The Edge
I've written this phanfic for @dapg-otmebytheballs as part of the @phandomgiftexchange. I was so excited when I saw I got to write for you. You're one of my favorite phan blogs!! I really tried to make it more angsty, but Dan and Phil are radiating so much love and general joy that I just couldn't.. I hope you still like it though!!
Genre: angst, fluff
Words: 1.508
AO3 link
Excerpt: "Dan gasped as a tall, ruffled haired and bespectacled angel of a man appeared. With his goofy smile. With his mismatched socks, his anime shirt and his horrifically printed pajama pants. His eyes reflected the last rays of sunlight with a sparkling sea of blue and green. How Dan loved this man."
The early sunset bestowed a pink hue upon the white walls. They were the walls of an incredibly expensive London house. A long shadow moved up and down the large living room. Dan was pacing, mumbling loudly.
"I know it's what I want but what I want is not necessarily the right thing, maybe, maybe it is, but they said that I should carve out my own path but I just want to be with Phil and make videos with Phil and be with Phil more hours of the day, I need it to be 24 or I might go insane tALKING TO MYSELF AGAIN…"
His ramblings continued as he paced faster and faster. "The solo tour was fun, but it was also terrible. I don't want to be away from Phil, I need -" Dan called out: Phil? PHIL??
Muffled footsteps came down the stairs. Dan gasped as a tall, ruffled haired and bespectacled angel of a man appeared. With his goofy smile. With his mismatched socks, his anime shirt and his horrifically printed pajama pants. His eyes reflected the last rays of sunlight with a sparkling sea of blue and green. How Dan loved this man.
"Is it time to make dinner already?"
"You know what, that's a good idea, Phil."
"I could make us noodles," Phil replied as he opened (but didn't close) some of the kitchen's cabinets.
"Singapore noodles!" Dan said excitedly as the lights automatically turned on. They were a friendly orange and Dan smiled, content with the layout and the atmosphere of the room. It was exactly what he had hoped it would be, all those years ago when they were designing their forever home.
"Wanna make it together?"
"I'll chop the vegetables, I am concerned for both our safeties if you have a knife in your hands."
"Hey!" Phil chuckled and pushed Dan lovingly.
As they were cooking, Dan blurted it out.
"Phil, the whole solo career isn't working."
"What do you mean?" Phil looked at Dan, his ginger eyebrows raised in concern.
"I mean, it was a nice idea, having my own shows, tour and stuff. But…" Dan sat down at the kitchen table.
"Phil," he said, voice strained. "I am still not living my truth! What use is it to be independent, if I can only show half of myself? I did a whole bloody series on my own. Do you know which episode i like the most? The one with you! Actually, it's the only episode i like to be honest. I was so sure, Phil, of wanting to be independent… but now, I'm quite certain in the opposite direction."
Phil sat down beside him. He looked at Dan and laid his hand on his shoulder. "I just want you to be happy, Dan," he said. And it was the truth. How hard had he tried all these years to make Dan happy… He loved this curly haired, doe-eyed man so dearly, but he couldn't fight all his battles for him. The solo tour had probably been good for Dan. Or so Phil had thought. Apparently, it was still not what Dan wanted.
"Okay, we'll figure it out," Phil said, rubbing Dan's arm. The touch of Phil's hand was so important. So reassuring. It walked Dan back from the edge in his mind, to a more centered, peaceful place.
Suddenly, a sharp odor filled their nostrils.
"The noodles!" They screamed in unison as they jumped up and ran towards the stove.
"Well, those are ruined," Dan said, as Phil cleaned out the burnt pieces from the pan.
"So, now what?"
Dan and Phil looked at each other and said at the same time: "pizza!"
Dan got out his phone and ordered their favorite kind. "Half and half, large, original crust, Texas barbeque and the Sizzler. … What do you mean you don't have the Sizzler anymore? What?! Oh. Okay, well then, never mind." Dan hung up. "What the fuck! They don't have the Sizzler pizza anymore?"
"Dan, don't you remember? I made a big deal out of this, like, months ago."
"Oh, oh my god, you're right… How could I forget such an important piece of Phil-lore! Sometimes it's like I don't remember recent events, you know? Like, how is it 2023? It should be at MOST 2014. When I am in my head, right, I'm always on the edge of totally spiraling about these things."
"Yes, Dan, I know. You'll be on the ground again, moaning and groaning. OWW MY HEAAAD!"
"Shut up." Dan scowled fondly at Phil, who was laughing that ridiculous tongue-laugh that drove Dan wild.
Phil got out his phone and ordered Indian food instead. When it arrived, he got up to answer the door. Dan had retreated into a mood. Whenever that happened, it was best to just leave him alone and let it pass. They silently ate their food at the kitchen table.
As the weeks went on, Phil sensed that Dan was thinking about something. He would indeed lay on the ground, but it was more meditative than agony. Phil never wanted to influence Dan's free will, of course, but he did hope that Dan would soon make a decision.
It was late, and London was shrouded in a deep fog. Dan however, felt absolutely clear-headed.
Phil was absent-mindedly browsing on his phone on the living room couch. Dan suddenly pranced into the room and said:
"Phil, I want our gaming channel back. Wow, it feels really nice to have finally admitted that."
Something moved under the surface of Phil's eyes. He got up and looked at his beautiful cat boy.
"Are you sure, Dan?"
"Yeah." Dan sat down next to Phil and traced his arm from his shoulder to his hand, and took it in his.
"No, but are you really sure? I thought you had moved away from that particular branding."
"Fuck branding, Phil! It's our channel, it's our thing. Can't we do with it what we want? By the way, I was thinking about my last tour today, and when I saw our fans again, I realized something. They are unhinged, oh God. But I feel like we have built something special with them. They know this. We know this. We know they know. We can make Dan and Phil Games whatever we want it to be. Think about it, it would be like the Super Amazing Project but with a higher quality and one hundred percent us."
Dan looked into the deep pools of Phil's soul, that were his eyes. He saw excitement there. They both laughed.
"Phil… it's been so healing to see our actual audience. Yes, they are rabid, but they are also people who watched us for all these years, you know? Doing videos with you is kind of the foundation of our relationship anyway, and yeah, there have always been followers and subscribers, way too invested in our lives. But at the same time, they've been there with us all this time. They are the emo kids who looked at your zany video's and thought "yes, this is good shit." Well, so did I! And I still do. So, I was thinking… And I feel like we are at a point now, where we could just stop giving a fuck. We could just be our true selves. And not care! Phil, I can feel it. We're on the edge of something special, a new chapter in our lives. One that we write, ourselves."
Phil squeezed Dan's hand. "So, you're finally ready, aren't you?" He gave Dan a smoldering look. This took Dan aback , even though it shouldn't, as they had lived together for all of these years. But every time Phil pulled something like this, Dan would blush and be overcome with want and desire.
"Phil… I am so ready."
"Then let's do it. I am so happy you've come around to the idea! I mean, finally, I've been pitching this exact thing for years, but okay!" He laughed his dorky laugh again and caressed Dan's cheek. "I love you, you know that, right?"
"I do," Dan said while looking up at Phil. Dan did this often: even though he was the tallest of the two, he would slouch so as to be able to look up, and be the 'shorter' one, just like when they had first met. Phil could never resist him like this. Dan's eyes were warm, dark and inviting. It was exhilarating.
"You know what we should do, to celebrate this decision?"
Dan still looked up to him, caramel eyes conveying anticipation.
"We should go to Japan. Have ourselves a holiday. We can think about setting up all the business stuff of it after. It's an extra job, after all. Dan, let's escape and enjoy each other, enjoy Japan, then take this plunge back into the thick of it."
Dan jumped onto his lap and kissed him. "Yes, Phil, that would be so lovely. Let's book a flight, but first…" And he kissed him again. "First, I have to appreciate you."
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How are ideas presented? - Bonk
I have decided to look at a variety of D&AD new blood winners to see how I should present my work in a presentation and video format. I will choose projects that use a similar format to the Penguin project. Furthermore, this will help me develop my skills in presentation which I struggle with.
Throughout their presentation and video they have kept the visuals consistent by using a set colour scheme. They have also made sure the typefaces used are similar.
Presentation slides
The background of the pages are simple geometric shapes. This links to the aesthetics of the brand without drawing attention away from their idea. I like how this helps to form the overall brand by including the design of the presentation in their image. To make the descriptive text easy to read they have placed it in the same place on each page. By making the layouts consistent they have made the pages easy to direct which makes the idea clearer.
They have made sure to keep the presentation slides concise by dedicating each page to one aspect of their ideas:
page 1 - Visual identity of brand
Page 2 - The function of their idea - an app
Page 3 - How the audience uses the app
Page 4 - Accompanying merchandise for their brand.
To show their idea they have used a mixture of illustrations and stock imagery. This allows them to create high quality visuals in a short amount of time.
Video
For the video they have used a mixture of animations and clips from online videos to convey their idea. By introducing their brand straight away they grab the audience's attention and stop any waffling as the video is quite short. Unlike most university products, the video is composed as an advertisement for the brand. This makes the ideas seem like a real brand that you could use now which helps to sell the idea.
To make the idea clear they have used a voice over to explain the visuals. This also helps to keep the audience engaged throughout the 2 minute video. To give the video an upbeat tone they have used background music that is quiet but has a fast beat.
Overall their video follows a simple structure - Introduction, problem, insight, solution. This makes the video easy to understand and the idea clear.
Im, J., Davis, A., Phan, M. and Spiteri, M. (2020). Bonk. [Online]. Available from: https://www.dandad.org/awards/new-blood/2020/vbat-superunion/3673/bonk/. [Accessed 17 February 2023]
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Explaining The Idea...
Spotify Diagram Layout
In my essay, I covered a lot about how you can benefit from music from choosing/picking the right one
You can maximise your productivity if you listen to the right music that is suited for you
This process is different for every individual because music affects everyone differently
By placing my design within the Spotify layout, I cover the "playlist/right choice of music" aspect
The design itself / The "album cover"
For the design itself or if you look at it in the Spotify layout way - the "album cover" I decided to illustrate myself studying.
There is headphone around my head, indicating that I am listening to music while studying
Connected to the headphone is its cord - the other end of the cord is plugged into power - indicating that music gives me energy - energy as a motivation to be productive and get things done
The details
My title "Working Hard or Hardly Working" is displayed at the top of my poster as a "Playlist Name"
My subtitle "Does Music Boost Productivity" is displayed as the "Song Title"
The artist of the "Song Title" is my name "Quinn Phan" - this is because this "album cover" applies to me and how it helps me to stay productive
The song duration/length bar - The energy icon on this bar will indicate how strongly I agree with the question "Does music boost productivity?" At the start of the song 0:00 is strongly disagreeing meaning, this is when it's just pure silence, no background noise because it hasn't started or on paused at 0:00. On the other opposite end, it will be strongly agree. And where the energy icon lies will be how that individual feels on that scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. For example, in my case, my energy icon will lies very closely toward the strong agree.
The whole thing
This is made to reflect how I personally feel about music and to answer the question being asked
But it is also made so that everyone can have a version of their own, with the topic "Working Hard or Hardly Working" and the question being "Does music boost productivity" directed at the viewer to answer
They will be able to answer by thinking about where they would place the energy icon - Is it toward strongly disagree or strongly agree?
In the "artist" section of the Spotify display, it will be each of the audience names instead as this is their question to answer
As for the "album cover," it will also be altered based on their answer. For example, my one looks very serious and focused because certain music makes me focus more
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