hot take but the phandom attributes way too much of what happened in 2012 to the vday video. yes, it happened and it had a considerable effect on dnp, but you know what also happened in 2011-2012? Dan dropping out of university, the sudden growth of YouTube as a platform and their overnight fame, the move to London (complete with all its financial worries), the uncertainty of their careers with the BBC, the situation with Dan's brother, Dan's quarter-life crisis and continuing battle with untreated depression, and any other personal drama that may have happened that we know nothing about. like, it was a tough year, but I think a lot of people really over-simplify what happened, and there's likely a lot more to the story than what any of us could know. Dan and Phil deserve better than to be regarded as those guys who got pissy and hostile over a video leak.