TRIGGER WARNING: death, despair and graphic imagery. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Imagine one day Dan and Phil stop uploading all of a sudden. No tweets, no videos, not a single Facebook post. Nothing for an entire month.
Suddenly Dan tweets "I have some bad news." included in the tweet is a link to a video he's just uploaded. You click the link and let the video play, hands sweaty, heart pounding. The video opens on a blank screen, filmed with the quality of a 2007 camera, and the image is grainy. You know something is up.
Dans face creeps into view, and his face is all red from what you assume are tears. He stares into the camera and begins to speak in a shaky voice.
"Hello Internet," He speaks, not smiling. "I don't know how to tell you this, but it's got to be done at some point. I've still been trying to get over the shock of it all. So, here goes. " He takes a deep breath and sniffs.
"Last month, on Christmas day, Phil unfortunately passed away. "
You stare at the computer screen, feeling like you've just been punched in the throat. "no," you whisper. "this is just a prank."
Dan continues. "I know there are some of you out there who might assume this is all just a big prank, and Phil is doing fine."
"yes," you plead. "please please be a prank "
"but unfortunately..... " Dan takes another deep breath. "it - It's true. " He breaks down into tears, and starts sobbing into his hands, and briefly the camera clicks off. After about 2 minutes, the screen comes back to life, and Dan is there staring vacancy into the lense again. "Phil was not fine. Truth is, he was sick for a long time, but nobody ever noticed. He pretended to be okay, for YouTube, for his fans, for me. "
You feel like you're about to have a panic attack, but keep watching.
"And sadly, he lost his battle, On Christmas morning. He died peacefully in his bed. He was not in pain, but he knew it was time for him to go."
Dan wipes his eyes. "For many people, Phil was their sunshine. For me, he was everything. He was the light in my darkness. He was always there to cuddle me when I was crying myself to sleep. And now that he's gone, I feel like there's no meaning to my life anymore. I have no reason to go on
So, to honour his memory, I promised him that his channel would be kept up and running, so I'm handing it over to his brother. As for me, as for my own channel, well....." He drifts off momentarily.
"don't " you whisper "don't do it dan, it's not worth it. Live, for your fans. Live for Phil."
".....this will be my last video. And by the time you see this, there will be no more danisnotonfire. In fact, there will be no more Dan Howell. I have to go. Someone else will maybe put this video online for me." He bites his lip. "I'm going to be with Phil, the love of my life. He was my best friend, and the most amazing boyfriend anyone cpuld ever ask for. That's why he was my AmazingPhil. I loved him, and I still love him, and now that you guys know, I'm sure many of you are happy to finally hear that we were in fact together. Keep our memories alive.
Goodbye, Internet."
The camera clicks off. You sit there breathing heavily, tears pouring down your face.the next day, you read in the paper "big British Youtuber commits suicide after death of partner." and next to it, an image of Dan, Lying on the floor of his apartment, blood pouring from his head, a pistol lying a few inches away. And the most chilling thing of all, from the corner of your eye, you see his camera and tripod, still standing, the button flashing red, as if he were still filming.
And that's when you start screaming
