you still hold on to the idea dan and phil were leaving breadcrumbs even though dan specifically said they didn’t want people to pry or know just yet
i was tempted to leave it at that, to quote dan and walk away, but i’m not going to. i’m tired of people treating dan and phil like they’re stupid and of queer fans being treated like they should be ashamed.
i’m firmly of the belief that dan and phil coming out would not have gone this smoothly if they had not been intentionally, increasingly obvious over the past few years; if they had come out in this exact manner in 2014? it would’ve been pandemonium. neither they nor we as their audience was ready for that.
likewise, if they had retained the public image they had in 2014, their coming out would have caused similar chaos. the simplest explanation for many of their actions that bridged the gap between then and now is that as their comfort level with being perceived as queer grew over time, they chose to share more and more of their authentic, queer selves with us. luckily, we continually proved ourselves as receptive and supportive when they did so.
they edit all of their videos. they’re queer. leaving in references to attraction to men, or playing games that put them in scenarios that involve same-sex attraction (heart throb, having dab and evan date in the sims) did not happen on accident. they knew what they were doing, and were doing it on purpose. the most plausible reason they would do so is because they knew they wanted to come out someday, and were gradually opening up so it wouldn’t be too much of a shock.
if you truly believe that dan and phil were completely unaware of how every innuendo they’ve made in the past several years could be taken, both when recording videos and posting them, you truly discredit their intelligence and resilience. they’re very smart and capable, and it’s much easier to believe that they chose to slowly open up to us than it is to believe that they did so accidentally, hundreds of times throughout the span of their career.
and before anyone tries saying “oh but we spend sooo much time on analyzing all this, it’s not like dnp would notice xyz blah blah blah”… It’s Their Personal Life And Career All At Once And Dan Has Trauma. queer people know what they’re doing when navigating the complexities of being closeted, especially after so long doing so in the public eye. closeting always is a function of safety. it’s not all fun & games for them like it is for us, it’s their actual lives.
dan and phil weren’t ready to be out, and didn’t want to be outed. dan told us that that’s exactly what they’re uncomfortable with: people pushing them to share personal information when they aren’t ready or don’t want to, and people violating their privacy to find/share information without dnp’s consent. my breadcrumbs tag celebrates specific examples of dnp’s comfort and openness with us; information that they voluntarily shared. that is not at all the same thing as pressuring them or stalking them, or even celebrating pressure or stalking.
please act and speak with compassion in the future. the fact that i, as a queer person, celebrate and admire the happiness, comfort and pride that dan and phil have with their queer identities is not wrong.
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