at all. The men seemed to be just casually there.

About whose spon was better:
I agree with Lurker that it's amazing that Phil got paid for his. But his name is AmazingPhil after all.

About Dan's sexuality being a big deal:
(1) he made a big deal about it in the past - how totally NOT GAY he was - so people are excited about the personal growth I guess etc.
(2) a lot of his fans are invested in his relationship with Phil and if he's straight, that has zero potential to be romantic.
I think he doesn't want his sexuality to be The Thing he is known for and frankly I think he's doing a great job making it a casual thing in these circumstances. Yeah people are freaking out but it could have been a much bigger freak out.

[offtopic]I'm a little confused about the etiquette of assuming a person is not straight. I feel like that's generally a bad thing to do. But I don't know why. It being bad to assume seems to imply that it's bad or less desirable to be not-straight. I understand why assuming based on stereotypes such as style of dress is bad. I don't think people are even "assuming" about Dan anymore, I'm not saying they are. I'm just wondering in general hence the "off topic".[/offtopic]

[autumnhearth]

i think dan just wants his sexuality to be as common as his tea preference.

Now I just really want to know Dan's tea preferences. I'm partial to roasted oolongs and shu pu'er myself, but I love so many other varieties. (I used to work in a tea store, the got really into samples and tastings. My only other forum experiences before IDB were Steepster and Backyard Chickens). Actually I might be disappointed in his tea selection. I'm guessing some herbal, maybe green (Oh! I forgot! We finally tried green tea Kit-Kats!) and your standard English Breakfast. But I would still love a mention in like a "things that keep me grounded" side channel video.

I agree with others who've asked: "What would it take to please some people?" I think ultimately the answer is, that it's simply not possible. So I hope he makes what makes him happy.

he absolutely should make the videos that make him happy! At this point I'm genuinely curious as to what people would enjoy seeing from him, haha.

danthony sex tape

I personally would like to see more wholesomeness on main channel videos, but I realize that's only a small part of who he is, so I'm learning to be content with the bits we see in liveshows, DAPGs and puppy videos.

Love the previous thread summary alittledizzy. I had "and that's what you missed on Glee music going on in my head while trying to read it as fast as possible, but failing because I was reflecting.

[aleanna]

[offtopic]I'm a little confused about the etiquette of assuming a person is not straight. I feel like that's generally a bad thing to do. But I don't know why. It being bad to assume seems to imply that it's bad or less desirable to be not-straight. I understand why assuming based on stereotypes such as style of dress is bad. I don't think people are even "assuming" about Dan anymore, I'm not saying they are. I'm just wondering in general hence the "off topic".[/offtopic]

[offtopic]I tend to assume that people are not straight, but that doesn't mean that I assume that a person is gay either. It's more of a "ambiguous until they let me know' type of thing. Mostly because I HATE that generally people assume that EVERYONE is STRAIGHT. I personally find that more offensive, because the erasure or queer identities is a real problem.[/offtopic]

[captainspacecoat]

[offtopic]I'm a little confused about the etiquette of assuming a person is not straight. I feel like that's generally a bad thing to do. But I don't know why. It being bad to assume seems to imply that it's bad or less desirable to be not-straight. I understand why assuming based on stereotypes such as style of dress is bad. I don't think people are even "assuming" about Dan anymore, I'm not saying they are. I'm just wondering in general hence the "off topic".[/offtopic]

Agreed!! I think in general it's not great to assume anyone's sexuality when you have no information at all about what it is, whether straight or not straight. But when somebody heavily implies they aren't straight, as Dan has been doing for years now, I think it is a huge disservice to them to continue assuming they're straight. It suggests that straight is the default, and that to be assumed gay/bi/pan/otherwise not straight is an insult. At the end of the day, I think it's just best not to label people when they haven't given a label, but also not to consider heterosexual as the default or get offended when somebody suggests a person who expresses attraction to the same gender may not be straight. Also to remember that sexuality is a sensitive topic, and people may be dealing with internalised homophobia/biphobia or may not be in a situation in which they can be open about their sexuality, so it's best to treat the subject with sympathy and respect

[adequate duck]

dannyfire i will totally fite you for stealing my meme of being yourself on dating apps and using terrible photos but being 300x more successful than me. seriously fist fight or meme fight bring it.

as for dan's talking about wanting death, of course, he hyped it up more in this video because it was about showing the bad side of dan. but honestly, i've had major depressive disorder since at least the early 80s (totes showing my age as idb's grandma) which is barely stablised at the maximum dosage of more than one anti-depressant taken concurrently, and sometimes the only way i can cope is making those same jokes to myself. because it's either joke about it or think about it more seriously. i'm not saying that dan's situation is in any way comparable, just that despite growing and changing a lot since the early 80s (especially my hair and also the fashion seriously if you did not live through the 80s you cannot imagine the trauma) that is still a thing that i do.

topic change: eevs i agree with you that sometimes it seems that people really actually don't like dan, because we only ever hear them disliking his videos. i come to idb for the bants and the chats, but mostly to share with other people something that i love. i know that other people use idb in different ways, for the discourse, for the lols, for the memes, for the extreme detectiving, or for more nuanced conversations about deppy's vids, so i just skip those posts usually unless i'm feeling particularly pugnacious that day.

did i have a point? not fucking really. soz. just wanted to challenge dan to a fight.

[Phantasy]

Ultimately, I didn't find the video to be all that revelatory, because he's been laying the sexuality breadcrumbs for years now, but I do think he is in full blown glass-closet mode now... not just a quick male attraction mention that could have been interpreted as joke, but a full dating spon video where the majority of matches were with guys.

And since the majority were males, I wonder if that's a subtle way of telling the audience where on the Kinsey Scale he lands...

I mean, not full blown Babadook, but definitely on that side...

(I'm aware the Kinsey Scale is outdated—just for the lolz)