Dan & Phil Part 59: the literal other half

pilotlight · Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:54 am

The Quick Draw video was cute, they were really in some kinda mood.

I think Phil tried to think "inside the box" more this time but he was so energetic that it made up for it. I'm amazed that the AI identify his attempt at "yoga" to be quite honest, so well done Michael Marshmellow.

Since everyone else is sharing:
I got introduced to D&P through my husband, I only been watching them since summer 2016. I think he was subscribed to Phil early on, but had stopped keeping up with his youtube subs for awhile, then found Dan much later through his collabs with Tyler Oakley. After some binge-watching, he thought I'd like their gaming videos so he got me to watch the Just Dance video and...it was all downhill from there. :number1: We still usually watch their videos together but he's got no interest in the fandom really.

Edit: I think this is my first post to hit the top of the page that is more than a single trash sentence, wow.

ididntaskforthis · Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:56 am

Hi! I am very very new to the phandom and especially to IDB, I literally made this account in the past hour.

I started watching youtubers (Tyler Oakley, Jack/Finn, Zalfie, Grace Helbig, etc.) when I was 14 (I'm 22 now). I would see Dan and Phil videos on my recommended list but they never caught my attention. I stopped keeping up with youtube for quite awhile but fast-forward 8 years and I am now full demon phannie trash. I had no idea two grown men could have such an impact on my life in three short months. (Yes, I've only been watching them since August and I'm in deep #IDidntAskForThis).

I really like IDB because it provides a more mature and logical approach to topics as opposed to other platforms. I am also relieved to hear that there are older people in the phandom and that it's not just a bunch of 12-year-olds.

This is probably the only post I'll ever make on here but it's very nice to hear everyone's "origin story" lol

Edit: I wish there was a way to like posts because most of y'all are quite insightful and just plain funny

alch · Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:39 am

ididntaskforthis wrote: Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:56 am I really like IDB because it provides a more mature and logical approach to topics as opposed to other platforms. I am also relieved to hear that there are older people in the phandom and that it's not just a bunch of 12-year-olds.

Welcome dude

I've always liked IDB for the same reasons. I found it when I was bored and didn't want to look at endless gifsets but still wanted some good old Dan and Phil chat, and the fact that people could write long paragraphs about Dan and Phil here intrigued me. I like how people would respectfully argue with each other, instead of angry phannies and antis yelling constantly, and how everyone acted extremely maturely. I'm glad I found this place.

MyCartoonHeart · Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:45 am

Hello everyone! Since everyone seems to be telling their "Phandom origin story", I'd thought I'd share mine too

I think I started watching YouTube about 2012, and the first YouTuber that I liked was Ryan Higa. I watched all of his videos, and even followed him on Twitter and Facebook. Then I went to college and kinda forgot about YouTube until February 2016 when I lost my job and was going through a lot of personal problems. I turned to YouTube in order to distract me from all the crap in my life, and I found myself finding Let's Players and gaming videos as my go-to genre. I liked watching people play all types of games, but my favorite was The Sims. I used to love playing The Sims when I was younger, but had to make myself stop due to literally becoming so obsessed with it that I'd play for hours on end without any type of break. Enter Dan and Phil, who are the only YouTubers to have a Sims series that I enjoy following and watching, even though lately the videos/story isn't really going anywhere.

I didn't start watching DnP's main channel videos until April of this year. For some reason I just thought they weren't the type of videos I'd like, since I didn't watch vloggers (or whatever you'd like to call their genre of videos). However, I was bored and had already watched everything in my subscription box, so I decided to click on one of Phil's Why I Was a Weird Kid videos. Although I didn't find it funny per say, I remember having the biggest smile on my face, and for the first time all day feeling calm and happy. After that I was hooked, and I think I've watched almost everything they've made now.

To me, they (and their content) make me feel a way that no other YouTuber does. I watch YouTube for entertainment (it's like my TV), and people like Jacksepticeye and Markiplier produce content that makes me laugh and that I enjoy watching their content with a bowl of popcorn. However, Dan and Phil's content makes me feel more...relaxed? content? not so much alone, I guess is how I'd describe it. When I'm feeling anxious or sad, I'd turn to their videos to make me feel better. They don't necessarily make me laugh out loud (some of their gaming videos do), but I always get a smile on my face when I watch them.

So fast forward to now, and here I am! I'm sorry for such a long post, but I just thought it would be fun to tell my story

As for everything going on in the Phandom lately, I'm trying my best to not get excited for Friday. I agree that it's nothing personal, but I also hope that it's not just them going on tour or announcing new merch. DnP would never come anywhere near where I live (not that I could afford tickets to see them) and I don't buy merch, so I'm hoping that the announcement is something free that everyone is going to be able to enjoy. Either way I'm very intrigued to see how it's all going to go down.

Whommel · Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:00 am

I found them last spring through Shane Dawsons conspiracy theory video. I'd seen posts about them on Tumblr, but that was what made me see a video with them. I think the first ones were Photo Booth and Diss Track. Quickly fell into the rabbit hole.

I'm 39 and will definitely go to London if there's a tour (if they don't go to Denmark). I've travelled alone for drag shows many time and met lovely people, so not scared to do that. But I will probably look like someones parent.

VengefulBlue · Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:24 am

emerald wrote:Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:13 am I find it really interesting how a lot of Phandom members were with DnP during Dan's no homo phase and unsubbed because they thought he was homophobic. I wonder how many people were driven off because of that and what they'd think of modern-day Deppy?

short answer: i was there, i couldn't watch, and i'm glad they're being more authentic again.

long answer:

(note: i found an entire box of old diaries, so a lot of this is paraphrased/extrapolated from vague shit i wrote when i was a literal child)

2007 - i found phil's channel in october. i was 11, my father was dead, and watching phil made me laugh for the first time in 4 months. he was the first channel i subscribed to when i finally made a youtube account.

2009 - i was a dedicated fan, followed phil on all the sites, and found dan through him. my 25 october diary entry read "phil made a video with his new boyfriend, they're cute." they were weird 'alternative' queer kids like me, and i looked up to them a lot bc they were pretty 'out', and they still had friends and seemed happy.

2010 - i lost access to all my social media accounts when we changed internet providers, started high school, and forgot about dan and phil entirely. i also came out.

2012 - my older sister started watching the whole british youtube crowd and showed me a lot of them, including dan and phil. i thought they seemed familiar, watched a lot of old stuff, and vaguely remembered them as my queer icons back in the early days. but when i tried watching new videos, i saw dan being very

and i was heartbroken. like maybe the world wasn't really getting more accepting and things weren't going to get better or easier, bc these guys i had idolized were suddenly in the closet again. and if they couldn't do it, how could i? i couldn't really be mad tho, bc i ended up playing straight for the next 2 years, and i said similar things. so i avoided watching dnp bc it hurt too much. it just reminded me of how scared i was of being "found out".

2014 - i graduated high school and came out again. i rediscovered dnp when they stated playing sims. i had watched occasional videos from them, usually only collabs with other people i liked. i ended up binging all of their videos and i was surprised and relieved to see them going back to 'normal', so i decided to give them a try again.

i'm glad i did because as dumb as it is, i feel like every year they get closer to what they used to be - the brave boys that gave me my first real glimmer of hope, half a lifetime ago. i'm so proud and so excited to see what comes next

i got distracted and ended up taking literal hours writing this

bantstrash · Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:59 am

blackdenim wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2017 11:06 pm It's so nice to see that there are so many older fans on here! At 29 I just assumed I was the eldest by about 4 years or so, but it's great to read that there are others in their late 20s/30s and 40s (and even beyond!?). Am wondering how the older fans found/got into D&P? A few have said through kids which is cool! I would have loved if my parents had embraced my teenage interests1

I personally have been watching YouTube for about 10 years, so I found Phil and Dan when YT was a lot more age appropriate for me than I guess it is now, and never really grew out of them.

How about the rest of you?

A bit late answering but I joined tumblr because of supernatural and someone I followed posted a gifset of dan’s fandom video. I watched a few of his videos, found phil watched some of his and subbed to both. Just before they set up the gaming channel I think? Might be wrong there. And because I am unable to like anything a normal amount I eventually found GG (only ever lurked) and then here.

Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:40 am

I'm 29, people i'm closest with and talk to in the phandom range from early twenties to late 30s. but i've also been friendly with teenagers. the oldest fan I've personally interacted with was in their mid 50s. oh, and i found dan and phil through a vlog of Louise's in 2014; i believe dan was walking back to her room and had bought a drink for himself and 'phil', who i assumed was his partner.

i enjoyed quick draw so much. the comment on the curved shape being a vibrator was great.

you just don't see many toys designed for the vagina with that curved handle on the end so i knew they were identifying an anal toy.

some stamps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO3lWngb ... dPhilGAMES

0.05 - dan can't remember the name of the part of the gun he 'blew' was. phil gives him a knowing smile and then does a series of cute sound effects.
1.02 - phil: this is gonna end in blood shed, and dead daniels.
(dan has a sweet subtle reaction)
1.26 - smile amused by phil's ramblings about being so good at art
2.30 - flamingoes were dan's favourite animal as a child. he says this almost sadly. phil thinks they smell bad
3.05 - dan comically cranky
3.15 - phil sings 'hello hello baby'
3.19 - for some reason dan's cranky voice is just so comical to me. it's different to his gamer rage. more voice-cracky. 'it's not a knee!'
3.38 - dan pushes phil's chair out of excitement
3.45 - dan high pitched excited voice. 'yeah i did!'. pushes phil gently with his elbow
3.57 - phil tries to sabotage by softly squeezing dan's bicep. dan: oi oi oi oi... (big phil grin)
4.22 - whiny boyfriend dan, competitive phil
5.00 - phil shades Amercians
5.40 - high pitched dan mocking four legged birds. phil wants one of them tattooed in his back.
6.10 - dan: that's like a vibrator, or a hair dryer.
phil: or both at the same time.
(...thanks guys for identifying a curved anal toy and thus forever painting that picture in our minds) (no hint of sarcasm, really, thank you)
7.05 - dan gets extra voice-breaky at phil's attempt.
7.18 - dan picks up phils hand and moves it, presumably off the mouse so he can't just click to the next one, in an attempt to get him to slow down.
dan: 'are you still alive?'
phil: i'm trying. wait, just wait. zen, zen, zen. (wave hand motion).
he stutters briefly explaining his thinking behind the drawing.
this whole interaction is very interesting to me.
8.40 - dan is not a marshmallow fan.
9.48 - stuart little, lol.
9.50 - phil's arm on dans chair
10.03 - all or nothing teasing
10.25 - phil: get your breads out for the lads
11.08 - phil: i got really stressed then
11.15 - dan: underwear? what kind of underwear?
phil: (firmly, without hesitation) a thong!
dan draws a thong (quickly, without hesitation) ...without a back string. so assless, basically. from experience?
11.44 - singing together
11.52 - phil: wouldn't want to get those confused, would you? (dan pulls a face). #seahorse furries confirmed
12.06 - phil: i got nervous again, then.
12.22 - phil accidentally opens Save As. their desktop shows it's Monday 6/11/2017, at 6.37pm.
12.10 - high pitched dan voice
12.17 - dan: yoga? downward dog, do it! go, go! (i see a hint of a repressed smile)
12.33 - genuine non-over acted response here, dan is beaten and phil is ecstatic. gives a big toothy clenched winning face (lol) that we don't see often. dan gives a pursed grin that is not his prissy face. he looks happy for him.
12.43 - phil hides cutely behind his fists, totally immersed.
13.18 - dan mocking phil pretty mercifully but it's so funny.
13.32 - jumpcut and dan is eating the marshmallows, phil begs for some, steals some, then dan throws them at him dramatically and starts faux yelling. this entire interaction is just delightful, silly, unselfconscious playfulness with a hint of flirting. phil is especially animated and cheeky and enjoying himself.
14.45 - phil asks dan if they're in the end screen, and dan is surprised. this just perfectly summarises a video where it felt like they were at that delirious, happy stage of being over-tired; the professional act is dropped and their reactions aren't manufactured. significant lack of 'presenter Dan' voice i noted. breaking the 4th wall by asking about the end screen feels like an influence from doing the gaming livestreams, also.

dansnose · Thu Nov 09, 2017 9:09 am

hey hey everyone are sharing their phandom origin story and i wanna join the party

the first time i’ve ever seen a deppy video was on october 20th 2016 when two friends of mine who fell out of the phandom in 2014 forced me to watch pinof 1-7 bc i was depressed and they tried cheering me up.
now, i only knew of dan and phil as the “2012 icons of cringe” and was honest to god sure they peaked in 2012 and haven’t uploaded since (plus other friends forced me to experience the hat fic in july 2016) and i was firm on the fact that i hate them lol. and at this point i didn’t even know who’s dan and who’s phil and aside from casually watching youtube here and there i really was unfamiliar with youtubers and how the platform works.
so anyways, i was unwillingly watching all pinofs and when pinof 4 was playing i typed out in the chat “dan is cute i will willingly watch him” and that was the worst moment of my life

i joined during spooky week 2016 and my first dnp video was THE monster pops video which means that i was born into the amazing post baking universe (yay)

of course i started catching up with all their channels and videos and 2009 timeline and “researched” about them Hardcore and they’re definitely my main interest

i found idb though bc i saw people on twitter/ tumblr refer to it as some sort of taboo website and started lurking out of curiosity and posted like 3 times in early 2017.

i only now came back to idb since i really love discussing dan and phil a bit further deeper than memes or demon tweets that will get me followers and retweets and i really enjoy the fact that there’s a platform that feels mature and not as shallow as other platforms are in the overall. i really appreciate idb and the general atmosphere here and i’m happy i decided to get back on here

edit: forgot to mention that i’m 20

blackdenim · Thu Nov 09, 2017 9:53 am

Have just had a really enjoyable start to my morning reading all your Phandom stories - thanks everyone! I'm intrigued by how many people have been watching Youtube for as long as myself, but only really found D&P (through recommended, comments, etc) in the last few years! Back when I started, Phil basically was YouTube

he was on the front page almost every day and it just seemed like he was everywhere to me.

lilabet · Thu Nov 09, 2017 10:17 am

I’ve been watching since around 2011 I think. It’s so hard to tell.

I used to mostly be on LJ and did watch YouTube but mostly for fan videos and interviews. I found vloggers and Dan and Phil later on. I was into Adam Lambert and got linked to a makeup video for one of his looks.
I then started looking at the recommendations and exploring. I eventually got to Dan and Phil and I’ve watched them ever since. I’ve dipped in and out of the fandom as I’ve focused on other things but I’ve always watched them.

misakichan274 · Thu Nov 09, 2017 10:18 am

Thanks so much for the timestamps mermaid blood, they were hilarious

Really lovely to read how every one first got introduced to/ really into Dan and Phil.

I didn't watch youtube much but my friend was into the british YTers and I first heard about them through Zoe's video maybe a year and a half ago where she was reading fan fiction and something went down at 'Dan & Phil's house party' and the comment section was flooded with Phandom. My first impression hence was of an emo looking gay couple who apparently hosted a lot of parties lol

kalli · Thu Nov 09, 2017 10:23 am

I haven't posted in a couple months but all this tour discussion has lured me back. I absolutely thrive on concerts or anything with a similar atmosphere, so this DP Touring company and all of Dan's hints from Tuesday have me a bit too hyped

My mind went straight to a tour with the way Dan was alluding to one, but I understand why "the thing" caught a lot of people's attention, since it definitely sounded like something separate from the tour talk and potentially related to whatever is happening on Friday. I interpreted it as a tour being the Friday announcement, and "the thing" was just mysteriously dropped as something else he's up to this week. But I guess only time will tell...

alittledizzy wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:40 pm I actually think a tour could be pretty fun if we actually get to vicariously travel with them this time - and without them hoarding pictures and stories for a second version of DAPGO, that seems like a real possibility. Remember how fun them going to Singapore this year was? I would so be down for a couple months of couple instagrams in various gorgeous new locales.

Yes yes yes, I was living for the Singapore trip and having that for a couple months sounds amazing

I also hope they can go to a bigger variety of places this time, and that seems likely if they opt for more of panel/q&a/meetngreet rather than tatinof 2.0, which would only require booking conference halls rather which I assume is much easier than theatres.

Re: Going alone/standing out at shows -

smartcookie · Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:13 am

Hi! Pretty much first time poster here! I’mloving all the getting into deppy stories so i though id share mine

(if anyone’s interested lol)

I only got into the guys last summer with phil’s “I killed my houseplant” vid cos that video kept being recommended to me (i almost exclusively watched jse back then, i watched every single video every day without fault for like four months) so i thought, okay I really dont have the time for another fandom right now but Yt was just PUSHING it in my face time and time again so i finally gave in and the rest is history lol. Ive always found it quite odd though how i knew i would get sucked into the phandom hole before watching and therefor avoiding, suppose my intuition is better than i give it credit for!

My only deppy experience before that was 2015(?) when my sister briefly watched their sims lp, I didn’t really get into it and never thought more about it, but my sister kinda hung around because so did one of our shared friends so when she (friend) a few months later read the hat fic my sister took it upon herself to read it out loud (to me, first friend and another friend) us others weren’t bothered cos we either didn’t watch them or just wasn’t fussed but my sister was scared for life and couldn’t even watch them again until recently!

Birdie · Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:24 am

I got into deppy in late 2012/early 2013 because a friend sent me a link to one of Dan's videos. I don't even remember which one. I wasn't really into youtube back then but I had been into youtube a lot as a teen in 2007/2008 (mostly Neil Cicierega and the Vlogbrothers) and apparently that one video of Dan's was enough because I spent the next few weeks watching every single video of his and then all of Phil's and of course the Super Amazing Project. Those were the days. Looking back 2012 was probably the worst time to be introduced to them but I didn't even realise there was drama since I was just watching their main channel videos and didn't follow any phandom accounts on Tumblr. Funny thing is I tried to talk about deppy to that friend who sent me the link back then a few weeks ago and they said they weren't even interested in them anymore. I don't think they remember it's their fault I'm here now.

mm_sunny1993 · Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:53 am

I actually watched Phil's videos back in 2008/2009 and I remember that pinof 1 was the last video I watched. After that I kind of just stopped watching YouTube in general up until 2012. I just watched a lot of gaming and vlogs but didn't get back to watch Phil's videos. I rediscovered them through their 'We're moving out' video because it got recommend to me. I knew who they were at that time because they were literally everywhere (which is one of the reasons why I never actually wanted to watch one of their videos, I thought they were overrated). I really enjoyed the video and went to Phil's channel and when I looked back through his videos I noticed that I had already watched his first ones so I was a bit confused but started binge watching their videos (especially dapg) and got pretty hooked.

captainspacecoat · Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:02 pm

I am laughing @ me-of-24-hours-ago who was convinced Dan's reaction to someone suggesting they play Quick Draw again was a Clue only for it to literally just be bc they really did film another Quick Draw vid - clearly I am not psychic at all.

I discovered Dan in December 2012 (when I was 16) as he was intensely popular on tumblr at the time, and I actually followed him on there before I watched his videos. He used to pin his most recently uploaded video to the top of the tumblr dashboard (only his followers could see it), which was a feature that existed on tumblr once upon a time, thus I started watching his vids, and naturally discovered Phil a week or so later once I'd watched all Dan's vids.

In January 2013 I googled something like 'Dan and Phil gay' because I was having a sexuality crisis of my own and I was curious, and was led to GG. I witnessed the birth of phantaray, and the phandirectory, and it was a super exciting time - I felt like I'd stumbled on this forbidden secret or something. Those were wildly different times, and we used to get hyped over the most mundane of interactions. "Shipping phan" was simultaneously super common and super taboo, and I remember just being very confused a lot of the time.

While there was obviously a lot of negative stuff happening at the time (fairly understandably so, looking back on it), it was still a fun time to be in the phandom. I have such fond memories of getting home from school on Mondays to watch the radio show from the night before :')

Anyway, as I got older I became preoccupied with study and as a result I got bored of them in late 2014, and stopped watching their vids. I came back in March/April 2016 when Dan's anime video was recommended to me and I watched it for some reason, and perceived a noticeable change in him. I never would have thought things could be this good for them, and while that first stint in the phandom will always be important to me, it was very different to this second round. I would wholeheartedly say things are better now than they were back then, and 16 year old me probably would not believe her eyes if ten million fireflies she could see the way things are now.

bluntedclaws · Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:08 pm

Reading through everyone's origin stories I'm intrigued by how many of you are/were vlog brothers fans. I've tried watching their stuff once in a while because I'm aware that they're very big YouTube icons but I have found them really boring. Are there particular videos or an era that people like. I want to like them. I'm a big fan of John's books. (I just realized that this it technically off topic. Sorry)

lowlyphan · Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:18 pm

Hi everyone ! I'm loving reading how you got introduced to Dan and Phil and the Phandom!

I'm 18, I've fallen down the rabbithole a year ago in August when I got a recommendation for Dan's diss track on you tube, i felt so intrigued when I watched it and of course as I didn't know who they were and didn't get the references I wanted to know and since then I haven't left. But I remember very clearly watching the "Punk Edits in real life" video when they uploaded it back in 2015 or their collab with Connor Franta on his channel when I was very into american youtubers, I was like "who are these two ? I don't know them, i'm not interested, good bye.", never wanted to watch more, it's kinda funny when I think about it now since I'm head over heels for them, they make me very happy, I was super depressed last winter, gamingmas, the boncas and the baking vid were a true blessing

. I got hooked within an hour, wanted to learn their history, dug a lot on tumblr (discovering the shipping aspect/why people think they're together, The Video... made me go full demon

) and then somehow I discovered IDB around september i would say, I thought the concept was amazing but I started reading the threads daily only last december, i mainly lurk because I don't have anything interesting to say but while I'm at it I just wan't to say that you are all amazing and reading your thoughts is so nice !

btw sorry if I made any mistakes english isn't my mother tongue and I'm not completly awake

Edit: wanted to add a few things

alch · Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:45 pm

bluntedclaws wrote: Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:08 pm Reading through everyone's origin stories I'm intrigued by how many of you are/were vlog brothers fans. I've tried watching their stuff once in a while because I'm aware that they're very big YouTube icons but I have found them really boring. Are there particular videos or an era that people like. I want to like them. I'm a big fan of John's books. (I just realized that this it technically off topic. Sorry)

Yeah, it seems like a lot of people here liked Vlogbrothers (and Ryan Higa) before discovering deppy. Myself included.

secretagentphan · Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:16 pm

VengefulBlue that was beautiful:’)

Completely random and off topic but I wonder if Dan’s hair dresser straightens his hair to cut it? They do that with my girlfriends hair and part of me thinks that’s probably not the correct way to cut curly/wavey hair especially if they don’t wear it straight, but I do see how it would be much easier. And if they did cut it while it was natural, I wonder if Dan could even straighten it and have it look normal even if he wanted to.

nigel ratburn · Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:24 pm

adding to the origin stories: i've been a huge youtube viewer since 2007/2008 (my first obsession was ryan higa when i was in fifth grade~~) and i just happened to stumble across the would you rather video in late 2011. i watched all of deppy's videos and thought they were really funny, but i didn't actually look into anything until 2015. i just assumed that all the people who liked "phan" were the same people who would ship any two white guys who looked at each other together. i was really into the vlogbrothers at that time (which seems like a trend here) and so while i watched deppy and was subscribed to them i didn't follow them outside of their videos at all (i watched so many clips from their younows and i had NO IDEA where they were from. i just did not bother to look into it at all). in 2015 i discovered the timeline and thus began my descent that eventually led me here.

Loafer · Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:32 pm

I discovered Dan in 2012, when his “I will go down with this ship” video was making the rounds on tumblr. I didn’t watch any YouTuber religiously at the time (still don’t, except for dnp), I watched just whatever video interested me at the time, but I though the video was hilarious and watched more of dans stuff. Eventually I wondered if he was gay, and that led me to discovering phan, which I thought was just the fans shipping an obvious m/m ship, I didn’t think there was actually anything going on with them, but then I discovered the customer service blog and that was the end of my watching dans videos for a while. I found it very hypocritical that the “I will go down with this ship” creator would be so aggressive towards his fans for a silly little ship, and hated the way he was acting towards them. Didn’t want to watch their videos until 2 years later, I caught up on some of the pinofs and other Dan and Phil videos (I think the Krave challenges and Oreo lick race videos were out then?) and just really enjoyed their dynamic together. So I was happy when they started a gaming channel together, and I watched it for months, while strictly telling myself not to go looking for anything about their potential relationship. I remembered the customer service blog all too well, even though the Dan I was watching at the time seemed far removed from the Dan I remembered in 2012. Eventually their chemistry became too much for me and I caved in spring 2015 and went on a search for “phan proof”, found everything, and realized I discovered them in 2012 at a pretty bad time.

Secretstanner · Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:36 pm

I’m loving reading how everyone’s first found them and it my favourite things to hear about them. I spoke a lil bit about how I fell into the phandom in my first post but I wanna add more detail while it’s still on topic. It’s a long read so you can skip

I was poor as a kid and didn’t have internet then when I was 13 my parents bought us a internet stick you put into your laptop and I fell into YouTube really hard. The first person I ever became a fan on was Damon Fizzy(a cute emo boy I couldn’t tell was gay or straight and his weirdness and openness drawed me in). Then he stopped uploading so I needed to find someone else. Fast forward to 2014 British youtubers were very popular so naturally I found zoella, Alfie, Joe Sugg and started watching all their videos together. Now even though I watched them I never felt a connection to any of them it was simply I was bored, then one day I was watching the collab between Alfie and dnp. I didn’t even like Alfie but these two British guys I found interesting. Then like that I fell into watching video after video of them next video was the youtubers whispers(to this day one of my fav collabs they have done). Then binged watched the whole channels. I related to dan more and still do. I spent a whole night up watching all dans videos then the next night phil. The first video I watched that made me fall for him was (psycho boyfriend) I thought he was so funny and to this day I still think he’s so under rated with his humour, maybe it’s cuz dans always talking over him but he’s funny as fuck when you really listen. I don’t know how I found the gaming channel but I found sims and would watch with my sister like “ like omg Tabitha got ubducted” and it’s so weird to think about how long ago that was and I wasn’t even in the phandom.

2015 I lost interest not many main channel videos and the whole bour thing I didn’t but care about, but still continued with sims. 2017 rolls around and they had just finished gamingmus, my sister shows me dans diss track and I freak out about him talking about his sexuality, I never even thought about them being gay or straight(for someone who is interested in finding people queer I relate to I didn’t catch on).

Now shipping- I knew people wanted them together but I never knew that’s could be a possibility, then recommend to me was a video called “Phan proof” and then I get lost into that and see old messages and photos and realise omg it’s not just a ship there is a story behind all of this. So I decided one night I’m going to watch every gaming video from start to finish and I did, gamingmus really opened my eyes having to watch video from 2014-2016 in a short amount of time made me see how their relationship on Camera opened up and dan seemed like a different person. He seemed more softer and less trying to be masculine(I’m trying to word this so it doesn’t seem offence) but more “fem” or “camp” you could say. Just more his true self. Then to top it off I get recommended to me dans live stream in his pastel edits outfit, I had no idea why he was dressed that’s way I had just got into their gaming channel now I had to go watch all the main channel content I missed. Dan talking about sexuality when he was called gay made want to know more so I googled anything that could possibly tell me more and I didn’t know and what I find out lot more compared to YT videos that only had scene shots. I found GG and wanted to know their behaviour in 2013 and the context behind the messages and dans no homo behaviour etc. (how everyone felt during that time.)and sometimes still go back if I watch a old video and something I didn’t but realise and catches my eye is said or done I wanna see how people reacted. Here I am now unable to leave because I’m in to deep and they help me with my mental health a lot. It’s funny how they can be the main cause of my stress but also the people who help. Also in 21.

Kimship · Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:25 pm

My origin:

I've been watching youtube for a few years, but it was mostly baking/cooking tutorials, knitting/crafting tutorials, random science/knowledge stuff(like SciShow and Idea Channel), political stuff(hbomberguy and shaun), and LOTS of gaming/film/tv review and analysis(my queen Lindsay Ellis, Jim Sterling, Folding Ideas, etc). I'd seen a few "vlogger" types occasionally, like Tyler Oakley, but D&P weren't on my radar at all.

I actually found them earlier this year through a Facebook group that reposted funny/cool Tumblr posts and conversations and, without fail, once a week there would be a reference towards Dan and Phil. After a while I was just "Who the fuck are these people?" but eventually someone in the comments mentioned that they were youtubers. So I type "Dan and Phil" in the youtube search bar and fall into the rabbit hole. I don't remember the first videos I watched(I watched so, SO many), but I was hooked quickly and here I am.