not whatever you wanna call it

scratching my eyes out brother WHYYY are they like this. the problem is what we did get, in the question + (dan's) answer, was SO GOOD. i love the question and agree with you, i think it was thoughtful and well-considered, paid a lot of respect to what they do as a CRAFT (asking specifically about which projects they would redo) while being cognizant of the fact that their personal growth journeys heavily influence their craft (asking what they would have done differently as the people they are now). personally this is the kind of question i wish dan and phil would answer WAY more — if only more people would ask them. like you said it can very often lean all the way parasocial (sometimes invasively but often just like — asking the questions you'd ask a friend, you know. and there is a place for those questions!!! i love those questions. just like, maybe not all the time?)

dan maybe didn't exactly answer what the question was asking but it was SUCH a lovely response and one that carried a lot of emotional weight for us as a community!!! idec that it didn't follow the question to the letter because i feel like it answered the essence of it — how would the person you are now retroactively affect a part of / the course of your career. to say he wouldn't have gone on hiatus is IMMENSELY healing imo, even if that can't actually be taken back and everyone who lived through it still had to live through it lmao.

phil initially completely missing the point of the question can be forgiven because he was being really sweet. it's clear what his brain prioritises and it's their relationship. obviously coming out about it has affected their careers hugely, and maybe that's the angle he was coming at it from — there is no one project he would have specifically redone as the person he is now, rather all their projects would have been affected for the better if they'd done it out and proud. VERY SWEET SENTIMENT. UNFORTUNATELY! RAAAAAAHHHHHHH BC WE NEVER GOT A REVISED ANSWER FROM HIM