#dan is so funny in that specific video i love him

[astradyke]

m thinking abt the whole bit in the phaniversary video where they’re talking abt flirting w waiters bc i personally don’t strong care for jealous dan being like the truth to end all truths but it’s so fucking funny that phil is gorgeous and a flirt and dan has a thousand yard stare that makes him incapable of recognizing attractive men in his midst & he’s mildly mad about it. loony toons scenario. good thing he was like fervently obsessed w phil . sorry if this post sucks iknso tired

[blossoms-phan]

i love phil SO MUCH like oh my godidididid he is the Achilles heel someone could use to defeat me in battle idk what it is like it goes for both of them but phil specifically it just makes me so emotional seeing how much he’s grown into himself as a person a video of him just talking or moving or laughing in a particular way that reminds me of a version of him in like 2014 is just like an arrow to the heart every time especially when he talks about feeling more confident and comfortable in his own skin i feel like we talk about dan in terms of the hiatus a lot but I think it was really good for him as well even if he admitted to feeling slightly lost he brought back the gaming channel when they were ready and when we all needed it most I need to rewatch more Phil and phriends I just love confident pretty phil talking about random things and the way he writes in cactus club posts he is so smart and cool and funny and silly I love his laugh and the perfect phlondie

[geniusphilester]

it occurred to me that a bingo card often has twenty-five squares, and we're going into 2025, so it seemed appropriate to go a little OTT with my phan-in-2025 predictions! i had a better vision for the bingo board's look than the actual predictions, but here's what i came up with.

PH column:

dog hill: might be cheating to include this one considering the extensive breadcrumbing, but i’m adding it anyway.

sims science baby: my chaotic predictions last year had dab and evan + a science baby. i’m rolling it over to 2025.

jan promo metaphor: if dan and phil do any tour promo leading up to the next leg of TIT, we’ll get another promo metaphor. i’m convinced it'll be before phil’s birthday, but i put “january” as a whole because it fit better.

TIT recording: i just need to see TIT again as much as i want, okay!!!

date night: another easy one, but i love when they go out and i love when we get photos of it, so this is specifically “we’ll get photos of a general outing”. while i’ll count tour stuff in a pinch, i’m more thinking something post-tour. like, something around london or maybe brighton.

i column:

goodbye twitter: i think dan will at least test the waters off twitter, probably on bluesky. i would love if they fully crossposted/just did announcements on twitter, but i’ll count any further moves off twitter for this one.

phil novel: i kind of love the thought of phil writing a long, fictional story during tour. is it likely? probably not. do i want an embarrassing sex scene that phil reads in the audiobook? absolutely.

april fool’s phwedding: okay, look. i don’t actually think they’re getting married. but if they got engaged or fully hitched, they would announce it on april fool’s day and not clarify if they’re kidding. after nbsii and onlyphans, how else could they escalate? (i’m scared to learn the potential answer.) they would only talk about it on april fool’s day and we’d never hear about it from them again.

dan bday stream: the chances of a phil birthday stream seem low to me, unless they do it early or late. i think a dan birthday stream is more likely, especially if they take a decent break after tour (especially with a puppy) (puppy stream!!!).

dil dies briefly: sims 4 life and death has expanded death features, including funerals and reincarnation. while i think it’s more likely they’ll focus on dab + evan and dalien in the near future, i bet dan loves the idea of actually killing dil while still keeping him around.

n column:

dan hair: i just want him to grow it out! a shaggier mullet would be great, but i want fully chin-length hair, especially with his waves.

tops only model: i’m sure this one looks weird, but i thought it would be funny if they commissioned PJ to build them a model of a tops only bar. or if some random phannie did it on roblox, and they visited it.

free (hard launch): this is technically a free space that i’ll be able to use no matter what. my feelings on the hard-launch concept are too complicated for a post like this. but if they announce their relationship in a way that randos outside the phannie ecosystem would consider more official, that will also be this space.

it takes two: while i specifically want more it takes two, i just want a multipart narrative game series. something like deltarune would also count.

phil tattoo: phil got really close to getting a tattoo before! if he had a less-potentially-offensive idea, i think it could really happen in 2025.

g column:

concert: what it says on the square. it could be something like dan seeing mcr, or both of them caring about oasis? (i would say muse, but i don’t think they’re touring right now.)

sister daniel retires: i hope i don’t use this square! but i could understand dan taking a break from her for a little while.

produce a game: my original thought was funding a video game about themselves, somewhat akin to danandphilbeats. but then i realized a board/card game would be more likely. so one or both of those.

phil tiktok (maybe): phil goes viral on tiktok. this one’s a maybe because i think it would only happen if tiktok survives in the US; he has time before it's likely to disappear, but not much, and he’ll be doing shows for some of it. not that the US is the only surviving pillar of tiktok! phil just has a substantial audience in the US, which i think would help with virality.

couples costume 2.0: i liked their aziraphale-crowley costumes, but i think we can level up in 2025. jedus?

o column:

philming room: i want to know why phil stopped filming in the room with the murphy bed, and i bet we’ll either get some kind of answer or a return to the room in 2025.

overseas vacation: something that isn’t tour! like another japhan. i wouldn’t count anything tacked onto the end of TIT unless someone who didn’t tour with them comes along.

gamingmas: i just missed gamingmas this year, so i’d love another one! i would gladly take another spooky week with or instead of gamingmas, though. or dilmas.

isle of man pic: i want to see both dan and phil on isle of man visiting phil’s parents again. is that so much to ask?

dan on drag race: i don’t even know if there’s a drag race he would be invited on, but i want to see it!

[bitchslapblastoids]

Can I ask how much you talk to your partner about Dan and Phil and how do you talk about them? As someone who is not/has not been in a serious relationship, I find it hard to imagine how I would talk to someone about this, given my level of obsession. I don’t even really talk to friends about it. Like, do you talk about fic? Do you show your partner their videos? How did/will you bring up Iceland?

You don’t have to answer this if it’s too personal- totally get it! I’m honestly just so curious when I see phannies talk about their partners who aren’t also phannies.

Hi I actually really love this question bc it’s def something I think about fairly often, bc the tension is real. I am openly thirsting over these men, I have a real life partner, I share a life with him, but I also spend like a third of my life online thinking about the lives of these two dudes….it’s a thing. Just a heads up, my answer got really long.

My partner pretty fundamentally doesn’t get Dan and Phil’s whole thing, so I don’t show him vids or talk much about specific goings-on in the d&p landscape, bc it’s just a bummer to try and articulate or share something knowing it ain’t gonna land, lol. Even trying to explain the tour each time I came home from it all giddy made me feel like language was a hindrance and an impossible barrier to surmount. It’s just so hard to explain d&p’s brilliance when you don’t have some basis of common knowledge to draw on. It’s also hard to make someone else get the inherent appeal of two people’s chemistry and connection if they aren’t inclined to gaf about that kind of thing.

But he does know pretty much the full extent of my whole thing going on here lol. He’s seen my blog, sometimes I show him a post if I’m particularly proud of it/think it’s especially funny, I’ll talk to him about mutuals I’m chatting with sometimes or things happening on here that are specific to and exciting for me…basically I’m deeply uncool about it all. And yeah he knows about my fic (he hasn’t read any and I hope to god he never will, but i talk to him about broad strokes of plot in my longer fics, and he knows i write smut as well). I’m around him all the time when im writing so it’d be a pretty massive thing to hide, plus the process of writing/publishing Bowl of Oranges and its reception was sooooooo meaningful and giddying for me, so it was kind of all I could talk about for a bit there. He was/is wonderfully supportive and is happy that I’m writing and putting stuff out there.

i talked to him about Iceland the other week when i was close to impulse buying a ticket after the tysons shows, and he was down! If i follow through with booking a flight and hotel, he would come (not to TIT just to Iceland) and we’d just make a mini trip out of it. He’s used to me spending dumb amounts on concerts and we’re still fairly independent with our finances, so the money stuff isn’t an issue.

We’ve known each other for so so so long so he really understands my obsessive personality. We’re both quite strange and atypical in our own ways and I think have learned how to grow around eachother’s oddities and be patient and curious with one another rather than judgmental.

There are times I worry about my screen time and that I’m becoming too entrenched in fandom world at the expense of physical world, and i think at times I can neglect nurturing my relationship with him/all kinds of other components of life, bc the dopamine of phannie tumblr is a powerful fucking drug. So i try and be mindful of that. Definitely something im still working on.

To be completely honest about another tricky thing - I have definitely gotten stuck in a comparison trap before, of wishing that my connection and communication with my partner was as inherently easy and joyful and silly and immediate and Dan and Phil’s seems to be. My partner and I have many different interests, so while there are tons of things we connect over, there are also tons of things we can’t really share in the joy of experiencing with one another, and sometimes I’ve held Dan and Phil up as this paragon of love in comparison, feeling salty that I didn’t have what they have. I’ve gotten over that though, bc it’s definitely on the harmful side of parasocial; we only see some of their time and lives and they obviously have differences and disagreements too, and differences are good. And to be frank, will I ever have what they have? Of course not. I do think it’s pretty remarkable and special and I think most people in life won’t. And that’s ok because I also feel deeply fortunate to be with the person I’m with and I choose him year after year.

To touch on an elephant in the room - telling him I write smut fic was the thing I put off the longest bc I was scared/embarassed/felt kind of guilty about it all. And then I did and it was literally so fine. Idk, he’s great and I’m very lucky. I do have to be rly mindful of how the fantasy of it can impact my sexual desire. I spend a fair amount of time thinking about Dan and Phil’s life and relationship and, let’s be honest, sex life, and so shaking myself out of that and remembering to be embodied in myself and my relationship and my sexual partner can be a challenge. This feels weird and pretty vulnerable to talk about on here bc it kind of lays bare how you really can’t just compartmentalize this shit to one tidy section of your time and brain. but I can’t imagine other people don’t also find themselves in a similar position.

In sum, I do have a hard time with balance in life, and this is all something i think I’ll always be working on finding better balance with. But it’s not hurting anyone, it’s not rly hurting me, and it’s brought a lot of joy and creativity and connection to my life, so I try not to be hard on myself about it! I’m also deeply fortunate to have a partner who gets me and accepts me and is wholly nonjudgmental.

I’d rather die than anyone else in my life see this blog though. I have a couple friends who know I write fic and have a tumblr, but only the ones who I know are also into fandoms of their own and therefore get it. I’d reeeeeeally rather die than anyone I know irl see my ao3 that’d truly be the end. 🙃🙃🙃

Ok thank you for the question clearly I have a lot to say!!!!!

[footprint-in-the-snow]

I actually desperately want someone to explain every reference in the SATVB art please <3

okay so i havent figured out Everything but this is most of what i can gather. sorry there arent links to specific references im not supposed to be doing this i need to be packing for uni 😭 but this is everything off the top of my head !

starting from the left wall theres the peep show poster which matty has said to be his favourite show in a reddit comment, idk what the streets poster is a reference to, the ghost on an island is an antichrist reference 'theres a ghost on this island' and then the petrol can is an its not living reference as 'danny works in a petrol station'

so the back wall obviously the cancelled banner for lols, 4 days since last incident as a general meme reference?, do not use emergency only is likely a reference to mattys abstinence from social media and being a bit OTG, flushed away poster is obvious, the fake matty quote which he never said and was on the problematic, oasis poster as they need to stop marding and get back together!!! from Q with Tom Powell and various other Oasis call outs, Maroon 5 as problemattic beef, Newcastle United as duh, Frozen as he referenced liking frozen in a couple 2014 interviews particularly the moshcam (?) one, idk about the IDs and then the box from the philharmonic orchestra album, the icon from the mind shower detox thing they did for notes which was a 3d tour thing that's still up and then the height chart as matty is short <3 and the good boy points which i dont know what it is referring to specifically but i think its funny

now the window/right wall has la poesie est dans la rue is etched into the tree and is an easter egg in quite a few music videos and is a reference to love it if we made it, the minion i assume is a reference to the deuxmoi thing of matty sending minion memes to a girl, and then a camera i assume is a general comment on the lack of privacy you get as a celebrity and 'house with just three walls' etc

the couch and table has matty smoking and chained to the couch as a reference to the consumption bit and could be reference to the idea that he is stuck in a position of his own doing, hann is a wizard i presume as a hobbit reference? and then the dubai and malaysia flags as he got banned,oxygen tank from consumption, cross due to the religious signposting on his ig story and a juxtaposition to his atheism, thesaurus for those big words, infinite jest as its referenced in sincerity is scary, wine, cigarettes, xanax as a reference to 'Xanax and a newport' in part of the band, i live cum mug from the problemattic, american flag as a lot of their music is informed by Americana especially on notes(? maybe also just because america)

then on the floor here theres the coke bottles as matty cannot be seen without one, the piss/apple juice from when he was spotted with gabbriette, the fox i saw on twitter means temptation so could be a very subtle hint towards temptation from porn and the right and so on, raw meat from consumption and its being 'swept under the rug' so could be a metaphor for matty being problematic and it being glossed over by him, hairdye as there was twitter rumour he dyed his grays and matty has previously said he would not, flame and wok box as the boys used to work there, typewriter from the typed up letters he used to do but u dont know what 'im not a beatnik im a catholic' is a reference to, true romance is one of mattys favourites and was a key inspiration for the robbers video

i have no clue what this is other than human blunt? and seeds and beans? as a gyat reference? help?

this corner has the married computer so man who married a robot, lotion and tissues for activities, cow with glassjaw hoodie as a nod to when we are together and also the nme interview where he mentions that hoodie as the one he put on at 13 and took off at 19 if im correct, grass block from satvb promo, tent could be a nod to reading and leeds? then skeleton with the lab coat i dont know exactly but i think it could be another problemattic reference with me on the brain, and then 2013 george with his blue gatorade as in most gigs you can see his blue gatorade with its own stand!! (though i watched trsmnt the other day and it was orange) and he is producing i think it could have been drawn from a photo but i cba to find it

and last but not least, ross!!! who is also jesus as there were lots of memes surrounding him looking like jesus or being a personal jesus and so on, also could be to do with the problemattic post of ricky gervais on the cross for being an atheist, penguin!! because ross likes penguins, bees are a manchester symbol, beer, robber with the iconic 2014 shirt, greggs sausage roll i presume from when one got thrown onstage but also the twitter meme of 'i saw matty crying in x greggs' and then i think the last on is a mortal kombat character and nearly forgot but ross also has a lamp as he turned off the lamps at the end of when we are together during atvb on stage

[accirax]

Look at this: https://x.com/chuckecheesez/status/1852077124057759864

Best DC crossover in the history of the internet! (2nd half here)

Also this is the best part for me

😆😆😆

OOOOH it's a crossover between the first generation characters (is that what i should be calling them now? yeesh) and the DC4 cast! that's so fun! i really like the limited motion of this video, it really sells that old timey/kinda hokey feeling. plus Thriller is always a banger.

i agree that that part was probably my favorite part in the video. the detail of Drew holding up the paper that says "BRAINS" is so funny to me. my guy, nobody else in this video is talking. you could've gotten away with it. but the artist paid attention to the details. that's quality craftsmanship right there.

more tweet asks below the cut!

I am about to cry... BABY DREW!!! 😭💛

aww, this is so cute! and very in-keeping with the style of the show, too. i love his little star hat, it makes him look like the protagonist of a bedtime story adventure :)

also, this art inspired me to look up whether people with selective mutism would make any sound when they cry or not. apparently the answer for many of them is no! i know that the noise isn't the only reason why people give babies pacifiers-- obviously you want them to not be upset as well, and i think there might be something beneficial about the sucking action-- but it's still an interesting difference to consider, imo.

Just found this Dan appreciation/analysis/rant post when I opened up Twitter, in case you or any of the "Dan Stans" might be interested. The thread does open some interesting perspectives in terms of the show's favoritism and the creators' writing abilities/choices. So you can check it out if you want.

speaking of interesting differences to consider, thank you for sharing this! i always enjoy hearing other people's perspectives on media, even if i don't agree with them, as long as they're 1) generally informed and 2) not overly hostile, which i don't think this person was. they were definitely angry, but it came from a place of passion, and they at least didn't insult anything personal about who Jared and Robert are... for the most part.

anyways, a good analysis! i know you said you have no interest in Danganronpa, but as a fellow elimination game, i can definitely draw parallels between that franchise and this. specifically, in behaviors i've noticed in fans.

these are probably over-generalizations, but i feel like you could roughly break down DC/DR fans into three broad categories. first, there are the people who like heroic characters that last for a long time-- in DC's case, your Miriams, your Aidens, or your Connors. they seem to pick their favorite characters based on who they think would be the coolest to hang out with irl, or who they would aspire to be like.

opposite them, there are the people who like the villainous characters that last for a long time, more like Alec, Fiore, or Riya. they seem to pick their favorite characters based on who they think provided the most intrigue for the story, whether in terms of driving the central conflict or promoting the story's themes.

those groups have obvious tension between each other, with the hero enjoyers often not understanding how their compatriots could "condone" such vile actions by stanning villains and the villain enjoyers often seeing any character without a penchant for mischief as "lacking depth."

and then, in their own little corner, there's the third group, who enjoys the characters who left the game early-- i would imagine, because they find it fun to fill in the gaps that canon left with their projections and headcanons.

as someone whose favorites are typically long-lasting villains (with long-lasting heroes as a close second), it's really interesting for me to hear the thought process of someone of the third category! to me, if i like a work of fiction, it seems natural to me to have a general preference for the characters that last longer, because they make up a greater percentage of that thing that i like. but i really like this analysis of Dan's character as it shows how much importance he had even as a relatively early, non-returnee boot, and how he had layers without the tragic backstory typical of DC characters.

however, i also understand where Jared and Robert were coming from in not bringing him back. in theory, if you like Disventure Camp, it's because you like all of the over-the-top drama and plot twists the show throws your way. i (mildly) disagree with the OP's point that bringing Dan back would have been good as a way of differentiating their plot lines, because while that may have been true, it also sort of goes against the fundamentals of what DC has become. if that's not the kind of story that Jared and Robert wanted to tell, then they shouldn't be forced to write it.

not to mention, i could see why they would pass up on Dan for All Stars if they considered DC Season 1, as opposed to Adventure Camp, their second shot at Dan already. it's not a perfect solution, given that plenty of major characters from Adventure Camp continued to be major characters in DC1 and/or DCAS. however, if what this person wanted was "Dan transforms from a minor character into a more important role," that did already happen for him. he could have then become even more important in DCAS, but that loops back into "let Jared and Robert write the story they want to tell." flawed as it may be, at least they're (presumably) having fun if they're writing what they want as opposed to what the fans want.

and, on that note, i also personally perceived the "who's Dan?" comments and the idea of bringing him back to boot him first as more of a meme than anything else. but, i haven't read many of Jared's tweets nor am i in the DC discord, so i could be missing important context there. plus, i'm sure it'd sting to hear that about your favorite underrepresented character, even if it wasn't meant as a joke.

ramble over! at the very least, we can all agree that Genesis did a fantastic job voicing Dan :D i hope he gets cast in more roles in the future, whether in DC or otherwise.

[angevinyaoiz]

Hiii, I'm a newbie :') Could you recommend me books and documentaries about Richard and Philip, and that period in general (12th century)? I read somewhere that a new book about their relationship came out recently. Thank you <3

Hi! Thanks for asking. Its funny since I still think of myself as a "newbie" in a lot of ways since I just got into this whole mess of 12th Century England/France drama probably around like last December, so there are definitely lots of people who know more (ppl, feel free to suggest anything if I haven't mentioned it)

To my knowledge there aren't any specific books or sources that are just about their interactions (aside from That One Recent Fiction book that is. Well that's it's OWN thing lmao) but since the family affairs of the Angevin-Plantagenets and the French kings were very closely entwined with the rest of the family and various other parties, there's lots of overlap.

I personally love it because on one hand it's Free Soap Opera Entertainment, and on the other, a look at a time and environment that is very fascinating and extremely different than the time we live in now. Here I've listed the different books and video I've gotten around to, my thoughts on them, as well as some of my thoughts on uhhhh historical RPF shipping in general:

Books:

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones - An overview of the dynasty overall. A good general read, and available as audiobook! Should be available in most libraries. I haven't finished it since I've only read up to the reign of Henry III, but it presents the overall timeline in an entertaining and straightforward way, with a lot of general context and room for showing the colorful personalities of these Messy Bitches

Henry the Young King by Matthew Strickland - this is probably my FAVORITE of the books I've read so far! Sadly out of print, but it's available to borrow on The Internet Archive, and copies can be found pretty easily on eBay :) It focuses on Henry II's original heir, the titular Henry the Young King, eldest of his son who was co-crowned with him, rebelled against him, fought against Richard in Aquitaine, and died early. It goes into a study of his person and role in the politics of the day, how kingship and war were viewed in the 12th century and a lot about the weird lord/vassal relationship between the French and English Kings that made up the bulk of the conflict and drama. Very long and comprehensive, but very readable. I came away with a much better understanding of everything from this book especially.

Richard the Lionheart: King and Knight by Jean Flori. Flori has a very entertaining writing style that somehow is very funny to me when he's talking about the interpersonal dramas, especially with Philip during and after the crusades. The first half is a biography, the latter half of the book is devoted to exploring the concept of chivalry and how it developed, and also exploring subjects of Richard's legend and image

He has many amusing but overall respectful beefs with fellow historian John Gillingham's scholarship throughout, especially in regards to the much debated subject of his sexuality.

Richard I by John Gillingham - haven't finished this one yet but enjoying what I've read so far. Gil is more detailed in some aspects, which is pretty fun. Apparently he has a reputation (from Flori) for being a bit too much of a Richard fanboy which I haven't come across yet but he is informative, including accounts from Muslim historians during the Third crusade.

I haven't read as much specific media/biographies about Philip and the Capetians, and thus all my media is very Plantagenet-biased. there is an educational graphic novel in French that looks interesting but I don't have access to it (and also I don't speak French but. Ah well). For my purposes however since the role of Louis Vii and Philip II are very entwined with the story of the Angevins we do get a pretty decent look into people's personalities, decisions and behaviors, and how they viewed loyalty and kingship in a lot of the books above.

VIDEOS

"Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty" timeline documentary centering about King Henry and his drama with Becket and his sons and hosted by Dan Jones (who also wrote The Plantagenets, which I listed in the books section) It's a pretty fun and understandable intro, even if the overly dramatic faux Game of Thrones reenactment is really corny and also hard to see because the lighting is SO dim. It's a little oversimplified and focuses a bit too much on analyzing Henry's Personality as the source of his Issues rather than maybe looking at a wider picture, but it's fun and very beginner friendly.

Confessions de l'histoire - french web series in a reality show "confessional" style about historical figures, there's a video on the 2nd crusade (focuses on Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII's relationship), and one on the 3rd crusade (with Richard and Philip) It's very comedic focused but from what I've watched includes a LOT of detail. It scratches my itch for that goofy edutainment but good quality.

Secrets de Histoire - Alienor d'Aquitaine - this one is also french only but documentary focusing on Eleanor's life . It also has very goofy Reenactors in it with one of the worst wigs I've ever seen, as well as reusing footage from the earlier documentary and other movies loool

"The Place of Battle in the Context of Civil War c. 1100-1217" Lecture by Matthew Strickland about how people viewed (or avoided) Battles specifically in the context of civil wars and dynastic contexts. - I love watching lectures by the authors of books ive read, and this one is both very watchable and provides some great context!

On Shipping

My approach to my yaoi delusions (both in general fiction and in perceptions of historical people) is mostly that i am less concerned about "was XYZ queer FOR REAL," since while I do find serious discussions of historical queer history etc very interesting, a lot of this is more separately blasting my problematic sicko radioactive beam of perception in any direction lol. I like seeing characters who are tied up in a web of context (especially familial/dynastic context) and I love knowing familial-cultural background since it gives me a lot of fun material to work with for characterization. Learning more details the better for me, since a lot of the reality is stranger and more fortuitous than fiction , and thats what makes the characters unique, having so many angles to them. But also in the end, it really is all a delusion informed by my very 21st century fujo inventor taste, and I like keeping that in mind, as a sort of separate category from being informative haha. I could write about my headcanons and how I make things interact with the fictional portrayals, as well as thoughts on eh various problematicisms. But this has gone on long enough. Those are posts for another day...That being said I'm weak for both serious drama behavior and really silly drama behavior and the way people come across in these books especially lend itself well to both .

Hope this was somewhat helpful! I enjoyed reading a lot of this a lot, it's a fascinating subject, thanks for giving me a chance to ramble about it.

[yuukei-yikes]

slithers into your inbox. hi. anyways platonic kidoshin time

kido coming over to the kisaragi residence to help shintaro learn to cook more meals since he wants to help his family out more and try to be a better person post str, and cooking for his family is one way he could help out. unfortunately shintaro doesn't know how to cook anything past a cup of instant ramen so most of what he cooks doesn't come out. Great at first. but he's trying!

also. kido is a music lover. shintaro makes music. shintaro teaching kido what he knows about making music. what about him letting them experiment on his computer and make some tracks. giggle.

another also. momo was surprised to find out that kido does in fact Enjoy Spending Time With Shintaro Kisaragi! like imagine kido coming over and momo thought they came over to surprise her (🏳️‍🌈) but they actually came over bc shintaro had invited them over to play video games. of course momo got used to this quickly bc hey its cool seeing her brother getting along with her gf like this. she even joins them when they're playing video games sometimes. yaaayyyyy

NOT THE SHINTARO BAKING SHOW poor kido. shintaro SHOULD be able to properly learn bc he should be able to follow recipes normally but i think it'd be funny if kido is like. they don't have recipes written or use a specific amount of anything bc they're so used to it so they eye everything all the time and to shintaro that's stressing as hell. kido tells him to add some of something and shintaro's like How much. and kido's like just a little. and shintaro's like HOW MUCH IS A LITTLE. yeah he SHOULD be able to learn how to cook he's got everything in his favor to learn but somehow i cannot imagine him succeeding. i think he could succeed but the simplest of meals takes him like 5 hours to do and they taste completely average and looks Not super delicious. yknow for cooking u also need certain skills in ur Hands for stuff to look proper and all. shintaro would be so ass at that. kido's always like 😐looks good. good job😐 and shintaro's like you don't look very impressed. AWWW MUSIC BUDDIES YESSSSSSSSSSS maybe shintaro makes a full song out of a small track kido played around with...sob sob.... i think shintaro writes songs dedicated to everyone in the dan and the track is inspired by the person and shintaro writes the lyrics like, his relationship to them and how he feels abt them and AUGHHH. anyways. yeah. he would make a song for kido (HE WOULD MAKE A SONG FOR EVERYONE... DESTROYS EVERYTHING) YEAH I ALSO THINK SHINTARO AND KIDO HANG OUT A LOT BY THEMSELVES i love shintaro and kido's relationship they're so bestfriends. shintaro is so kidomomo supporter #1 like even more than ayano or anyone else. he's so happy momo's with kido because kido's awesome and thinks they're great for momo... also he's like YESSSS YESSS WE'RE SIBLINGS IN LAW YESSSSSSSS and acts super excited about it and kido's like omfg (is secretly happy too) all the dan newbies (yknow momo, ene, shin, hibiya, konoha/haruka)(not hiyori though she wouldn't lol) act like kido's THE COOLEST PERSON IN THE PLANET but shintaro's specifically tends to constantly praise kido for everything and kido's always like WTF. STOP. bc everyone's like danchou ur so cool. but shintaro's like yes ur so reliable ur so cool ur cooking is awesome ur always watching our back ur so cool kido!!!!!!! RESPECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and kido's like. EXPLOSION. i think they'd try to compliment shintaro back bc they know how Awful shintaro's self steem is and wants him to know how important he is and how happy they all are he's a part of the dan but it's so difficult for them to do it and also whenever they do shintaro starts tearing up and being pathetic. anywyas yes shintaro and kido best friends 4ever.

[lavender-phannie]

Hi hello I wanted to share my story of how I started watching dnp bc everyone’s stories are so fun! Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, I tend to overthink and write every little detail and it’s a lot lmao.

So it was January 2016 and I had recently got a Wii U (I only had a Wii for a while lmfao) and I was super into Mario kart 8. I got super hyperfixated on like Mario game soundtracks out of nowhere and idk how I remember this but it was specifically the super Mario world overworld theme that I watched when an ad started playing. It was Dan and Phil promoting TABINOF going to Barnes and Noble in the us and for some reason I was interested and didn’t skip. I don’t remember who I looked up first but I watched a ton of videos right away.

The first Phil video I watched was of him watching his old home videos of his childhood, and I think the first Dan video was the one where he looked at his 12 year old website and I thought the do not click section was super funny. I think the first gaming video was Mario kart 8, and I found out about undertale bc of their playthrough lmao. I know the exact date (January 16 2016) bc I wrote a little journal entry about it for some reason lmao.

Anyways time went on, I kept watching them throughout all of middle school, I went to tatinof in Vegas when I was literally 12 years old despite being from the east coast and having to fly there?? I went to II in a state that was closer to me in 2018 lmao, and I just kept watching them even throughout the gaming channel hiatus bc despite not being as hyperfixated they still meant a lot to me and I loved seeing what they had to say whenever they uploaded on their main channels.

The gaming channel revival has made my hyperfixation stronger and I’m excited for what’s next :)

Oooh anon you and I joined the fandom at a very similar time! (I joined December 2015) and they also introduced me to undertale!

Anyway wow!!! Their ads actually worked that’s wild??? I was about to say I can’t imagine getting a fandom related ad but then I suddenly had this memory come back to me where I got an ad for a song called “thank you dan and phil” when I was like 14 and honestly it was a banger I listened to it a lot after that!! (Sorry random tangent 😅)

And same all through the hiatus I stuck by them (mostly, I think I had a brief dip in interest at one point) cause they impacted me so much as a young teen!

[mooonzyyyy]

let’s answer this besties imma yappppp

A- i would love to just learn how to play certain video games with them that sounds so fun or maybe they play it while i watch and chat

B- WHAT IF WE GET A FINAL FANTASY THEMED BAKING OUTFITS AND ALL NOT ONLY WILL IT BE FUNNY BUT ITS A GAME THEY LOVE

C- the whole they have two apartments theory was actually insane and it turns out to be right too 😭

D- i like his mental health stuff , loved the reasons why dans a fail and obviously BIG , internet support group , all of dystopia daily (especially parasocial video and louise)

E- their coming out <3333

F- i like the most recent amazingphil video (choker and green jacket ) (title: Dan and Phil are back in the closet) , dans potato sack (she deserves better) , dans sexual desire gray hoddie , PHIL IN LEATHER JAVKET???? , phil’s papyrus shirt , anything of phils dorky shirts really

G- they still haven’t collabed with thomas sanders i actually need a collab with thomas or a new video with peej playing his board game

H- on top of my head the wad you can stay one <3

I- Dans first insta stories in 2016 are always my go to and genuinely anything that shows us parts of their lives like the II times have always been homely to me

J- any time phil makes an inappropriate joke (coz he does it on purpose to tease dan)

K- okay i need pride merch like little pins of dan in his coming out wearing the pride flag and a little phil one i think it would be really cute / planners, journals designed by phil specifically

L- the cat whiskers as basic as that sounds she is special (i miss pinof)

M- THE CHRISTMAS TREE VIDEO (RAVE TIME RAVE TIME)

N- a dog a corgi phil deserves one after the new video (this game gave us a breakdown) in case ppl see this later

O- 1 2 3 switch , golf with friends , the final battle , google feud , switch sports ,

SHUFFLE BOARD (I LOVE HER THE MOST)

P- cutting dans hair , why i was a weird kid , any storytime video ever , dan is leaving me ( i love domestic lazy videos) , viewed choose my outfits , dan and phil are back in the closet…

Q- i will ask both how they managed to deal with the whole pressure thing from the fandom coz they are so strong

R- dans telling phil this song is for him (i love all of bbc i need to rewatch i will come back to this)

S- devan ( sorry dil is the og and dalien is so fun)

T- everything in interactive introverts is my fav , tabinof is my go to for nostalgia and WAD is dans big thing so it’s very important to me <3

U- anything undertale

V- i need a new let’s play other than finishing it takes two , i need deltrune or garten of banban (this one is for the lols coz that game is unserious)

W- the whole gay and orange heart i’m not over it or we never had sex on youtube

X- THE INTERNET IS HERE IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME

Y- reading A03 fanfics (not necessarily their own just anything)

OH AND MUSIC YAPPING I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE PLAYLISTS AND ALL

Z- literally, what can i say , zebra , yeet , microwave , slorn , morn (dnp book cult gets this)

YEAH THATS ALL THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS <333

Dan and Phil A-Z Ask Game:

I was craving a big ask game so had to go for the classic dnp format. Hope everyone enjoys!

A - Activity; You can choose to do one activity with Dan and Phil, what will you do?

B - Baking; Pitch a concept/outfit/etc. you want to see in a future baking video.

C - Conspiracy; What are your favorite and/or least favorite phannie conspiracies (past or present)?

D - Dan; What is your favorite video from Dan's main channel?

E - Emotion; What Dan and/or Phil moment has made you the most emotional?

F - Fashion; What are some of your favorite Dan and Phil looks?

G - Group; Dan and Phil are doing a collaboration video, who do you want it to be with and what will they do? (Could be someone they've collabed with before)

H - Home; What are some of your favorite domestic Dan and Phil moments?

I - Instagram; What are some of your favorite Instagram posts/stories?

J - Joke; What Dan and Phil moment(s) always make you laugh?

K - Keepsake; What type of merch item/design/theme/etc. would you most like Dan and Phil to make?

L - Lion; What is your favorite item/running gag/etc. that's ever been a part of Dan and Phil branding?

M - Manchester; What is your favorite early Dan and Phil moment?

N - Norman; If you could choose a pet for Dan and Phil to get, what would it be?

O - Opponent; What is your favorite Dan vs. Phil video?

P - Phil; What is your favorite video from Phil's main channel?

Q - Question; You can ask one question each to Dan and Phil and they will give you an honest answer, what will you ask?

R - Radio Show; What is the most iconic radio show moment to you?

S - Sims; You have to choose one of the three main storylines in the Sims (Dil/Tabs, Devan, Dalien) to never be revisited again, which one are you eliminating?

T - Tour; What is the best segment from each of their tours, in your opinion?

U - Underrated; What is the most underrated Dan and Phil video?

V - Video Game; What video game do you most want to see on dapg?

W - Wow; What have Dan and Phil done that surprised you the most?

X - Xylophone; What is your favorite music-related Dan and Phil moment?

Y - Youtube; If you could choose one YouTube video for dnp to make, what would it be? (Solo or joint content, your choice!)

Z - Zebra; What words or phrases have you picked up from dnp and/or always make you think of them?

[dilfsuzanneyk]

“♫”

hiiii kitty thank you for the ask :333

Mr. Crowley by Ozzy Osbourne

the synths in the beginning are so so epic AND i just really like ozzy's vocals in this one!! itches a very specific part of my brain!!

2. I Am A Poseur by X-Ray Spex

listen if you haven't listened to anything by x-ray spex you definitely should. poly styrene is an absolute POWERHOUSE when it comes to singing. iirc she was trained to sing opera? and she definitely weaponises that in their music. not to mention a lot of the band's songs are just fucking fantastic. aside from this song, i really love their song Identity as well.

3. Mansion Party by Ninja Sex Party

this song is actually so funny HDJSKADN dan's nonchalant kind of singing coupled with the outrageous exaggerations of danny sexbang's wealth is hilarious, and the way it slowly devolves into chaos by the end of the song just adds to it all. and yes, you guessed it! i find the bass line sexy <3

4. Ruiner by Nine Inch Nails

i only ever listen to nin (especially the downward spiral album) whenever i'm really feeling horrible and shit's getting bad again, and i have to say that this song specifically gives me Some feeling of catharsis when i feel like utter shit. the harsh and rough instrumentals already make you feel some kind of way, but the song wouldn't be what it is without trent's vocals imo. the way he's kind of singing in a low, softer voice that manages to still drip with anger and resentment in the verses sets the mood for the song as well as the emotion behind it. and then when he screams the pre-chorus, it just adds to the emotion that the verse set up. the chorus feels almost mocking, and then the ending with him repeating the same thing over and over creates some kind of mood that i really can't describe. i really love this song

5. Starlight Brigade by TWRP

another band that more people really need to listen to. also!! this song features dani avidan!! the synths in this song are absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS and dan's vocals are wonderful as always. the music video is one of my favourite music videos, as well. the art style is beautiful and matches the song perfectly. the moment that chorus kicks in, i can visualise the mv so well and i just absolutely Ascend. i know i already said this but genuinely, dan avidan has a fantastic voice, and his harmonies in the chorus are amazing. my absolute FAVOURITE part of the song is the last chorus, because there's a key change there and it works SO well with the song that i can physically feel my soul leave body.

[alittlefrenchtree]

(Spotify part 2)

Oh cool, thank you! I really like the context notes each time. It adds some narrative behind your songs; it makes it personal, I think. Not that songs can't be personal in themselves, but I don't know. It's just nice to see how these musics and you met.

Well, I might share it yep. It would only be fair, after all. Probably not anonymously 'cause, at this point, I'm not sure that it changes anything (and even if it did, it wouldn't really matters I guess).

Ophelia: Of course you have. I love this song too (which appears in my 2023 playlist as well, by the way). It's very catchy. I can listen to it many times without getting bored.

Katoum: Well, I already know the guy, so it's hard to judge your explanation. But it seems clear to me, for what it's worth. In fact, I'm glad that you mentioned him. You reminded me that I didn't listen to his album enough; and that's a shame, 'cause it's actually good? I mean, of course, he is technically not a singer (some could say that he is since he literally made an album but, yeah, it's not his first job), but I like most of his songs.

(And we can't even compare him to Trivia, who is already well-known for her singing ability. She showed it several times, including at two - if I'm not wrong - concerts. Of course, it was also for the Z-Event, but she is just so talented. Oh and her work with PV Nova? Amazing.

Blinding Lights and Toxic are obviously in my 2023 recap. I will put the links - in case some people were lost here, in the French side of Tumblr, and wanted to discover a really good singer. I may not be utterly objective 'cause, well, I love her. But honestly, you could make an unexpected discovery).

https://open.spotify.com/track/51HwpMwkMJacQ32ircRGMZ?si=GeiaguXoSjWobdaBUuVIhw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1Fa1IIVtEpGUcU

https://open.spotify.com/track/0PG40nP8ZNcRz6xEF4xfnh?si=XcaEL2wvS0ixMmA_wToN1Q&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1Fa1IIVtEpGUcU

Mh yes, that's understandable. He makes it hard not to like him, I guess. By the way, it's ok for him to be handsome and charismatic, I can live with it. But he shouldn't be allowed to have that voice as well.

I still listen to the 2021 Z-Event karaoke sometimes (my favourite one, I think). It makes me feel nostalgic - obviously - but that's also very pleasant to hear (and also funny at some specific moments).

And, well, from what I remember, I was quite surprised by ZeratoR back there. I didn't know that he sang, or at least never heard him (I don't have the chronology and so don't remember when the album goal came; but anyway, as he said himself, it's almost common for a famous video maker to do some songs now, mostly for fun, so it's hard to know at what point it is serious). His Graver dans la roche cover was definitely something.

So, yeah, I don't really follow ZeratoR (I guess that - for once - everything is perfectly healthy. 😌 ) I watch Twitch sporadically, following my current random interest (streamer or even video game), so nothing surprising here. But I'm still interested in some of his projects - and this one is definitely one of them.

Now, which are my favourite songs from him? I'm trying to drop some titles, but that's not that easy. I would mention Anonyme, Katoum, Ralentis and The Void (don't get me started on Antoine Daniel's voice 'cause fuck, it doesn't help).

Oh and the two last ones - I Say and Décennies - are not bad either. And let's not forget Lyrics, which I'm listening to right now (and probably a good one to discover his album as a non-French speaker, so I will put the link too; I seriously doubt that any lost soul will ever read it but, just in case, a link doesn't hurt).

https://open.spotify.com/track/04OhfYHHYCEap1coJgObAd?si=mcYjSkPhS3CJgnHXyQVLxA

https://open.spotify.com/track/2fqK2DYGXwysdU27vYlj9o?si=xWM9vdBlSKKpCZcxT57kfg

Belobezvodnoe & Moskva: Ooh it's interesting again! Not for the same reason I guess, 'cause I know nothing about Thylacine (not even his name). I also missed Arrête avec tes mensonges (like pretty much all the films this year). My last time at the movie theater was in September (if I don't forget anything), and it wasn't even for a discovery; so my true last time was in July with the last Pixar, Elemental (a very good surprise, by the way, I don't know if you saw it), which was a long time ago now that I'm thinking about it.

(Time flies again).

(I should take a cinema subscription. Well, it's not that easy of course; it's expensive. But at this point, it appears to be that or nothing. At least, with a subscription, you're quite "forced" to go (if not, it feels like a dumb waste; it's partially irrational, but it's here and it's a good motivation in itself) and - more important - you can go like that, just to give it a try. You can't waste anything else but time - which seems freeing. It's just about you and your envy. Nothing more, nothing less).

I don't even know what Arrête avec tes mensonges is about, but the soundtrack seems to have some potential. It's relaxing, but not only. The two songs that you mentioned are quite different, so I don't imagine the same things for both of them. I'm curious to know if I get them like we're supposed to - like they're used in the movie.

Anyway, thank you again. It influenced my Spotify recommendations in a nice way. It was like: "Wait, you like instrumental songs? Like really, you couldn't say it earlier?", and then Spotify suggested other instrumental stuffs.

Scar Tissue: It happens sometimes. Spotify Wrapped shouldn't be surprising (at least for our most listened to songs) but somehow it is. I don't know much about Red Hot Chili Peppers. I know well the few songs I downloaded like... a decade ago (omg 🫠). But this one wasn't in my playlist, so it feels like my first time. It's a nice one.

Weed For Speed: Ah, a song from You Suck At Parking (perhaps a bit of ZeratoR influence again). I see what it is (Z-Lan oblige, even if I didn't follow the whole thing), but nothing more.

(No context but it reminds me Etoiles and his nightmare (also known as the puzzle). I'm not gonna lie, it was quite funny to watch. But it was way less after on Trackmania. He was just a bit disappointed by himself, if I'm remembering well).

But to talk about the song itself, it seems quite unknown. Less than 1k plays on Spotify? That's not much (it doesn't even appear when you search the title only). Anyway, I like the vibe. It seems to be a good focus music (well, it's a video game song after all).

Your whole playlist: Mh, I literally have nothing to say since the link doesn't work. 🥲 It's not the first time I see that. It may be linked to your confidentiality settings on Spotify? The playlist may have to be publicly shared on your profile to work? I don't know.

But think is : when I just click on the link, it opens my Spotify application and shows me my own playlist. So then, I tried to open without being connected and had a message like "your link is broken", or something very similar.

So, to me, the easiest solution is to create a new public playlist with all the songs on your Spotify Wrapped. I don't have a better solution, at this point. But, well, you'll see what you want to do again.

And that was probably too long again (with a very approximate English, which wasn't even necessary). But, well, here it is I guess. I liked to listen to these few songs and see a bit of your pov. :)

omg please never do that again 😂 and by "that" i mean totally break my brain the first time i read this on a week day at 5am. For the first part I was like who the fuck i'm talking to and then it became pretty obvious - or at least 99.9% obvious (no offense but only you could right this 😘) but I had no idea you were following here? (or i feel like i didn't know, but maybe i should have?) Give me a quick second while i second think each of the 11,845 posts i ever shared on this website? 💀💀💀 bit of self-consciousness going on there but we're going to be fine. i think.

I'm not going to answer to everything but DM me your secret identity when you have a minute? it will be easier to talk, even if my brain doesn't fully grab the concept of writing in French on tumblr dot com 😅

Just a few things that could be interesting for general audience:

I've tried something else for the whole playlist, maybe it'll work better here? Otherwise I have no idea.

Also, as not-so-anon said, listen to Trivia (aka LittleBigWhale) :

[breakingarrows]

Games Media in Review: Giant Bomb

I don’t have as long a history with Giant Bomb as I do IGN or Kinda Funny but the love and enjoyment from when I was a fan is definitely equal to those two. I have strong memories of listening to the Giant Bomb Game of the Year discussions in 2014 while pushing shopping carts around outside the Wal-Mart I worked at. I was a premium subscriber from June 2016 until I let it expire in March 2022. About a year ago I sat down to try and narrow down what my personal “golden age” of Giant Bomb was by counting the various shows or highlights put out in each year, this narrowed it down to the 2017-2019 period as being the strongest. Drew Scanlon’s departure was softened by the hiring of Abby Russell and Ben Pack, later joined by Jan Ochoa. Abby and Ben’s later departure, the COVID pandemic making in-person recordings no longer possible, and the later departures of Vinny Caravella, Alex Navarro, and Brad Shoemaker pretty much killed any and all enthusiasm I had for the site. Jeff Gerstmann’s firing (still such a strange warped reflection of his firing from GameSpot due to external ad-pressure which led to founding Giant Bomb, now being fired from that website) didn’t help any interest that may have remained, especially given the site’s response following his sudden departure.

Watching and listening to the current Giant Bomb for these past two weeks has been the most disappointing experience of this series so far. Kinda Funny may not have very strong critical bones, and I can’t say Giant Bomb really does either, both are more to provide entertainment than thoughtful critiques, but only one of them ever provided any laughs: Kinda Funny. I know some of this has to do with finding Dan Ryckert more obnoxious than funny, but also just the overall content I watched (34 videos checking over my YouTube history) wasn’t very fun to watch along with.

When discussing Kinda Funny I mentioned their adherence to enthusiast press talk of excitement and positivity above all else, and while I don’t think that is true of Giant Bomb, I did find their critical talk similarly lacking. Most of it I can attribute to the shadow Dan Ryckert casts over the site. Dan loves wrestling, and specifically loves reenacting the role of the “heel” from wrestling in his work life, a term referring to someone who plays the bad guy who is supposed to make the audience and other cast members mad at them for their behavior. Dan finds this funny, I find it obnoxious. At least during his previous employment at Giant Bomb he had Jeff Gerstmann, Vinny Caravella, and his fellow GameInformer coworker turned Giant Bomb staff Jason Oestreicher to somewhat counter his heel tendencies. All of them are gone now and it shows. During the Giant Bombcast 808 Dan explains why he didn’t like Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Lord of the Rings around 1:42:37, and it was at an early point in my watching that I began to question whether or not I really wanted to continue. It isn’t that I disagree with the opinion being expressed, that either can be/is “boring,” but it is the way this thought is explained that irritates me. This feeling is expressed by others as well. This has always been an issue with people when watching Dan, as I remember my wife never liked him once he started showing up in Giant Bomb east videos with Abby. To me, I’ve always found his critical thought skills severely lacking, and am still surprised he was a writer at GameInformer and for several years and was contributing his voice to the greater critical volume.

Blight Club is their “playing through a bad game” show, but since bad games are so different from bad movies, especially given the time required and the lack of any editing on the backend (which is completely understandable from a production standpoint), it never reaches the sort of fever pitch of RedLetterMedia’s Best of the Worst series revolving around watching bad movies together. I also just don’t find the concept of dressing up in cheap halloween costumes that amusing. Additionally, they’re never together; they're always on video calls with each other, something which really killed a lot of game coverage/channels for me when COVID hit. No more Business Dave Top 10’s on UPF as everyone was working from home now. This has led to some hijinks, such as Dan using layers to replay video during livestreams to the bewilderment of the participants. Again, the specter of his character casts a shadow that makes it something I find mildly amusing instead of laugh out loud funny. Zoom/Discord video chat recordings just do not have the same energy as being in the room together. It is unfortunate because I do support remote work but there is just something magical lost when you transition from doing UPF in the same room together to doing it over a video chat service. This is primarily why I never kept up with Nextlander despite consisting of the Giant Bomb members I’ve followed the longest, and would likely kill Jeff Gerstmann’s channel for me if he ever ends up expanding beyond being a solo show.

The Bombcast continues to be their general gaming podcast of “whatcha been playing?+news+reader emails”, Voicemail Dumptruck is an extension of reader emails in voicemail form. Quick Looks remain a varying-in-length playthrough of recent releases. Unprofessional Fridays are still mostly a grab bag of cooperative games to play together. Game Mess Mornings is the newest show to me, but is basically a version of Kinda Funny Games Daily, itself a version of many familiar morning shows viewed everywhere that runs through the news, now with commentary from Jeff Grubb and a guest. Demo Derby returned recently though with Dan at the wheel it went about as well as I thought it would, that is: he called Final Fantasy X [ten] “Final Fantasy X [x]”  and called Final Fantasy X-2 “Final Fantasy Twelve” to annoy Mike Minotti and beat it into the ground by the end of the demo.

In addition to the standard shows they also have Mortal Kombat playthroughs, and miscellaneous streams such as F-Zero 99 and Counter Strike 2. Checking the video feed from even just a year ago and I was wishing I had done this then instead of now as my perspective would probably be much more popular. They had these shows plus Albummer and Arcade Pit. Two years ago they didn’t have Arcade Pit but did have Bak 2 Skool, VoidBurgers Hot Takeouts, and the Very Online Show. Not only was the video feed more varied but the community was more populated. Comparing the most commented video for the last couple of weeks in September from 2013-2023 paints a pretty bad picture.

Essentially the trend has been ever downwards for the community participation on the site. I previously used comment counts to gauge the audience size of IGN versus GameSpot, and here on Giant Bomb comments on their main site are even more valuable due to their premium subscription. Prior to June 2022 when all premium shows were made free and premium subscription was changed to give you behind the scenes stuff and discord access (though knowing how discord works for large communities this is not a benefit for all but the terminally online), premium would get you exclusive shows like Unprofessional Fridays (where the crew would each bring a game of their choosing to play and show off for the others or for entertainment), Metal Gear Scanlon, Playdates, Game Tapes, Demo Derby, Mario Party Party, and many more. It is important to note in the chart above that prior to the change, five of the nine top commented videos were premium videos, meaning you also needed a subscription in order to comment.

A lot of Giant Bomb’s best content was on these premium shows, but now with premium no longer having any exclusive content, at least none that appear on the site’s premium feed, there doesn’t appear to be much draw to give them money. This conduit of funding was previously what set Giant Bomb apart from most other games media sites before the advent of Patreon, as their fan’s directly helped fund them meaning they could rely on more than just click-through rates to earn them money. Nowadays, with dwindling community engagement, I’m not so sure they have solid footing, especially given the ownership changes and layoffs. CBS sold off Gamespot, Giant Bomb, and CNET to Red Ventures in September 2020. Red Ventures then turned around and sold off everyone but CNET to Fandom in October 2022. Despite promises to keep things as they were, Fandom laid off around 40-50 people in January 2023, including Jess O’Brien and Jason Oestreicher of Giant Bomb.

Other signs of diminished community are that qlcrew has essentially stopped updating its member tags, instead pretty much serving as an RSS feed for the new content but still remains a great filter for older content based on timestamps and tags. Best of Giant Bomb stopped uploading in mid-2021 and has returned for monthly installments for the back half of 2022 and only three videos for 2023 as of this writing. The subreddit is clogged with posts from Jeff Gerstmann and Nextlander, speculation about potential drama and collaboration between those two new channels, and the usual doom-posting about the site you often find on dedicated subreddits. Some of that doom is warranted, however, not only by the comment metrics but also the YouTube views. Out of IGN, GameSpot, Kinda Funny, and Kinda Funny Games for the past four weeks of uploads (discluding trailers), Giant Bomb is at the bottom with an average of 6.68k and GameSpot surprisingly at the top with 257k average view, mostly thanks to their “ALL Fatalities - Mortal Kombat 1 4K Gameplay” video hitting 5.7 million views. Kinda Funny with 12.65k average, nearly twice as many as Giant Bomb, is the second-to-last ranking.

I’m just not sure what you can do with Giant Bomb at this point. I’m sure the backlog of premium content doesn't help with server costs, and with a low view count on YouTube and a guaranteed lower premium subscriber base than ever before I’m just not sure how long you can expect them around, especially given how much they rely on outside staff to help pump up the staff count and variety on their content. It’s sad to see how far the site has fallen. Despite my complaints I think Dan Ryckert is a capable production lead, some of the shows he created for old Giant Bomb were among the best (Burgle my Bananas and Mario Party Party), and I don’t have any ill will or blame for the individuals currently working there. It just is sad to be so disappointed returning to a channel that was once so beloved, and to see that this sentiment appears to be the prevailing one amongst the, admittedly, minority of online forum posters.

[dysthoepiadaily]

See, I think the interesting thing is that Dan has before, and can make those slightly more trashy videos! He's naturally a funny guy, and a good entertainer, and he got a good amount of views doing that kind of content, too. It's the fact that he's deleted a lot of those types of videos, so you don't see them. But, they're still there on the gaming channel, for example, and you can see that he CAN do it in a way that's appealing to an audience.

Rather than it JUST being about making this sort of easy videos, I think it was also a form of venting... He's done this shit before, and he really doesn't like to do it, LOL. He wasn't active on youtube for a reason. I feel like there's a lot of factors that go into not liking to do those sorts of videos, not least that people feel like they know him, but wildly misinterpret him (as it happens when you're a public figure people are emotionally attached to). So, I don't think it was necessarily just that he wanted to "make content", but also, he wanted to lay out how awful he felt about it, lol.

But, here's my thing with him... I think I like Dan because he's extremely open about how he feels, and what he thinks. And, despite everything, Dystopia Daily was his truth in that he really doesn't like being a youtuber. It was, in many ways, exactly what I want from him, an honesty that feels too ugly to talk about.

The crazy part to me, really, is that a lot of people would have eaten those same videos up from him if he did them with his performing for the camera mask! They have before! He scared the hoes because he was so visibly uncomfortable and pissed off, it was too "ugly" to be on youtube. These aren't the "DINOF fans" that people or even he refers to, but rather, just casual youtube fans who like watching Dan and other youtubers. The DINOF fans who are specifically fans of Dan are a small minority of the viewers, tbh.

Another thing is just, Dan as a creator and his relationship with his audience. He's wildly successful, but I think he really thinks of youtube as a way to express himself, and he WANTS a much more niche audience, who maybe understand him and what he wants to put out there, rather than just people who watch youtube in the background because they're obsessed with youtubers. His little heart is still stuck in 2009, where youtube was a place where weirdos found other weirdos, and he yearns for that.

I said in my first post that art should be easy to understand... I agree with myself and will believe this forever. But Dan doesn't agree with me, and he actually doesn't need to agree with me. Dan uses art as a way to build a connection with other people. As a way to be SEEN. As a consumer of art, there's something I find pleasing about a complex topic being presented in a way that is cohesive and easy to understand. But for artists, there's a whole other rush you get when you create something messy, imperfect, and difficult to comprehend, and another person comes along and still feels seen by it, and feels like they understand you because of it. In many ways, that is what love is.

"Did it work" is really not a question I think that needs to be answered, LOL. I think it did what it needed to do, which was just to get Dan a little more comfortable, feel like he's being more true to himself, and less likely to be misunderstood by fans he doesn't really like all that much. It doesn't need to be more than that. As he said, "this is myyyyy fucking show, let me express myself". And, the people who like these videos will like it because they like HIM. That's more real than people who just watch whatever is on youtube.

I saw this take the other day on twitter, and it made me kind of annoyed bc... way to miss the point, and to show that Dan was right and that it was too niche for you, LOL.

People do like Dan because of his authenticity and wit, but also... it's not that simple. Dystopia Daily, in many ways, was extremely authentic in the emotion it was trying to convey.

I think dystopia daily was more of a commentary on just youtuber culture in general, the desperate need for youtubers to remain popular at around a time when they were losing relevance. This led to a lot of them desperately collabing with one another, "exposing" more and more of their private lives in hopes that the more they give to the camera, to the audience, the audience won't abandon them (Dan and Phil finally tell the truth, Dan's grandma explains the internet).

There's a sort of "giving the people what they want" aspect to it, as well... "This kitten cured my depression", an obviously hyperbolic title, but something the audience wants from him... People want a STORY with youtubers, a sort of triumphant arc, but youtubers aren't actually able to deliver that triumphant arc in the way that the audience wants, because youtubers aren't fictional characters, they're real people.

There's just a brutality in the performer/audience relationship. If the audience doesn't get what they want, they'll just abandon the performer, and the industry is COMPETITIVE, and really unfair. Some of the shittest and laziest content will get a lot of views, while others don't get views when their content is actually interesting and creative! The "literally just reading reddit and monetizing it" and "if I laugh I instantly die" videos have a higher view count than like... "Dan and Dodie do a duet". This is literally modern art, and that's sooo good!!!

The overproduction of it all is by design... It's the point, in many ways, that this guy is being extremely overpaid for content that is objectively bad, but people fall for that kind of thing every time, LOL. It is inauthentic, but it's inauthentic because the personality of Daniel Howell, the host of Dystopia Daily is terrible for youtube views. He's just not the guy he used to be.

Was it the best execution of this concept? I don't know, and I don't really think so (but I am of the belief that art should be easy to understand and this is a VERY debatable point). But, I do think the concept is unique and interesting enough to warrant praise, plus, I think Dan is an ideal person to tell this story... I also think it's hilarious that people were confused about what the fuck it was.

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: PREDICTING DAN'S FUTURE!

Date video was published: 05/20/2017 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 345

Another joint video! And the first one in the new flat.

0:02 - first Dan appearance after the rebrand. funny that it is on Phil’s channel, instead of his own.

0:10 - Dan looks scared of what Phil might say here

0:30 - Dan is not wrong. yeah, I think that green vase probably was just there in the flat as well

0:45 - god I love the energy they have when filming together

0:54 - Phil did his future prediction video back in January. In that video, he actually suggested that he could “do it with Dan” so I’m sure people jumped on that in the comments

1:01 - “I think he meant something else” um 😳

1:11 - little pushes from Phil at that

1:20 - Dan looks like he’s heard this from Phil before

1:43 - Dan is trying to mock Phil for what he just said and Phil could not give less of a shit 😂

1:50 - ahahaha at them laughing over the “you can count on it” to that

2:00 - the 8-ball did not give Phil the answers he wanted in his previous video either

2:08 - “yes, ball bro” and Phil’s reaction is great

2:30 - they are so good at reacting live to things

2:38 - awww at Phil’s “aww” face and pose

2:56 - the dog talk in 2017 is so much

3:01 - if I was Dan I would be pretty interested in this part too, having seen Phil’s previous tarot card stuff 👀

3:32 - between the previous ASMR video and this, there is a lot of “tingling” going on

3:37 - thanks for clarifying there, Dan

3:55 - “tell me when you get to that moment” Phil sure does say words 😳

4:58 - I have no clue what they’re talking about here, and also Phil isn’t singing? I’m confused

4:09 - Phil’s reaction to seeing “death” is great

4:44 - the joint “ace” with Dan doing the accent kills me 😂

4:54 - again, I have the same tarot book that Phil is using, so we can see the full descriptions of the cards

4:56 - “The Chariot” for 2016. Phil read essentially this entire description. He skipped the intro with the “danger of unreasonable force or pressure” bit, which also seems like it fits. Honestly the key words though - travel, progress, success, determination - if that’s not TATINOF...Dan’s “I hate it when it makes sense” ...yep

5:48 - “let the real you shine” Phil looks so fond

5:51 - “Death” for 2017. Again, Phil reads most of the meaning. Yet again, the key words - change, moving away, new beginnings 👀

6:03 - both Dan and Phil’s reactions to this one are really something else. Dan cannot believe it and Phil is estatic

6:15 - there is a jump cut there. would love to know what other discussion went down. Phil is scary with these

6:31 - the “Ace of Wands” for 2018. Phil doesn’t read as much of this one; “...a successful enterprise or trip” hello, Interactive Introverts. I wonder how much they were already thinking about/planning it so that might have been a little too on the nose to talk about. also skipping over the “thinking of starting a family bit” 😂

7:04 - “Putin, naked on a car” somehow I missed that one before...

7:26 - Dan looks actually a bit disturbed and like he’s thinking too much about this

7:44 - Phil coming up with this and pulling it off...I don’t know how he managed to hold it together at all

8:11 - Dan’s look at the camera here says he is definitely suspicious, but he goes to pull his sleeve up anyway 

8:24 - he knows something is up but he’ll still do it for Phil

8:35 - where does Phi come up with this stuff?! I love him

8:49 - this is so tailored to be a Dan-specific prank

9:00 - I love Phil telling us to just wait a second 😂

9:10 - Phil is so proud of himself

9:21 - “babuse!”

9:25 - that is going to require a lot of cleaning up

9:35 - Dan can’t even be mad

9:50 - “the tarot cards were freaky” NO SHIT

10:15 - Phil so fond about that too

This is one of my favorite joint videos. Although I still find Phil with tarot cards slightly terrifying.

In an unprecedented level of pre-planning, DNP must have filmed this at the start of May before leaving for Florida. (They had also filmed several gaming videos that they posted during the holiday.) After Playlist Live! in Orlando, they had been to Miami for a few days (1, 2, 3 - um., 4) and then to the Lester’s usual rental house by May 13 (where they were watching Eurovision and tweeting a lot, of course - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). 

They spent a lot of time chilling by the pool (1, 2, 3), visited NASA (1, 2) where they got lots of merch, including Dan’s cat nightie shirt, and re-visited the squirrel attack spot. Also Dan amusingly left Phil trapped outside the house (1, 2, 3). I can’t get over how much they shared from this trip. Like the trip to Isle of Man for Phil’s birthday in 2017, it was a big deal at the time that Dan was along on this family holiday.

[natigail]

Daniel really did that slow build to completely come smashing through all the stuff set up at the very end. It felt kind of like how it was watching it, seeing bits and bits lined up, all these things attached to his feeling of being misplaced, of “non-pride”, only for him to come brazing through it at the very end, made strong enough to tear it down now. 

I loved all the appearances, and I feel like the people he chose to involve really says so much about him - Phil, of course, his partner through life who is there for support even as the journey is his own, the audience, all of them queer and supported by the community that he helped build, a gay singer he admired when he was young and someone who shaped his wariness of being out in the public eye, Tyler and Abigail as fellow queer creators but also having both of them act as inspiration and a voice of reason, his past self, the past that he can now truly leave behind.

As always he was so funny and engaging while also being profound and silly at the same time. It’s a balance that feels so very authentically Dan and it feels like everything about this video has Dan’s finger prints on it (and a tiny bit of Phil’s perhaps, since isn’t this an updated and more specific Tour of My Brain video?). 

The leaps and bounds that Dan has taken in that last few years in terms of his growth has been so amazing and inspiring to watch. It feels like he’s been going through a transformation of figuring out how to cut off all of the dead bits to allow new sprouts to come through. The scars might still be there, always will probably, but there is new growth over it. A sign of not only surviving but beginning to thrive. He’s going into full bloom now, it feels like, and I think it will continue to be amazing to watch.