Dan & Phil Part 82: now onto the future

[Amiaw]

I haven’t really been in the mood to rewatch any videos rn. Watching the game channels makes me miss it and their old content just doesn’t do it for me anymore. RIght now Phil is our only hope so at least we can count on him for something but I hope this silence ends soon. I miss the days when we were all excited for what was coming next

Edit: sorry my positive, optimistic post was at the top of the page

[hello9217]

I think my issue is that I have no idea what’s coming next, other than I shouldn’t expect an upload to the gaming channel anytime soon. I thought this hiatus would be over by now but yet here we still are, in the second month of the year with only one video from Phil.

I find it funny that last year people were complaining about lack of content at the beginning of the year and yet we still got gaming videos and tweets and the occassional phil video and instagram. But now we just have nothing but silence. Also last year was more understandable as well bc they were planning a tour but i have absolutely no clue what they’re doing now.

Sorry for this super negative post or if I'm repeating something others have said, I haven’t gone back to look at previous posts. Just wanted to get this out.

[alittledizzy]

I think my issue is that I have no idea what’s coming next, other than I shouldn’t expect an upload to the gaming channel anytime soon. I thought this hiatus would be over by now but yet here we still are, in the second month of the year with only one video from Phil.

I find it funny that last year people were complaining about lack of content at the beginning of the year and yet we still got gaming videos and tweets and the occassional phil video and instagram. But now we just have nothing but silence. Also last year was more understandable as well bc they were planning a tour but i have absolutely no clue what they’re doing now.

Sorry for this super negative post or if I'm repeating something others have said, I haven’t gone back to look at previous posts. Just wanted to get this out.

They did tell us exactly what to expect, though. If the hiatus had ended last week it wouldn't have even been a hiatus, it would have just been Dan and Phil taking an extra week off. They never come back before late January. When Dan said he didn't want the end of January rolling around and us asking if they'd lost the password to the channel, it was pretty clear to me that what Dan was acknowledging was that up to the end of January is the normal quiet period for DAPG.

So in my mind I expected this to go through February at least. Yeah, it sucks, but it's not unknown. We do know what's going on. They did communicate to us that there wouldn't be gaming videos. We don't know what they're doing, in their personal life, but we never do. People were stressed last year when they were quiet for tour. People were stressed the year before that when they were quiet before moving (and moreso then because people were convinced they were moving apart). People were stressed the year before that because TATINOF had been happening and the gaming channel had been mostly dead (one video a month) and still hadn't really returned from war. People were stressed the year before that because it was their 2015 Month of Silence where between December 25 and late January they posted no gaming videos and didn't bother saying that they wouldn't or why beforehand then dropped the book/tour announcement.

This probably feels more drastic than ever before, maybe because last year was pretty much their best year of consistent good content. But - I think it always feels that drastic to everyone when it's in the moment. Hell, the month in 2015 was undeniably worse. Those people felt abandoned and ig stories didn't exist and Dan and Phil weren't saying shit. But hindsight and rose colored glasses and all that jazz. As soon as they unveil a new shiny thing or bring a gaming video back suddenly this past month of hand wringing and agonizing will get swept under the rug and the next time Dan and Phil suddenly forget how to multitask, the cycle will start anew.

And we do also know what to expect next: a Phil video. Phil is communicating to us clearly that he has another video coming. Whether that feels like enough for you is definitely a personal call, but they are telling us what video to expect next.

[autumnhearth]

Obviously it’s okay to not be in the mood to rewatch. But I did want to add that do find I enjoy re-watching their 2018 gaming videos far more rewarding than the older ones at the moment. There’s just so much they said that I forgot and it shocks me when I hear it again, perhaps even more than the first time. Like wow they really went there.

Yesterday I had a (probably unoriginal, I’m sure it’s been said here in some way) thought that TATINOF was about celebrating and cringing at the “World of Dan and Phil” so that they (and we) could move away from their old branding. While II was not so much celebrating (maybe a bit of cringing) but looking at the audience-creator relationship (supposedly without judgement, but like definitely holding that mirror up) I imagine in the hopes that we can all move forward more healthily... And I’m still trying to figure out how much I need to change to not feel guilty... Like I don’t demand anything of them, I don’t tweet or leave questionable comments on their videos. But I do go along with phandom humor and romanticize the hell out of them in fandom spaces. Plus you know, dedicate a lot of time thinking about and analyzing things they do/say. And maybe it’s two different questions of what is healthy for me personally, as well as being aware that things I say won’t effect them negatively. Thoughts?

Bummer Phil is ill, he made it through January which is more than can be said of years past and thankfully he already filmed.

ETA: Lion is coming back! Fing finally!

[liola]

I feel like i'm going through the stages of grief and I'm stuck in between anger and bargaining - which I guess explains the frustrations. I AM frustrated. Yes, they don't owe us anything. Yes, I get that Dan is probably having a rough time.

But these are the things I don't understand:

- why Dan thinks it's okay to become a relatable tweets factory that only works once every blue moon - yes you can say he might be having a detox from social media but why a detox that only includes communicating with the audience in any form EXCEPT the relatable tweet that says nothing and is so sparse in between that we basically forget it?

- why their faces are now off-limit since they haven't posted ANY instagram story showing their faces besides the one of Dan jogging and the one from Phil showing his haircut. It's been weeks from both now. I'm not even gonna go into the "oh they're not showing each other" cause I do think they might be moving so boxes might be in shot, but selfies are a very very restrained space and they could take one in front of a white wall. I?m not gonna count Phil's picture for his birthday which I'm not gonna count because it was basically a given much like Dan's tweet for his birthday

I know people are saying that they think Dan is just not gonna fully come back online until he's ready to post a video and we shouldn't pressure but I hope they realized that th epeople are missing them especially Dan and the longer the wait is the more pressure there will be because at least last year we knew Dan was alive and not going under a face transplant because of tour and the gaming channel.

I'll gladly take an ISG as the only content that will ever come out of his channel, even twice a week, if it means they start showing their faces again. And i fully accept that DAPG is dead at least for the time being, I don't expect it back and I accept that they told us but I remember them saying "nothing else is changing" but it's been a month and a half and I'd like some more insight as to why I should still care (which I do, obviously, or I wouldn't be this upset about it daily)

#rantover (for today, maybe)

[alittledizzy]

I know people are saying that they think Dan is just not gonna fully come back online until he's ready to post a video and we shouldn't pressure but I hope they realized that th epeople are missing them especially Dan and the longer the wait is the more pressure there will be because at least last year we knew Dan was alive and not going under a face transplant because of tour and the gaming channel.

I'm still just repeating myself, but I think for Dan it's just a situation where he avoids things that make him feel guilty or pressured and right now - that's fans. Telling someone they make you feel bad almost never makes them want to be around you more, and I think that's kind of how Dan's treating us right now because I feel like that's the voice he's hearing loudest. It's not just 'we miss you' - it's 'we miss you, now do something about it.' It seems poignant to me that he came onto tumblr and liked only fanart that had calm or reassuring/supportive overtones toward him.

I think he'll be back when he feels like he has something to say that people won't yell at him over, and until then we're going to get the basic bare bones 'look, I'm alive' tweets.

[liola]

I know people are saying that they think Dan is just not gonna fully come back online until he's ready to post a video and we shouldn't pressure but I hope they realized that th epeople are missing them especially Dan and the longer the wait is the more pressure there will be because at least last year we knew Dan was alive and not going under a face transplant because of tour and the gaming channel.

I'm still just repeating myself, but I think for Dan it's just a situation where he avoids things that make him feel guilty or pressured and right now - that's fans. Telling someone they make you feel bad almost never makes them want to be around you more, and I think that's kind of how Dan's treating us right now because I feel like that's the voice he's hearing loudest. It's not just 'we miss you' - it's 'we miss you, now do something about it.' It seems poignant to me that he came onto tumblr and liked only fanart that had calm or reassuring/supportive overtones toward him.

I think he'll be back when he feels like he has something to say that people won't yell at him over, and until then we're going to get the basic bare bones 'look, I'm alive' tweets.

I understand that, all I'm saying is that I think this is just a cycle - he feels pressured, he avoids us, we want him back, we're loud about it and frustrated and pressure him and he wait even longer and this goes on and on. It's not something new from Dan.

Do I think it's fair? No. But I don't see it stopping either. So what is the solution? I don't really know either. What I wish is that he communicated with us, at this point even with a "when your fans want you back but you've still got nothing to say lol" tweet, I'd take it, I would. It's the complete lack of anything that is just not sitting right with me.

Am I bein entitled? ya. probably, I never said my frustration is logical. But I'm acting out my role as a loving fan that wants some content, in whatever form that is - all I'm saying is that right now it feels like Dan isn't acting his role as an entertainer, which wasn't communicated to us, not really.

[Amiaw]

I can empathize with dan if that’s the reason he’s staying away but understanding that he might be feeling pressured still doesn’t excuse the way he’s handling his fans. The gaming channel was supposed to be on hiatus but Dan said that he wasn’t going anywhere and that he had ideas for videos. He said this as recently as a tweet last month. If he’s not ready and he wants a break then all he has to do is drop a tweet and then he can go back to avoiding us all but at least then we’d know where he stands.
I’m not saying anything that hasn’t been said before so I won’t belabor the point (anymore than i already have) I just like to know that having an expectation for content soon is worth it.

[glitterintheair]

Personally, I feel frustrated and maybe it's because this is the first time I'm fully experiencing a period of prolonged silence from them; I wasn't around in 2015 and I didn't feel the drought the other times they were particularly silent - probably because we still got videos and liveshows, we still had dapg and there wasn't so much uncertainty about literally everything.

I've said this before but I think it's worth repeating: getting so much content from them last year was great but it did a bit of damage because we got too used to it. We got everything - videos, joint liveshows, ig stories. That was the new normal for us and now we need time to adjust to the current situation and it's not easy. Yes, we're getting content from Phil but I'm thinking about the people who might not be particularly interested in Phil's solo content and who might enjoy getting something from Dan too but have no clue where or when they're gonna see him again. Some time ago he (or Phil, i don't remember) said that even if we couldn't see him on dinof, we could still see him on dapg and yeah, that was cool, it was fine. But like, where exactly are we supposed to see him now? What's gonna happen after Phil's upcoming video? Other weeks of silence and random tweets?

With this I am not saying that Dan has to come back just because people want him too, but I get the frustration and the longer he waits the louder the frustration will get, imo.

Do I think it's fair? No. But I don't see it stopping either. So what is the solution? I don't really know either. What I wish is that he communicated with us, at this point even with a "when your fans want you back but you've still got nothing to say lol" tweet, I'd take it, I would. It's the complete lack of anything that is just not sitting right with me.

I agree with this. I don't even care about getting a dinof video, I just wanna know what's going on with him. He could literally tweet "i need to recharge, give me more time" and I'd be like, okay man, you do you, thanks for telling us.
Communication is sexy, communication is key and so much useless drama could have been avoided with that.

[alittledizzy]

Communication is sexy, communication is key and so much useless drama could have been avoided with that.

I get that right now people just want to be mad/frustrated so I'll stop trying to shine an annoyingly positive light on things if that's not what people want to hear, but I do disagree with this. If Dan communicated he wanted a break, the drama wouldn't be gone. It would just change tone from being mad he's not communicating to being mad he's communicating but not making a video. Fandom is always dramatic when it's bored.

I'm also not trying to tell anyone they can't be upset or mad. I just hate the contagious nature of things like this. If someone is feeling neutral or okay but checks social media and it's nothing but negativity then they're going to leech the negativity. They're going to assume if everyone is upset they should be upset too, and I like to try and combat that where I can.

[glitterintheair]

Communication is sexy, communication is key and so much useless drama could have been avoided with that.

I get that right now people just want to be mad/frustrated so I'll stop trying to shine an annoyingly positive light on things if that's not what people want to hear, but I do disagree with this. If Dan communicated he wanted a break, the drama wouldn't be gone. It would just change tone from being mad he's not communicating to being mad he's communicating but not making a video. Fandom is always dramatic when it's bored.

But at least we'd know something, though. Like, yeah probably some people would be mad either way because they are always mad, but I still stand by the opinion that a fandom that knows what's going on - even just a bit - is better than a fandom who comes up with speculation after speculation that often lead to catastrophic scenarios and therefore more drama. I just don't think that silence is the best option here but I hope I will proved wrong, though! Nothing would make me happier.

[knq]

For me that liveshow before Christmas and the final dilmas video communicated their intentions pretty well. I do miss them, and especially their live shows, but that wouldn’t be solved by more frequent communication, as I think they’d just be reiterating what they said at the end of the year.

They’re pausing the train to have a think about where the train is going or... some train related metaphor. Phil is not quitting instagram, but also doesn’t think ~3 days without posting to Instagram should be considered unusual or cause for concern. The pause is good for their mental health. Dan is coming back to YouTube and if he posts once in 2019 that will already be an improvement. Pausing DAPG and the YT culture of always producing something or feeling like you ought to be producing something will help in Dan’s ‘process’ among many other things, like going outside and not just filming videos in his pajamas.

Now that I think about it, Dan talked about similar things in the Mukbang, and probably on tumblr as well, as he seemed to think he’d made the train metaphor on tumblr.

It seems like Phil has had his think and is back making videos and trying out new things with the memberships and Dan is still in the train-inspecting process.

Phil did say something in the ls about not doing things just because people expect it, which makes me think one of the reasons Dan’s been less visible on social media is to avoid confronting or interacting with those expectations.

While I’m sharing potentially unpopular opinions, this was solid content for a tweet with added ‘Dan acknowledges his non-Phil family now’

It’s been a big change from constant touring content and everyone has a right to their feelings/opinions! This is just one more perspective from me.

[JustMe]

Communication is sexy, communication is key and so much useless drama could have been avoided with that.

I get that right now people just want to be mad/frustrated so I'll stop trying to shine an annoyingly positive light on things if that's not what people want to hear, but I do disagree with this. If Dan communicated he wanted a break, the drama wouldn't be gone. It would just change tone from being mad he's not communicating to being mad he's communicating but not making a video. Fandom is always dramatic when it's bored.

I'm also not trying to tell anyone they can't be upset or mad. I just hate the contagious nature of things like this. If someone is feeling neutral or okay but checks social media and it's nothing but negativity then they're going to leech the negativity. They're going to assume if everyone is upset they should be upset too, and I like to try and combat that where I can.

I actually think it's good to have multiple perspectives. Logical reasoning to counteract the negative feeling that comes from not knowing what's next. Which I can understand as well, because I don't care that much about individual content which is the only thing we can be sure we'll get once in a while (Phil videos). So in my eyes there hasn't been anything in the new year and no guarantee of anything in the future (except maybe a mukbang in 3/4 of a year). But that's not to say there won't be a liveshow tomorrow or guarantees of joint content next week. It's good to be reminded it could go either way, and to not get stuck in a negative-thinking downward spiral which I do think is contagious as you said. So I would say keep up.

[hello9217]

I guess I'm just waiting for the moment where everything feels back to normal again, or at the very least whatever the new normal is. I will say that I got into dnp back in 2017 a month before they moved out and fully immersed in the phandom after the video dropped so I'm not used to this long of break. But by this time last year we already had 7 videos from them- 4 on the gaming channel, 2 on amazingphil, and 1 on dinof; as well as 3 instagrams from both dan and phil. So this hiatus is definitely going on a bit longer than last years one.

I'm totally fine with a break, I get it, Phil fainted last year from working himself too hard and of course when tour ends they both should have time to relax but it's so boring waiting for something and yet have no idea what it is your waiting for.

[sonicgreen]

ooh is dan dropping hints that hes filming something?

edit: i realized i read this as soft lighting as in soft boxes lmao, im sure its just another #relatable tweet about never leaving the comfort of the couch

[wiccamoody]

Accurate depiction of me rn:

Seriously I'm dying on moving hill.

[liola]

Hi from the Moving Hill, where we're about to start a BBQ to keep us warm and filled until they feed us a nice meal

[alien]

dan and his lamps. didn't dan tweet towards the end of last year about getting rid of all his lamps?

[Ataraxia25]

Hi from the Moving Hill, where we're about to start a BBQ to keep us warm and filled until they feed us a nice meal

Bringing the wine.

I said this already but i'm genuinely intestested if someone disagrees with me : if at this point they're not moving rn then what are they doing? I don't think they are doing nothing and that we're reading too much into things.

[Amiaw]

Hi from the Moving Hill, where we're about to start a BBQ to keep us warm and filled until they feed us a nice meal

Bringing the wine.

I said this already but i'm genuinely intestested if someone disagrees with me : if at this point they're not moving rn then what are they doing? I don't think they are doing nothing and that we're reading too much into things.

I’d like to believe they are moving but idk how that fits into them not wanting us to know about iom celebrations or about the lack of selfies/stories etc.
I’d assume that at some point since their Manchester weekend that they have left the house but everything is a big mystery with them

[fancybum]

People jumping to moving/filming interpretations, meanwhile I'm just over here thinking 'Tony Shalhoub agrees' about that tweet.

[sonicgreen]

dan and his lamps. didn't dan tweet towards the end of last year about getting rid of all his lamps?

yeah but that was like a moth/flame meme he was contributing to

[susan2]

....tweaks are currently in progress on the AmazingPhil section of the shop...

also ew

[kavat]

A lot of tweets today, are they realizing fans are getting anxious?

[plinthofmylife]

Hi from the Moving Hill, where we're about to start a BBQ to keep us warm and filled until they feed us a nice meal

Bringing the wine.

I've stopped by the store to pick up a full set of lawn chairs.