#lester-isms

[literallyjusttoa]

I think I'm gonna make a reblog chian of all the little phrases and Apollo uses throughout ToA, now that I'm rereading it. Bc like, he has such a unique way of speaking, and I really wanna dig into it, you know? Ok let's start.

He says "heavens help me" instead of "heaven help me" using the plural the same way demigods do with "oh my gods". I'm guessing this is an acknowledgment of other pantheons? Or I'm looking too far into it, I've just never heard this phrase with a plural "heavens" before.

He calls Cade and Mikey "Ruffians" . And he makes fun of the arrow for being Shakespearean.

He also refers to people as "Mortals" a lot here, which I remembered him doing, but now I want to keep track and see if he keeps that up throughout all the books, or if it peters out near the end.

"I thought how amusing it would be if I could make the snake tattoos around his neck come alive and strangle him to death" I honestly love how violent Apollo's thoughts can be sometimes. Like, you can tell he's someone who has done shit like this before.

I also want to keep track of all the little anecdotes Apollo brings up, so we'll start with the guitar contest against Chuck Berry in 1957, which apparently ended with him getting repeatedly stomped on.

"But something told me this was not she" II love how it's the little things that really get across how old Apollo is. Rick could've easily just said "It wasn't her" or something, but instead he had Apollo phrase this in a way that is far more formal, and more reminiscent of the grammatical patterns of old english. Idk it's just really cool.

(Side note that's not connected to Apollo: Meg's glasses are black? I feel like I've been living a lie, I've been coloring them red for years lol)

God his metaphors are just so striking. Like, I can imagine the phrase "Whatever was left of my pride turned into ice water and trickled into my socks" but I don't want to, because that's such a visceral feeling. I like that Apollo inadvertently proving how poetic he is by making the reader as uncomfortable as possible.

I think I'm gonna start crying out "Horrors!" when I'm upset to. I think I deserve that level of drama.

ahh the classic "My blessings upon you!" Again, I love how every little line characterizes him. Either it's overly formal, like before, or subtly arrogant, like here, or both. It's so fun.

I need to write him saying "Sacred Sibyl!" more. Because that is such a fun little term. Rolls right off the tongue, honestly.

I think I'm gonna leave it there for now, but trust that I will definitely be adding more to this later. Bc Lester-speak is so fun to really look into.

[flipflops-n-bones]

boop :3

Hiii! Me's Aria! Dads Nico, Will find me. Now here :D Come Play?

(a small toddler, around 2-3 years old, with olive skin and dark curls peeks around your cabin door, very proud with herself for explaining all that.)

(Ooc under cut (Aria Info, Me Info, Taglist))

Aria Info - She's between 2-3 years old. - She looks like a Mix of Bianca and Will, long dark curls, freckles, blue eyes. - Nico found her in an alley, about to be attacked by a Gryphon, and brought her back to camp. - She's Persephones Daughter and also the reincarnation of Bianca?? - Everyone talks to her in different languages (Will in spanish, Nico in Italian, Crescent in french) - She bites but mostly Will, and loves flowers and shadows. - the whole camp is kinda taking care of her but Will and Nico plan to adopt her when they become official adults

Me Info bc I never did that on main blog @fukurouonthesea - Hi I'm Noa nice to meet you! - almost 21 officially (i have a silly brain and that makes age complicated sometimes so please no nsfw!) - nonbinary (pronouns they/them, sometimes it/its or nim/nims) - from germany (GMT+1) - disabled, neurodivergent, all around broken body and chaosbrain - aroace and in happy relationship <3 - things I like: rainbows, stars, hugs, hot chocolate, kids movies, fantasy books, stuffies, sims 4, yarn crafts, pen&paper - things I don't like: mean people, inaccessability, spicy stuff, sparkly drinks, pain, ableism, loud noises, cold, other -isms uhm i can't think of any more for now but you're welcome to ask

People Dads know:

Dad Nico - @nico-sees-dead-people needs to rest Dad Will - @dr-flipflops also needs to rest Noa - @from-the-owls-nest friends with Nico, Will and Crescent (my other rp account) Annabeth - @not-annabeth smart girl Percy - @seewead-brian silly boy Grover - @proud-tree-hugger goat boy Bianca - @the-one-who-returned my aunt who died and came back as me (link broken?) Thalia - @thalia-grace1248 was a tree? Kayla - @sun-girl-offical Wills sister, archer girl Crescent - @the-eclipse-is-in-me Nicos sister, shadow girl Quinn - @quinn-is-victory Crescents partner Hazel - @the-gem-girl-from-the-argoii shiny rocks & horsie girl Jason - @demi-gods-blonde-superman flying boy Piper - @theghostsaredancing yum! Frank - @zankfrang23 animal guy Leo n Harley - @mrmcshizzleandh-meister chaos bros Selena - @hexpect-the-worst chaos girl Reyna - @praetorofthebestlegion Rachel - @rackel-mackerel-dare Silena - @silena-beauregard-xxx Connor - @connorstollslays (link broken?) Calypso - @calypsoontheisland Alex - @alexf1erroo Annabeths cousins partner Magnus - @dont-call-me-beantown glows like dad! Alex' bf Cleo - @cleoreadsbooks from Egypt Apollo - @no-longer-lester a god??

(this is try 5, idk if the pings worked, links for all except where I noted should work even if it doesnt show that preview)

[struckd0wn]

❝𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐘, 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐗 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓.❞

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑

Overwatch

Cole Cassidy, Genji Shimada, Hanzo Shimada, Junker Queen "Odessa Stone", Junkrat "Jamison Fawkes", Ramattra, Reaper "Gabriel Rayes", Zenyatta

COD MWII

Ghost, Konig, John Price, Alejandro

Resident Evil

Leon Kennedy (re2 remake, re4 remake), Carlos Oliveira (re3 remake), Heisenberg

Valorant

Chamber, Harbor, Sova, Cypher, Gekko, Omen

Horror/Slasher

Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Ghostface (Billy Loomis, Stu Macher, Billy & Stu (poly), Ethan Landry), Johnny Slaughter, Bubba Slaughter, Hannibal Lester (tv series), Will Graham, Brahms, Pyramid head, Bo Sinclair, Vincent Sinclair

Spiderman

Miguel O'Hara, Harry Osborn

The Batman 2022

Bruce Wayne

MK1/MK11

Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, Smoke, Johnny Cage, Kenshi Takahashi, Raiden, Kung Lao, Syzoth, Havik, Shang Tsung

𝐃𝐎𝐬

ftm. gn. reader

smut, fluff, angst (I'm not very good at it tho)

sutual pining

bottom reader

𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓𝐬

female reader, fem aligned reader

character x character

minor characters

medical stuff (amputee, bad illnesses, ect. )

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐌𝐔𝐓‼️‼️‼️

Any sorta incest, age play, sexual abuse, pedophilia, piss, scat, ddlg/ddlb, feeder, ect.

(ℙ𝕃𝔼𝔸𝕊𝔼 𝔸𝕊𝕂 𝕀𝔽 𝕐𝕆𝕌'ℝ𝔼 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝕊𝕌ℝ𝔼 𝕆𝔽 𝕊𝕆𝕄𝔼𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾)

𝐃𝐍𝐈

minors, any isms or ists

Female readers can interact with gn content, please DNI with trans/ftm reader content

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Military AU Masterlist

A Bullet or Two for You (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: “What else is a man our age good for in the middle of a war?”

Daniel Howell is conscripted into the British Army at 19. At 24, with the help of a little hot metal, he meets a man who changes his perspective. Maybe hospital isn't so bad after all.

Before Tomorrow Comes - lifee-scap-ism

Summary: As Phil volunteered to join the military, his days with Dan were numbered. But instead of spending time together, Dan hid away from Phil for fear of losing him. However, on Phil’s last night before he was sent away, Dan stood soaking wet at his door. “Stay,” was all he said. “I want you here with me, before tomorrow comes.”

Catch You Sleeping (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan meets the love of his life in an army training camp.

Christmas should be with family. - so-much-cherry-everywhere

Summary: Dan is away, Phil wishes he'd be home for Christmas...

Coming Home (ao3) - orphan_account

Phil’s away in the military and Dan is by himself with their young son, Mason. Phil promises Dan that one day he’s coming home.

Don't Go Looking For Goodbye (ao3) - AllusionToReality (orphan_account)

Summary: He wanted to do this, he wanted to be a soldier. He’d already gone through boot camp, graduating with some of the highest honors during AIT. He was strong, he was prepared, and once he got the order to be shipped out of the country on a tour, he took it immediately.

Based on Troye Sivan's, "Fun" from his EP, TRXYE

Flesh of the Church (ao3) - boffinhatwithapipeYuekagami

Summary: There is a war brewing. In the depths of a universe where every now and then, a war is rising up, young people with no military experiences shall be drafted and paint the earth's ground in red. History books list the painters. What about the people of the shadows, their eyes trained into the darkness, their dinner tables devoid of entities who once become a part of their world? What about those people who had to bear the pain of waiting, of praying and hoping? History books list the painters. But no one ever lists the writers.

I get lonely when I think about your smile (ao3) - AmazinGhoul

Summary: Dan left for a half of the year. He left his home and UK, but more importantly he left Phil. Luckily Phil found a way to communicate with his best friend.

--

Letters send by Dan and Phil while Dan is away on his mission as a medic.

i promise i'll never leave (ao3) - graylane

Summary: dan and phil reuniting at the airport after dan was gone for four years in the army.

I’m Coming Home - danalingphil-fics

Summary: Phil’s off at the war and Dan’s waiting for him to come home.

Katie's Graduation Present (ao3) - auroraphilealis (peachrayne)

Phil Lester has missed the majority of his daughter's high school years because he’s spent the last four years in the military. When Dan finds out he’s going to miss her graduation, too, he throws a fit, and doesn’t even say “I love you,” before hanging up on him. So who's the military guy in blue at the bottom of the bleachers?

Letters (ao3) - orphan_account

You always were going to come back, weren't you?

Letters to Dan. (ao3) - ily4never

Summary: Phil Lester has joined the Union army. The country is filled with war and death, but, in the midst of the pain, his love, Dan Howell, keeps him sane.

Or, alternatively, the fic where I make them American so that Phil can fight against slavery.

Letters To Phil. (ao3) - Mi_Munson

Summary: Dan Howell is a student.

Phil Lester is a soldier.

Dan enters a school project called "Letters to Soldiers".

or

The fanfic that Dan and Phil fall in love with each other through letters.

Love is for fallen men (ao3) - Nameless_ThankYous (SusanSketchesanddoodles)

Summary: When war was declared on August 4th 1914, Dan was ready. It would be a Great War. Desperate to prove himself a man, he joins the armed forces, against his mother’s every wish. He gets lotted in with the first draft. In the trenches, he meets Phil -- a handsome-faced 21-year-old with the same goal. But the realities of war set in quickly as the bombs keep dropping, the trenches get filthier and his letters stop arriving home.

Never Alone (ao3) - pasteldanhowells

Summary: Phil has always wanted to be in the army ever since he was a little kid. So now, he’s finally got the chance to go. Unfortunately, this means that he has to leave his family and his pregnant boyfriend behind.

Returning Home - dxnhowell

Summary: Dan returns home from being in the war and is reunited with Phil again, after being away for three years. 

Vanilla Twilight (ao3) - meggie_megs

Summary: Dan's staring at the stars missing Phil.

Welcome home, Danny (ao3) - AmazinGhoul

Summary: Dan is coming back home after spending a half of the year in military. He and Phil were sending letters to each other throughout this whole time and at some point decided to move in together and go on a date. Finally it's time to turn their plans into reality.

[dateinthelife]

wait did ringo… not come up with the phrase ‘a hard day’s night’? this is like one of the three facts normies know about him is it not even true.

Oh no, I'm sorry to be unclear. Here's the full story in John's words:

According to Lennon in a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine: "I was going home in the car and Dick Lester [director of the movie] suggested the title, 'Hard Day's Night' from something Ringo had said. I had used it in In His Own Write [a book Lennon was writing then], but it was an off-the-cuff remark by Ringo. You know, one of those malapropisms. A Ringo-ism, where he said it not to be funny … just said it. So Dick Lester said, 'We are going to use that title.'"

So Ringo said it. But probably NOT on the date the Beatles Bible have down. This was probably the date it was suggested as the title for the film, I'm just being flippant for effect.

[shookethbrooketh]

this actually happened

dan and phil: *get dil a breakfast bar*

phil: i'm hoping dil won't rub himself against it like you used to do to our breakfast bar.

dan: uh let's- that was highly inappropriate-

me: excuse me

me: eXcUsE mE

me: EXCUSE ME

[noloveforned]

we're kicking off the fall schedule with a new theme tonight. tune in to wlur at 8pm to see where we're headed!

we wrapped up our summer theme last week (or i guess winter if you're listening from argentina)- every week we started the show off with a track from an argentinian alternative rock band from the last thirty or so years. we heard from: plum, juana la loca, ciento siete faunos, suarez, peligrosos gorriones, los violadores, los brujos, babasónicos, and bestia bebé.

no love for ned on wlur – october 1st, 2021 from 8-10pm

artist // track // album // label bestia bebé // el podio del tc // gracias por nada // discos laptra broken baby // get the piss up // late stage optimism // poor man * the muslims // illegals // fuck these fuckin fascists // epitaph * algebra mothers // in and out of order // a-moms = algebra mothers // third man spodee boy // suicide // dark times 7" ep // chunklet industries nowhere // dead alive // nowhere // jurassic pop cheekface // running back // emphatically mo' ep // new professor * little hag // brass knuckle keychain // leash // bar/none * the garrys // fallen woman // get thee to a nunnery // grey la jvnta // calma en la calles // tres carmelitas cassette // third uncle bad indians // baby please come back // split 7" w/ milk dick // glad fact los yetis // delirio // nadaísmo a go-go // munster daniel romano's outfit // tragic head // cobra poems // you've changed the shivas // if i could choose // feels so good / feels so bad // tender loving empire * the turtles // too much heartsick feeling // the turtles present the battle of the bands // white whale cameron knowler // lone prairie // places of consequence // american dreams brigid mae power // didn't it rain // burning your light ep // fire lester st. louis // ultra, seeping, malted // nyc liminal series, volume two: cello compilation cassette // chaikin jeff kimmel, ishmael ali and bill harris // a sounding bell // a pound of salt // 577 travis laplante and jason nazary // shape of disintegration // tunnel to light cassette // tripticks tapes expanse all stars // heru khuti (midday) // solar suite at sixty third street beach // sonic healing ministries junius paul // two minute warning // ism // international anthem esperanza spalding // formwela 3 // songwrights apothecary lab // concord george benson // nothing's gonna change my love for you // twenty/twenty // warner bros. marcos valle // naturalmente // marcos valle // som livre maze mountain // the powers of your mind // gangster music, volume one compilation // all city jenevieve // midnight charm // division // joyface pearl and the oysters // treasure island // flowerland // tip top mac mccaughan // dawn bends // the sound of yourself // merge * richard hamilton // there had 2 be u // memory palace cassette // tetryon tapes bad bad hats // awkward phase // walkman // don giovanni lisasinson // soy una punk // tú y yo digital single // elefant ducks ltd. // fit to burst // modern fiction // carpark *

* denotes music on wlur’s playlist

[theythemsam]

spn 10x02, liveblog, collected posts (all 27 of them) or as i like to call it: Sex(ism) and Violence, the episode. Also i love the three-beans-lady, she’s adorable.

The blood behind Cole’s dad is just… spread out like wings nice

#nice nice nice

 Why does Cole put his hand on Sam’s face??? That’s so gross and creepy!

#like shoulder yes but this is… terrifying intimate… also kinda reminds me of the way Lucifer puts his hand on Sam’s face later on ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 Also maybe that’s my traumatized bitch ass speaking but if somebody put their hand to my face in a situation such as that I would try and chomp of as many fingers as I can

#not even thinking about it just danger brain goes bitey times!

 I do kinda understand Cole not believing Sam… like I wouldn’t either…

 Oh no, I forgot that Cole threatens Sam with a hammer…

#and then later Dean threatens Cole with a hammer………

 Ugh fuck off Dean! He’s a sexist dickbag and he literally sexually assaults this woman!

#and then he gets into a fight

 Like Dean is paralleled with Cole in that scene and its scary!

 Also nothing against Jensen, but I don’t think that haircut suits him… like at all…

#hes ugly is what im saying

 Sam hurt and bruised is… so…. Pretty…….

#uhm…….. listen I love seeing my favorite character in pain

 Awwww I love three-bean-surprise lady

#i did definitely ship her with hannah and I still do so now

 Lester is such a dipshit and I’m glad Dean kills him

#does not excuse his other big asshole TM actions but… you know

 The little girl is so cute

#and cas’s smile ahhhhhhhhh

 The demon lady with the curly hair is adorable!

#me gay

 Listen not to be… obnoxious meta writer tm, but uhhhhh the juxtaposition of human!dean vs demon!dean and Crowley telling him to “pick a bloody side”… bisexualityTM

#dean and crowleys interaction are regularly coded as relationshipy #as are most of crowleys partnerships with team free will (same with castiel in season 6 f.e.) #and Crowley as the canon queer “dude” who not only has canonically seen deans dick #just like walks into the room he knows dean could be fucking in #that has referred to himself as deans mistress #its kinda gay is all im saying #and it is also coding homosexuality as demony and bad and violent and negative #also “its over” “crazy ones are only good for a fling and not relationship material” like Crowley regularly phrases things in ways that suggest intimate relationships

 The very thirsty shot of Sam’s butt and lower back uhhhhhhhh

#uhmmmmmmm #uhhhhhhhh

 Ugh Metatron is so gross

#he immediately sexualizes her… FUCK OFF

 I hate Metatron so much

#can somebody please gag him?

 Dean is such a bastard!

#i do love his red shirt though #but he should be nicer to Sam :(

 Sam’s “I don’t care, because you are my brother and I’m here to take you home.” Speech and Dean just laughing asdfgh

#such a sweet scene and dean just going yOuRe mY BrOThEr AnD iM hErE tO tAkE yOu HoMe #vicious mockery

  Fuck you cole!

#cole alone gave Dean at least three concussions by now

 “Ah, you’re the guy that’s supposed to put a bullet in Sam’s brain… Did you miss?” ufff Jensen plays asshole Dean so well, I love it, but also…

#i will kill you little man

 “I’ve played out this fight a million times in my mind… and now im just talking, monologuing and not just putting a damn bullet in you as I should if I actually want to see you dead.”

#cole you dumbass motherfucker #like even if deano was human this is just stupid

 “Maybe… and im just spitballing here… you’re not as good as you think you are” shrugs in the most mocking way possible

#sometimes… I love deanmon asdfgh #like I said: vicious mockery #hes a barbarian bard

 Asdfgh nice princess bride reference

 The poor library lady… just like a bloodied bastard walking into your library and going “give me every book you have on demons”… like you want a tissue to wipe off the blood first? We cant have blood going all over those books my dude

 “It’s just a car” yup that ain’t Dean at all

 Deanmon is right that him not killing Cole is a lot worse than killing him…

[bbclesmis]

The Guardian view on colour-conscious casting: mixing it up can be a good thing

David Oyelowo’s cast­ing as Javert in Les Misérables ‘is down to the BBC’s de­ci­sion to cast its lat­est pe­riod drama in a non-lit­eral way’.

“Im­ages are po­lit­i­cal,” said the ac­tor David Oyelowo, ex­plain­ing why he avoids roles that per­pet­u­ate racial stereo­types. Mr Oyelowo is one of the stars of the BBC’s adap­ta­tion of Vic­tor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, which con­cludes this Sun­day. His char­ac­ter, Javert, is a po­lice chief and aus­tere le­gal­ist. In real life, in early 19th-cen­tury France, such a per­son would not have been black. Mr Oyelowo’s cast­ing is down to the BBC’s de­ci­sion to cast its lat­est pe­riod drama in a non-lit­eral way. Such cast­ing is of­ten called “colour-blind”, but the truth is more com­pli­cated. Rather than choos­ing to ig­nore skin colour, or other phys­i­cal mark­ers of eth­nic­ity, the pro­duc­ers of such dra­mas – like those who cast women in roles tra­di­tion­ally re­served for men – are more of­ten mak­ing a de­lib­er­ate choice to ditch the nat­u­ral­ism that un­der­lies most cast­ing de­ci­sions.

Last week’s an­nounce­ment by the Royal Shake­speare Com­pany that it has cast dis­abled ac­tors in three up­com­ing pro­duc­tions is an­other move to­wards a more equal dis­tri­bu­tion of op­por­tu­ni­ties; this week, English Na­tional Opera also said that it will ac­tively seek to re­cruit more black, Asian and mi­nor­ity eth­nic cho­ris­ters, and sup­port young di­rec­tors of colour. Tele­vi­sion- and film-mak­ers have been much slower than the­atres to pick up on what the RSC’s Erica Why­man calls “colour-con­scious” cast­ing, which is why the BBC’s Les Misérables, and the film Mary Queen of Scots – in which the black ac­tor Adrian Lester plays a 16th-cen­tury am­bas­sador – are break­ing new ground. Rea­sons for the time lag in­clude the lack of diver­sity among commissioners, and the fi­nan­cial risks as­so­ci­ated with cin­ema (a view re­but­ted by the suc­cess of Black Pan­ther). But the paucity of roles for peo­ple of colour and women in so much clas­si­cal drama, com­bined with pres­sure from cam­paign­ers, ar­guably forced pub­licly funded the­atres to com­bat the dis­crim­i­na­tion that fol­lows from nat­u­ral­is­tic cast­ing.

It is more than two decades since the African-Amer­i­can play­wright Au­gust Wil­son at­tacked colour-blind cast­ing on the grounds that what black peo­ple need is not the chance to play white peo­ple but the chance to tell their own sto­ries. While the cur­rent shakeup of cast­ing in the UK is wel­come, it should am­plify, rather than re­place, de­mands for a sec­tor that is more rep­re­sen­ta­tive over­all, in­clud­ing of dif­fer­ent so­cial classes. It is shock­ing that the cur­rent pro­duc­tion of Nine Night by Natasha Gor­don can be hailed as the first West End play by a black Bri­tish fe­male play­wright.

How­ever, there is no one-size-fit­s-all. In some cases, par­tic­u­larly when race or some other as­pect of iden­tity is an im­por­tant part of a story, nat­u­ral­is­tic cast­ing is an artis­tic choice. The BBC’s West In­dian slav­ery epic The Long Song is a re­cent ex­am­ple, and it’s im­por­tant to recog­nise that his­tor­i­cal drama has a duty to his­tory as well as drama (which is not to say that it must be re­al­is­tic). Mean­while, some cam­paign­ers object to the cast­ing of straight or non-dis­abled ac­tors in gay or dis­abled roles. At least where marginalised groups are con­cerned, they be­lieve in like-for-like cast­ing.

It goes with­out say­ing that di­verse or­gan­i­sa­tions will be bet­ter equipped to make creative de­ci­sions in this shift­ing ter­ri­tory. If pub­lic funds are go­ing to be used to put on Shake­speare’s plays, or drama­tise 19th-cen­tury Euro­pean nov­els on TV, it is only fair that a range of ac­tors gets the chance to be in them. As our un­der­stand­ing of iden­tity and in­equal­ity be­comes more com­plex, it is stim­u­lat­ing to see the dy­nam­ics of hu­man re­la­tion­ships ex­plored in dif­fer­ent ways. Drama should open the minds of au­di­ences, as well as op­por­tu­ni­ties for ac­tors.

(x)

[existentialyoutubers]

interactive introverts milwaukee

i know it’s late but here is a list of ~spoilery~ things that happened at the milwaukee show! 

(seriously, it’s super full of spoilers so don’t read if you haven’t seen the show yet/don’t want to know what happens)

(also this got long as heck so enjoy?)

Simulation:

-Phil said they spent billions of Milwaukee dollars on it -Dan called them “cheese coins, because that’s a thing” -there was a Horse Prince reference at the beginning (Dan’s head on a horses body) -Dan made a comment about how of all the references we were going to get, we probably weren’t expecting that -Dan yelled at us for cheering for Satan (it’s because he’s shirtless isn’t it?) -he kept bringing up that the people in the balcony loved Satan -also commented that clearly they weren’t in Texas anymore because of that -Phil’s ending was him going home to watch “Fletnix” and crying -they yelled at us for making Phil cry -Phil asking if we wanted Dan to go through the Lady Door -Dan’s ending had him sneaking into the girls bathroom at a furry rave, hitting his head, and dying -Dan was indignant at this “THAT WAS THE WORST POSSIBLE ENDING YOU COULD GET” Survey: -clipboards and glasses -“everyone knows glasses make you smarter” -Dan dabbed for math and Phil yelled at him -“you can’t dAB for mATH” -“yes I can watch me” *Dan dabs again* -pie chart (Dan said they spent their entire budget on that pie chart so that was the peak of the show) -12% of people said they didn’t know who Dan and Phil were and the boys were SO CONFUSED -“whERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE RIGHT NOW?” -“is it all the parents???” -“what do you think this is, Shrek the musical?” -16% of people said danandphilCRAFTS is their favorite video series and they were even more confused -Dan was on the wheel and he was not happy about it -he kept trying to get Phil to shoot random people in the audience -Phil was wearing an apron and rubber gloves and called it his serial killer look -Phil was pointing the slingshot at Dan and Dan freaked out “whERE ARE YOU POINTING THAT THING” -“at your leg” -“looks like you’re pointing it at my face” (he definitely was) -Phil hit Dan in the upper thigh with the slingshot -Dan freaked and commented about how Phil would have “hit me in the nuts” if he hadn’t moved his leg -Phil missed with the bow and arrow and the bazooka -when it was over Dan practically jumped off the wheel he was in such a hurry -“bloody frick” and then he repeated it like he couldn’t believe he had just said that -Dan had to help Phil with his apron -Phil had to help Dan get the coverup off -everyone started cheering when Dan took it off -he yelled at us and moved almost off stage -he got his foot stuck and Phil had to help Collective Mind: -we were all called Linda (L-slice) -some people messed up the picking a dog/pointing thing but Dan said they were valid -some people also messed up the clapping thing -they weren’t as happy about that -“it’s ON three what’s wrong with you?” -we had to do it like three or four times -it was super satisfying when we got it though -Dan said it made him feel tingly and he rubbed his nipples and Phil told him to stop -before they passed around the beach balls Phil said that if you had when the music stopped and you didn’t want it you could give it to someone else -it was very soft and sweet -the things in Dan’s box were a hair straightener (he had to lock his emo phase in a box), his dentist kink video (it was so cringey he locked the SD card in the box), and a golden lady door (why is it golden???) -one of the girls nearly hit Phil in the face when she threw the ball back (“wow that was violent!���) -Dan kept commenting on Phil’s balls and how he couldn’t keep control of them because Phil kept dropping them -every time he’d pick one up he’d drop another Truth Bombs: -one of Dan’s was if he started a religion what would it be called  -one option was ‘hi, my name is [jesus]’ and Dan goes “you just roasted me and Jesus”  -another was ‘lolzr xD llamas...ism  -Dan picked that one but said you can’t just add ism on the end that doesn’t count -Phil got what’s on his internet browsing history (I genuinely can’t remember the rest oops) Dan vs. Phil: -the psychic category was dog breeds -Dan said Shib (of course) and Phil said chihuahua -“wHY WOULD YOU SAY CHIHUAHUA” -“it was the first thing that came to mind” -“that’s nOT THE POINT OF THE GAME” -for the dilemmas, Dan said he’d do anything for Phil -Dan’s dilemma was that Phil’s houseplants would never die but Dan’s entire internet history would be uploaded -it was no contest for him, he said he absolutely would never do that -Phil’s dilemma was that Dan would become an athlete but he would miss a single Christmas -he said it would be worth it -Dan lost 2-1 -the overall score is 28-26 in Dan’s favor -Dan says it’s because he’s number one Phil trash Good vs. Bad: -Dan tried to explain the wholesome Howell thing -Phil used a really deep voice the entire time (X-rated Lester) -they both failed the first and got the second one, but Dan failed the last one and Phil got it -Phil’s first one was a tasty meal and he started rambling about dog food and beetles and dog waiters -his second one was hugs and he turned it into getting hugged by an alien and them opening up and eating you -Dan commented that he should write horror...or at least tentacle fanfiction -his last one was a million puppies and he talked about getting smothered by them and dying (Dan said that’s the way he wants to die) -Dan’s first was infinity wars spoilers and he claimed they were good because then you’re not surprised by the emotional trauma -his second was his old branding and he basically said it was good because you can learn from it and move forward -his last one was the G note and he basically forfeited and stormed off the stage saying he couldn’t make that a good thing Dan, Phil or Rat: -the first one was just totally white and it was Phil’s guess -he was like “is that me? am I really that white?” so he guessed himself and got it right -Dan made a joke about how the only D Phil needs is vitamin D -Dan’s guess was basically just completely black -he was like “is that a rat? is that Phil’s hair?” -he guessed rat and got it right Golden I Awards: -Most inaccurate prediction of the show  -first was Dan and Phil pogo sticking with Nick Jonas (Dan got mad that Nick is engaged now and that they can’t be buddies in London anymore #ripdick)  -next was Phil falling off stage, Dan screaming, and everyone’s heads exploding  -the winner was a seven hour long titanic musical (Phil said Dan could be the boat, Dan agreed because Phil makes him want to break in half and sink) -Pets dressed as Dan and Phil -the first was a cat in a plaid shirt -Dan laughed about how any animal in a plaid shirt is just immediately Phil -next was a dog wrapped in a black blanket -the epitome of Dan clearly -the winner was a dog in Dan’s signature eclipse T-shirt -Phil commented on how that dog was more photogenic than Dan ever will be -Dan said that dog slayed his entire life Casual Chat: -Phil something about getting intimate at the same time as Dan said getting personal -Dan goes “I was okay with personal but noooo you had to say intimate” -the first question was what their favorite videos were -they both said the photo booth challenge because it was so stupid but hilarious -Dan also said they’d never cried so violently whilst editing a video (from laughing so much) -someone sent in that they had a presentation coming up and they were scared they were going to pee on the floor -Dan goes “is that a question or are you just letting us know?” -their advice was basically that everyone feels the same way so don’t worry too much -and Dan said also to wear an adult diaper -another girl said her brother had replaced her with fortnite -Dan was like yeah I relate Phil did the same thing to me -too much fortnite talk after that Random: -Phil got attacked by a seagull on his way from the bus to the building -he was very dramatic about it -Dan says that’s what he gets for going outside for three seconds -Dan made a comment later about cannibalistic seagulls -Dan said this was the worst place for Phil to be because it’s the cheese state -“the buildings are made of cheese, you’re all made of cheese” -Dan -apparently Phil is just constantly lactose intolerant in Wisconsin -apparently our show was originally just going to be cheese curd wrestling -according to Dan it would have been perfect “with the hexagon just put up some nets and fill it with cheese” -Dan called someone out for having their iPhone out -“can you put that down the glare is blinding me” -then they were joking about the tension in the air after that -Phil was waving his fingers in the air “I can feel the tension around you” -Dan’s response “I don’t think the tension wants you touching it like that” -Phil had on a badgers hat for the rap -he also dropped the B word and everyone dIED -they were talking about changes and Dan brought up Phil’s new hair -his conspiracy theory is that this Phil is a clone and that it killed the real Phil -“WHERE IS THE BODY?” -Phil shot back that this Dan must be a clone too with the curly hair -Dan acted shocked/concerned every time everyone cheered about something strange (they said they were going to drop 20,000 lbs of ice on us, also they were going to release bees into the crowd) -so much teasing Phil about the dead houseplants -Dan called him the Dexter of houseplants -at one point Dan said something about how Loki the houseplant was doing as good as actual Loki and the crowd just died -he also made a “I don’t feel so good” reference and there was much screaming/protesting -there was a moment when Phil misread something and then joked about his apparently useless English degree 

  -Phil 100% came close to falling off the stage about three times -seriously one of the times was so close Dan actually got worried -also Dan seemed concerned that Phil may not be able to make it onto the piano for the duet -there was an audible sigh of relief from Dan once Phil hopped up onto the piano

[beatlequotes]

I was going home in the car and Dick Lester suggested the title, 'Hard Day's Night' from something Ringo had said. I had used it in 'In His Own Write', but it was an off-the-cuff remark by Ringo. You know, one of those malapropisms. A Ringo-ism, where he said it not to be funny... just said it. So Dick Lester said, 'We are going to use that title.'

John Lennon, Playboy Interviews, 1980

[phanfeed-ao3]

But What Was Right Anyway

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2rOZl8x

by DumpsterDiving101

Third book in the 'But Love Is Overrated Anyways' series, behind 'But Love Is Overrated Anyways' and 'But Who Was It For Anyways'.

Words: 70, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of But Love Is Overrated Anyways Series

Fandoms: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M, M/M, Other

Characters: Dan Howell, Phil Lester, PJ Liguori, Original Characters, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s)

Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Dan Howell & Phil Lester

Additional Tags: Third book, book three, 3, Three - Freeform, but love is overrated anyways, but who was it for anyways, Romance, Action, Post-Apocalypse, Kinda, Dystopia, Dystopian, Utopian, utopian community, city, Worldbuilding, Original Character(s), Fiction, Fantasy, AU, Alternate Universe, Mutants, powers, Ice Powers, Heat powers, Fire Powers, Classism, Racism, all sorts of isms, Violence, Fighting, Dark History, Murder, Death, AND OTHER EXCITING THINGS

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2rOZl8x

[auroraphilealis]

Venus’s Looking Glass

Venus’s Looking Glass | Shy!punk!Phil has been crushing on confident!pastel!Dan for years now, but he’s never felt comfortable enough to do anything about it until he accidentally comes out to his brother Martyn, who is nothing but supportive. It’s Martyn’s idea to woo Dan with flowers - only, he didn’t mean do it anonymously. | Phan | Teen and Up | punk/pastel, secret admirer au, coming out, supportive brothers, mentions of sexual things | 12,142 Words

Happy birthday to the wonderful @cosmicphandom2k16, my literal phan mum! Your comments and messages always make me smile, and you are the kindest of kind souls! I just wanted to make you smile on your birthday, so I’m hoping this will do the trick! I’m also purposely posting while you’re asleep because I want you to wake up Monday morning and have this sat waiting for you! Also, on that note, happy mother's day mama phan!! I hope your family took great care of you <333</p>

Thank you to @vanillasolitude for the idea and the endless supply of flower images that I literally stole from you :) also thank you so much to @phandommother for reassuring me that this was not crap as I worked on it, and giving me so much reassurance and encouragement!

(Ao3 Link)

**

If anyone were to ask, Phil Lester would deny knowing how he’d ended up on his classmate’s facebook page, quietly and casually stalking their photo’s as if they were old friends, which they were not.

He couldn’t even claim he’d gone off on some kind of late night odyssey, or that he just plain couldn’t sleep, because it wasn’t exactly the middle of the night. In fact, Phil had only just finished eating dinner with his family downstairs. His brother Martyn had spent the majority of the meal teasing Phil about his new tongue piercing and the fact that it had caused his tongue to go all swollen for a few days, effectively embarrassing the hell out of him, and Phil had gone upstairs with the full intention of plugging in some headphones and listening to some tunes until he fell asleep.

It had been an accident when he’d ended up on twitter instead, and then on facebook, and then on Dan Howell’s profile page.

It wouldn’t have been so odd if Phil had, you know, known the guy, but as it was, they weren’t even friends. They were more like casual acquaintances who’d gone to school together for the majority of their lives and who’d added each other on facebook back when friend count was a competition.

Phil knew more about Dan from his facebook profile than he’d probably ever know about him in real life, and he’d only been on it for about ten minutes, now.

Not that he was going to tell anyone that he was not-so-casually stalking the guy, but still. It was kind of embarrassing, wasn’t it? Not something that Phil ever wanted to be caught doing, whether in the privacy of his own room or otherwise. He just kind of… got caught up, that’s all.

It wasn’t as if Phil knew nothing about they guy, either. They were classmates, had been since primary school, so it wasn’t that weird. It was just - Dan was kind of his crush, that’s all, and the last thing Phil wanted anyone to know was who Phil was crushing on. He was enough of a freak in his own right at school, considering the all black ensemble, dyed hair, tattoo’s, and piercings that were enough to scare off most people - he didn’t need everyone knowing he fancied guys on top of that. He dealt with enough whispers behind his back, thank you very much, and until he had someone else to protect from the harsh words, Phil didn’t really want to have to put up with them.

Of course, should Dan return his interest - well, Phil wasn’t going to think about that.

He’d much rather think about the cute little dimple currently flashing in the image on his phone screen, and the way Dan’s eyes looked bright and shiny whenever he smiled. God, Phil loved that smile. He could stare at it every day, given the chance - which he kind of did. They shared a surprising amount of classes at school this year, and Phil had been taking full advantage of the practically open invitation to gawk at the other boy.

He was pretty good at it, too - hiding the gawking, that is. The last thing Phil needed was Dan noticing his staring.

It had happened once before, and it had been disastrous.

Apparently, Dan had assumed Phil was glaring at him, and had stared back with eyes so wide he resembled a terrified doe. The memory of that cringe worthy moment was enough to make Phil shut his eyes and shake his head, even now. He’d been mortified, possibly a little bit heartbroken as well, and Dan hadn’t been able to so much as walk past him for the next three weeks without ducking his head and scurrying by like he thought Phil was going to eat him if he didn’t get out of his way fast enough.

Truth be told, Phil would like to eat him, but not in the way that Dan had assumed.

He’d gotten better, though. He was pretty adept at picking the right seat to stare at Dan from the corner of his eye, and he hadn’t been caught since. Phil was pretty sure his classmates hadn’t noticed the staring either, which was a blessing in and of itself.

If it was true that Phil had learned more about Dan from ten minutes on his facebook profile than he’d ever learned from Dan in person, then it was also definitely true that Phil had noticed more about Dan in person than perhaps anyone else in their school.

In fact, Phil had a little mini catalogue in his mind of Dan-isms, including the way his skin went all blotchy and red when he was embarrassed, and that Dan hated it because the colour would continue to stain his cheeks for a few days afterward. He also knew Dan’s laugh by heart, the sound generally soft but often really loud as well.

Dan himself was really loud, actually, despite his soft exterior, and it was kind of endearing in the strangest of ways.

See, Dan wore all pastel colours; he was the epitome of gentleness and softness. His hair was almost always a curly mass on top of his head, sometimes with flowers interspersed for some colour. He wore sweaters that were always too big on him, or crop tops that showed off his belly, and his skin was a glorious, soft tan.

He was so gentle that it was a surprise every time Phil heard his voice go high and screechy whenever he was excited about something.

Endearing. Dan was endearing, and all Phil really wanted to do was to get know every last aspect about his long time classmate and crush. Which… was honestly what had originally led him to Dan’s facebook profile.

The pictures had just been a bonus, a distraction.

In all honestly, Phil’s hand had been creeping lower and lower down his body the more photos of Dan he clicked through. He’d had his bottom lip trapped between his front teeth for a solid ten minutes, now, and it didn’t seem like that was going to be changing anytime soon.

In fact, given five more minutes, he was certain he was going to -

Dan was just so gorgeous. Phil couldn’t help it. He hadn’t been kidding when he said Dan alternated between clothes that were too big for him, and clothes that technically didn’t quite fit.

Some of Dan’s pictures were particularly provocative as well. Phil had just scrolled passed one of Dan staring up at the camera with those same, wide doe eyes he’d given Phil when Phil had scared him off months ago, and it had done something strange to Phil’s insides.

His breath hitched, and his hand itched lower, a tent starting to form under his jeans, but he kept clicking forward. It felt somehow wrong to wank to pictures of his crush, especially when said crush could go from looking sexy as hell, to the most innocent of flowers in an instant.

Dan was an enigma, in some ways.

Phil could feel his blood pulsing thick behind his ears as he scrolled passed yet another picture of Dan wearing short shorts and stretching out to show off his legs with a group of friends.

He wore a flower crown on his head, blue and red. It was Phil’s favorite one, because he’d complimented it once and managed to make Dan blush, his cheeks mottled for a good three days. He’d felt good, then, like Dan might actually finally take notice of him, but of course, he hadn’t. Instead, Dan had gone another week of avoiding Phil as best he could, and Phil had sighed his regret.

He wasn’t sure if he should take that as a rejection or not, so he just kind of… hadn’t.

His fingers dropped lower still, playing with the waistband on his jeans. He was so, so tempted to just - let go.

But he didn’t, and three seconds later, just as he was flipping through to a photo of Dan with his hair all mussed up from a morning shower, shirt off and fingers gripping his own hair, his bedroom door flew open.

“Philip!” Martyn whined as he sauntered in. At the same moment, Phil dropped his phone on his bed, startled as he was, and yanked his hand back from where it had begun to creep below his jeans. He shuffled backwards, eyes wide, and propped himself up on his bed with his elbows.

“What the hell, Martyn?” he practically screeched, cheeks going red. “What if I’d been masturbating?”

His brother snorted at him and rolled his eyes, shoving Phil’s door shut behind him and plopping down backwards on the bed with him, until he was practically hanging off both ends. Martyn had always been just as tall and lanky as Phil. They never quite fit on the same bed together, and today was no different.

“You weren’t. Were you?” Martyn replied, turning his head and quirking a brow at his brother.

Squirming a bit in embarrassment, Phil shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. His intent was to avoid Martyn realizing that Phil merely nearly had been, but it was too late. Before Phil could even attempt to subtly shift his legs so his brother wouldn’t notice the hard on currently pressed up against the zip of his jeans, Martyn was glancing down and blanching, launching into a fit of hysterics that made Phil’s cheeks turn a bright red.

“Shut up,” Phil whined, crossing his arms over his chest with a little huff.

Martyn reached up to wipe non-existent tears from his eyes, and replied, “Oops. Well, you hadn’t gotten your pants off yet at least.”

Phil didn’t consider that much of a blessing, all things considered just then.

Besides, he hadn’t really been planning on mastrubating. He’d just - you know, gotten a little excited. He couldn’t despoil Dan Howell no matter how much he wanted too.

“Besides,” Martyn suddenly continued. There was a glint in his eye that Phil did not like. “We both know I’ve seen worse,” he continued, and winked. Mortified, Phil was instantly glaring, reaching behind him for a pillow that he instantly launched at Martyn’s head.

“I hate you!” he whined, and grabbed another one for good measure, smashing Martyn in the chest with a loud, embarrassed groan. “I thought we agreed to never speak of that again!”

Martyn merely laughed at him some more, practically cackling and rolling on the bed as Phil smacked him again and again with the pillow. Phil was never going to forget the day Martyn was alluding too, as much as he’d love too.

It was years ago now, when Phil was still attempting to figure out his own sexuality and preferences. Martyn had stumbled upon him experimenting late one night in his bedroom, a back of lube, a condom, and his own fingers pressed somewhere some would argue they shouldn’t be. It had been mortifying, and even now, Phil could feel the blush burning down his chest, too.

With one last groan, Phil slammed the pillow into Martyn’s chest again and left it there, instantly collapsing onto the bed so he was hanging off sideways next to Martyn, though he was on his stomach rather than his back.

“What do you want, anyway?” Phil muttered when Martyn finally quit laughing at Phil’s misfortune.

He didn’t answer. For a moment, Phil didn’t think he would, and he frowned to himself, annoyed that his brother had most likely come in here for no reason once again other than to embarrass the crap out of Phil.

Then Martyn sighed, and the sound was so pitiful that Phil actually frowned as he rolled and turned to peer sideways at him.

There was a grimace pulling at the corners of Martyn’s mouth that Phil did not particularly like seeing there. Reaching over gently, Phil poked his brother in the side, and said, “Come on, talk to me then.”

With a huge, heaving sigh, Martyn rolled over as well, facing Phil like they used to as kids back when they’d kind of sort of fit on the bed together and one of them needed advice on something. His eyes were a little red, like he’d been scrubbing at them. It was enough for any leftover resentment Phil might have at Martyn to fade.

“Cornelia and I’ve been fighting, that’s all,” he eventually sighed. Phil winced, grimacing a little, and rolled over once more until he was on his back and facing the ceiling. “You know how it is. She’s - well, she feels like the romance is dead. To be fair, I haven’t exactly had much time to spend with her since the whole uni thing, you know?”

It was old news to Phil. Martyn had opted to go to the University of Manchester while his girlfriend, Cornelia, had gotten a full ride to York, and they hadn’t seen much of each other in months. Sometimes, Phil could hear Martyn and her fighting through the thin walls of their bedrooms, often into the middle of the night, and he always did his best to not bring it up the next day. In fact, they had yet to talk about Martyn’s recent relationship problems, and Phil was kind of surprised it had taken him so long to come to him.

“Yeah. I reckon it’s pretty hard,” he agreed quietly, unable to help it as his mind flicked back to thoughts of Dan. He’d been trying so long just to get his attention… shoving those thoughts aside, Phil did his best to focus on his brother and his real relationship problems. “But - I mean, she’ll come around, right? She’s got to know that you’re both really busy right now.”

Martyn sighed, but otherwise didn’t respond for a moment. Phil could hardly blame him. If only life could be so simple.

“I don’t know. I hope so,” he eventually agreed, and sat up. “But enough of that. That’s not actually why I came in here. I was hoping you’d wanna hang out or something?” Martyn offered, an unsure smile starting to curve the corner of his lips. “I realize I - interrupted you, but I’d rather not be alone right now.”

They must have been fighting earlier, then, and Phil had been too distracted to notice.

Doing his best to hide the blush that was slowly starting to heat his cheeks once more, Phil sat up as well and shoved his brother.

“Shut up. It’s fine. We could play mario kart or something, if you wanted,” Phil offered, standing with a yawn to get the system booted up. There was nothing like a quick round of mario kart to distract you from all of your problems, after all, and it was their go to thing to do in situations like these.

“Sounds great,” Martyn agreed easily enough. Phil smiled, and turned away to stretch, ignoring the sounds of his brother shifting around on his bed to instead go and actually find the controllers for his wiiu. He had a bad habit of tossing them on the ground after a late night gaming session.

He’d just unearthed the wiiu gamepad from under a black t-shirt when Martyn suddenly piped up behind him, sounding rather - odd.

“Who’s this?”

The question shouldn’t have been strange at all. It wasn’t all that unusual for the two of them to pick up each other’s phones and use them, especially when they were hanging out in each other’s rooms. More often than not, Martyn would open Phil’s social media apps and ask weird questions about the people Phil followed. But today… today was a very different situation because the last thing Phil had been looking at had been a shirtless Dan Howell, and the last thing Martyn knew Phil to be “doing,” was masturbating.

Phil’s blood ran cold, and he froze in place, terrified to turn around and take in the expression on his brother’s face. If his voice wasn’t giving anything away, Phil was certain his face would.

Swallowing thickly, Phil weighed up his options. How was he going to deal with this? Try and brush it off as nothing? Probably.

So Phil turned with the intention of doing just that, only to freeze in place once again as he realized that his brother was scrolling through Dan’s photos, and - well, as Phil had said earlier. Quite a few of them were… rather provocative.

Generally speaking, Martyn and Phil were pretty close. They told each other everything, often knowing each other’s secrets before anyone else did, but this was one secret Phil had been terrified to tell.

He swallowed and crossed his arms over his chest. The muscles there twitched.

Martyn wasn’t even looking at him.

“A friend,” he tried to claim, setting his teeth and playing with the tiny barbell tongue piercing Martyn had been making fun of at dinner against the back of his teeth. It was a much needed distraction.

“A friend,” Martyn repeated. His voice was so calm, it gave away none of what he was feeling.

Phil flinched. He didn’t particularly like that. They so rarely froze each other out, and it was kind of setting Phil’s nerves on fire. His brother was a good guy, and he’d always been supportive, it was just - for all that Phil had imagined coming out to his brother, it hadn’t been like this.

If nothing else, he knew Martyn must be shocked.

Phil’s hands were shaking. What if this was more than just shock?

“Yeah,” he reiterated, trying to keep his voice from shaking too. Slowly, he reached out with his hand and tried to snatch his phone away from Martyn. “Just this guy I know, I -”

“Phil,” Martyn interrupted. He still hadn’t looked up, and his fingers were poised over a picture of Dan smiling, dimple popping, with a group of his friends, a pink flower crown settled on top of his wild mass of curls. “You - you know I don’t - it’s fine if, like… Phil,” Martyn said, trailing off and finally, finally looking up at him.

His expression was carefully guarded, clearly taken aback, but not - but not angry in anyway.

Some part of Phil, some tight thing in his chest, uncoiled just like that, and while he couldn't fully relax, there could be no doubt about the relief coursing through him just then. Martyn might not have been able to say it, but - that was good. This was good. It was going to be okay.

Except it wasn’t going to be okay, not really, because Phil was terrified. He didn’t even know what he was, let alone how to describe it to anyone else, and he wasn’t really ready for this conversation no matter how understanding his brother might be.

He dug his nails into the palm of one hand, and gestured with the fingers of the for Martyn to hand over his phone already.

“I know,” he agreed, voice tense. “Just - he’s just a friend. Now give me my phone,” Phil insisted.

After another hesitant moment, Martyn finally did so, though it was clear the action was reluctant.

For a moment, Phil thought that would be the end of it. Martyn was biting his bottom lip like he didn’t want to pry, which Phil sincerely hoped he wouldn’t, and Phil was doing all that he could to avoid his gaze all together. He fiddled with his phone, quickly exiting Dan’s facebook page and then the app altogether before giving in and just shutting his phone off. He was still shaking, horrified that he’d been caught out. Tears burned at the backs of his eyes.

“Phil,” Martyn said then, interrupting his train of thought. He dropped a hand on to Phil’s shoulder that once would have been comforting, but just then made Phil want to crawl under a rock.

“What?”

“You know it’s okay if you’re like… gay, or whatever, right?” his brother finally managed to get out. “No one - no one here’s going to judge you, least of all me, and -”

“I’m not,” Phil shot back, interrupting Martyn completely. He looked up with burning eyes, and tried to hide the emotion behind a stilted glare. “I told you, he’s just a friend!”

Martyn gave him a knowing look, and Phil felt his shoulder’s beginning to sag in defeat. The last thing he wanted to do was cry about this, so he wiped furiously at his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m not… exactly,” he finally gave in. He could feel his heart racing in his chest as he dragged his hands away from his face and stared up at Martyn. “I’m - I don’t know what I am, okay? I just, you know… Like this guy, so can we please just drop it?” he finally requested, his voice going a little high, a little squeaky, the way it always did when he was stressed.

“It’s not a big deal,” he added for good measure, “It’s not. Okay? I just - you know. I was going to tell you,” he claimed, shoving his now turned off into his back pocket so his brother couldn’t go through any more of his stuff. He could still feel the embarrassment making cheeks red, and it really wasn’t helping the terrified part of him that just wanted to drop this entire conversation already. “It’s not a big deal,” he repeated once more for good measure, and met his brothers eyes again.

Martyn just started at him, expression soft and understanding. He reached out to clasp Phil’s shoulder again, squeezed once, and then let go.

“Okay,” he finally replied. “So… mario kart?”

**

It wasn’t until several hours later, in the wee hours of the morning, that Martyn brought it up again.

Phil could just see the red numbers of his alarm clock declaring the time to be 4:54 am. He was royally fucked for school tomorrow.

“So about this guy,” Martyn said, nonchalant as ever, just as he shot a blue shell at Phil and sent him skittering off the mario kart track they were currently playing and down to his death. Groaning loudly, Phil shoved him with his shoulder.

“Cheater,” he whined, and then, “What guy?”

The blue shell had dropped him back into fourth place, now, and it wasn’t even Martyn who’d taken the lead. He liked to call this position the cluster fuck of items, as there were boomerangs and red shells flying aplenty.

He needed to work his way back up before he got royally screwed and ended up in tenth place or something.

Somehow, Phil managed to slip on a banana peel that just so happened to land directly in front of his kart, and he groaned all over again, shoving the wiimote into his cheek painfully hard.

“Well, for starters, are you actually friends?” Martyn continued, as if he hadn’t just fucked up Phil’s entire game plan. “Because I’ve never heard you talk about him before, and I’d suspect I would have heard of him before now if you were,” Martyn continued, taking his own leisurely stroll past the computer currently in second place, until he was nearly in the lead himself.

Phil grunted in response, trying to maintain his focus as his kart was re settled on the track and the wiimote returned to his hands. He didn’t really want to talk about this right now. His heart had only now stopped racing since Martyn had accidentally found out about Dan a few hours earlier in the first place.

“No,” he finally admitted, gritting his teeth as he raced past the kart in seventh place and up a wall to collect an item box. The little tinkling sound distracted him for a moment, and he pressed the trigger button instantly upon receiving the much loved bullet bill.

Martyn hardly seemed to notice at all.

“Well, you’re an idiot then. Have you ever even talked to him?” Martyn accused, settling in just behind the first place Mario comp with a yawn as someone sent a blue shell flying his way. Phil grit his teeth as Mario fell behind, and he barely managed to drop off in fourth place thanks to the bullet bill.

“Can we please not talk about this right now?” he demanded.

Martyn, as usual, ignored him.

“I’m taking that as a no,” he replied, just as the finish line came into sight and Phil grabbed another item box containing - yet another blue shell.

He shot it off as just the same time as Martyn went to cross the finishing line, chanting “Come on, come on, come on - no!” right up until the moment Martyn managed to finish the race in first place, rendering Phil’s blue shell null and void.

He groaned once more and threw his wiimote on the floor, deciding he didn’t care anymore if he came in last now, not when he’d come so close to knocking Martyn back a few places.

“Shut up,” he whined, flopping backwards, his back just hitting the side of his bed.

Martyn grinned at him.

“If you don’t talk to him, you know you’re never going to get a chance with the guy, right?”

Phil grabbed a pillow off of his bed and smacked Martyn in the face again.

**

“No, but really, Phil. Grow a pair of balls before someone else does and snatches the poor guy up. He is rather cute, isn’t he?”

“Are you still on about this?” Phil asked with a loud groan. They’d play a few more rounds of mario kart before Phil’s alarm had inevitably gone off, and he’d stood to start getting ready for school. University student as he was, Martyn didn’t have class until three that afternoon, and didn’t look like he had any plans to move from in front of Phil’s television any time soon.

Phil had honestly thought his brother was finally going to let the whole Dan thing go after he’d smacked him in the face again, but clearly he’d been wrong.

“Duh,” Martyn shot back. “When was the last time you were actually interested in someone? Was it Karly with a K? That girl you wrote love letters to and then tried to give a bouquet of flowers too until she -”

“Okay, alright, that’s enough! Yes, it was Karly with a K, and I hardly see how that’s relevant!” Phil shot back, cutting Martyn off before he could bring up anymore memories that Phil really didn’t want to think about just then. He was trying to shove his t-shirt over his head, but a piece of thread had apparently gotten caught on one of his earrings, and his voice had come out so muffled he wondered if Martyn had even heard him.

The fact that he kept on talking implied no.

“ - she was a nasty one, wasn’t she. Hey! I’ve got an idea!” Martyn suddenly exclaimed. It must have been a good one as well, because he actually dropped the wiimote in the middle of the race to instead get up and help Phil untangle his t-shirt from around his head.

“The flowers clearly didn’t work on her, but they’ll definitely work on your flower boy! I bet he makes his own flower crowns. If you just picked a few flowers for him, that might at least get some conversation flowing between you too. What do you think?”

“I’ll think about it,” Phil snapped back, but he most definitely wasn’t going to do it.

**

He was going to do it. Kind of.

Phil had a plan, and it most definitely involved giving Dan Howell flowers, only - well, Phil was too terrified to do it himself, exactly.

So he had a plan, and that plan involved stealing Mrs. Grinachu’s blue starlets, the prettiest flowers Phil had ever seen, next to Dan. Was that cheesy? Probably, but considering Phil had been fully against the idea of ever giving Dan anything in the first place before he’d caught sight of the tiny little flowers, he supposed he was allowed to be cheesy.

Not five minutes since Phil had left the house for school, he was back and reaching for a pair of scissors from the kitchen cupboard. It was just his luck that Martyn decided to take that exact same moment to come racing down the stairs and into the kitchen as well.

Both boys froze as Martyn appeared in the doorway.

“What are you doing, baby brother?” Martyn asked, confused. “Didn’t you just leave?”

“Yeah,” Phil replied, straightening up a little awkwardly considering he was hiding the pair of scissors behind his back. “I just - forgot… something,” he claimed, going to turn away and taking the scissors with him.

He didn’t quite manage to shoot passed his brother Martyn, though he did try his best. Before he could get fully past Martyn, his brother reached out and snatched hold of his wrist, dragging him around until he caught hold of Phil’s other wrist as well only to reveal the scissors Phil was holding.

Going red all over again, Phil tried his best to shoot his brother a glare. “Hey!” he complained, “Let me go. I’m going to go be late for school!” he complained, trying to be appear even just a tiny bit threatening, but it had been a long time since his scraggly appearance had scared off Martyn, if it ever had in the first place.

Martyn, for his part, merely rolled his eyes.

“Doesn’t matter how many tattoo’s or piercings you have, Phil Lester. I am never going to be intimidated by you.”

He was grinning though, and Phil had no doubt it had everything to do with the pair of scissors he’d been caught red handed with. Martyn quirked a brow at him.

“Going to give flower boy some flowers, then?”

“Fuck off,” Phil said.

**

He ended up leaving them on Dan’s seat in maths, a fistful of the cutest blue flowers Phil had ever seen quite deliberately left on the cold plastic of Dan’s chair.

Not ready to be outed once again by his crush on Dan, Phil snuck into the classroom early, before anyone else could arrive, hoping he’d get away with leaving behind his present. He very nearly did get away with at as well, but just as he was turning away from Dan’s desk, the classroom door opened once again to reveal their teacher.

Phil froze for a moment, staring wide eyed and disbelieving at Mr. Cray, fear burbling away in his stomach all over again. His fingers clenched into fists at his sides, and he was just about to turn around and snatch the flowers backup to save himself the embarrassment when Mr. Cray cleared his throat and offered Phil a clam grin.

“Morning,” he greeted, nonchalant as ever, and made his way over to his desk. Phil watched him go, disbelieving for a moment. Surely, he couldn’t be that lucky? He’d been caught out, red handed, giving flowers to a boy…Was he imagining the way Mr. Cray’s lips quirked up in a mimic of a smile?

Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Phil finally got his legs moving again, and rushed over to his own seat, shaking and hiding his expression behind a dark fringe as the bell for break to end rang and students began to pour into the classroom.

All that was left then, was to wait. There was a buzz of adrenaline prickling under Phil’s skin that he did his best to hide, but he couldn’t seem to keep himself from tapping his fingers.

Dan was never the first to class, but neither was he usually the last. He was perfectly punctual, and he always came in laughing with a group of friends. Today, though - today, Dan was most decidedly late.

For the whole of the ten minutes before class officially started, Phil waited anxiously in his seat, heart racing so fast he couldn’t seem to keep himself from shaking his leg in agitation and an attempt to release some of his pent up frustration, but Dan didn’t show. Instead, nearly every one of his other classmates traipsed through the door and sent curious looks over at the small bunch of flowers Phil had left on Dan’s chair.

There was excited murmuring and chatter as more and more students settled in, wondering who on earth could have left the flowers, but none of their comments mattered to Phil. All he really card about was Dan’s reaction.

Would the other boy like the flowers? Had Phil left the stem’s long enough for Dan to do anything with? Would Dan even want to make a flower crown out of them, or were they too likely to die too fast to wear? Phil didn’t know, but he wanted to know, and when Dan didn’t appear when Phil thought he would, he started to panic.

Maybe Dan wasn’t even going to be in class that day. After all, Phil hadn’t seen him yet that afternoon. What was he meant to do if Dan didn’t show up? He couldn’t exactly leave the flowers there for the next class, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to get up and remove them himself considering he didn’t want anyone to know it had been him, so what was he going to do?

Phil was just about to launch himself out of his seat and excuse himself to the bathroom just as the bell for the start of class went when the classroom door flew open one last time, and a disarrayed Dan Howell flew inside.

“Sorry I’m late!” he shot at the teacher. “Had a doctors appointment, but I’m here now,” he explained, handing over a little slip of paper from administration before heading straight for his seat.

It was obvious the moment Dan saw the flowers, because up to a point, he looked so harried Phil was terrified he wouldn’t notice them in time and would end up sitting on them instead of picking them up. Phil’s heart rate had returned to a ridiculous trot in his chest, and his body was still tensed to flee, but he didn’t move, anxious and waiting.

When Dan’s gaze finally landed on the flowers, he looked so taken aback that Phil didn’t know what to do.

What if he hated them, or thought it was some kind of prank? What if he demanded to know who had left them there, or tossed them in the bin when Phil had so carefully stolen them just that morning?

But he didn’t. Instead, the expression of surprise quickly melted into something softer and sweeter, Dan’s cheeks doing that mottled pink thing they did when he blushed. His fingers shook as he reached for the probably too long stems, and picked them up gently, as gently as he did just about anything.

Phil’s heart was in his throat.

“Who -?” Dan started to ask, glancing around the room, his eyes skipping right over Phil like he was still too afraid to look at him. He didn’t finish his statement, instead shaking his head and turning back to the front of the room as he slipped into his seat.

That’s when Phil heard it - the faintest sound of a little giggle. His heart burst open then, and he practically melted, watching as Dan shoved his face into his hands and shook his head like he couldn't quite believe it.

**

“So?” Martyn asked the second Phil walked through the door, practically dead on his feet from lack of sleep. “How did it go?”

Phil didn’t answer, but he couldn’t quite manage to hide the way his lips twitched remembering the way Dan had later stuck the tiny little petals into his hair in a makeshift flower crown that afternoon at lunch.

Martyn laughed and clapped Phil on the shoulder.

“Good for you!” he said.

**

It turned out Mrs. Grinachu was rather useful after all. She had a rather spectacular garden in her front yard that Phil hadn’t really paid attention to before now, and the flowers were all pretty much the same size as the blue starlets from yesterday.

His fingers were twitching in his pocket, where he’d shoved the same pair of scissors from home just that morning on the off chance he might see another set of flowers he wanted to give to Dan. He hadn’t exactly… okay, so he had planned to woo Dan with flowers every day, but he hadn’t exactly expected it to be so easy.

Mrs. Grinachu’s garden was right there though, and Phil could just about see these really pretty pink flowers he thought he’d seen Dan wear before just there, staring at him like they wanted him to take them.

So he did, with a few quick, precise snips to a bunch at the front of the bush he was currently hiding behind, and then he scurried off to school once more.

He didn’t quite count his lucky stars that he’d be the first to maths again, or that he’d manage to sneak the flowers onto Dan’s seat when he knew there was going to be at least one person keeping their eye out for Dan’s secret admirer, so he didn’t even try. Instead, e kept the small bunch of flowers carefully tucked away in his folder, and waited until the perfect moment to tape them to Dan’s locker instead.

Unfortunately, said moment did not come before maths, and Phil watched as Dan walked in, looking rather hopeful, only to find that his seat was empty. The sight stabbed at Phil’s heart until he was sorely tempted to stand up right then and there and just go ahead and hand the flowers over in person instead, but he refrained.

He did, however, use that lesson as an excuse to sneak away to the “bathroom,” and, after making certain that no one was looking, pulled the flowers from his folder and taped them along the locker Phil knew beyond a doubt belonged to Dan.

He didn’t quite get the chance to enjoy Dan’s expression of happy surprise once again, but he did notice the little bunch of flowers more securely strapped to Dan’s bag on his way home that afternoon.

Phil’s heart did a strange little flip, and he hid his own giddy smile in his hand.

**

On Friday, Phil stole a purple flower called “venus’s looking glass” from Mrs. Grinachu’s garden, conveniently labeled for Phil’s perusal, and managed to sneak it into Dan’s bag to find when he got home that weekend. He gave himself a congratulatory pat on the back for a job well done, and continued on with his day.

For the past three days, Dan had looked happier than he ever did, and Phil couldn’t help hoping it was because of him. Dan was always rather cheery, so it was hard to see a difference, but Phil noticed it. He had an extra spring in his step, and he laughed harder and louder than he normally did, like he just couldn’t quite manage to keep the giddiness in.

His cheeks were a constant, stained pink as well, and Phil actually caught the other male looking his way on more than one occasion, but Phil hadn’t reacted in the least. He’d stared back for less than a millisecond each time before continuing on his way, as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.

He wasn’t sure if Dan would still be so excited about his flowers if he knew it was Phil who’d been gifting them to him, but he could hope. If nothing else, the way Dan looked at him, like he was scrutinizing him, had given him enough hope.

Maybe, it would be okay.

**

Venus’s looking glass is my favorite flower, how did you know?

The words were printed clear as day across Phil’s phone screen. He was almost ashamed to admit that he’d been ever so cautiously stalking Dan’s social media mentions since Friday afternoon, and it had taken until Saturday night for Dan to post anything about the purple flowers Phil had snuck away in his bag.

It had ended up being a tweet. Phil had kind of been hoping for a facebook post, maybe an instagram of Dan wearing them somewhere, but a tweet would do. In fact, the tweet was everything, and made something strange wriggle around in Phil’s stomach to see that he’d done something right.

His favorite.

Somehow, Phil had gotten lucky enough to pick out Dan’s favorite flower from Mrs. Grinachu’s garden, and he was ever so tempted to head out and steal another one just for good measure. Maybe he could give it to Dan on Monday, and maybe, if he was brave enough, he might actually present it to him person.

The thought sent a nervous chill through Phil, and he grinned as he not so secretly pressed “like” on the tweet.

“How’s everything going, baby brother?” Martyn asked, quite suddenly appearing beside Phil as he plopped down on the sofa next to him.

Cornelia had come over for the weekend. She’d arrived Friday morning, apparently visiting from York, and Phil hadn’t exactly been able to stay in his room since. He didn’t blame them, though, despite being a little bit annoyed that it was too embarrassing to sleep in his bed when he knew exactly what was going on a room over.

He done his homework in the kitchen, spent the night on the sofa, and kept quite clear of the upstairs since last night’s dinner.

He was honestly kind of surprised to find Martyn out of bed.

“Nothing,” he replied, shutting off his phone screen and turning back to the tv show he’d put on earlier to distract himself from waiting for Dan to post something, anything.

Phil was careful not to turn and look at his brother, who he was sure was covered in an array of hickies. He’d seen enough of that to last him a life time.

Martyn snorted at him, and smacked him on the back of the head. Phil did nothing more than grumble.

Martyn stretched his legs out with a sigh and a rather pleasing joint crack.

“How are things going with flower boy?” he eventually asked through a yawn.

Phil rolled his eyes.

“His name’s Dan. And fine,” he replied.

“Talked to him yet?”

Phil squirmed in his seat.

Martyn laughed again. “Come on, baby bro. Get a move on already. What are you afraid of?” he asked.

Everything, Phil decided.

**

On Monday, there was a cluster of pretty orange wallflowers Martyn’s girlfriend had bought for him in a show of solidarity, on Tuesday there were some sunflowers Phil managed to steal last minute just outside of the track and field, and on Wednesday he arrived at school with something bright pink and cuter even than the blue starlets Phil had picked out that first day. He was quite creative with where he left them as well - the wallflowers appeared in a class that Dan and Phil did not share, the sunflowers were left on top of Dan’s gym bag, and the bright pink flowers Phil rather dangerously left on a little platform just outside of the school parameters where Phil knew Dan walked past on his way home every day. Those, he might have stuck around to make sure ended up with the right person, and he was pleased to see the way Dan’s eyes lit up as he picked them up.

“He still didn’t speak to Dan, though, and while the social media mentions increased - i wish you’d tell me who you are; they like me, they like me not...; the drummonds were beautiful thank you; and a rather provocative photo of Dan with a delicate array of some of the surviving flowers from the past week scattered about his bare thighs - Phil did not step forward to reveal himself to Dan.

He was honestly terrified. What if Dan was hoping it was anyone but Phil, or what if, when Phil finally approached him like the plan eventually foretold, he was too intimidated or grossed out by Phil’s rather… eccentric appearance to do anything other than run away?

Phil knew it was probably ridiculous to think like that, because this was Dan, one of the nicest students in the student body, but it wouldn't be the first time he’d scared the poor kid away. The last thing he wanted was to do it again.

The instagram picture, though. Phil couldn’t help wondering what exactly Dan had meant to accomplish with that. All he’d managed to do was give Phil a raging hard on that he was too afraid to do anything with out of some kind of messed up desire to keep Dan pure.

Phil would literally pay the universe five thousands dollars if Dan turned out to be pure in anyway, not when he’d looked at the camera like that.

**

Phil finally wrote Dan a love note on Friday.

Mrs. Grinachu had another set of flowers labeled scarlet lobelia in her garden that strictly speaking, were gorgeous, just like Dan. Quite unable to restrain himself very much longer with the way Dan kept trying to bait Phil out on instagram with an increased posting of the flowers Phil kept leaving him, Phil scribbled out a note to leave behind with the flowers this time.

Ive never seen a flower more reminiscent of the way you make me feel, it said, with a messy little xoxo at the end, and secret admirer. Phil had drawn a lion for good measure, an attempt at the same lion Phil had tattooed on his upper arm.

It was the first indication that the flowers were actually coming from someone who was interested in Dan, and the first time Phil had given away anything that might tell Dan who he was.

All he could really hope was that Dan would be excited by the hint, and maybe, just maybe, he might realize who Phil was without Phil actually having to approach him.

Maybe this way, if Dan was going to reject him, it would at least be a little more gentle. If nothing else, Phil had tried.

**

Phil should have known by now that the last thing Martyn was going to do was leave him alone about Dan, so it really should not have come as any surprise to him when Martyn showed up in his room on Sunday, holding Phil’s phone aloft with a goofy little grin.

“I was looking for that,” Phil stated calmly.

He had been. He’d been waiting for Dan to post something about his note since Friday, but he’d yet to get any notifications from any of Dan’s social media accounts, and it was starting to freak him out a little bit.

Had he well and truly messed up after all? Phil didn’t know. Maybe Dan was just busy. That’s what he’d been telling himself, anyway.

“Oh yeah?” Martyn asked, looking like the cat who’d caught that canary. “And why’s that. It’s not like you’ve got Dan’s number or anything. Waiting for something, Philip?”

Eyes narrowed, Phil peered at his brother suspiciously.

“It’s none of your buisness,” he tried.

Martyn snorted.

“You tell me everything, Phil. It’s definitely my business. Look,” he said, and finally tossed Phil his phone. It was open to the instagram app, Dan’s IGN glaring at him from the top of the screen, and there was finally an image laid bare to him.

Dan’s first post of the weekend.

For my lion, the caption read.

The picture was - well, the picture was most definitely not something Phil had been expecting to see.

It was made up of flowers, the same way all of Dan’s instagram pictures were, sure, but there was something more about it. The flowers were spread out over what appeared to be Dan’s bedroom floor, and the picture they made seemed strangely familiar.

It took Phil a few minutes to realize why, but the moment he did, his cheeks went bright pink.

“So. When are you asking him out?”

“Shut up,” Phil squeaked back, and shoved another pillow in his brother's face.

**

On Monday, Dan showed up wearing baby blue high tops, jean short shorts, and a black crop top with a lion emblazoned across the front in red and gold. On top of his head sat the same red and blue flower crown Phil had first complimented him on so many months back.

It seemed suddenly impossible that the lion Dan had made out of flowers on his bedroom floor that weekend had only coincidentally resembled the one on his arm.

In fact, with the way Dan smiled at him the minute he walked into maths, less than a minute before the final bell that afternoon, said it all, and Phil found himself blushing before he could even think to stop himself.

In his backpack, he’d hidden away a rather delicate red rose whose thorns he’d personally removed, much to the displeasure of his fingertips. He’d hoped to give it to Dan personally that afternoon, but he’d still had the sinking feeling Dan had gotten it all wrong somehow.

Now, as Phil ducked his head rather shyly away from Dan’s gaze, he realized he’d been kind of an idiot this whole time.

All around them, there were exciting murmurings as their classmates waited for something to happen. They’d been staring at Phil pretty much since he’d walked on campus that morning, so Phil knew they knew, just as much as Dan knew, and it was far more terrifying than he’d ever imagined it to be.

He was out, then, and that was - that was. Phil didn’t know. He was too busy trying to calm the butterflies currently having been set free in the pit of his stomach at the idea of Dan actually wanting him back.

Did Dan want him back?

Awkwardly, Phil slid nervously into his own seat, backpack pressed securely to his stomach, like it might hide him from view. Slowly, he peered up at Dan from underneath his dyed blue fringe. He was still staring at him. In face, he was getting up, grinning directly at Phil, his eyes dancing in a way that made Phil’s stomach twist.

Before something could happen, however, the bell for class went. Everyone groaned, disappointed, but none as disappointed as Dan. Phil watched as the other boy pouted, still staring staring at Phil like he was hoping Phil would actually properly catch his gaze, but sat back down as Mr. Cray stood and started speaking.

Phil turned his gaze back down to his desk as Dan turned to face the front of the room. He was shaking, fingers fumbling as he reached for the zip on his backpack where he held the rose he’d de-thorned just for Dan that morning. He’d bled - quite a bit, actually - but he hoped that Dan wouldn’t notice all the tiny little cuts on the pads of his fingers now.

That was - if Dan even wanted to see his hands, let alone him.

But he did, didn’t? He must.

Phil’s heart was racing faster and faster with every passing moment. He felt kind of dizzy and anxious, and he was avoiding Dan’s gaze for once. His pastel flower prince, meanwhile, was quite clearly staring his way.

Phil bit his lip.

He didn’t know how to do this.

**

“Hey,” Dan said, just as the bell was going for the end of class. Phil stopped clear in his tracks, having just launched himself out of his seat in a last ditch attempt to get away and not face Dan, despite the overwhelmingly larger part of him that wanted too.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, too afraid to look at Dan, and then collapsed back in his seat, hugging his backpack to his chest once again. He fumbled with the zips at the front; should he - did he… the rose? Phil really wanted to give Dan the rose, but despite his intimidating exterior, he’d always been… rather shy.

Anxious, even, in social situations.

“Hey,” Phil finally managed to croak out in reply. He swallowed, but didn’t look up. “I guess you’ve found me out then, yeah?” he asked, forcing out a rough sounding chuckle. “You didn’t have to wear black for me, you know. I really - the way you are, it’s fine. It’s good,” he said.

His mouth felt suddenly rather dry.

Dan laughed above him, the same high, giddy sound he’d been letting out for the past few weeks now.

“It was the only crop top with a lion on it that I could find. I figured you wouldn’t mind what I was wearing, considering - considering. But I wanted you to know I knew it was you,” Dan explained, his voice a little high, a little shy. It was the most he’d ever spoken to Phil in all the time they’d gone to school together, but even now, he sounded more sure of himself than Phil did.

Phil felt himself starting to flush even harder, embarrassed about it all.

“Yeah? Well I, uh… I appreciate it,” he squeaked. He still couldn’t quite seem to make himself look at Dan, and his fingers kept pressing at the zips on his backpack.

The majority of their classmates had gone, and Phil wondered if they were trying to give the two of them a little privacy. Phil could hear one or two lingering in the doorway, though.

Dan giggled, and Phil suddenly wanted to die. Could he be any more awkward? He was supposed to be the confident, suave bad boy type, and he couldn't even look at his crush’s face now they knew he - he - fancied them.

“Hey,” Dan said again, surprising Phil just enough that he flicked his gaze upwards. Dan was staring at him with the gentlest of expressions Phil had ever seen. There was that same, familiar blotchy blush making his cheeks all rosy, and his eyes were like liquid, they were so soft.

Phil had the sudden urge to just lean forward and kiss him already, but he didn’t.

“Yeah?” Phil asked dumbly, his voice all breathy.

Dan giggled at him again.

“I brought you something,” he said. Dan bit his lips for good measure, glancing down just enough that his fringe fell in front of his eyes, and reached behind him for something Phil hadn’t realized Dan had left on the desk beside Phil.

“You don’t - you didn’t have to, Dan, I -”

“I know,” Dan interrupted him, grinning a little shyly. He’d managed to perfect that doe eyed look even as he stared up at Phil from under his eyelashes. “But I wanted too. You’ve already given me so much. I just wanted to give you something in return,” he said.

Phil wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. He bit down on his own lip, and slowly nodded his head.

That seemed to be all the permission Dan needed, because it was only a few seconds later that he was grinning again, seemingly bouncing on the balls of his feet as he well and truly grabbed hold of whatever object was behind him.

For a second, a very brief second, Phil saw a flash of purple, and then Dan was settling something on top of Phil’s head. He looked so pleased with himself once he got it situated the way he wanted it that Phil basically melted, feeling his limbs go all weak and his eyes soft.

His eyes were wide as Dan took a step back from him - and when had he gotten closer, when he’d placed the thing on top of Phil’s head? - and he reached up with delicate fingers of his own to touch the object that Dan had presented to him.

His own, slow growing smile creeped up over his features as he realized just what it was.

A flower crown.

Dan giggled again.

“It’s venus’s looking glass. My favorite, remember? I thought… you could wear a little piece of me around.”

Phil laughed. He laughed, and ducked his head, and covered his face the same way Dan had when he’d first found the blue starlets on his desk chair a little over two weeks ago. Phil couldn’t quite believe he’d ever been so terrified of Dan Howell.

“Yeah,” Phil eventually agreed. “I’d very much so like that.”

**

They ate lunch together.

Dan insisted on practically sitting on Phil’s lap, pressed up into his side as he was, bare thighs resting delicately against the fabric of Phil’s jeans. They were outside, in the courtyard on a little patch of grass, and Phil’s heart was beating so fast he thought it might just burst right out of his chest. Dan kept making him laugh, smiling up at him with that same gentle smile, and they hadn’t even kissed yet but Phil thought he could have died happy right then.

For the first time, he was too distracted by Dan to be embarrassed at the way his tongue stuck out when he laughed, or how dumb he probably looked when he was eating. It was comfortable, far more comfortable than Phil had been expecting it to be, and while he could still feel his heart thrumming away anxiously inside fo his chest, he felt good.

He felt safe, with Dan. Gentle Dan, whose eyes were like liquid gold in the glint of the sun.

They seemed to talk about everything and nothing, dancing around the subject of flowers and secret admirer’s and the clear attraction between them both. Phil fed Dan fries, and shivered at the way Dan’s lips just ghosted past his fingers, and Dan teased Phil when he got ketchup on his face, but it was good.

It was so, so good. Any fear Phil might have had left that they might not get along vanished into thin air a mere thirty minutes into lunch.

Phil was so completely in love.

“So,” Dan said, picking up Phil’s hand in his not long after they’d finished eating. It was tiny compared to Phil’s. Phil’s dwarfed his in comparison, but Dan seemed to like that because he grinned even wider and laced their fingers together delicately.

“So,” Phil agreed, shy as ever, and so, so tempted to just - he rested an open palm on Dan’s bare thigh, and watched Dan shiver under his touch.

Phil was so fucked.

“So. Where’s my flower?”

Phil laughed. He threw his head back, and he laughed so hard that his entire body shook with the force of it. Dan’s face was screwed up in a happy little pout, like he couldn't quite hold back his smile, but he meant business all at the same time. It was the cutest expression Phil had ever seen, and he reached up with the same hand currently holding Dan’s to press his fingers to his cheek.

“What makes you think I have one for you today?” he teased, leaning in close enough that he could feel Dan’s breath puffing up against his lips. Their foreheads were nearly touching, and Dan had shifted so he was more turned into Phil’s body, one leg practically completely in Phil’s lap.

“Because you always have one for me these days,” Dan said, and lowered his gaze. “You wouldn’t skimp out on me today, would you?” he breathed.

Phil could practically feel that his pupils had blown wide. Dan’s free hand had found Phil’s, and he’d dragged it up his own bare thigh until Phil was unconsciously stroking the tanned skin left bare before him. He swallowed, lips parting unconsciously, and wondered what he wanted more. To make Dan smile with the red rose tucked away in his backpack, or to feel his lips finally pressed up against his.

“Phil,” Dan breathed. His eyes were wide, but determined, no trace of shyness left. He was grinning like this was all that he’d ever wanted in life. “Don’t be an idiot and kiss me already.”

So Phil did.

He pressed in close and finally got his mouth on Dan’s, whose lips parted under his like he’d been waiting for this his entire life. Dan’s fingers on top of Phil’s guided Phil’s hand further up his thigh, like he wanted Phil to touch him, to stroke over all that wonderful, tanned skin. With an open invitation like that, who was Phil to refuse? Letting out a soft little sight, Phil let his fingers wander, removing his hand from Dan’s cheek to instead seek out the soft skin of his side, fingers caressing up the bare skin and under his shirt to his back.

All the while, Dan mewled underneath him, pliant and soft and perfect.

So, so perfect.

His lips tasted sweet, like cherry lip balm. Phil sucked at the soft skin, licked into his mouth, and sucked on his tongue as well. Dan made a soft huffing sound at the first sensation of Phil’s tongue ring rubbing up against him, and suddenly he was seeking it out like he was desperate for it.

It made something unfold in Phil’s stomach, hot and wanting, that he wanted to ignore, but it was hard. He had to keep reminding himself that as delicate as Dan was, he wasn’t delicate at all, especially not in that moment. No, not with the way he shifted in Phil’s lap until he was practically straddling him, legs on either side of Phil’s hips and bum resting deliciously on top of Phil’s crotch. For some reason, just the thought of getting to have Dan like this made Phil laugh against his lips.

“What?” Dan asked, giggling as well.

“Nothing. It’s just - you’re wonderful,” Phil replied pulling Dan closer. “Beautiful,” he added, pressing in close to suck at his lips again. “Perfect,” he added for good measure. “I didn’t think I even stood a chance with you.”

Phil felt Dan grin against his lips just before he bit down softly and pulled away again. His eyes swirled with something like desire, and he reached for Phil’s hand to guide it up his thigh once again.

“Well, you’ve definitely got all that wrong,” he said, pushing Phil backwards in the grass and moving to straddle him properly this time. Phil stared up at Dan with wide eyes as he climbed on top of him, hands fluttering about Dan’s hips uselessly. Dan smiled as he reached for them and guided them back to his practically bare thighs, and up to cup his bum. “I never imagined, Phil Lester, would fancy me.

Blushing, and impossibly turned on, Phil could do nothing but stare up at Dan.

Dan grinned, and leaned in to kiss him again.

“Wonderful, beautiful, perfect,” he whispered against Phil’s lips.

They laughed into each other’s mouths at that, Dan’s fingers moving to card gently through Phil’s hair, and Phil’s fingers gripping softly to Dan’s warm flesh.

They didn’t stop kissing again until the bell for class went.

**

Phil walked Dan home. They held hands the whole way there, fingers pressed warm together and arms swingingly gently between them. Dan was ever so slightly shorter than Phil, but not by much, and he kept staring up at Phil like he was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Phil couldn’t quite believe how that was possible when Phil felt like Dan was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

The flower crown Dan had made for Phil still sat rested on top of his head. He kept getting strange looks from passerby, but he didn’t mind. He liked the way it felt there, liked knowing he had something from Dan, and from time to time, he’d reach up and adjust it ever so gently on top of his head. Dan seemed to like that, beaming every time Phil did it. Phil would blush and duck his head, but Dan didn’t let him stay like that for long.

No, they talked some more. Dan kept the conversation going where Phil could not, made him laugh more than he ever did, and kept him from lapsing into terrified silence.

Phil was left with a chest that felt impossibly warm. All he wanted to do was stay by Dan’s side forever, even if being so close to him invariably meant an endless pit of butterflies in his stomach.

By the time they reached Dan’s doorstep, Phil was impossibly tempted to follow him inside, just so they would never have to stop talking, but he regretfully declined Dan’s offer at the last minute with a little duck of his head.

“I’ll uhm… I’ll see you tomorrow?” he offered instead, awkward as ever. He’d shoved his hands into his pockets the moment Dan had let go to unlock his front door, and now he was left staring at the black tips of his shoes.

He could just about see the blue of Dan’s, and he was more surprised than he probably should have been when they started to inch closer to him.

He looked up just in time for Dan to press his fingers to Phil’s chin.

“Do you want to see me tomorrow?” Dan asked. He was grinning, so Phil knew he was teasing, but it still made his heart race in panic.

“Of course,” he insisted, nodding his head once determinedly. Dan giggled at him, and nodded his head as well.

“Then you’ll see me tomorrow,” he agreed. His eyes were a little searching as he looked into Phil’s, seeming to be considering something. What, Phil didn’t know, but he swallowed rather thickly as he waited for Dan to come to a decision. When he did, he smiled to himself, nodded again, and then leaned in to press a quick, gentle kiss to Phil’s cheek.

“Tomorrow, then,” he repeated, and finally let Phil go.

A little dazed by the action despite having spent a good part of lunch making out with Dan, it took Phil a moment to realize that was his cue to leave. Dan’s eyes were sparkling, and he was giggling into the palm of his hand by the time Phil turned around to go, only -

Wasn’t he forgetting something?

Embarrassed to have gotten so easily flustered by a kiss on the cheek, Phil laughed at himself, an awkward sounding chuckle, and tried to wrack his brain for what was missing at the same time as he went to jog away from Dan’s house. His cheeks were undeniably bright red, and he was certain Dan was watching him flee, but he was too busy trying to remember what he was forgetting to really focus on any of those facs.

He knew, once he got home, he’d undeniably be even more flustered and mortified at himself, especially considering he still had the rose in his -

The rose!

Phil hadn’t even yet made it out of Dan’s front yard before he came to a sudden stop, and abruptly turned back around, nearly tripping over his own two left feet. “Wa-wait!” he shouted, the word choppy from his own scare of nearly falling over. He looked up just in time to find that Dan hadn’t moved an inch since Phil had intended to take off, and he felt his cheeks grow hotter still, the flush racing down his chest.

Of course Dan had been staring at him leave. Phil had known that.

Dan was giggling at him now.

“Yes?”

Dan’s voice was impossibly perfect. Phil smiled, just at the sound of it, and ducked his face once again. He fumbled to get his backpack off his shoulders and dragged it around to the front of his body so he could wrestle with the zips. He used his knee to hold it up, praying he managed to keep his balance and not make any more of a fool out of himself than he already had.

“I uhm - your flower,” he explained, tripping over his words. His hands were shaking again, and he was suddenly very glad he’d de-thorned the rose that morning or he’d probably be getting blood all over Dan’s front yard right now.

As soon as his fingers pressed gently against the soft petals of the rose, Phil pulled it out with a little grin, and let his bag fall to the ground. “Yo-you didn’t really think I didn’t have another flower for you today, did you?”

Dan’s eyes were bright, his grin huge as he stared at Phil. He looked a little disbelieving himself, a little awed and flustered the way Phil had been when Dan had kissed him on the cheek, and it was wonderful. It gave Phil just enough confidence to take a step forward and reach for Dan’s hand.

“Here,” he said, “It’s for you. Because, I uhm… I really li-like you,” he stuttered out, cheeks blazing as he looked down between their hands, curling Dan’s fingers rather gently around the stem of the rose. Dan took it easily enough, his fingers small and delicate under Phil’s.

He giggled, seeming a little disbelieving for the first time all day, which was honestly a little bit relieving if Phil was being honest.

Before he could draw his hand back, Dan caught hold of it with his free hand.

“I really like you too,” he said, and squeezed, “If you hadn’t realized yet.” His voice was as teasing as it always was, but Phil didn’t even mind, because despite the way Dan had kissed him, and the way he’d let Phil touch him, and the way he’d held his hand… Phil had thought, had worried, had wondered if this was real.

He laughed nervously, because he didn’t know what else to do, and stepped in close until he had Dan pressed up against the wall next to his front door. His free hand caught Dan’s waist, and held, and he smiled as he leaned in close.

“That’s good, then,” he said, “Because I was kind of worried, you know.”

Dan shook his head, but he was grinning too, staring up at Phil with the softest of sweet looks. Phil’s heart felt like it was melting when he leaned in and kissed Dan again.

**

By the time Phil got home, it was late. He hadn’t intended to stay at Dan’s house, but it wasn’t long after they’d kissed right outside his front door that Dan seemed to realize the rose he was holding had no thorns. He’d pulled away from the kiss to stare at in wonder, and then he’d grabbed up Phil’s hand like he knew, and checked over every last finger.

Somehow, Phil had found himself being hauled past Dan’s front door and led straight into the bathroom where Dan had set about bandaging every last finger with pink and blue pastel plasters. It had been - both mortifying and amazing, being treated like that, like Dan cared about him when it was only a few scratches that didn’t even hurt that bad. He’d complained a few times, futilely and so lamely that Dan hadn’t once taken him seriously, but Phil was kind of secretly glad for that. The way Dan had looked taking care of Phil’s “wounds” had been rather adorable to see, and he’d found himself falling even harder for him.

Dan must have seen it on his face as well, because he’d gone bright red when he’d finally finished up and bothered to look at Phil’s face, dropping his hands like he was embarrassed he’d overreacted the minute he took in Phil’s expression. He’d tried to turn away, but Phil had caught him by the wrist, and then they were kissing all over again.

It was no wonder he’d gotten caught up with someone like Dan in his lap.

But now he was home, and it was getting close to dinner time, and Martyn - well, Martyn was waiting just inside the lounge for him.

Phil didn’t even notice him at first, he was still so dazed, love struck and so, so gone, but then Martyn cleared his throat and Phil looked up with wide eyes, startled, to find him sprawled out on the sofa just inside.

“Where you been?” Martyn asked, grinning.

Embarrassed, Phil froze.

“Uhm,” he said intelligently.

Martyn laughed at him. The sound was nowhere near as pleasing as Dan’s.

“Never mind, it’s pretty obvious what you’ve been up too,” Martyn teased him, to which Phil blushed for the millionth time that day and instantly reached up to touch his neck where he’d been so certain Dan had been careful not to leave a mark.

Martyn laughed even harder at him for that, launching himself up from the sofa and making his way over to Phil’s side before dropping a knowing hand on his shoulder.

“I was talking about the plasters on your hands, but that too,” he teased, and laughed even harder as he left the room.

[classicrockblog1]

A Hard Day's Night is the third #studio #album by the #rock #band the Beatles was released on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records in US, with a different track listing. In contrast to their first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney showcasing the development of their songwriting talents. The album includes the title track, with its distinct opening chord,[4] and the previously released "Can't Buy Me Love", both transatlantic number-one singles for the band.

The title of the album was the accidental creation of drummer Ringo Starr.[5] According to Lennon in a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine: "I was going home in the car and Dick Lester [director of the movie] suggested the title, 'Hard Day's Night' from something Ringo had said. I had used it in 'In His Own Write', but it was an off-the-cuff remark by Ringo. You know, one of those malapropisms. A Ringo-ism, where he said it not to be funny ... just said it. So Dick Lester said, 'We are going to use that title.'"[6]

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Historical (1900s) Masterlist

Links Last Checked: January 29th, 2025

part two

1999 - chocolatesaucelester

Summary: Pretentious 90s AU where Dan and Phil just hang out.

Back Seat Bingo (ao3) - existingcourage

Summary: Phil, a young television and radio personality lands Dan, an upcoming producer as a co-worker. Friendship is inevitable, but what happens when life, love, and fear gets in the way? A 1950’s Phan AU.

Before Tomorrow Comes - lifee-scap-ism

Summary: As Phil volunteered to join the military, his days with Dan were numbered. But instead of spending time together, Dan hid away from Phil for fear of losing him. However, on Phil’s last night before he was sent away, Dan stood soaking wet at his door. “Stay,” was all he said. “I want you here with me, before tomorrow comes.”

Black Beauty and the Sofa Cushion - awesomesockes

Summary: Dan and Phil race horses through the forest and Phil falls off.

Bread and Roses (ao3) - ollie_33

Summary: 1984, the world striking miner Phil Lester’s is shaken when a new support group, Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. From the start, Phil Lester doesn’t want them or their leader Dan Howell in their village. Yet, as time passes, Phil’s world keeps changing and with it his own mind. Based on the 2014 movie Pride.

Living is Easy with My Eyes Closed (ao3) - TheUKAmazingDan

September 19, 1976

Dan Howell liked pretty things and a pretty guy, but not the one who was interested in him. No, Dan was infatuated with someone he couldn’t have.

Peaches - placingglaciers

Summary: Due to circumstances beyond his control, Dan’s occupation is becoming nonexistent, which will make it difficult for him to see Phil every day. (Taken place in 1960 America, if you don’t mind.)

Saturday Night Fever (ao3) - TheUKAmazingDan

Summary: It’s the 1970s, and Phil is just looking to have a little fun.

Summer of Love (ao3) - developerdaniel

Summary: where its 1967, the summer of love, and dan and phil are so in love no matter how wrong it is in the public's eye for man to lay with man and the two boys can't ever get enough of each other behind closed doors.

Strawberry War - placingglaciers

Summary: Philip owns a soda shop and Daniel is an amateur journalist who has become one of his regulars and something bad happens due to the nation’s critical war circumstances. (Taken place in late 1944 America, if you don’t mind.)

The Boy with the Rose-Colored Glasses - placingglaciers

Summary: A coming-of-age story where Dan and Phil are caught up in the frenzy of peer pressure, a garage punk band, divorcing parents, and a hint of neighborhood baseball within the fine time of August 1975 in small-town America (if you don’t mind).

The Copycat Killer - wishicouldunreadthat

Summary: Set in the early 1900’s.

The Next Night - nebulous-frog

Summary: Germany in 1937 was a hard place for anyone “different”. Dan just wanted to live his life, fall in love, and die surrounded by family, but his particular community was too “different”. Dan found himself hiding, wishing for a better world, maybe even finding it in the eyes of an unlikely savior.

The People We Meet at the End of the World (ao3) - notanannoyingfangirl, auroraphilealis

Summary: The year is 1934, and the Great Depression is in full swing. Seven years previously, Phil Lester’s family had come to America hoping to find their fortune; what they found instead was much worse. Forced to ride the rails in search of work, Phil meets up with Dan Howell. The two brits are alone in a foreign country, separated from their families after they lost their life savings in the stock market crash. Together, they decide to find work out west - but the west has problems of its own. The dust storms are raging, and every day has become a desperate struggle for survival.

They Say All’s Fair (ao3) - spicydanhowell

Summary: December 1962. Dan accidentally receives a letter from a soldier in Vietnam, and his heart flutters with infatuation. He wishes his romantic interest would come home soon so he could finally see him, but not all goes as planned.

(when you gonna realise) it was just that the time was wrong (ao3) - The_Blonde

Summary: Phil works in a coffee shop. Or at an animal sanctuary. Or at a university. Maybe he’s a Youtuber. Maybe he runs an editing firm. Sometimes he’s in the 1920s. In all of these places he has dreams. In all of these places he is in love with Dan. It’s just trying to work out which time is the right one.

while our blood’s still young - celestialfics (orphan_account)

Summary: In the midst of 1950s America, Phil works at a malt shop that Dan frequents after school. Inevitably as their relationship progresses, the two boys face unrelenting adversity in a world that does not yet see all love as equal.

would it be a sin if I can’t help falling in love with you? (ao3) - resurrectdead

Summary: it’s 1978, everything is a bad influence, catholicism makes you a bit sad sometimes and dan finds the answer to all his questions.

[kathleenseiber]

Captive apes’ gut microbiomes are a lot like some people’s

Apes in US zoos have gut microbiomes that are more similar to those of people who eat a non-Western diet than to the gut makeup of their wild ape cousins, according to a new study.

Further, even wild apes that have never encountered antibiotics harbor microbes with antibiotic resistance genes.

The findings, which appear in the ISME Journal, suggest that contact with people shapes the gut microbial communities, or microbiomes, of gorillas and chimpanzees.

The findings also indicate that the gut microbiomes of wild apes provide clues to human-ape interactions that could inform efforts to protect the endangered species.

Finally, the research highlights a way to identify new antibiotic resistance genes before they become widely established in bacteria in people, giving researchers time to develop tools to counter them before they threaten human health.

Pre-antibiotic humans

The gut microbiome supplies us with vitamins, helps digest food, regulates inflammation, and keeps disease-causing microbes in check. Antibiotics can change the makeup of the gut microbiome in lasting ways.

“It’s difficult to figure out exactly how antibiotics affect the human gut microbiome when almost everyone is born with bugs that already have antibiotic resistance genes,” says senior author Gautam Dantas, professor of pathology and immunology, of molecular microbiology, and of biomedical engineering at Washington University School of Medicine.

“Wild apes are the closest thing we have to pre-antibiotics humans. Luckily, we got the opportunity to work with two highly respected primatologists.”

Coauthors Crickette Sanz, associate professor of biological anthropology and David Morgan, a research fellow at the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and an honorary research scientist at Washington University, study wild chimpanzees and gorillas in a remote area of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo.

The Wildlife Conservation Society and the Congolese government manage the park. To learn about the apes’ gut microbiomes, Sanz, Morgan, and their field teams followed apes in known groups and discreetly collected fecal samples from 18 wild chimpanzees and 28 wild gorillas. The noninvasive sampling method allowed researchers to collect data on the apes without disturbing them.

Chimps, gorillas, and people

The researchers stored the samples in liquid nitrogen, carried them to the park headquarters, and then transported them in a dugout canoe down the Sangha River and then in a truck to Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, where they stayed in a freezer until they shipped them to Dantas’ lab.

The researchers also collected and shipped fecal samples from 81 people who lived on the outskirts of the park.

Meanwhile, Dantas and first author Tayte Campbell—then a graduate student in Dantas’ lab—arranged to obtain fecal samples from 18 chimpanzees and 15 gorillas living at either the Saint Louis Zoo or the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The researchers identified the kinds of bacteria and the antibiotic genes present in the gorilla, chimpanzee, and human samples, and compared the results to publicly available data on people who live in the US, Peru, El Salvador, Malawi, Tanzania, or Venezuela and follow hunter-gatherer, rural agriculturalist, or urban lifestyles.

The gut microbiomes of people whose data the study included, fell into two groups.

One group included hunter-gatherers and rural agriculturalists who typically eat a diet heavy in vegetables and light in meat and fat; this group included the people from the outskirts of the national park in the Republic of Congo.

The second group included urban people who eat a meat-rich Western diet. Wild gorillas and chimpanzees formed a third group distinct from both human groups. But captive apes fell into the first group; they were most similar to people who ate non-Western diets.

“Chimpanzees are endangered, and Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered; their main threats are habitat destruction, poaching, and disease,” Sanz says.

“Measuring the gut microbiome could be a way to monitor apes’ exposure to anthropogenic threats so we can identify areas of concern and develop effective, evidence-based mitigation strategies.”

Antibiotic resistance genes

The researchers also identified several previously unknown antibiotic resistance genes in the wild apes and people from the Republic of Congo, including one that confers resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort.

For now, the genes reside in bacteria harmless to humans. But bacteria have the ability to share genes, so any antibiotic resistance gene could find its way into a more dangerous species of bacteria.

“Rare sampling opportunities of wild apes like in this study gives us a look into the future,” Campbell says. “When we find these novel antibiotic resistance genes in the environment, we can study them and possibly find ways to inhibit them before they show up in human pathogens and make infections very difficult to treat.”

“It would be very interesting to expand this research across a broader range of conservation contexts, such as commercial logging zones and tourist operations,” Morgan adds.

“With the arrival of human activities and associated anthropogenic disturbances, wild apes may be exposed to antibiotic resistance genes. We don’t know much about how antibiotic resistance spreads through natural environments, so that could have implications for human public health that we don’t yet understand. That’s something we’d like to investigate.”

The National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation, and the International Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability at Washington University in St Louis funded the work.

Source: Washington University in St. Louis

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