well now i am extremely interested in your essay on the complexities of the first london apartment and how it was a metaphor for their relationship with the phandom at that time 🤔 (with love from a post hl phannie)
i think the way dnp talk about the first london flat compared to how we've always felt about it is so representative of that time in our relationship
it genuinely was our shared apartment. they filmed in every room, we knew every corner by heart, the entire place was COVERED in phanart and fan gifts. even the light switches and the windows and their literal closets had remnants of us on them
for us, for the fans, we felt welcome there. it felt inviting and like a digital community space because in many ways it WAS. the first london flat felt like home and it's so interesting to see just how many people are nostalgic for it in the way you would a place you used to actually live (me included! i still feel that apartment in my chest)
we were invited there twice a week for liveshows and they asked our opinions on the decor. they'd take us into the kitchen to cook dinner. we sat on their real life beds with them for 5 years! you'd give them a mug or a pair of socks or a hand painted phone case and know it was being used in a home you all built together
here is a very long post i made about how deep and complex our relationship was with them
dnp remember that flat as the time they had no work/life balance and they went to sleep every night with a tripod by the bed and they felt like the audience owned them because we were paying their rent and they were building this empire with us. but because of this they had no break from us. their house wasn't an escape from the stress and work and nonstop speculation because they'd accidentally invited us in
obviously they still have happy memories there and it wasn't all bad but even in their "we're moving out" video they talked about how they couldn't be less emotional about it even though they knew WE would be! some of the most stressful times of their life were in that flat. this was the flat that people would walk up to and KNOCK ON THE DOOR and follow them home (especially after they accidentally leaked the address). nothing in that house ever got to be private
they ofc loved their audience and they LOVED all the gifts/art they got! they would not have put them everywhere if they didn't want to and obviously they kept everything in the move, but i do think you can see how differently they handled the 2 secret flats after! and how they even treat the phouse now! there's a separation of where we're welcome and thank fuck for that
gummygunk
jbbartram-illu
prguitarman
pixelskylines
theartofmadeline
