#i love phil so much wow :')

[lesbianphan]

Dan had to post that sappy shit today of all days I'm actively CRYING they've done so much for us just by being visible and out and HAPPY in front of our very eyes and I'm SO PROUD OF THEM like my god I'm not okay in the slightest but this community means so fucking much to me and to know the world tried to knock them (and all lgbt people really) down SO MANY TIMES and got so close to knocking Dan down, but he made it through and he's here and queer and filled with such JOY and LAUGHTER and they give the laughter and joy to us whenever they share a bit of content and it's so much it means so fucking much... we all went through so much shit.... I need a hug fucking hell I'm literally crying

[tommyssupercoolblog]

I love Dan and Phil because I, too, am in a very publicly affectionate, deeply devoted, codependent, attached-at-the-hip, literally obsessed with each other, besties but also lovers and also soulmates, seperation-anxiety-if-seperated, functioning as a pair/duo at all times relationship with a sarcastic man who has dark hair to my blonde hair and has an edgy aesthetic to my uwu aesthetic. I know the feeling. I relate. I get the vibes.

Half the time when someone blogs about Dan and Phil I'm just like damn that could also be about us....real

All my pair-bonded bitches in the phlub TONIGHT?!!!! raise your arms on the dance phloor and say "I AM PEACHLESS!!!"

[rabbit-harpist]

rose’s sanctuary, materials watercolor, pen, sharpie.

reference

mid process

[evermorepeyton]

i literally loveeee your dnp x f1 fic so much

that actually means the world to me

thank you so much 🥺🤍

[death-by-mercury]

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝙻𝚒𝚣𝚣𝚢, 𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙹𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑 𝚃𝚅 𝟷𝟿𝟽𝟸

[olymphianblood]

ok guys its not funny anymore when is d&p hard lauching im starting to getting anxious /hj

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

Lmao my friend got salty bc I told them a pic I showed them was of Pluto and not the moon (they assumed it was the moon and were telling me how in uni they were talking about the moon being blamed for madness in the past) and then I used the term "MA" later in the text convo (bc they're doing a master's and we had done a BA together) and they were like "It's an M Phil" and I'm like babes you're doing comparative literature how in the ever loving fuck is that able to be an M Phil

[Btw i know it can be but it was just the way they responded]

[p1utofairy]

PICK A CARD: BARBIE edition.

★ which one of your manifestations is coming towards you?

NOTE: take what resonates, leave what doesn’t. i feel like people are in need of some positivity and encouragement so here you go! 🍬

pile one.

hi pile 1 🌞 wow i feel like you have a very bright personality! it's so potent and beautiful. you can light up any room you walk into, and once you start seeing your beauty for what it truly is, that's when you'll really become a magnet for the things you desire. i feel like you've come out of some deep situations that left you confused or wondering about your true purpose in this lifetime – but don’t let anyone or any situation ever dim your light or take away your power. your soul purpose is really special and i think you’ve been looking for clarity or some sort of answer/solution to this lack that you’re feeling in your soul. you will definitely receive a message and/or an answer to what you’ve been seeking to find. i see this manifestation being a dream come true, pile 1.

you’ve put the work in and now you’re about to reap the benefits of your labor. this could be a new job, career path/major, business opportunity or an increase in your finances. your spirit guides want you to put yourself out there and say YES to whatever this message might be. you already have the motivation and desire for it, so it just requires you to take action and be confident in your choices in order to receive it. you might downplay yourself a lot or make self-deprecating jokes that ultimately put you in a lack mindset. i’m hearing “psh…yeah right. i doubt something as extravagant and nice as that would happen to me.” but why? whose to say what tomorrow will bring? your guides want you to lean more into your optimism and have faith in yourself, and understand that you truly deserve all the great things that are about to unfold in your life.

you know how to make light of situations, so use that to your advantage. i feel like you have a great sense of humor lol but be kinder to yourself okay? it can be really tough when life starts throwing curve balls at you, but it’s what you choose to make of it. as phil dunphy from ‘modern family’ said, “if life gives you lemonade - make lemons and life will be all like whaaaaat?!” so go out there and show the world what you’re made of!

pile two.

heyyy pile 2! i feel like you're coming out of a period of grief or a loss of some sort – a powerful transformation. i feel like this is more about letting go of a toxic mindset and freeing yourself from negative energy/situations rather than on a physical level. for some of you, a loved one could have recently passed or a connection you had with someone ended but i think it’s more so that you’re in a period of transition and starting to accept things for what they truly are. you’re no longer letting anything or anyone hold you back. you’re gaining momentum in your life path, and your spirit guides are so very proud of you!

they see how much it’s taken you to get to this point in your journey. it’s taken a lot of patience and discipline, but you’ve persevered and made it through - and for that you will be rewarded. i feel like you’ve been trying to manifest a change of some sort…whether that be physically moving out, going on a vacation/traveling, going out more or just a genuine change in your everyday life; i’m happy to say that you will be receiving that! you’ve been slowly but surely focusing on yourself and nourishing your mind, body and soul. you’re now starting to realize that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to…you might be seeing a lot of signs/confirmations like angel numbers, repeating patterns, symbols or animals.

you’re starting to realize that surrender is key - not everything can be in our control and sometimes that’s a tough pill to swallow but that’s just the way of life and it usually works out in our best interest in the long run. a flow of abundance is on its way to you. you can manifest anything you want in this lifetime, it just comes down to your mindset and the power of your words. continue to be at ease and let your actions speak for itself, you don’t have to prove or explain yourself to anyone. you’re on the brink of success and it’s coming in fast, just make sure to always stay grounded and remember where you came from. heavy is the head that wears the crown; you know what you’re capable of and what you deserve so don’t let the pressure and weight of life hold you down. keep moving forward, it’s all going to work out in your favor.

pile three.

pile 333 i just wanna give y'all a hug 🥲 y'all are really going through it right now. heavy water sign energy. do y'all have any pisces, cancer or scorpio in your chart? i get the sense of someone laying in bed…just staring at the ceiling like why? why me? you're trying to process a lot of intense emotions and center your energy, but it's taking a toll on you right now. you feel very alone and and unsure if you can talk to anyone about this. not even trying to be funny, but yeah it's giving existential crisis barbie.

if you've seen the ‘barbie’ movie, you know the scene where barbie just gives up and lays down flat on the ground and they're like "she's not dead. she's just having an existential crisis." 😃 real AF but no no no you gotta quiet down your mind. you can 100% feel and process your way through these emotions, but don't let them take control over you and make you feel like you’re doing something wrong or like you’re not doing enough – release that negative energy! i feel like your mind is going a mile per minute, and you can’t even form a rational thought without getting upset. in terms of your manifestation, i feel like you’re really craving love right now. you’re ready to go out there and bag the person of your dreams, but your guides just want you to first take this time to quiet your mind and trust in them & second believe that love is going to find you no matter what. don’t force it…don’t question it — believe it.

you could’ve had a couple of instances where you thought it was the real thing, but it turned out to be really disappointing and not what you wanted. that’s your spirit guides telling you that you can’t force it. this new relationship will find you naturally and it will be everything you’ve ever dreamed of plus more! this person will not only be your lover, but they’ll be your best friend and your confidant. you will feel absolutely liberated and comfortable to take on any challenge with them by your side. however, you need to let this wave of emotions pass and understand that what’s meant for you will NEVER pass you. you got this my pile 333's 🦋 it will be in reach soon.

[pseudophan]

nora i went to the show last night (best night ever, i had so so so much fun 😭) when phil is supposed to pull the party popper in the dollhouse when they say gay it wasn’t going and he tried like 6 times and then dan was like are you alright and eventually he grabbed it himself to help and he couldn’t do it either and was like wow this is really on there 😭 then finally he just pulled it super hard and screamed gay and it popped and phil was like yeah we might not be able to use these anymore 💀 also when phil said the 15 years line he messed up and said “in 15 years….. no wait” and dan was like omg… and walked over and grabbed his shoulders and started walking him off the stage and said “come on grandma let’s get you to bed.. in 15 years it’ll be 15 years (old man voice) phil’s turned into a fucking old man”

nora i love them so badly

ohhh i love the bits where they go off script so much :( especially when it's unintentional lmao they're so cute it's so devastating. also hilarious to me how phil can't get the 15 years bit correctly to save his life, at this point he's just inventing new ways of fucking it up every night 😭 i love him <3

sidenote does anyone know of an audio recording of this show? so many people have asked for one but there doesn't seem to be any going around that i can see at least

[star-anise]

Do you ever learn something about someone you already disliked and go "Oh of fucking COURSE they would do that"?

Today I learned that Dr. Phil from TV's surprisingly real Ph. D thesis (in clinical psychology, even!) was on a psychological intervention for rheumatoid arthritis. All his participants were women.

Of fucking COURSE he did a "think the pain away" program. Ooof COURSE.

(People with chronic pain need psychological help that includes finding ways to live with pain and develop positive mindsets, especially because the subjective stress of being in pain can feed back into physical wellness in a nasty loop. But ever since Freud, doctors have loved to assume that the MAJORITY of cases with pain they can't easily diagnose or treat are actually psychosomatic, so we wouldn't be in pain so much if we weren't, to risk using some technical jargon, melodramatic hysterical pissbabies about it. So psych interventions for chronic pain tend to focus on making people complain less far more often than it's about solving the actual problems people with chronic pain frequently face.)

I just feel like wow. Yeah. That's absolutely the kind of Ph. D thesis someone like Dr Phil would write.

[xoxoladyaz]

AU-gust, Day 6: Domestic

Eddie Munson was a rockstar. Eddie Munson was a renegade. Eddie Munson was a bad boy, living life on the edge, destined for wild nights on the open road, for success and fame and riches. Eddie Munson was – 

“ – ridiculous.”

“Excuse me?” Eddie whirled around from psyching himself up in the mirror to glare at Jeff. Jeff, who had the utter nerve to roll his eyes at him.

“You’re being ridiculous, man,” Jeff repeated.

“He’s not being ridiculous, he’s being a baby,” Gareth cut in with a snort.

Eddie gaped at his two best friends, his musketeers, his brothers in arms. “What – I – how dare you! I am not being a baby, I’m Eddie fucking Munson, I’m a high-rolling freak on the streets and in the sheets - ”

“Dude, gross.”

“ – who’s ready to rock across America!” He finished emphatically.

Jeff just quirked his eyebrow at him. “You’re literally pouting right now.”

“No, I’m not!”

Jeff and Gareth shared a look before sighing in tandem. “You’ve gone to bed before eleven every night the last few weeks. The rest of us aren’t even out of the venue by the time you’re asleep,” Gareth started.

“Not to mention the fact that you can’t do anything in the morning until you’ve called and talked to Steve,” Jeff continued.

“And if you can’t talk to Steve during his lunch break then you’re grumpy for the rest of the day.”

“You keep complaining about the fact that none of his shirts smell like him anymore - ”

“ – seriously, you threw a temper tantrum until Stu stopped and bought a bottle of his shitty cologne for you to spray on your pillow - ”

“ – and you keep making super long and sappy speeches about missing your ‘sweetheart’ every single performance before we play ‘Faithfully’ - ”

“ – it’s embarrassing dude, we’re a metal band!”

“ – and to top it all off, you literally can’t go more than three minutes without talking about Steve or what Steve would think of what we’re driving by and God forbid you make any sort of decision without talking to Steve first.”

Eddie stood frozen, paralyzed by the heat rushing towards his face. “I – I do not!”

Phil walked in from the back of the bus and chuckled. “Dude, you literally called him to ask if you should order ketchup or mustard with your burger last night.”

“I - ” Eddie sputtered before crossing his arms. “I – he was having burgers too and I wanted us to match!”

“Awww,” Gareth cooed mockingly, fluttering his eyes back at Eddie. “That’s so sweet.”

“Ignore him,” Jeff said, shoving Gareth off of his chair. “For the record, it is really sweet, man. So why are you trying to hide it with all this ‘bad boy of rock and roll stuff?’”

“What do you mean ‘hide it?’ I’ve always been a bad boy.”

Silence. (If they weren’t on a moving bus and had their windows open, it would have been the perfect moment for a symphony of crickets to kick in.)

Eddie squeezed his arms against his chest and pouted (and yes, he knew he was pouting this time, thank you very much.) “Rude.”

Jeff rose with a sigh and crossed the tour bus. When he reached Eddie he threw his arm around him in a half-hug. “Eds, my man, I love you, but you’ve only ever been scary looking.”

“Seriously, you’re the sappiest guy I know,” Gareth added unhelpfully.

“And before you say that’s not metal,” Jeff kept going (and yeah, he knew Eddie pretty well to head off that train of thought), “that’s what sets us apart from the rest of the bands on the scene.”

“What does?”

“You being a super loving guy, man,” Phil nodded with a dazed look in his eyes. “Truthfully, I think love is the most metal thing of all. It can change the world.”

“Wow,” Gareth snorted after a few moments, “have you gotten up close and personal with Mary Jane already today?”

“Well, yeah, but - ”

“What Phil is trying to say is that you’re made of love, dude. And it’d be a real shame if you lost track of that, especially because that’s what we love about you, and that’s what Steve loves about you,” Jeff finished. He squeezed Eddie’s shoulder comfortingly before letting go.

“You’re right,” Eddie rubbed his hands against his arms. “I know you’re right, it’s just – this was supposed to be what I wanted, you know? Touring and fame and the open road. But - ”

Jeff prodded him gently. “But?”

“But I miss Steve,” Eddie sighed. “I miss seeing him come home every day. I miss waking up next to him every morning and falling asleep next to him every night. I miss his delicious pasta dinners and his burned pancakes because he always burns them and I just – I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this. I just miss him. But I don’t want to give up what we have either.”

The boys were silent for a moment, looking amongst each other and back at Eddie, who was wilting in on himself.

“Well,” Phil started, “we don’t have to tour like this. We could just do weekends maybe?”

“Or summers,” Jeff hummed thoughtfully. “That way Steve can come with us.”

“And Will!” Gareth perked up, grinning. “He doesn’t take classes in the summers, he’d be able to come with us then.”

“And that way by the time we’re done touring, Steve will be headed back to work and you can be home with him,” Jeff nodded, like it was decided. “We can definitely make that work.”

Eddie’s voice was small and quiet when he spoke. “You’d really do that for me?”

“I mean, it wouldn’t be just ‘for you,’ it would be good for all of us, but yeah, man. We just want you to be happy. That’s way more important than any tour.”

Eddie nodded once, twice, and then he was throwing his arms around Jeff and tackling him to the floor. “Thank you thank you thank you, you guys are the best, Steve’s gonna be so excited I gotta go tell him RIGHT NOW - ” and then Eddie was off, whooping happily into the back of the tour bus.

Jeff sat up from his spot now on the floor and exchanged looks with Gareth and Phil. “You’re good with that, yeah?”

“Dude, if Eddie wasn’t going to say anything, I was,” Gareth shook his head. “Eddie’s way less of a slob when Steve’s around.”

“And he’s a great cook! I’m getting tired of all this Taco Bell.”

“Speak for yourself, Phil!” Gareth growled, affronted, and the three remaining Corroded Coffin members began arguing about the nutritional benefits of Taco Bell.

(When they finally went on tour again the following summer it was a much better experience for everyone involved. Eddie was almost constantly in a good mood, Gareth didn’t feel the need to strangle Eddie for hogging the phone, Phil ate his weight in homemade – or hotel-made – pasta, and Jeff? Jeff got to enjoy himself without any worries about his best friend losing his way, because anytime Eddie got a little stressed or in his head, all it took was one look at Steve and he was okay, and that was more than worth the crowded tour bus.)

[cursed-frog]

A Slightly too long / in depth documentation and analysis of the unofficial Dan and Phil colouring book by shout magazine

Alright buckle up chuckle fucks because this book is simultaneously a very nostalgic and strange time capsule of how the public saw them. Circa 2015-2017

We start off with the book cover, showing up what's in store, from the credits, most of the pictures that you see are from their Instagram because of copyright or something so you probably won't find anything original.

OK so, first colouring page I can't even look at directly because the faces freak me the fuck out, It's genuinely so creepy, and they have made no effort to stylize them, only just add some quirky text bubbles and background patterns.

Next page is a full spread of them which looks slightly better, from the wellies they're wearing this might be a still from when they were at a BBC radio festival, overall better but still souless.

For the third page we have a Tyler Oakley cameo and our first non colouring activity. This actually made me cackle so fucking hard because the thing is basically asking you to write your own self insert YouTuber quiz role-play. Iconic. As for the art, what can I say, they look like soy jacks.

Nothing to say other than the word 'tops' only bar gave me a good chortle.

OK. This fucking page. The art is fine Phil kinda looks like a piece of crumpled paper, but the real weird shit is the would you rather because this is ODD

Most of it is fine, but, I REALLY FUCKING HOPE THAT THE HAMSTER THING IS ABOUT PHIL'S CHILDHOOD HAMSTER BREEDING. JESUS. Also, some of these have nothing to do with them? wym nandos?? With the sock's thing too... Generally icky page.

Moving on, we see the writer struggling to find stuff to talk about, so they just tell the audience to just put something here that reminds you of them. Eh?? OK I guess

Their eyes. Wow. And a crossword puzzle, cute.

ok next pages I don't really have much to say about, they're fine

The ick that this page gave me hurt my soul

and that's it, I love documenting history.

[dnpbeats]

drop the dan loving goblin phil essay rn

(in reference to my tag on this post)

OKAY SO! In BIG dan says this about phil: "And this is when, through the magic of the internet, I met Phil. And obviously we were more than friends but it was more than just romantic. This is someone that genuinely liked me. I trusted them. And for the first time since I was a tiny child, I actually felt safe. [...] Especially to anyone that has experienced the kind of self-hatred that I have dealt with, one person accepting you can make all the difference" (ty @goldenpinof for the transcript 🕺). Now obviously, this is in the context of dan being gay so for the most part he's referencing his sexuality here when he talks about being accepted, and I am not trying to undermine that at all. But I think that phil's acceptance of dan went deeper than just his sexuality (goblin Phil comes into this I promise lol).

dan also talks a bit in BIG about how he was nerdy and was bullied for that before he was bullied for being gay. He's also mentioned other times how being nerdy/geeky didn't use to be accepted. In the 4/13 stereo show, dan says: "Before YouTube, if you were a nerd, you felt like you weren't a valid member of society unless you were, like, captain of the football team or whatever. [...] Now, thanks to social media, it's like 'oh, okay, well if someone like Hank Green can exist, I'm fine.'" What's extra interesting about this example specifically is that dan is talking about representation in response to a fan prompting him to talk about queer representation in media. So like, yes the majority of dan's struggles in accepting himself were surrounding his sexuality, but I do also think there was a layer of being a nerdy kid at a time when it wasn't cool or fun that added onto him not accepting himself. And I do not think that that's completely separate from his nonacceptance of his sexuality.

So, what exactly does this have to do with dan expecting phil to be super debonair and then having those expectations shattered? But then still wanting phil, arguably even more than he did before? Well, I think that phil was (and is) unapologetically himself, and that was inspiring for dan to see. dan said in BIG that he didn't meet an out gay person until he was 18, so either that person was phil himself or he met phil shortly afterwards and phil was therefore one of the first out gay people dan knew. and we know from phil's coming out video that he wasn't ashamed of his sexuality at that time. but phil's acceptance of himself goes beyond his sexuality, like just look at his YouTube content at the time. he was doing experimental stuff that was weird as shit (I don't mean that in a bad way I like his old vids!). most people probably would not have the confidence or self-assurance to make the stuff he was making, let alone post it. and then, beyond that, he was just a nerdy guy himself! but it was something that he openly talked about online and we know he and dan bonded over video games/tv shows/etc.

And now let's think about this from dan's perspective. He's been watching this guy's videos forever. He's been talking to him online for the past couple of months, and while he was talking with phil (rather than "amazingphil"), I'm sure there was still that element of like "wow holy shit I can't believe I'm talking with amazingphil!" Hence why dan says in the mean girls video that he was expecting phil to be all "hi, I'm amazingphil! 😏" when they first met (also side note, when dan starts to make this joke phil starts doing it at the same time, so I'm sure this is a discussion they've had before lol). but Phil wasn't like that!!! he was all hunched over and awkward and dorky! because he was nervous!! BUT he wasn't ashamed of that. he wasn't trying to put on some AmazingPhil™ Smooth Operator Refined front. He was just himself. Unapologetically so. And for dan, I think that that meant so much in terms of accepting himself, but also feeling accepted. because how was he going to believe phil when he said "dan I love you for who you are" if phil was hiding himself around dan?

So yeah, I think that's why dan saw goblin phil, not amazingphil, and was still like "yeah I want to build my life with this person." Because for him, phil represented self-acceptance and being accepted and a safe place and someone who he could be on the same wavelength with and true unconditional love and someone he can geek out with and someone who will let him yap for an hour about whatever the hell dan has decided to talk about that day. of course he would like phil more than whatever version of amazingphil he had built up in his head. because phil loves dan for who he truly is and dan loves phil for who he truly is :)

[unproduciblesmackdown]

while orville is also: right there

you Know that phil is So [lying on his bed beaming writing in his diary kicking his legs] about liking orville

[missycolorful]

I think I'll just say this: I don't agree when people call any of the islanders "bad parents" just because their parenting is flawed.

Like, parents and their parenting is flawed. Inherently. One parent cannot meet all the demands of their child; it is literally impossible. As humans are imperfect, there will always be something missing or lacking in one's parenting. Hell, sometimes even two parents can't meet all their child's needs, depending on their personalities. If that's the case, then I guess all parents are bad parents. But that's not the case, so I don't get why people are so adamant when they see that a parent isn't handling things 100% perfectly and go "wow this person's parenting sucks."

And this is even more so when you take into account... pretty much everything going on in Quesadilla island. These people never really planned to be parents, yet here they are! And this island is out to kill these kids, so it's also a dangerous game of survival now, too! There are horrors around pretty much every corner. Plus, outside or inside forces are making the islanders suffer very often. The islanders are never okay. How they take care of their children is going to be different just by the very basis of their environment. The standards of parenting are different here. Their relationships with people, including their children, were never going to be 100% healthy or positive or okay. It's just not possible.

so, no, I don't think that just cause, say, q!Tubbo or q!Phil aren't great in regards to their emotional intelligence and often isolate themselves, or when any other parents in general don't handle what their children are going through perfectly, that they're bad parents. That kinda statement feels like it diminishes pretty much all the hard work and effort and love they put into taking care of their kids and even kids that aren't their own. Tubbo gives his everything for Sunny, and was/is an active babysitter for a lot of other eggs. Phil works so hard to love and teach survival to and take care of his two eggs equally. (Like, being 'basically' a single parent, of one or WORSE, two, is already hard enough in the real world - imagine being one on this fucking hellscape they're on).

Like, I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out the parents' flaws. Their flaws make them human, and it'd be foolish to disregard their humanity. And it's interesting to analyze their flaws and what they say about the character, and how they impact their family. There's nuance there, and it should be discussed.

But I think when you're just going "oh, they're bad at parenting in general" because they fumble the bag in other departments lacks nuance. Sure, if you're just saying "they're bad when it comes to certain aspects of parenting," that's a different story, because that's understanding their flaws while recognizing that those flaws don't define all of their parenting. But to just say they're bad at it in general isn't productive analysis of their characters in any way. I haven't watched q!Phil take care of his egg for a whole year (followed by a second egg more consistently shortly after) only for people to shit on his parenting just because his lack emotional intelligence is more noticeable as of recent due to all the trauma and bullshit he's endured. And I haven't seen q!Tubbo put his whole heart into taking care of Sunny as well as multiple other eggs, being Chayanne and Tallulah's reliable godfather, just for people to put down his efforts because he's not always great at more emotionally in depth conversations. They're good parents in a lot of ways, and those strengths shouldn't be discredited just because they aren't good at other things. Their characters deserve way better than that.

tldr these parents are all good in many regards and are just trying their damn best in the worst of circumstances, can we cut them just a bit of slack, please?

[ufo-driver]

I'm sorry, I was out here like "OMG HARD LAUNCH?!?!?!!?" when dan literally said 5 years ago,

"And this is when through the magic of the internet, I met phil. And obviously, we were more than friends, but it was more than just romantic. This is someone that genuinely liked me. I trusted them. And for the first time since I was a tiny child, I actually felt safe. And the relationship that we formed at that point was something that I needed in my life. We are real best friends, companions through life, like actual soulmates."

"It's so lucky to just find someone you can be that compatible with, and especially to anyone that has experienced the kind of self hatred that I have dealt with, one person accepting you can make all the difference."

How did we just...gloss over this? Soft launch??? No!!! Dan literally poured out his heart (at the most he could be comfortable with online) over how this one person that he met allowed him to be vulnerable, feel safe, and allow him to see in himself how wonderful he is. Through Phil loving and accepting him, he has learned to love and accept himself. Phil is literally his rock. Phil makes him feel safe. His happy place is with Phil.

I know that we've all said this a dozen times, but wow...Dan was right to call us out for our media literacy.

I don't think we were ready to hear such poetic words at the time. It's like we literally need to hear "WE ARE DATING/MARRIED" in order to be convinced, but clearly their relationship is so much deeper than that. It's as though for years we built up the idea that one day they were going to sit down on a couch together and "come clean" about their truth or whatever...but...they don't really need to? We already know, and they know we know. Why would they need to explain anything?

They want to live authentically. And that's what they're doing! Living in their home together, going on holiday, and just being so adorably domestic. To any other person that don't know them, they'd be like "yeah, that's a couple" and move on.

I'm just glad they both get to be happy, and I'm honestly relieved of any pressures on my psyche that a "hard launch" could have. Like...how much harder of a launch could you get than that quote??