#also the lore was not phannie lore to me

[charmnotcharming]

Another day another video that dan and phil prove to me they're insanely compatible

[goldenpinof]

wait what even counts as a demon phannie anymore? Bc it used to be the tinhatters who truly believed they were together but now that they've made it...you know...pretty obvious they are, I'm not sure what's considered "demon" behavior anymore

idk, people who ask dnp personal questions about their relationship directly? maybe that's a line i'd draw today, mostly because it's just annoying. like, it's not a crime, but just... why.

since dnp are together, the whole old definition doesn't make sense. but i guess, what people do with the fact that dnp are together still can divide us into groups?

fyi, i don't consider pointing out "they are touching" a demon behaviour. i saw someone trying to claim that it was (during gamingmas or spooky week). and whoever it was, fuck you. dnp know what they are doing. we're all collectively just having fun. phannies should be studied. if you think about what we post and how we phrase things for too long, you're gonna go mental. there's so much sarcasm and jokes in it. and some people are trying to weaponise it against us. sad, but honestly? i don't really care.

[dnpoll]

my personal explanations below the cut!

also i scheduled this poll and i realised i forgot ARIANA GRANDE that's deep lore... GOD

muse: one of the things that dan and phil bonded over when they met each other - phil's favourite artist with his streams making it dan's top artist from 2014-2016. they have also seen muse at least five times! dan has played muse songs several times on the piano (specifically sunburn) + they did a lip sync video to muse for bbc radio. also they made fun of kristen stewart a lot when they were younger (they have since apologised and called her an iconic) and she was in twilight and muse supermassive black hole is famously in twilight so...

final fantasy vii: the soundtrack with interrupted by fireworks! dan said it reminded him of phil in a formspring answer <3 and that's all...

fall out boy: firstly "no but seriously imagine if:". secondly they have interviewed fob several times for the bbc! thirdly, specifically with pete wentz, he was dan's icon in his teenage years. he followed dan because of the interviews with him - he even prank called dan in call or delete. but as punishment in a best friend quiz video, phil tweeted "sometimes i dream about being one of the reindeer galloping through the sky with leather straps tying me to my friends mm yes carrots please" from dan's account - and pete wentz unfollowed fob. i am also convinced they think the milk fic is a petekey fic or something

the 1975: dan and phil called into the radio as fans when they were not hosting and the 1975 was there! dan said he was there with "his friend phil" and matty healy immediately recognised them as "dan and phil from the radio" despite them trying to be sneaky about it. dan also LOVED a brief inquiry into online relationships which he posted on his story and said he was "personally attacked by literally every song on the album". mm okay

my chemical romance: firstly "no but seriously imagine if". secondly dan specifically was/is a huge fan of mcr - although phil did sing welcome to the black parade (incorrectly) in a yasuhati video). mcr was also referenced in dan and anthony padilla's stop emo hate video, basically i'm gay and the dream daddy series, just to name a few (they g note a LOT). also hesitant alien featured in the tour of dan's brain video! gerard used to follow dan on twitter but doesn't anymore... beef?

panic! at the disco: firstly "no but seriously imagine if". also brendon and ryan are in the milk fic which they constantly reference. also there's a dnp edit with 57k views to house of memories

frank ocean: dan's top song in 2012 was "thinkin about you" by frank ocean which ppl talk abt a lot for many reasons. he also said his religion was frank ocean in 2016 LOL

troye sivan: YOUTUBE FRIENDS LOL - the iconic pic with dan, phil, troye and tyler! also dan and phil were the first people to play troye sivan's happy little pill on the radio, and are thus partially responsible for his success. troye sivan also led to chappell roan's success, so basically muse is responsible for chappell roan. troye also featured in a phil glasses video!

one direction: firstly, dnp interviewed them - a harrowing event that they outline in detail in tabinof. secondly, the iconic dan eating an orange picture behind a 1d concert. lastly, they talk about harry styles quite a bit - phil posed as him in a viewers pick my outfit, and of course the rotisserie chicken situation

nick jonas: hey buddy you in london #dick

smash mouth: more recent dan-based lore but mark (tour member) made an instagram story asking how to get all-star licensed. a phannie (royalsdnp on twt) then tweeted about it, and smash mouth (the twt account) saw it. dan then tweeted at the account asking for it, and it worked! smash mouth is now an official dannie, having tweeted orange for wad, and also offered the original demo for shrek to be used, saying it can maybe be for dan's next special. generally insane because dan has ofc always been a huge shrek fan as a part of his meme personality in the 2010s, even dressing up as him for a calendar

[betaphannie]

Thoughts about the latest video essay about the phandom

This is more about how Certain People have spoken about the phandom, but that video really showed many of the gripes I have with people talking about the phandom.

rant/thoughts under the cut

One thing I notice a lot of people when talking about the phandom's past never mention is the existence of antis (If you aren't aware, back in the day before dnp came out there were a plethora of people who insisted that dnp were straight, not dating, and shipping them was violating their privacy. These people were members of the phandom deemed "antis."). Imo, antis were just as loud as demons, and honestly being in the phandom at that point usually meant that any kind of belief that dnp were queer and/or dating was met with pushback from antis. Like all the time.

I find this exclusion of any mention of them in these video essays and retrospectives odd, especially since people tend to treat the entire phandom as demons that were running around and analyzing/shipping dnp "without any moderation" (to quote the latest video essay), when that moderation often came from within in the phandom itself. I can't speak for earlier eras of the phandom, but when I joined in 2016, you could not avoid seeing phandom "rules" outlining when it was inappropriate to to tag dnp, what should not be talked about in detail within the phandom, what should not be sent in the chat during live shows etc. Between the phandom's own rules and antis sending out death threats at the smallest speculation, the phandom was in a constant state of tension from policing themselves. It was not a free-for-all wild west that people tend to view it as.

Also, for at least the era that I joined, the phandom was very aware of the reputation they had online. I knew of this reputation myself before I had joined, which was part of the reason I avoided watching dnp for a couple of years before caving. There were constant videos and posts being made to hate on the phandom. Dnp was a fandom that people associated with teenage girls, and as we all know there is nothing the internet hates more than teen girls. And these girls were also often emos, which was to say that they were especially hated and viewed as "cringe." I think that all the years of phannies trying to distance themselves from those stereotypes led to this overall feeling of Shame for being in the phandom. You felt like you had to constantly prove you weren't one of the Bad Ones, regardless on your actual opinions on dnp's relationship.

It's also weird to me how people discussing the phandom seem to act as though RPF and speculation surrounding real-life people's relationship is a novel concept and dnp are the only case of this occuring. It wasn't considered Super Cringe when normies tried to figure out if Tom Holland and Zendaya had a thing for each other, but getting invested in the lives of two people who literally made it their career to share their lives with the internet is somehow outlandish. I'm not saying it's good to be overly invested in a stranger's life even if they are sharing parts of themselves online, but this behavior wasn't exactly unique in the phandom, and yet the phandom always gets the brute end of parasocial relantionship critisms, even though dnp themselves talk about how much they treasure the relationship they have with their audience.

I think the phandom is a very interesting fandom with interesting history, structures, and lore. However, it is constantly reduced the shipping/speculation from demons and nothing else, which honestly to me seems to come from the fact that there is an urge within people not in a group to feel better and more intelligent than the people inside that group and a refusal to want to actually understand that group. The behaviour from antis and people "caught in the middle" is just as important to understanding its history and why the people currently in the phandom act the way they do, but that doesn't make a video where you can laugh at The Weirdos for liking something too much. Also, despite the fact that people love to criticize the phandom because they believe all the phandom cares about is dnp's relationship, those same people love focusing entirely on that themselves.

[dolokhoded]

one time on instagram i saw a screenshot of a tweet that was like "oh my god oh my god i posted this in 2013" (with the tone of cringing) and the picture attached like. an edit of one of the guys from dan and phil but it was like an anatomy meme thing and i remember there was an arrow to his crotch that said "place for dan (?) to touch" so from the photo and that comment i assumed they were like. youtubers or otherwise indie content creators that unfortunately got the larry treatment. also the comments on that instagram post were talking about 'the hat fic' which i did scroll through threads of comments trying to understand what it was. that's genuinely all i know about dan and phil though <3 absolutely nothing else

oh you were subjected to the retired demon phannies that's lovely ! don't worry the entirety of the internet is paying for their past crimes dan and phil are back and making sure of it.

this is like an A grade opportunity for me to infodump fifteen years of dan and phi lore but explaining dan and phil to tumblr makes me feel what i think mansplaining is like, so brief internet history lesson at dolokhoded:

dan and phil are internet PIONEERS they met on youtube when it was still some small quirky platform for every random person to upload their random videos, very soon after they met they became dan and phil (singular entity) rather than dan and phil (separate people who sometimes make videos together), youtube started becoming a Whole Thing that people were making money out of, this was the 2010s CLEARLY they got the larry treatment, if anything larry got the watered down phan treatment, and for a while these guys were everywhere they were the internet, they wrote books, they did world tours, and then 2019 comes around. they've finished their interactive introverts tour, they both come out, dan makes his iconic 40 minute "basically i'm gay" video that nobody has Ever gotten over, and disappears from youtube. their joined gaming channel goes on hiatus for five years, lives were changed. and i genuinely think that if they chose to just completely commercialize their whole thing there wouldn't be a person in the world who didn't know who they were right now. but in a very surprising route that these kind of internet figures don't usually follow, dan and phil were decent genuine people who weren't trying to sell themselves out ! so they completely fuck off the face of the earth for a while. phil's technically still there making videos and y'know he still has his audience and people enjoy his channel still but we can't ignore the elephant in the room which is what's going to happen to Dan And Phil (singular entity). lo and behold in the year of our lord 2023 six months ago danandphilgames comes back to life, lives were changed again, they're back, they're gay, they're unhinged, they keep saying all the type of shit they couldn't when they were closeted and everyone is begging them to stop, it's great. they might not be in their Peak Fame anymore but this 100% the absolute best period in the dan and phil timeline, they are thriving, they built a house, dan wrote a book, he went on tour, they summoned the devil, what's better than this.

and now you've been enlightened. don't look up the hat fic.

[personthattoleratesme]

soo, this is not the first time I'm getting into a fandom that's over a decade old (i seem to have a knack for it) and it's always so exciting, it almost makes me feel like an archaeologist or detective piecing together the history of an ancient civilization

well, okay, back on track:

after those initial videos i mostly watched their post 2019 joined content which turned out to be a great thing because a) there isn't that much of it, so it felt very approachable b) it helped immensely in getting to know their current selves (this probably sounds weird, what i mean is that they have changed over the course of the years (even beyond the obvious 'they are out and more true to themselves than ever before') and it was good to get to know the status quo before diving into the past) c) it's simply great entertainment

i then went on a Dan's Long Videos™️ spree, watched daily dystopia and phil's newer videos and finally gave into the urge to take a look at the tumblr fandom, which I'd been avoiding on purpose up until then because honestly, i was scared of what it would be like. i was quite pleasantly surprised at how chill is here (I won't lie though, there were a few things that almost activated my fight-or-flight reflex because they sounded a bit too similar to that fandom, but overall i have come to the conclusion that i do like it here).

anyways, at that point i would've felt pretty lost facing such a giant mountain of lore and videos if it wasn't for dan and phil and phannies being so goddamn nostalgic. just by hanging around here and watching their videos you get a pretty good idea of what is important, be it a rough timeline of what happened when and where or what the most iconic and best videos are.

i had so much fun going through the pinofs, the crafting channel, their more or less desastrous attempts at baking, the og google feud, random gaming channel vids from golf to the impossible quiz and i could go on, it is honestly addicting. it's also quite dangerous because there is always more to watch and i know that i have barely scratched the surface.

also, it's really interesting to go back to the first videos I've watched and to see how much my perspective and understanding of them has changed in that short amount of time

by now I've dialled down the binging a little bit and am just jumping from one recommendation to the next, but i do (possibly ignorantly) feel like i have the most important things covered and am now simply enjoying the ride.

if you have any personal favs you feel like i might not have seen yet, please do feel free to share them! :)

- a now very tired new phannie

anon you seem to have taken a pretty good approach. starting with the post-2019 joint content is definitely a lot easier than watching the mountain of joint content from before that. eventually you'll probably catch up on everything but in the meantime as long as you've got most of the important videos i think you'll be fine in the fandom.

i do think there's still some demon phannie tendencies here on tumblr (i include myself in that) but i think generally we do try to keep it respectful, and also we try to kind of keep it away from them and just have our demon discussions in our safe little pocket of the internet.

yeah you've truly come here at a great time in terms of nostalgia. i mean the roblox video alone is just pure nostalgia content and probably helped you get to know the lore of the iconic london apartment. and generally we're all just really sappy about them and their relationship so old vidoes and gifs are always circling around.

you just made me do a deep dive into all of their channels to remember what videos they even have and i think i have a good selection of recommendations in case you haven't watched them:

the photo booth challenge (dan's channel), and the wardrobe (phil's channel), both iconic fan favorites

all of the day in the life videos (manchester, london, festive, japan, australia), they're not big on vlogging so it's nice to get the occasional little slices of their domestic life

dan's internet support group series, not too big of a series but very dan

dan's diss track, also very iconic

giving the people what they want

all of the sims videos (it's a lot, i know, but it's great to watch if you're ever bored)

overcooked, they played it a couple times on live streams and there's just something about them without any editing that's very fun to watch

keep talking and nobody explodes

the top dan memes videos, great to catch up on some lore

there's a lot more probably but these are the ones i can think of right now.

there's also a lot of lore hidden in all the live things they did, which there is a lot of cause they each used to to weekly live streams, they had a weekly radio show, and then the lockdown stereo shows. i would recommend just looking up some compilations of those, they usually contain a lot of the important lore moments. the stereo shows are quite fun to listen to as podcasts, so i would recommend doing that. also because it's a lot more recent than their old live streams it's a lot more relevant.

anyway, another very long answer. if you have more things to say feel free to do so :)

[yikesola]

Thanks for explaining the instastory. I would have definitely not been able to find it by myself. I agree that he was probably about to say boyfriend. It makes me a little sad that they can't talk openly to each other like that. I know it's not just about them being gay, but also about them being privet, which I understand, but as a gay person it makes me so sad when I have to hide who I am and my relationship and say things like "my friend" instead of my partner/girlfriend because I'm afraid.

of course! there’s definitely so much content and ten years’ worth of lore that it can feel overwhelming and i’m happy to help find things or answer questions, as i’m sure lots of veteran phannies are🥰

also i totally understand the feeling a little sad by how much dnp had to self-censor while closeted :( being gay comes with a built-in sense of hyperawareness in regards to what and where certain things can be said or done and it’s frankly exhausting in a way straight people cannot comprehend. the good news, for dnp at least, is with them being out now they have the option to share as much as they like. they don’t have to, but now they can, and after all these years i’m sure that freedom is downright intoxicating! i hope they enjoy it :’) and i hope for you, anon, that the times you don’t have to hide yourself are joyous enough to make up for those uncomfortable moments of flying under the radar 💞

[goldenpinof]

about Dan's initial marketing strategy for wad: i think he (not only his management) wanted to appeal to a wider audience but with the content of the show it was not fully possible. there are too many phandom references and he talks a lot about his lore, it's not neutral enough (even though a lot of gay men could find his story relatable, I'm talking especially about the ending.) but also the promo was done mostly within our community, except for a few interviews. i would actually love to know how many people outside of the phandom saw the show and i mean total locals, not friends and families of phannies who were dragged along

i'd pay so much money for the analysis, Katie. ratio of demographics in general and by country/leg. new people/phannies, where people found out about the show, and etc.

the marketing was all over the place. those interviews, i don't think he even linked all of them to us, so they were for the locals. the things said in those interviews were also trying to appeal to everyone but also confirm his relationship with Phil. and it's like, if you know you know. but damn, it must be confusing for the outsiders.

on the other hand, if he wanted to push it more for the locals there would have been outdoor posters. was it just a money problem? idk. if i were him, i'd push in that direction, because digital was clearly not enough. and digital was for us more than for the locals (and still, there was not enough digital marketing if you ask me. the amount of promo we did within ourselves! especially in/for Europe, i think).

i'm not gonna write another essay, i just wanna say that, he either didn't get a new proofreader or is making posters himself. because, on boi, fucked up wad marketing is alive and well 😌 it's not that hard to ask someone to look at images for the 1st time and see if the text is centred. it's not that hard to check rulers in photoshop. and NOW these posters shouldn't be rushed, it doesn't make sense for them to be rushed.

[goldenpinof]

honestly i’ve been a fan since 2014, was a massive phannie from late 2015-2017, and then only casually watched them between then and now. there was a lot i missed between then and now, even though i still watched most of their videos still when they uploaded. and with it being so long since i was /fully/ invested in them, soooo much is almost like new information to me again! so many things get brought up and im like HOLY SHIT i can’t believe i forgot about that, and it’s almost like i’m restoring my phannie brain to remember all the lore again hahaha. so in some ways i feel a little bit like a new phannie in the sense that i really don’t remember everything like i used to and im remembering new stuff every day. it’s actually quite fun it feels like im back to when i first got invested in them but also mixed with insane nostalgia and i love it sm

oh god, it sounds so beautiful. i wish it was me on some level. i don't feel much nostalgia because i never really forgot what i learned. maybe only about ii and all that (it's just too iconic, you know). so i'd love to experience that feeling of pure nostalgia on the verge of "omg, is this new?", yeah.

[personthattoleratesme]

heyy, new phannie anon here again, thank you for your nice reply! in return have a probably way too in depth answer to your question! (sorry)

so, my first dnp video was the funeral one, which somehow intrigued me enough to watch the new heartthrob video (i never realised how horrible this word truly is until i typed it out) two days later.

the thing i remember most vividly about watching it is pure and utter confusion.

like, please just watch the first three minutes of that video through the eyes of someone who has never seen these two people interact in their whole life. looking back, it honestly depicts the whole range of their chaos so nicely. being all happy and domestic but immediately venturing into innuendos, the classic "phil says something weird, dan points it out, phil tries to make it better but just makes it much worse", it has dan being sarcastic and badly trying to act as if he's irritated, phil casually doing the most insane shit, the bantering and teasing, all the references to things i had no clue about.

and i was just sitting there like. i don't know what the fuck is wrong with them but they're amazing. i need to undestand them. so i loosely kept an eye on them but at that point i wasn't really interested in watching the halloween gaming or their old videos. about two weeks went by until...

Enter Halloween Baking

this is what really made it click. i was about halfway through the video when i just knew i need them in my life, actually. i don't think i need to explain because how could one even attempt to put the gloriousness of that video into words? and what can i say, after that it's just a descend into the madness of years of content and fandom lore...

you have nothing to apologize for, this was very fun to read. and you will get another long response in return

the funeral one being the very first is so funny to me, like that has to be deeply confusing with zero context. i'm impressed that it intrigued you enough to watch more, it's quite a strange video lol.

i did go and watch the heartthrob video and yeah the first 3 minutes are just so weird and unhinged. that whole sequence is just so them. i do think it's a perfect representation of who they are in this current era. like it's reminiscent of the stereo days except now it's on youtube. i remember being in awe myself of how chaotic and unhinged those first few minutes were, but it was also so comforting because they were clearly having a lot of fun being back on the channel.

it's honestly fair that you didn't watch spooky week. i think a fair share of even the biggest phannies will skip spooky week cause they really don't care for the horror games. personally, i love watching spooky week cause their silliness really takes away from the horror aspect for me, and it just makes it more fun and entertaining rather than scary. but i think that's more about personal preference.

the baking video is honestly a cultural reset. their baking videos have always been excellent, and now with sister daniel and them being out it just makes it 10x better. if anything is gonna make you a phannie it's that video.

i'm impressed that it's basically only been like 2 weeks of being a phannie for you then. how has it been to catch up on all the videos and lore? have you just been binging their channels?