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@danielhowell

i think dan and phil are changing

letting pinof, an annual tradition that marks the start of their journey together, go and end was the real ‘start’ of them changing. some people would argue that pinof ending is a terrible, terrible thing because it started when they started, so doesn’t that mean it’ll end when 'dan and phil’ end? no

i think ending the pinof series was a huge step forward, being able to let go of old traditions in the name of making something new out of it and allowing growth. you have to let go of things sometimes, and that’s okay, because that allows you to become a different (or even better) person and holding onto every old memory or tradition isn’t really going to fully let that happen. also i think putting danandphilgames on a hiatus is for the same reason: growing up, moving forwards and changing

dan let go of his fringe for his curls and phil did the same for his quiff, they started producing more raw and real content like the mukbang and the 'giving the people what they want’ branding, and they started openly playing games about dating boys, talking about guy celebrity crushes, and they got their virtual (grand)son a boyfriend, all without giving it a label at all, just letting it be what it is.

i think these little changes were all intentional, and i think the end of pinof and the hiatus of dapg happening just before the new year was intended too. they’re things to leave in another year in order to start a fresh one with a clean slate. a new them, with new content, new branding and new boundaries

over the past few years, dan and phil have only become more comfy with their audience; dan started talking about his brother again, they leave things in videos that would’ve been definite no-nos just a couple years back. i think, especially after the tour, they’ve realised how much more mature their audience is and i think they’re slowly beginning to let go of the childishness of their content and letting it grow into what they want it to be. phil talked about the social anxiety he’s experienced and how nervous he was about changing his hairstyle because he was worried about what people would think, and dan made a lengthy post about how he feels about his channel and how making videos isn’t the only reason why he’s a 'content creator’.

i think dan and phil are growing out of the walls they’ve spent so long carefully building up, and in order to allow themselves more space to grow, they have to knock them down a little