the TEA is the reason dan and phil have such a big longterm dedicated audience is not just “because people ship them” - lots of youtubers have shippers and most of them still lose their relevancy eventually - it’s because yeah sure they have a great dynamic that people enjoy, but more importantly they respect their fans and treat them as equals regardless of their age or how “cringe” some of them might be occasionally. throughout the years they’ve always interacted with us on a regular basis and made sure never to become too disconnected. and most importantly they understand us. they understand how fandoms work and the dynamics of a community like this. they don’t try to police what we do or get too involved in things we don’t actively tag them in because they recognise that although the community revolves around them, at the end of the day it’s about so much more than that. it’s about our connection to each other and the thousands of friendships that have formed through this shared interest. it’s an outlet for people to express themselves through art and writing and so much else.
and perhaps most importantly it’s been a consistent space for queer youth to feel safe and accepted, an environment where they’re allowed to figure themselves out and connect with other people with similar experiences. the phandom has been such an important part of so many people’s adolescence and a large part of that is thanks to dan and phil for the most part understanding how their community operates, and being willing to listen to and learn from us when they don’t.
a creator/fan relationship goes both ways and dnp are a perfect example of that
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