Dan & Phil Part 80: You're my plinth of life

[rizzo]

I'm not emotional, you are!

[liola]

I was angry at Amazon for letting me pay 15 pounds for one day delivery that is now pushed to next week, but that picture just made my entire day and some

[Ablissa]

Looong answer about giving people what they want, and as said earlier, I'm still confused
I don't feel like the tour did anything groundbreaking in terms of that. I really wonder if they are not referring to the bigger picture and talking about their entire change of attitude that's been slowly happening.

Edit to not sound like an ungrateful witch - this answertime literally did a 180 and went from disappointing to amazing. I love it.

[Amiaw]

Before this answer time I wasn’t so sure about how Dan felt about YouTube going forward but now that we know he’s not going anywhere I’d like to know how Phil feels because he hasn’t said anything about his future plans

[Ataraxia25]

dan's answer about the direction of his channel was amazing. i don't know why. i think i just like when they acknowledge things we kinda know already. but it did something to my heart.

also, i'm tired and have a bad memory: why does it seem that we already know about the sequin penis picture? when did they talk about it ?

[plinthofmylife]

I agree that I'm tired of Dan's stock philosophical response about "giving the people what they want" but I'm happy he's happy with what he's made; and I'm also happy that he's excited about figuring out what kinda of content he wants to make once he moves on from II season.

I am also confused by the sequin penis picture but this is going to bless my dreams:

[sonicgreen]

also, i'm tired and have a bad memory: why does it seem that we already know about the sequin penis picture? when did they talk about it ?

I'm also lost I can't figure out when they mentioned it??
I just caught up with all the posts so I can't relate to the waiting, (I can't tell how long the whole thing took) but I agree with everyone sentiment that the text posts were better than videos. Also wow they got sappy, I love it. And Dan's answer about therapy was really open

[glitterintheair]

They, uh, are really good at leaving us all emotional and stuff, aren't they. I loved the turn the answertime took, so many great answers.

I don't feel like the tour did anything groundbreaking in terms of that. I really wonder if they are not referring to the bigger picture and talking about their entire change of attitude that's been slowly happening.

Exactly, I am still quite '?????' about that, because i don't understand what they mean by 'giving the people what they want' in relation to the show. What EXACTLY did they give us? Genuine question, here.
But yeah, it definitely makes more sense if they are referring to the bigger picture. I decided that's what they mean, because I'll lose my mind otherwise.

[itasca00]

@Ataraxia25 @Im_new_here @sonicgreen Regarding the dick pic:

It's discussed in the directors' commentary. Dan said he would release it when the DVD was released and people started asking for it.

[hello9217]

i think the "giving the people what they want" thing is still confusing and not really all that groundbreaking to us but maybe to dan and phil, mostly dan, it did feel like a huge thing and makes complete sense ti them. maybe it's one of those things you feel but can't express in words. my favorite part of that answer though is dan and phil have all the time in the future do what they want but right now they are just focused on making their audience happy. i'm paraphrasing but that was the gist and it was very sweet.

i also was so over this q&a when it started but it really did pick up and make me extremely soft. fave bits were, phil saying he wants to inhabit chris evans to hang out with his...dog, finding out they apparently had abs, uh okay, the shoutout to the lesbians, and dan's therapy answer. all in all very good.

[rizzo]

They, uh, are really good at leaving us all emotional and stuff, aren't they. I loved the turn the answertime took, so many great answers.

I don't feel like the tour did anything groundbreaking in terms of that. I really wonder if they are not referring to the bigger picture and talking about their entire change of attitude that's been slowly happening.

Exactly, I am still quite '?????' about that, because i don't understand what they mean by 'giving the people what they want' in relation to the show. What EXACTLY did they give us? Genuine question, here.
But yeah, it definitely makes more sense if they are referring to the bigger picture. I decided that's what they mean, because I'll lose my mind otherwise.

I'm beginning to think it's sort of a cyclical thing:

Pleasing us makes Dan and Phil happy. -> Dan and Phil put on a good show (about pleasing us?). -> Show pleases us. -> Pleasing us makes them happy. etc and so forth forever.

There's no real conclusion. Only that by giving us what we wanted (an entertaining show), they were also made happy.

Though I think they've failed to understand that they could have literally sat on a couch on stage and chatted about peanuts and we would have been happy. Deeper meaning be damned.

But ofc Dan likes to have a deeper meaning in all the things. That makes him happy. So we've now returned to the cycle of everyone making everyone else happy forever into infinity. Amen.

[Ataraxia25]

@Ataraxia25 @Im_new_here @sonicgreen Regarding the dick pic:

It's discussed in the directors' commentary. Dan said he would release it when the DVD was released and people started asking for it.

thank you i get it now!

[intoapuddle]

So the short version of his essay about what "giving the people what they want" is:

We want to give you what YOU want now. We'll focus on what WE want later.

And that might be my own interpretation which is basically just what I want to hear, but it still makes me feel so... nice. Because that could mean anything and everything. I'm discovering that I like Dan's train of thoughts in written form a lot.

[lilabet]

That was lovely overall. A good mix of typed in depth answers and recorded witty ones.

I'm still missing gamingmas and I'm hoping for some baking and something domestic. In the meantime I'm making due with Tom Daleys Christmas stuff as they always go all out.

[rizzo]

So the short version of his essay about what "giving the people what they want" is:

We want to give you what YOU want now. We'll focus on what WE want later.

And that might be my own interpretation which is basically just what I want to hear, but it still makes me feel so... nice. Because that could mean anything and everything. I'm discovering that I like Dan's train of thoughts in written form a lot.

See, I get that. Completely. That was my understanding as well. My struggle is really with their assumption of what we want.

Because I'm not really seeing much of a collective ask from phandom. At least not one that isn't a direct reflection of what... Dan and Phil decide we want? @itasca00 said it best when they compared it to one big echo chamber. The things we "want" are just things Dan and Phil say frequently enough that we repeat it back.

Does that make sense?

Also, I'm pretty sure nobody asked for a second tour... (Now I'm just being shady at deps for now reason. I do acknowledge that they did that to see people who didn't get to see them last tour.)

[thedtomyp]

I feel like the ”Giving the people what they want” means them overall being more comfortable showing affection towards each other and being more open to us this year. I also think *putting my tinfoil hat on* that the reason why they wanted to do this now, is that they want to start focus on their own life offline (buy a house, get a dog...etc). AND I’m not saying that they will leave youtube or stop creating content, I don’t see that happening in a while.

[fancybum]

Aw that was a cute q&a, even if nothing exactly new was said. Dan's answer about his channel was kind of hopeful, but honestly "nothing's changing that much and i have no plans of going anywhere anytime soon" is kind of like a trick answer, since 'nothing changing that much' re: him not uploading in 9 months doesn't inspire much confidence lmao. Him not going anywhere just means we can find him on dapg for the foreseeable future. I SEE YOU DAN. But whatever, I'll take what I can get for now.

So I attempted to start some xmas shopping today and I saw their dvd out in the wild (I didn’t bother with the preorders, congrats past me), so I grabbed a copy.

Thoughts while listening to the commentary (and also seeing the show for the first time):

One of the first things Phil says is to watch the show before watching the commentary, but nahhh I’m going in blind. I watched tatinof exactly once and the cringe of it was a lot to deal with; I’m not expecting that to change with this show. Which is just another reason why seeing it in person would’ve been preferable, but oh well. Sloppy seconds for the plebs it is.

-I can’t even hear what they’re saying on stage, but just watching it is making me cringe. I heard the words ‘Boris Humperdink’. Okay.

-Oh it’s what they won’t be doing, okay good. As a people, I don’t want it. I bet this was all probably entertaining in person

-K Phil forgetting his 2nd shirt one time is very funny and very Phil, I’m coming back around

-Phil says he would do a hamster-breeding podcast. Maybe his final form will one day be a creepy internet version of David Attenborough- I wouldn’t listen to that, but I’d support him in spirit

-Dan’s shoulders look tense and it’s hurting my neck

-I’m dying inside at all the awkward movements, it’s too much

-I zoned out in self-preservation and now people are clapping and I don’t know what’s happening

-Phil’s slingshot fails made me laugh

-Both of them saying “Dan is a robot” is probably the biggest plot twist. Always the one you least expect

-Nope what’s happening, do not want. Truly don’t know what’s happening on stage, but they’re going on about yee-ing on the commentary

-Maybe I’ve watched too much David Dobrik, but watching D&P with the handbuzzer things just makes me want to see them whip out a taser and play a trivia game (are those even legal in the UK, I don’t think they are in Canada), it would be a Sight

-Sparkly jackets are just synonymous with stage shows in their minds I guess

-Dan with his hands on his hips forever makes me think of the wooden doll in the old Robaxacet back pain commercials
ie:

these spot the difference games etc etc

-Dying in many ways at Phil doing his diss track but I’m mostly just uncomfortable. I’m sure it was an experience in person though, congrats

-Now here Dan goes. I can’t deal with more singing, make it stop.

-It won’t end.

-Dan: “not to talk over the singing” NO PLEASE DO

-Oh it’s over, thank you. Well that was nice I guess. They should have kept talking over the credits. Commentary noobs.

Ok so. I’ve only got about a 37% idea of what went on during the show, what with all the talking over it, but even with the talking as a buffer, just like tatinof, it was difficult to watch. But the thing is, the cringe isn’t a criticism of THEM or the show, it’s just a very visceral reaction I have to seeing awkwardness/discomfort in other people (unlike manufactured cringe à la The Office etc, which I can deal with). It’s why I literally cannot watch reality shows. Like there’s just something about their physicality (the awkward arm movements, the too-muchness that’s overcompensating for them being self-proclaimed amateurs on stage) that makes me crave crawling into a hole rather than watching. Aka: it’s not you, it’s me. But yeah, it was a lot I could not deal with. Yet again, seeing it in person probably would have solved, or at least mitigated, that issue (what with crowd energy and irl excitement that just isn’t present when watching alone on a little tv screen, plus the general residual bitterness of the entire year, that probably doesn’t help).

They get extra points though because my PS3 controller hasn’t worked for like a week and I gave it a shot today (otherwise wouldn’t have been able to watch ii until the weekend when I’d be around a dvd player) and it worked! So they somehow brought a dead controller back to life. That in itself made the purchase worth it, even though I’ll likely never watch it again.

So now that that’s over with (if watching it once under a commentary counts, which it probably doesn’t), I don’t really feel any more in the loop than I have for a while. I’m curious to see how 2019 shapes up for them and by extension, the audience, because for all the talk I’ve been seeing of them being “more comfortable” with the viewers, I’m not really feeling that. Unless that’s ONLY in relation to chilling out about phan (which they’d done already… tatinof…) and being slightly less persona-y (which just means.. Phil having a quiff and mentioning dick, I guess).

But for Dan in particular, how is retreating from the audience a show of being more comfortable? Yay for not shying away from his enjoyment of working with Phil at all times (which had already been a thing all through tatinof and before/since…¿¿), but Phil is like a buffer now. If he’s not up to uploading on his own channel with solo content, fair enough (really liked his tumblr answer on that, yay), but not even doing liveshows alone anymore is like… why. They don’t want to be left alone with the viewers is how it appears to me. It’s like he doesn’t want to communicate with his audience as himself, but only as part of Dan and Phil. And seeing people say they don’t even care about seeing him by himself, in videos or in liveshows, is a huge bummer to me. I don’t want to only ever see his thoughts and attitude filtered through the presence of Phil (does he think that’s what people want? I mean going by a lot of comments, I guess it is, but that doesn’t feel great to me. Maybe he doesn’t care though, or even agrees, idk). It doesn’t need to be all one or the other, though, and I hope they remember that going into 2019.

Joint liveshows used to be a fun bonus treat, not the status quo. Same thing with collabs/cameos in their solo content. I don’t know, I just hope the concept of them being separate people with some separate interests, and differing views on life and their experiences and the ways in which they communicate them in videos or whatever, isn’t out the window for good. I'm hoping it was just the marketing strategy for II to finish out the year (and to relax after tour, blah blah blah), and they’ll start to re-establish, idk, the concept of separateness next year (at least SOME). January will be holiday hibernation for the first half, and Phil’s birthday for the second half, so I guess February it is to start to see what’s what, what the new normal might be. Continuing the forced exercise of patience that is being a D&P fan.

[intoapuddle]

So the short version of his essay about what "giving the people what they want" is:

We want to give you what YOU want now. We'll focus on what WE want later.

And that might be my own interpretation which is basically just what I want to hear, but it still makes me feel so... nice. Because that could mean anything and everything. I'm discovering that I like Dan's train of thoughts in written form a lot.

See, I get that. Completely. That was my understanding as well. My struggle is really with their assumption of what we want.

Because I'm not really seeing much of a collective ask from phandom. At least not one that isn't a direct reflection of what... Dan and Phil decide we want? @itasca00 said it best when they compared it to one big echo chamber. The things we "want" are just things Dan and Phil say frequently enough that we repeat it back.

Does that make sense?

Also, I'm pretty sure nobody asked for a second tour... (Now I'm just being shady at deps for now reason. I do acknowledge that they did that to see people who didn't get to see them last tour.)

I agree. I don't think "giving people what they want" is ever going to capture everyone's thoughts, though. Since the most vocal part of the audience is younger, I think those are the people that they inevitably listen to the most. I certainly didn't want a tour in the first place. I don't care to interact with them. But I'm just one person *shrug*.

I do think what a big part of their audience does want is the simple stuff. Just… being genuine and natural. Showing their true selves, their actual lives, and not consistently pretending that the business side of their lives doesn't exist. We don't need to hear another "lol so relatable Dan's depressed" or "wow Phil's such a precious clumsy angel".

What it boils down to is what they're comfortable showing us. I think that's what this tour was about. The last tour was much more of "giving the people what they want". It was a hesitant end to the whole "Dan And Phil as kids' content" era. Now, interactive introverts was the tiniest peek into the other side of that. I don't know if this makes sense, but it's just a watered down version of how I interpret this entire thing.

What I hope for the future is that they really do what THEY want. They'll figure it out eventually. It's a difficult balance to find -- what you're comfortable with people knowing while being true to yourself. I think everyone can relate to that even if their experience is on a much bigger scale.

(and yeah soz if im repeating topics i'm sure you've all discussed this in a much more in depth /lol/ intelligent way than i can)

[Amiaw]

So now that that’s over with (if watching it once under a commentary counts, which it probably doesn’t), I don’t really feel any more in the loop than I have for a while. I’m curious to see how 2019 shapes up for them and by extension, the audience, because for all the talk I’ve been seeing of them being “more comfortable” with the viewers, I’m not really feeling that. Unless that’s ONLY in relation to chilling out about phan (which they’d done already… tatinof…) and being slightly less persona-y (which just means.. Phil having a quiff and mentioning dick, I guess).

This is where I am at. I have been confused with a lot of their decisions since they announced the tour and although I've been satisfied with most of the content that we've gotten I feel like we understood them better in late 2016/early 2017.
This year has been all about ii which is understandable but once they gave us the PR write up about the message of the show they've stuck to that whenever they are asked about anything.

My one wish was that instead of trying to be vague or mysterious they would give me what I want which is an idea of their thoughts for next year. They can keep their personal lives to themselves but as a fan it would be nice to know if they have thoughts about their channels - what direction they are thinking of going in and how their liveshows and series are going to look going forward.

I've had so many ideas about dnp this year - at the beginning of the year I was still in my feels about them spending Christmas with the Lesters and then Feb/March happened and I wasn't sure what Dan was going to do or if DnP were going to continue as a duo but then the tour started and we got instagram stories and joint liveshows and so much content that I convinced myself that things were just going to continue to get better but now that ii is over I'm just not sure of anything. Is this blank slate going to get them back into a creative mindset? Are they going to stop playing flash games and start giving us original content on dapg? Is Dan ever going to release his mug? Is the dnp shop going to release any new joint merch that isn't a christmas card? - Clearly I have a lot of thoughts and am confusion but hopefully something is said in the next 2 weeks that shows me that we are going to have a good 2019 to look forward to

[knq]

I was writing down my favorite bits of the Directors Commentary listening to it for the third time and then I checked IDB and Dan and Phil were doing a Thing on tumblr. That was unexpected! Was I the only one who forgot that was happening?

I mostly haven’t seen the answer time yet but I did finish writing about the directors commentary.

Things I loved from the Directors Commentary in mostly chronological order but without actual time stamps:

Early in the show Phil’s a bit awkward about the different hats he wore as a police officer and Dan says ‘Phil doesn’t like that bit’ and he sounds so soft.

Phil really wants to talk about whether he’s milked a cow and Dan really wants him to focus on the show.

Probs just me, but Phil telling us he’s going to drink some water and Dan scolding him quickly followed by Dan also having a drink. I appreciate it when Phil let’s Dan know that doing normal things like drinking water is ok. I’m just really effected by old liveshows where dan thinks it’s not ok to drink water for 3 seconds or like... cough.

They were talking today about whether Phil would suit white hair.

Phil remembering Dan’s Australian accent sounds so affectionate.

Phil made so many of the ‘bad’ photoshops himself.

Dan loves Phil’s idea from a dream he had where people's hair changes like the trees with seasons.

They thought about having a tour dog but they thought it would be scared. They’re good boys.

Every Phil hip wiggle must be acknowledged and appreciated.

Phil wants to make the dads smile. Dan wants to make eye contact with them while he strips.

Their intentions for the show were so different—Dan just wanted to have his theme and Phil wanted to do a bunch of activities and they made it work.

Phil didn’t want to buy multiple stock images for the dogs, so he bought a collage to save money!

Phil finds a button to press. This is so random I love it.

Phil directs us to stare at his bum and then tells us not to stare at his bum. Dan and Phil in summary.

Phil is living out his magician fantasy. He claims Dan being his assistant is Dan’s fantasy. Dan would need to be more sparkly for that.

Baking tickles Phil’s pickle. Cool Phil.

Dan is a Barbie and Phil is an emo Ken.

Dan: “I think it’s just funnier to imagine me in pain. Imagining you... yeah. You know what I mean?” That’s fucked up Daniel. But also sweet.

If Phil hit Dan in the balls it would “ruin the rest of the day” according to Phil.

Phil really wants to talk about those showers.

Phil did not like being called boring and Dan moves swiftly on.

Phil’s private videos talk. Dan’s salty that people have a problem with Dan privating videos because Phil privates 100s more and it’s NOT FAIR MUM.

Dan’s keysmash voice because he wants to blow their own trumpet. Phil lets him.

The continuing return of the placenta branding.

They both think the other could work a beard.

Dan on Phil’s ‘character of amazingphil’ and how people precieve him is so spot on. “HE DiED FoR OUr SINS’ also he reassures Phil that we know he has a sense of humor. Dan cares about social justice and is sometimes a good friend. Phil insists Dan also sometimes has a good day.

The return of Dan being annoyed by Phil the messy roommate—specifically the cluttery type of messy and not the unhygienic type it must be noted.

Phil: ‘I like explaining jokes.’

The wrinkles on the screen are wrinkles. Thanks Dan.

Phil’s instant ‘polar bear!’ when asked about Dan’s video.

When Phil explains that buying a caged animal is funny and Dan realizes he is correct. Phil realizes his mum would have preferred a dvd boxset.

Art improves Phil’s life, Nigel.

“Grand Panyon”

Acknowledging ‘John’ as a name Phil would use If he were making up an ‘audience’ question.

Dan: Phil Lester we are geniuses.
Phil: thanks

Dan drew a penis in sequins on Phil’s back. Again: Dan and Phil in summary.

Phil is impressed that the sequin jackets were cheap.

Dan is so, so encouraging of Phil’s diss track performance. It’s incredibly sweet to listen to.

If I don’t try too hard to unwind the threads of Dan’s themes to understand them the way he does, the commentary is so pleasant to listen to and I fully agree that they’d make an awesome podcast. Bring on the hampster breeding tips.

[alittledizzy]

But for Dan in particular, how is retreating from the audience a show of being more comfortable? Yay for not shying away from his enjoyment of working with Phil at all times (which had already been a thing all through tatinof and before/since…¿¿), but Phil is like a buffer now. If he’s not up to uploading on his own channel with solo content, fair enough (really liked his tumblr answer on that, yay), but not even doing liveshows alone anymore is like… why. They don’t want to be left alone with the viewers is how it appears to me. It’s like he doesn’t want to communicate with his audience as himself, but only as part of Dan and Phil. And seeing people say they don’t even care about seeing him by himself, in videos or in liveshows, is a huge bummer to me. I don’t want to only ever see his thoughts and attitude filtered through the presence of Phil (does he think that’s what people want? I mean going by a lot of comments, I guess it is, but that doesn’t feel great to me. Maybe he doesn’t care though, or even agrees, idk). It doesn’t need to be all one or the other, though, and I hope they remember that going into 2019.

I'm definitely one of the people who says I don't need Dan back solo, but reading your reaction to II made me realize that while we're reacting to entirely different things your description of how it makes you feel is actually how i feel watching Dan liveshows? I think the reason that I don't crave Dan solo stuff is because I associate it with the liveshows where he's most viscerally uncomfortable with the audience, where he doesn't seem to trust or like us, and I have such a strong distaste of how much I leech anxiety from watching it that I've enjoyed Dan through the filter of Phil more than I did by himself because it makes me personally less tense.

What I do think I'd love is Dan making videos and doing liveshows in 2019 that he felt comfortable with and seeing that reflected back, without losing the core of what makes people love Dan content - his passion, his opinions, him getting 30-45 minutes to ramble about whatever he wants and fondly shit talk some premium questions.

(I realize I'm picking the point of conflict to reply to, but I loved your whole post - and I have zero defenses of II, the parts you thought were probably cringe were just as cringe in real life. It was entirely just audience energy that made it palatable irl.)

[CapriciousCrab]

I'm definitely one of the people who says I don't need Dan back solo, but reading your reaction to II made me realize that while we're reacting to entirely different things your description of how it makes you feel is actually how i feel watching Dan liveshows? I think the reason that I don't crave Dan solo stuff is because I associate it with the liveshows where he's most viscerally uncomfortable with the audience, where he doesn't seem to trust or like us, and I have such a strong distaste of how much I leech anxiety from watching it that I've enjoyed Dan through the filter of Phil more than I did by himself because it makes me personally less tense.

I'm another one of the people who doesn't really miss Dan's solo content for similar reasons. Both his liveshows and his videos seemed to have a hint of resentfulness/anxiety to them and it made for an unpleasant viewing experience. I don't want to spend time watching someone who makes me feel bad for watching him. I'm hoping that if/when he starts posting in 2019 that he's more comfortable with the person he's becoming. And that he'll actually enjoy making videos like he used to.

Overall the q&a was good. Not much new was said but I appreciate their attempt to connect with their viewers.

[huphilpuffs]

Hi all! It's been a while since I've posted on here so I'm really sorry to come back with a #spon but I'm doing a project on tumblr that I really wanted to share with you all (and maybe get you interested in it).

It's called PhandomCharityWorks and it's an auction charity within the phandom! We have 31 auctions open for art, fic, graphics & beta'ing from various phandom members. People just bid, and if they win they get a fanwork (or service) as offered by the creator. All proceeds go to supported charities, including PhandomGives (the others are all organizations deppy have supported).

Currently, we're in the auction phase, which all takes place via Google forms. It's going really slowly atm, so all the auctions are still at very affordable bids (many of them at just one or two pounds minimum).

If you're interested, here's the tumblr post detailing the bidding process and linking to all the auctions.

I really hope you guys consider participating. It's all for a good cause. And if you guys have any questions, you can ask them here (I think?) or send an ask on tumblr and I'll be sure to respond.

Thank you and I hope you guys are having a lovely holiday season

[ratlad]

oh wow i missed everything oops
that sequin penis picture is something else huh

[thestigdrivesamini]

the parts you thought were probably cringe were just as cringe in real life. It was entirely just audience energy that made it palatable irl

This! I watched the digital version of the show and it was far less enjoyable than seeing it irl. it really was the whole experience and the audience energy that made it fun (and hanging with @alittledizzy who entertained me more than the boys lol)

Looking back it was pretty cringe. I think the biggest part is what everyone is saying here- that was not what I wanted. The message of the show was unclear and there was no resolution. If they wanted a genuine look at who we are, there were better ways to go about it. They clearly don’t know us as well as they thought. I love them to death and parts of the show were great; however, if the goal was to look at our relationship and analysis our needs then it did not succeed.

I hope they take this new information (we’re not all 12 year old straight girls!? WOT?!) and solidify the bonds they made this summer with us. I adore the content they’ve been putting out recently and can’t wait to see what 2019 holds