2021
2021 was the first year after Daniel's discovery.
The year kicked off with Daniel vanishing from the internet after his old Pinterest account was leaked. He came back in March, returning to social media and resuming content creation—frequently wearing a gaming Headset Arc in public. His posts grew increasingly bizarre as his mental health declined. During one infamous livestream, he stripped on TikTok in front of 500 viewers. His fixation on Grace VanderWaalbecame very prominent. After believing she had died of a heart attack, Daniel had his first online meltdown, accusing the "team" of gatekeeping information. Convinced she was hospitalized, he wandered through public places insisting there was a "celebrity in the hospital."
That summer, Daniel released his well known song, "Roaring Thunder" and moved into housing with a new caretaker, Jonas, whom he later accused of abuse. He lived in a pink room and began producing a string of disturbing, often inappropriate videos. In September, a new housemate named Gavin moved in, triggering a chaotic shift in the household dynamic. By early December, Daniel fled the house. He spent the final weeks of the year in an assisted-living apartment, marking the beginning of what would soon spiral into the Homeless Era.
January
Daniel was not active online this month as he was under investigation by the FBI due to the Pinterest.
February
Main Article: February 2021
Daniel was largely inactive online throughout February. However, he created a new YouTube account that would become active in the following month.
March
Main Article: March 2021
Daniel made his grand return, marking the end of his Dark Ages. He resumed creating videos, frequently focusing on topics like "Addison Ray" alongside various other random subjects. His first videos back were black screens accompanied by audio of Daniel discussing how the FBI was watching him, and that he was unable to show his face. However, he began to show his face shortly after.
April
Main Article: April 2021
Daniel continued posting regularly and steadily gained followers. Toward the end of the month, he started wearing an oversized gaming headset in public, making it a distinctive part of his appearance. Flexburger began to leak content of Daniel's pedophilic behavior.
May
Main Article: May 2021
Daniel’s content took a sharp turn this month, as he declared “war” on Flexburger. After being convinced to audition for an adult film, he went live on TikTok and flashed his penis to around 500 viewers, resulting in a ban—an event now known as the May 6th Incident. He repeated the act the very next day, leading to another ban. Daniel also began obsessively posting about Grace VanderWaal, consistently tagging her and expressing his love, which ultimately led to another TikTok account being banned for harassment. At the end of the month, he was kicked out of the housing he was in due to him punching holes in the walls during meltdowns and screaming about "allegations".
June
Main Article: June 2021
Daniel continued to post videos and livestream “concerts” while wearing his oversized gaming headset. He maintained his obsessive Graceposting, frequently tagging and discussing Grace VanderWaal. However, on June 25th, Daniel became more delusional and had his first online meltdown. The meltdown occurred on Likee, where Daniel believed that Grace and her father, Dave, had died of a heart attack. During this meltdown, he was demanding information from the “VanderWaal Team” and was seen hitting himself in distress.
July
Main Article: July 2021
Daniel stopped wearing his oversized gaming headset and moved in with a care provider named Jonas, beginning the Hype House Arc. Notably, he was in a pink bedroom where his content became much more chaotic as he filmed the Toothbrush, Pencil, and Bottle incidents, which were later leaked. He frequently argued with Jonas, released the song "Roaring Thunder," and caused disturbances in public by loudly announcing that a “Celebrity in the Hospital” That month, he also developed a brief obsession with Darci Lynne Farmer and was banned from Walmart.
August
Main Article: August 2021
August continued the chaotic trend from July, with Daniel’s behavior reaching new highs. He got into a major altercation with his care provider Jonas, during which he cried and screamed. He also punched holes in the pink room walls, leaving drywall scattered everywhere. Around this time, Daniel got a mohawk haircut and spent a week in California before his care providers sent him back to Colorado. Notably, he also briefly created a Pornhub account.
September
Main Article: September 2021
Daniel moved to a different room in his housing and a new housemate named Gavin moved in. Daniel started creating strange videos with Gavin, who quickly gained attention because his appearance resembled Hal Stewart from the movie Megamind.
October
Main Article: October 2021
October started with Daniel being drunk and claiming that his care providers had gotten him intoxicated. He kept making bizarre videos and frequently posted about Gavin and Jonas.
November
Main Article: November 2021
November was a chaotic month, with Gavin’s meltdowns becoming more frequent and Daniel often livestreaming or posting them on TikTok. A notorious incident involved Daniel being served what he claimed was “poisoned” mac & cheese, which he complained about extensively. He also had a meltdown when his phone overheated. During one livestream, Gavin got the cops called on him after slapping Jonas and leaked his mom’s phone number. Other livestreams featured Daniel and Gavin discussing virginity, Daniel “praising” Jonas, and the infamous “bing bong” chant—during which Daniel vomited offscreen mid-chant. Daniel was very paranoid this month and was looking to flee the house.
December
Main Article: December 2021
Daniel fled Jonas’ house and moved into an assisted-living apartment. Shortly after, he was confronted by Grace’s brother, Jakob, who demanded he stop harassing their family. This confrontation triggered a severe meltdown, leading Daniel to go to the hospital where he had a major meltdown.