#golly i love them so much

[redrobin-detective]

So I've been listening to my two favorite songs from Hadestown, Wait For Me (Reprise) and Road to Hell (Reprise), on loop for a few days. And on my 400th listen something occurred to me.

Orpheus was writing his song to "make spring come again". He wanted to "fix what's wrong, take what's broken and make it whole." His entire purpose was to write "a song so beautiful it brings the whole world back into tune." (From Come Home with Me).

And he did. Using his love for Eurydice, he was able to finish his song, his masterpiece. But the cost of his dedication to his music meant his love went hungry and went to Hadestown for food and shelter.

He hoped his love and his music would be strong enough to save her, a task we know was ultimately futile but we still sing about it because maybe one day it will be different but also... He did make spring come again. He helped Hades be more secure in his love for Persephone so she could stay on Earth long enough for their to BE a spring. He did take a broken, strained marriage and help them communicate, make them whole. He did bring the whole world back into tune when he sang their song and another pair of distanced lovers began to dance after so long of arguing.

Everyone else got their happy ending but him and Eurydice.

He did not fail, he just not could not imagine that his song didn't have room for his own happiness. It's a reminder that for every triumph there is tragedy, every repaired relationship there is a breakup and that while it may be spring somewhere, somewhere else it is winter. I don't know, that idea of mixed blessing tragedies in the story intrigued me. Because someone's worst day may be someone's best. And that is why we must always sing these songs, to remember on the bright days and to get us through the darkness and to know, someday, spring will come again.

[thedeadthree]

𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐆𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃 ➸ irulanne . the rook .

𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 . 𝐄𝐋𝐅 . 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 .

-`. template by @kanos . coloring . icons .

✧ ― 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (ask to be added or removed or interact 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞!!):

@pavus, @wlwaerith, @shadowsofrose, @grapecaseschoices, @nokstella

@queennymeria, @risingsh0t, @carrionsflower, @leviiackrman, @griffin-wood

@confidentandgood, @aceghosts, @tommyarashikage, @shadowglens, @yharnams

@anoras, @theelderhazelnut, @florbelles, @celticwoman, @pinkfey

@kyberinfinitygems, @cloudofbutterflies92, @carlosoliveiraa, @shellibisshe, @adelaidedrubman

@lavampira, @capelizabeth, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @statichvm, @unholymilf

@aezyrraeshh, @imogenkol, @aceghosts, @full---ofstarlight, @ellierenae

[hide-your-bugs-away]

been thinking about these photos of Alan and Eric backstage at the Scene Club in London non-stop for the past two weeks........

[whimsicmimic]

once again thinking about transistor au and how much i love it and how much i want to go back to it

[whitehartlane]

as a fan of another pl team i think your problem is that your captain is son. he's too emotional and soft and instead of demanding better of your players he goes around comforting them and protecting them from the refs. idk i feel like he's probably let the band get to his head a bit and now he's pushing people like PEH (who have proper authority) away from the refs, it's a bit weird. strange appointment. he's trying too hard

know him do you?

[spyderschaos]

DnD character (Jolyn) backstory porq Alex(dm) ya me tenia loca

For most of her life, the sea was all Jolyn knew. She was born and raised on the Calico Jack by her moms Anne Bonny and Mary Read but dnd version so they were the captains bc I said so. She was born through magic bc Alex wanted to know how she was born idk. Her mom’s taught her everything she’d needed to know since she was old enough to… well do anything basically. Anne and Mary were sure that one day she would be the one to take over as captain of the Calico Jack and wanted her to be ready for it when they decided to hand over the reins.

Since she grew up on the ship, she got close to many of the crew members. Some even taught her things they had picked up from wherever it was they had been before. She learned how to be very sneaky, a skill that she definitely used very, very often. If something went missing there'd be no question that Jolyn had taken it. Of course, she’d give things back to the crew… she’d give most things back... she'd give some things back.

When she became a young adult, Anne and Mary decided that if Jolyn would one day be captain of the Calico Jack, she would have to learn how to lead a ship on her own. One that wasn’t the Calico Jack of course, not yet, I mean they couldn’t let anything happen to their ship and crew just yet. So they sent off Jolyn on a new adventure. One to start her own crew and take care of her own ship. And one day she would come back and tell them about all that happened.

And she did just that. However, the crew didn’t last very long. Turns out many of them ended up not liking life at sea and wanted to do something else with their lives, like start a boy band or something, who knows. So for plot reasons, they disbanded and set off on their own journeys once again.

After a long day of not having anything to do, Jolyn decided to stop by a spa. There she met others who were also looking for something to do. And off they went. To find something to do, a new adventure with a new team.

This is her :)

[starstaiined]

tatum is nine when they read the story of abraham and isaac during bible class. it is the first story that consumes her attention completely. the idea of believing in something so devoutly you could sacrifice what—who—you loved most without question scares her a little.

could she ever do the same?

the question sits heavy in tatum's mind for nearly a week: it plagues every waking moment and seeps into her sleep, twisting dreams to nightmares.

well, that isn't entirely true.

it isn't the question that haunts her. it's the answer.

tatum knows what the answer should be. she knows what good little church going girls should say. she knows what answer her mother would expect of her. she knows what answer the golden cross hanging around her neck should signify.

if god himself demanded the life of the person she loved the most, could she deliver the way abraham had?

the answer should be yes. undoubtedly. without fail. if the lord asked it of her there had to be a reason, and she should fall into line. the answer should be yes.

but it isn't.

because there is no world in which tatum could imagine giving up sidney prescott in any way, shape, or form.

not for a guaranteed place in heaven. not for god himself. not for the world. hell, not for the universe. because a universe without sidney prescott wouldn't be worth saving.

she wonders if that makes her a bad person.

she decides she doesn't particularly care.

on the sixth day of wrestling with the question and the answer, tatum sits up in bed. her hand clasp around the small golden cross glittering on the nightstand, and she bows her head.

"you can have anything else." her voice wobbles as she mutters to empty air, eyes squeezed shut in prayer. "you can have anything else, but you can't have her. not now. not ever. okay? i ... i mean it. do you hear me? if it comes down to a choice between you ... between you and her ... i'll choose her everytime." she swallows thickly, her little heart crashing against her ribcage violently. she thinks if her mother could hear her talking like this, she might have an aneurysm. "if you want her, you have to take me first, okay? please? because ... cause i don't think i could do any of this without her."

she sits in the quiet following that admission, the kind of vulnerability that makes her hands shake and her breathing stutter and her heart stall: sits as the air around her becomes palpable and tears well up in her eyes and it feels so unbearbly stifling in the small room.

she runs her thumb up and down the cross before setting it down on her nightstand. she picks up the stuffed bunny sidney got her for her last birthday—thinks of shy smiles and warm brown eyes that feel like the closest thing to peace tatum has ever seen—and her runaway heart slows.

she knows she made the right choice.

[lovelylittledollys-blog]

Oh my goodness....🥰😳🩷

reconciliation after a quarrel didn't come up with the reason of the quarrel btw lol

[ray2o2]

First time I did a drawing analysis to properly draw Mike and the others 😼

[upside-down-sock-drawer]

question:

folklore or evermore?

I literally just can't answer this. You're asking me to pick my favorite child. I love them both so dearly they're my favorite albums. Right now I probably listen to evermore more, but that's because it's getting close to winter and evermore is my winter album.

[bobbys-not-that-small]

the way he doesn’t look nervous to ask, he looks SERIOUS AND GENUINE

“So it's just us.” “Is that alright?”

BONUS:

*practicing making gifs with some of my fav moments*

[redflagshipwriter]

Ghost Driver 5

Masterpost

Chapter Five

Danny did not succeed in coaxing Robin out of his car at the cemetery. “I have a juice box,” he lied, shaking his hand inside his pocket enticingly. “You can have it if you go home.”

“I wanna stay.” Robin pressed himself against the opposite car door. His wristwatch was flashing again.

‘If I go to the other side really fast and open the door, he might fall out.’

“Let’s go already.” Jason sounded done with both of them. He had a hand on his forehead. “If we are going anywhere. There’s no point in anything.”

“That’s a bit much,” Danny muttered to himself. He heaved a great sigh at how ridiculous these Gotham people were. This place was silly.

“It’s not pointless.” Robin plastered himself to the back of Jason’s chair, bizarre in his sincerity. He peered around the headrest. “Why do you think that?”

“Dad didn’t pick me,” Jason said nonsensically, and extremely morose.

It tugged at Danny’s heartstrings. “Want my dad?” He offered. He sat back down in his seat so he could lean over and rub at the back of Jason’s neck. Jason rolled his head over towards him.

Jason sniffled.

“Your dad would pick you.” Robin leaned forward.

Jason lolled forward and put his face in both his hands.

Robin didn’t get a clue. “He loves you,” Robin pushed. He patted the back of the car seat. “Your Dad cares so much, du-“

“Back off,” Danny hissed. He gave the kid a glare. “Can’t you see you’re not helping?”

“Of course I thought that then,” Jason warbled. “I wanted my Dad to save me.”

“This is getting dark.” Danny scratched his neck nervously. They needed to change the subject. He put on an artificially bright voice. “How about we go do paperwork and a prisoner transfer!”

Jason didn’t answer. Danny turned around to see Robin.

After a long pause, Robin gave him a thumbs-up.

“Great.” Relieved, he patted Jason’s leg and then checked his seatbelt was good. “Aight, let’s go.”

“What exactly is going on?” Robin prodded.

“Uhhh…” Danny stalled for a moment as he finally contextualized how far off task he had gone. “Well, I followed a police escort to a weird militaristic asylum today.”

“Why?” Robin interrupted.

Danny gave him the stink eye in the rear view window. “Because I thought it might have been Jason who-“

He cut himself off with a cough.

Shit. He couldn’t share Jason’s personal information with the detective freakazoids. If they figured out he was the Red Hat, they’d never stop bothering him.

“You thought he would get a four police car escort?” Robin asked. He lifted an eyebrow in a way that made him look extremely punchable.

“Hell yes,” Danny said loyally. “I believe in him. He’s capable of anything.”

“Aww.” Jason genuinely sounded touched.

Robin twitched.

“Anyway, I met this freakazoid there, total creepo, found out he keeps breaking out and I punted him to the Infinite Realms but I guess I was a bit sketchy about it? So now I need to move him to a legal holding facility and get paperwork that proves the transfer to show Mr. Police guy, because he says he can’t allow kidnapping and I think that’s fair even if it’s a bummer,” Danny rambled. “In my defense, most of the time sending people to the infinite realms for being buttheads is the most appropriate course of action. When you have a hammer you see a lot of nails or whatever. Wheeee.” He accelerated to get over a police barricade.

Jason closed his eyes again. “I think imma be sick,” he said philosophically.

“You should probably rely less on false imprisonment,” Robin said in a mild tone.

Jason immediately repeated that in a mocking tone, complete with a flapping hand to imitate a mouth. “Was I really this annoying?” He mumbled. “Jeeze. Say like, golly. Gosh. Willickers.”

Robin looked extremely offended. He was deathly silent the rest of the car ride.

‘Spoke too soon,’ Danny thought, about a minute away from his destination.

“What are you doing?”

Danny ignored his shriek and hit Robin with his head to keep the little weasel from grabbing the wheel. “I know where I’m going,” he grunted, and busted through the construction barricade.

Robin braced. Danny flicked on a turn signal. Jason sort of grimaced and closed his eyes.

No one outside the car noticed or reacted to them, because of course he had gone intangible and invisible. He wasn’t a total dingus.

“It’s a long detour,” Danny justified. The car rattled angrily over potholes. He swerved to avoid an open manhole. “And we’re out.” He flicked back into visibility and eased the car to a stop outside the police station. “Just a second.”

“…What are you-“

He slammed the door on Robin and jogged up the stairs.

A young man coming down the stairs stopped and stared at him. “Hey,” he said, nodding.

Danny nodded back. Jeeze, what a handsome guy. “Hey yourself,” he said genially. “Scuze me-“

“Sorry, can I stop you for a moment?” He flashed a very white smile. “What are you here for? Maybe I can help you.”

Danny looked down to confirm that the stranger really had put a hand on his shoulder. He removed it sheepishly. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “I was gonna go ask a cop to come with me.” He rolled his shoulders.

“…I’m a cop,” said the guy.

Danny looked at him. He looked at his car. In the backseat, Robin tried to sink down out of sight. “Wanna come with me and my new friends to get some paperwork from a ghost cop?”

Handsome guy’s whole face twitched. “I sure would. Is that Robin?” He started jogging. “That sure looks like Robin!” He said, in a voice that might have been disapproving.

The door locks clicked on for some reason.

“No worries, I can fix that.” Danny plunged his hand through the window to manually depress the locks and then opened the backseat door with a flourish. “Got a cop, guys!”

Jay groaned and gave a thumbs up. He was still covering his eyes with the underside of his forearm.

The cop was standing still to stare at Jay. His face was unreadable.

“He’s got the front seat, so you’re back here with the bird, sorry.” Danny bullied the cop into his car and then flung himself carelessly back into the drivers’ seat. “Seatbelts on?”

Two clicks came from the back seat.

“I know the rules, Danny.”

“Awesome.” He gave them all a thumbs up. “Okay, uh, I am going to…” He hit the gas hard and accelerated down the streets of Gotham. Something thunked in the back seat when he took a hard turn.

“Are you leaving city limits?” the cop asked.

Danny nodded, heading towards the highway entrance. “I can’t bother Wulf to be my personal interdimensional portal guy, he’ll start to feel used. I’m gonna pop over to the cheese mansion and take vampire Vlad’s portal to the ghost zone.”

“Do we have any snacks?” The cop leaned a bit up into the front seat. “It’s just, that sounds like a pretty long trip. Are we gonna be gone all morning?”

“I’ll stop when we get to third street,” Danny promised. “Vlad is, uh.” He grimaced. “About two hours away.”

From the backseat came a sullen: “You owe me a juice box.”

“I never said that,” Danny lied. “Officer, this child is trying to rob me.”

Nevertheless, he did stop and promise to get Robin a juice box. The handsome cop guy hopped out of the car and paused weirdly outside the store.

Danny cocked his head and watched. “Are you posing for the security cameras?” He snorted. “You look like a model.” He headed in, ignoring the bemused “thanks?” that garnered. The two of them headed in while Jay malaised in the car and Robin attempted to become a dark cloud. Teenagers, man.

“I didn’t catch your name. I’m Dick, by the way.” Handsome Guy pulled open the cold door and started piling drinks into a basket. Danny edged past him on tiptoes to investigate the chip aisle.

“I’m Phantom.” He started tossing snacks over his shoulder into the basket. “Hey, do you have money? I don’t have much money. I can maybe cover, half of this.” He grimaced. “Maybe Jay would pay me back for his share, but he’s so out of it. Birds don’t carry money, right? That bird looks broke.”

“I can get it, I have a credit card.” Handsome Guy Dick snatched a bag of superhot puffed things and made his way to the check out. “Gas?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and obviously declined a call. His phone began vibrating again immediately.

“That would be a good idea, thanks.” Danny floated behind Dick to the counter, relieved to have a higher level adult present.

They were back on the road and about halfway there before it occurred to him that he should probably warn Vlad he was coming. Danny fished around in his jacket pocket. Nothing. He frowned. “Do you see my phone?” he asked Jay.

Jay said nothing. His head was lolling forward.

“He is out of it, my guy,” Handsome Cop Dick said genially. “Is this it?” He produced Danny’s phone.

“How did that end up back there?” Danny wondered. “Thanks, guy.” He unlocked it with his left hand and started a speakerphone call. As soon as it connected, he said, “I have guests.”

Vlad cut himself off mid what would have definitely been something like, “So you, Daniel Fenton, come crawling back to me, Vladimir Vlad Plasmy Plad, you, the son of my greatest enemy and tragically disinterested love interest.” He was just like that. The guy had no sense of discretion.

“I need to take a cop, a vigilante, and a guy I wanna date into the ghost zone,” he explained. The countryside flew by outside the window in a dizzying rush of green. “I’m on my way to your place to borrow your portal.”

“...How do you get into these situations?” Vlad sounded interested, damn him. His tone dropped suggestively. “You are constantly in situations, my lad. Perhaps it is a lack of paternal guidance-”

“Probably not,” Danny interrupted cheerfully. “But I hear you loud and clear, you have an empty nest and you’re not dealing well, say no more, I’ll send over the little gremlin and the big guy, let them know you just hit up costco and you want them to stock up-”

Vlad literally hissed into the phone. “Cease and desist. Fine.” He was outright pouting.

“Oh, you sound sulky.”

“I am going to tell your father that I want photos of you in the turtle halloween costume to put on a slideshow for investors.” Vlad’s voice dropped dangerously low. “I can convince him that there is a legitimate reason. He probably will not even ask why.”

Danny winced. “Truce,” he said. “I’ll be there in like an hour, okay? Can I take a car in through the lab?”

“A car?” Vlad shrieked. He sounded weirdly offended about it.

“I didn’t know his voice could go that high,” Danny said in a quiet aside to the car. Dick nodded. His expression was unreadable. Danny lifted his volume to explain. “They’re all humans, can’t fly, also now that I think about it I need some way to move the prisoner.” He frowned. He noticed the cop went very stiff in the backseat. Hmm. Yeah. The backseat was getting pretty full.

“...You are a disaster,” Vlad said flatly. “I will provide a more appropriate vehicle. I will accompany you.”

“You sure? I’m gonna have to see Walker. He hates you, right?” Danny switched lanes to pass a slow van. “He hasn’t told me anything, but everyone hates you, so he probably also does.”

Vlad hung up.

…fair.

[py-dreamer]

HERE WE ARE!!! PT2

Link to part1

Let. Wukong. Be. A. Good. Dad.

I know he tries his best for MK. He tries even if he's f*cked up a lot but he does care for the boy and his subjects.

But I mean like more content of him having fluffy moments with Mk in fandom PLEASE.

I love me some sunburst duo!!! I would eat it up

And praise the lord for artists and writers who do use sunburst duo!

Listen, I love my spicynoodles, shadowpeaches and freenoodles as much as the next person

But coming from an SBI fan who used to consume so much found family daily I kinda got hungover-

I kinda wish there was more platonic or gen stuff here...

Freenoodles + Mk fam and jackfruit duo are a godsend but do tend to get overshadowed a lot.

So I decided to yeet some to the pile with this adorable duo (hopefully you can actually see them through the dark, I swear it wasn't this dim when I drew it...)

Oh and yes this was inspired by that other sunburst duo comic I will try to link if I can but give that artist some love and I hope you can enjoy this too!

Man I did not intend to shade this much but gosh golly jeebas!

[vivwritesfics]

SOFT SWEET LAZY SEXY TIMES WITH BOB I BEG (you don’t know who this is - it’s anonymous 👀😘)

Oh golly I wonder ( @nurse-floyd )

One thing that you have to understand about Bob Floyd is that he lives to please. When it comes to sex, his partner is the center of his universe.

When Bob had you on the bed, the outside world was shut out. There was just you. You, desperately grabbing the sheets to keep you grounded. You, moaning out his name like a prayer.

Bob had tunnel vision. And at the end of that tunnel was you.

He was the king of eating pussy, had had drunkenly declared to your friends during a drunken night in your first year together. Maybe you had divulged the details too much, but you stood by that fact.

He was the king of eating pussy.

Like the time when you climbed into his lap and told him that you were pregnant. He had spun you around and kissed you, yeah. But he had gotten you onto the bed, laid you back and ate you out until your legs were clamped around his head and you could see nothing but stars.

This time, it was morning. The kids were at grandma's, and Bob had gotten up an hour ago to let the dogs out for a wee and give them breakfast.

For once. The two of you had all the time in the world.

He dropped a kiss onto your shoulder. "Morning, Robby," you mumbled and rolled towards him.

Something he was grateful for, because he got a better look at your face. He took your chin between his fingers and tilted your face up towards his own slightly.

"Open those pretty eyes," he mumbled, his deep, gravelly and laced with sleep. You obeyed and he dipped down to kiss you. "The kids don't get back until this afternoon," he whispered, still against your lips. "Wanna make the most of alone time, Mrs Floyd?"

You kissed him again and Bob rolled on top of you, caging you between his arms. Running your hands through his hair, you fixed it from where it had been messed up from sleep.

Bob's hands were sweet and gentle as he slipped your pyjamas shorts down your legs. You did the same, hooking your toe around the waistband of his underwear and pulling them down.

He sucked in a breath when your cold feet touched his skin. "Okay," he said, grabbing your legs and wrapping them around him.

His lips were against your collarbone as he pushed into you. You released a groan, tightened your grip on his shoulders.

It was slow and sweet, the two of you just enjoying your morning alone. You held Bob's cheek as you kissed him.

His hips didn't snap against your own. He wasn't so rough that your body bounced, bed creaking. Bob took his time. He held you close, body pressed against your own, as he rolled his hips.

"Bobby," you whined and he pulled away from your collarbone. "I got you," he whispered and held your hand in his own.

He was your everything, your soulmate. He held you, took care of you as he made love to you. The aim wasn't just to finish, but Bob always got you there.

As always, Bob clenched his jaw, trying to stop himself from finishing before you. But as soon as you did, cried out, clenching around him, he let go. He let out a grunt, forehead against your own, as he spurted inside of you.

Bob fell down onto the bed beside you, his breathing heavy. You shuffled towards him and laid your head on his bicep.

"Gimme a minute," he said through breaths. "And then I'll clean us up."

You blinked up at him and danced your fingers across his chest. "Or we could take a bath together," you suggested and kissed his chest.

"That sounds wonderful, Mrs Floyd," he said and tipped your chin towards him.

You kissed him but quickly pulled away. Pushing yourself up on wobbly legs, you climbed off of the bed. "I'll get the water running, Mr Floyd."

[justin-chapmanswers]

hi Justin! just want to say I ADORE ii and it's one of my favourite shows out there; actually inspired me to start my own!

which is a lame segue into my question- do you have any advice for someone wanting to make their own show?

That's so exciting!! Art makes art!

Oh golly uhhhh. There's so so much to say in so many different departments. So. I'll keep it broad and of course anyone can ask more specific questions haha.

My go-to advice tends to be for creators to start as small as possible early on. Even if you aspire to create projects that are huge-in-scale down the line. So much about becoming a great artist involves moving through the stages of your art (whatever type it may be!) from start-to-finish, every step of the process, over and over and over again. So say in show creation, idk if you plan to be hands-on in every department or if you have a lot of help, but that could mean breaking down stories and outlining, writing, recording, constructing audio scenes and boarding, character and prop and background design, animating, music assembly, mixing, finalizing and editing, etc, over and over again. Obviously not every step may be involved in your project depending on what your goal is, but whatever it is that you do, do it sooooooooo many times.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with jumping in and making your first project something say, movie-length, or something immensely complex in scope, I do find it can, for many (not all) be limiting when it comes to learning a lot of fundamental building-blocks in craft. As well, I see a lot of people get lost in an overwhelming project, trying to focus on quality>quantity right out of the gate. But spending the majority of your time just on adding some extra polish as opposed to running through the whole process again and again can only do so much for you. Obviously, a mentality of quality>quantity is great once you have a strong baseline understanding of production. But again, I think it's a huge plus to work on shorts and teeny-projects to start.

Since the above is pretty dry, I'll add an additional fun one. I've found that a lot of newer artists will toss away the concepts that make them joyous in hopes that they can instead create something that fits an objective perception of "professional." Nothing wrong with that, but I strongly advise artists of all levels of experience to toss everything they've love about the world and other media into their work. Their favorite genres and tropes, the stupid inside jokes that make them light up with their friends that they can invite the audience in-on, adaptations of stories that have made them cry. Create the things YOU love to experience. It's fine to let go of what you think the audience wants. Cause that's not easily guessable. But what YOU enjoy is something certain to you. It's sorta like how they say, it's better to go to the gym and do an suboptimal-but-fun workout that keeps you coming every day than a perfect workout that leads you to quitting. Share your joy with the world, and someone will resonate!

Be silly, be cringe, have fun!

[thinking-emoji]

RNZ interview mirror - the original file is exactly 700 kb too big for tumblr so I had to compress it slightly 🙃

Transcript under the cut!

YouTube megastars Dan and Phil will be coming to Aotearoa next week with a live show full of scandalous stories. For those who don't know them, these two Brits invented being internet famous. Coming to stardom in 2009, the pair have amassed a media empire with over 40 million combined followers, 2 billion views on YouTube, as well as a handful of best-selling books. Dan and Phil went on hiatus in 2018, with each coming out as gay soon after. This is their first tour together since then. The show is called Terrible Influence and it's coming to Auckland's Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre next Thursday, the 19th of December. I caught up with Dan and Phil earlier on the line from Australia.

DnP: Hello.

(Interviewer laughs)

D: Sorry, was that a weird stereo hello there? That must have been disturbing.

I: That's exactly how I wanted you to answer the call.

P: Yes, that's how we speak all the time. D: We share one braincell.

I: You speak in unison.

P: Yes. (laughs)

I: Because you two have lived together for quite some time, haven't you? D: We have. I: Not only working together for many years.

D: Yeah, like imagine like being really fed up with your co-worker and then you want to come home and you want to be like, God, this guy, I can't stand him. Like, what are we doing here, people?

P: Then he's in your house.

I: How long have you lived together for?

D: Errr, fourteen- P: No. D: No, thirteen- twel- P: Twelve years. I want to say twelve years. D: Twelve years, but it feels like 2000. Do you know what I mean? P: Time is not real. We don't know what's going on. D: At this point, we're like, you know, when you go to a zoo and there's two elderly tortoises that are about 400 years old. P: Yeah. D: That's how we feel. P: Yeah.

I: I'm glad that you've decided to, you know, take air travel to get to New Zealand.

D: It's literally the furthest place from home we could ever. So we get some tweets from people that are like, Dan and Phil, thank you for coming to New Zealand because, by golly, you've travelled a bit of a way. But hey, we're happy to be there. New Zealand is a beautiful country. P: Yes. D: And so are the people.

P: Whenever I come to New Zealand, I just want to move to New Zealand. I'm like, why am I in London when I could be in this beautiful, verdant land?

D: A lot of people do abandon for New Zealand and we understand why.

I: Yeah. Yeah. I'm glad that you do understand that. And it's your first big tour back since coming out in 2018. D: It is. I: The show is kind of a little bit like a gossip session. Is that right? Setting some things straight?

D: Absolutely. We're people that have been on the internet for a very long time and people have talked a lot of smack about us over the years, as a lot of people do with anyone with a lot of followers. And we're like, you know what? We all deserve to look back at our past. We all deserve to be roasted for the things that we did and said. That includes us being embarrassing and what our audience were like when they were all teenagers on the internet. But if we have a bit of a therapy session slash Catholic confession, we can end it with a bit of a hug and a pat on the back and go, it's okay. We survived. Here we are now in 2024. So it's like a roast and a healing session at the same time.

I: That must be quite an interesting thing because, you know, you both grew up on the internet and made so much content. You have this huge following that you've built. And so many people work really hard to kind of erase their former selves online. And that's probably something that you cannot do.

D: Oh, no. I would love to. It's too late. P: That's the thing as well. Sometimes our audience know us better than we know ourselves because they watch these videos so much. I never watch my videos back ever. So they'll come up to us at a meet and greet like, remember that thing you did in 2014? I'm like, no. D: No, I don't. P: I don't know what I said or did. D: But Phil, you love this ice cream flavour. P: Yeah. Speaking of ice cream, I'm excited for the Hokey Pokey ice cream. That was the thing I remember in New Zealand. I: It is good.

D: Yeah. Someone said, hey, you're excited to have it again. I was like, what was that? P: We don't have that. D: Don't you remember the time that you had it? P: No. D: Here, I've got this photo on my phone. P: Yeah. I'm going to have some more when I get there for sure.

D: That is not the main reason why we made the travel, but it will help with the jet lag.

P: It's 80% of the reason, I'll be honest.

I: Why is the show called Terrible Influence?

D: I think there's this idea that everyone on the internet, all these creators, all these TikTokers and podcasters are just horrible people that are trying to sell you some kind of crypto scam. And the truth is 90% of them are. And the question that we're asking is, were we terrible? What did we do to all these young people that watch it? Maybe the other question is, what did they do to us? Is what we do inherently bad? Is it a two-way street? Well, maybe we can answer that question and along the way just giggle so much that we kind of forgive and forget.

I: I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of the extent of your influence. But being in high school in New Zealand when Dan and Phil were first starting out, it was almost like a code word. (Dan laughs) It was how weirdos, kind of, identified with each other.

P: I think we've always been happy to kind of have representation for the slightly alternative people of the world.

D: Yeah, we like to joke that it's for the goths, the girls, the gays and the geeks. Any type of person that feels like on any level, they may not be completely mainstream. They may not be vanilla. They might feel other in any kind of way. We have an audience and we look out now because you understand when all these people were 14, it kind of looked like they were all teenagers. Now that they're all adults, some people are coming up to us, they're like, hi, Dan and Phil, meet my child. (laughs) But all these people have been in such different journeys in life. But it's knowing that, you know, back in the day, there was a place where no matter what kind of person they are, they felt like, you know what? Here in this comment section with these guys, I can just be myself and that makes me happy. I think whether that is something that we did do intentionally or it's an accidental byproduct of our influence, we'll take it.

P: And a lot of them have grown up with us as well. That's the lovely thing. So we're meeting people now that are just much older, but they're still watching the videos because we've- we've grown up and they've grown up as well.

I: Absolutely. And you took this hiatus, you know, from the internet. How long was that hiatus for and what was the impetus for it? And for coming back?

D: It was five dark years. P: Five years. D: And there was no Dan and Phil in the world until one day, like Jesus, we returned and here we are now.

P: We did. I think it's always a good thing to kind of have a moment where you're like, what's going on in life? Have a reset. And and I think we're kind of back now.

D: You know, like when everyone, you know, there was a pandemic and then they were like, you know what? My relationship, my job, you have decided it's not for me. I think we were trendsetters there. We did that early, voluntarily style, because we'd been going nonstop since 2009. And I was like, I just need to hit the brakes and look around for a little bit. And then I came back and I was like, hi, guys, I'm gay now. And they were like, ah, yes, that makes sense. But sometimes you have to hit the brake in life in order to take the space, look around you, take stock of things, make decisions. And ultimately, when you come back, it'll be healthier and happier.

P: And we didn't know this Dan and Phil thing- Like when we came back, we're like, do you guys still want these videos? And then, like, the reaction has been incredible, like, so many people watching the gaming channel. D: To the extent people thought Dan and Phil, you need to go on a tour right now. You need to get your butts all the way to Auckland (laughs) because I've been waiting for you to come back and we need to have a good night together. P: Yeah.

I: Yeah. And get out from behind the screen and kind of just interact face to face. You two are hugely into gaming and it's been quite a good pivot from YouTube to kind of try and be more successful, I guess. It's incredible how popular you are on these platforms. Can you tell me a little bit more about how that works and how you kind of make a career out of this?

D: Well, Phil's been doing it so long that he did it before YouTube could even monetize videos. He was doing it purely out of boredom and passion for the craft. P: Yeah. D: That's terrifying.

P: I'm a YouTube dinosaur. But I think with the gaming, we've got a Sims series, which we've got- how many episodes now? Like- D: Oh a hundred or so. P: A hundred episodes. And I think people follow along the journey with us playing the games. And it's like, I guess it's like when you were a little kid and you're watching your big brother play a video game. It's kind of that thing. You're just like watching along, having the bants. So I think what the people come to our videos for is more of the personality and us having a laugh rather than getting really into gaming.

D: Yeah! I mean, gaming is just the topic. It's like any type of TV or radio talk or commentary show, it could be about football, it could be about music and pop culture or the news, you just want to see people that you relate to, that you find entertaining, doing something that you find interesting and then you pair it together, and for lots of people they go: yeah! This is what i want to see P: Yeah.

I: Phil, how have you noticed the kind of gaming culture change over time, and was that something you're a little bit hesitant about, you know coming out as gay in that kind of domain, because we know generally that - you know, over the last decade-

D: The gamers are the worst demographic in the world absolutely- I: Things have changed. D: We’ve been on the internet since the ancient times and it's hard to say, like in a way obviously the internet these days, it feels like it's more terrible than ever, but in a sense it is a lot less toxic and a lot more wholesome and inclusive than it used to be.

P: Yeah, I'd say coming out on the internet is always going to be a scary thing, when you're saying that and being kind of vulnerable in front of so many people. Thankfully we've got such a great audience that the reaction was incredible, I would say.

D: And i think that what's great about the internet is that people can find their own communities, so even within spaces that you might think, oh they're dominated by this type of person – any subculture, any type of person that feels like, I want this space for myself – you can find it. If you want to order you know a ping pong club for girls with ginger hair called Susan that drink wine on a Tuesday, you can start that discord server, people will love it.

I: And I think it's nice to have those pocket on the internet where people can feel safe and can kind of commune together. You will be playing the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, on December the 19th. What about people who didn't grow up watching you, who think you might be quite funny right now. Like what could you say to them if you want them to come to your show?

P: I'd say, well luckily for you we have got a whole section of the start of the show which is the complete history of Dan and Phil in five minutes, so if you might have just slightly known who we are and be like, what's going on with these guys? We're going to catch you up in no time.

D: A lot of people drag their boyfriends, their sisters, sometimes like that mum that you need to drive you so you can have a couple of cocktails to the show, and we're like we need something for these people, we're going to catch them up, we're going to get them on our side, and if we have a spot- there's like a grumpy dad folding his arms in row three, I'm like, I'm going to crack you P: but- D: My mission for the night is you're going to be belly laughing by the end. P: They're always smiling at the end though. That's the thing, we do. We do crack them.

I: Oh and this will be your last show before a well deserved Christmas break, then back into the new year. What will Christmas look like for both of you?

P: I mean we're going to try and get home for Christmas. D: Yeah, yeah the question is, can we get back from Auckland on the 21st of December? P: Twenty- yeah. I think it's gonna be a challenge to get all the way home, but then I'm probably just gonna be asleep on my mum's sofa with jet lag, hoping to drink a lot of cocktails. D: I'm gonna slip into a nice coma.

I: I'm really glad to hear you are back together again.

D: Oh, well thank you! We really, really appreciate it and we're so excited for the show, so thank you New Zealand. P: Nice speaking to you!

@dnp-described