I know exactly what you mean when you say "Blank" it has happened to me so many times and it never gets better. But for the prompt thing I was thinking "A cup of coffee for your thoughts?" And "Hollow" it's okay if you use only ine, that's fine!
I wanted to put it under a cut but fucking Tumblr won't let me. But thank you Nonnie!!! This was supposed to be like 500words or something idk how long this is I typed in my phone sjsjsjsjj
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Waking up and the morning sun were the two things Dan hated the most except maybe after his questionable first videos and his habit of dropping everything either randomly or behind something.
Having very rudely being woken up by the way-too-shiny beaming rays of the sun at the ass crack of---
Dan rolled over, careful not to disturb the warm mass next to him and checked the time.
The ass crack if 7-fucking-am. Off to a wonderful start, he supposed.
He rolled over once again, curling up next to the mop of now sort-of-brownish (but they don't talk about that) and trying to get some more sleep before he inevitably can't lay around in bed anymore and his stomach resorts to starting a fire in his pit and rhe only way to put it out would be copious amounts of cereal.
Dan groaned, sitting up. As much as he liked his bed to sleep in it forever and hates morning as much as his audience hates his peace signs, once he's awake, he's awake. No remedying it. He very bregrudgingly gets out of bed ever so carefully. Which is why it takes him a good 10 minutes to just roll out if bed.
He thinks if the building hunger he can start to feel roaring inside him, but breakfast is for when Phil wakes up because that's what routine of years has bought them to. Waiting for each other to wake up and then watching an episode of an anime. He likes to think it's a good system.
But on hindsight, he forgets how fast his mind runs. And where exactly it goes when it does. Being awake at 7 in the morning, with he sun blaring and with absolutely nothing to di except lounge around in their living room, Dan's ever evasive brain wanders.
It wanders to a depth he doesn't like. It wanders to a hollow void inside of him that he doesn't like going back to, but does so anyway. Because this thoughts go stray and that's never a good sign. Because sometimes, his thoughts go to depths he didn't even know existed.
He wonders how his life would have been now if Phil had never responded to him or given him attention. Or why Phil hadn't gave up on him after the first few dates where he was so awkward that it was embarrassing. He wonders why Phil never complained when Dan clinged to him like a giant octopus but just with 4 lacking limbs.
And he wonders, how Phil still loves him despite everything. Despite him being him.
He doesn't even notice when Phil has woken up until he hears someone bump into the coffee table infront if him. And as much as he complains about his clumsiness, he can never get over how amazing Phil truly is.
Phil sets down two two steaming mugs of coffee on the table, walking around and sitting down next to Dan and Dan's brain wanders again. And he's asking himself what he ever did to deserve this. He's never going to say it out loud, because the absolute look of disbelief that will cross Phil's face ("Dan. That's the stupidest question I have heard you ask and I have filmed years worth if gaming videos with you.") is not something he wants to see right now... or ever.
He feels a soft of press of lips against the crown of his hair and he suppresses a smile that immediately conjured on his face at the small yet so intimate action.
"A cup of coffee for your thoughts?" Phil asks, wrapping an around Dan's shoulder when he leans into him and he can't but feel warm. Phil's pretty sure he smells warmth too but Dan always disagrees.
"Nah. Just...you know. Running mind. Early morning. Nothing new." Dan doesn't fidget but he shifts slightly in Phil's hold and that Phil pressing another soft kiss onto Dan's forehead and then he whispers ever so gently against his lips,
"It's alright. I'm here. I'm here." Dan couldn't even try to suppress the smile this time.
do NOT point out someone’s eye color for no reason.
bad ex: he looked around with (color) colored eyes
this is very distracting and unnecessary and keeps the writing from flowing. is their eye color relevant to the story? if the answer is no, then don’t point out their eye color. this also goes for other things such as hair color, skin tone, etc.
when you’re describing someone, it’s fine.
ex: she had (color) hair and (color) eyes
if their eye color is relevant, it will most likely be something like this.
good ex: the teacher looked at me with her cold, (color) eyes and i immediately sank in my seat.
this is relevant to the story. you’re describing her gaze, so it’s relevant to point out her eye color. if you’re talking about the noun already, then bringing up an adjective or description is fine. bringing up a description when no description is needed makes it obvious you’re just trying to boost the word count. more words doesn’t always equal better quality. more description doesn’t always equal better quality, either.
bad ex: she looked at me with her brown eyes.
that’s basically saying, she looked with eyes. well duh, what else is she gonna look with? doesn’t saying it that way sound weird and unnecessary?
good ex: she looked at me with her brown eyes full of sadness.
this is where bringing up the color is relevant. you’re describing how her eyes look: sad. mentioning that they’re brown helps bring up a better visual of how her eyes may look.
another good ex: she looked at me with her brown eyes. i love brown eyes.
this is, again, where bringing up her eye color is relevant. the protagonist mentions they love the color brown. does that mean they’re going to fall in love? do they feel sick from hatred, since their enemy has an eye color they can’t help but adore? it all depends on what you’re writing.
normally, mentioning her eye color for no reason like this would be bad and distracting, but the protagonist obviously has some sort of fascination with brown eyes, thus making it relevant to mention the color.
i’m not the best at explaining things, but hopefully this helped some people realize their mistakes! this is just something i’ve noticed when reading stories that really irked me, so hopefully some people learned from this ouo
it's obvious we're not going to make it to 4 Mil by Philly's birthday so we should create a tag #HappyBelatedBirthdayPhil when we do reach four million sometime in February or March.
Summary: Dan and Phil meet at a polar bear plunge.
Word count: 1976
Rating: T
Warnings: none that I can think of
A/N: for all the people at the word war who wanted this au scenario written! thank you to @imbellarosa for beta’ing for me <3
(Ao3 link)
“Why did I let you drag me to this again?”
Ethan shrugs. “I thought you’d say no.”
“I should have,” says Dan. “It’s bloody freezing out here.”
Waves crash on the shore and he can’t help but find it odd to be standing on a beach in his winter coat and boots, watching a bunch of people in costumes wait to rush into the ocean. Waiting, himself, to run into the ocean, all because his one friend decided it’s on his bucket list to run into the bloody ocean up North in the middle of winter.
“You’re crazy.”
Another shrug. “Stop complaining. You agreed to come.”
“Well, I’m crazy too then.”
A smile cracks across Dan’s face. Ethan’s staring out at the crowd of people who have gathered, probably wanting to socialize because of course the only friend Dan could make at uni is an extrovert.
“Go on, have fun,” he tells Ethan, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Ethan turns around. “You have fun too,” he says, pausing as a smirk draws at his cheeks. “I know! You should go find a cute boy.”
Dan groans. Ethan’s smile has gone wide and teasing and there’s a stupid twist of something happy in Dan’s chest that he swallows against.
“I never should have told you about that,” he grumbles.
“What?” says Ethan. “The sexuality crisis or your totally original plan to use uni to experiment.”
“All of it. I never should have told you about any of it,” says Dan, and before Ethan can say anything else to make his cheeks bloom pink and his insides twist, adds, “Now go socialize, you prick.”
Ethan turns away in an instant, lifting one hand in the air and yelling out over his shoulder: “Okay! Enjoy your experimenting!”
---
Dan does, completely by accident, find a cute boy.
He’s wandering across the beach and avoiding social interaction and somehow finds himself between two buildings he supposes are probably bathrooms. With a boy who’s standing there all alone, staring out at the water, with a bag clutched between his hands. Dan almost turns to leave, but the boy turns around, eyes wide.
“Um, sorry. I’ll just, uh–” Dan motions back, stumbling over his feet to step away.
But the boy smiles. “You can stay here,” he says. “I’m just–” He motions behind him, and wear the crowd of people as taken to very loud conversation.
“Avoiding people?” says Dan. “Yeah, same.”
That’s how he ends up sitting in the sand with Phil, who has blue eyes and a crooked smile and a fringe that mirrors Dan’s a little too perfectly. If Ethan were to find out, Dan knows he’d be teased about finding the one boy on the whole beach that looks like him. But Ethan’s not there, so Dan can sit and make small talk and admire the broadness of Phil’s shoulders without any teasing.
Without Ethan taunting him to experiment.
---
Somebody blows a whistle and starts yelling about how they’re going to start soon.
Phil frowns. Dan stumbles to his feet, pulling off his coat because like hell is he getting that wet. He realizes, probably a moment too late, that Ethan brought in the backpack with their clean clothes, and that Dan probably shouldn’t have planned to run into the frigid ocean in skinny jeans.
But Phil doesn’t seem much more prepared. He stays in his skinny jeans and t-shirt, but reaches into his bag and pulls out a headband with cat ears. Dan sputters, watching him place it on his head.
“Shut up,” says Phil. “Ian made me bring a costume and it was all I had.”
“Okay there, furry,” says Dan. “If I’d known we had a theme I would have brought my bear costume.”
Phil’s cheeks go pink. “There’s no theme and I’m not a furry,” he hisses.
Dan shrugs. Phil’s turned away from him again and is looking out at the ocean, the group of people who are way to enthusiastic about freezing their balls off. Dan lets his gaze sweep across Phil’s body, his tight black skinny jeans and white shirt and the stupid headband that sits atop his head.
“Too bad,” he hears himself say. “Maybe I am.”
Phil chokes on a laugh, poking his tongue out between his teeth, and Dan feels the flush of heat that blooms across his face.
“So, who’s Ian?” he asks.
Phil glances over his shoulder, still smiling. “He’s just a friend,” he says, and Dan’s mind hangs stupidly on the word just. “Though I might disown him after today.”
Dan’s laugh is warm, drifts away in puffs of fog. “He and Ethan can start a club,” he says. “Ditched because of a polar plunge.”
“Ethan?”
There’s something in Phil’s eyes, layered and deep that Dan feels might be reflected in his own.
“Just a friend,” he says, watching the relieved smile spread across Phil’s face.
In the distance, someone blows a whistle again, calls that there’s only a minute until the plunge starts. Dan reaches down, takes Phil’s hand in his, and drags him towards the water.
---
“You ready?”
Phil shakes his head. “Heck no.”
“Too bad,” says Dan, just as the whistle blows.
Everyone around them starts running, and Dan gets swept up in the group. He’s still holding Phil’s hand, dragging him along until their toes touch the freezing water.
“Shit,” he says, taking another step forward. “Shit fucking hell.”
Phil giggles, but when Dan turns to face him, his teeth are chattering and he has one arm crossed over his chest.
“How are you–” he hisses, the water reaching his hips “–fucking hell.”
“It’s better if you run,” someone yells out from beside him.
Dan shakes his head. “Like hell am I going to–”
Phil’s still giggling. He reaches forward, flattens a hand against Dan’s chest, and shoves him backwards. Dan stumbles over his own feet, still dragging Phil with him, until his chest plunges under the surface.
“Fuck!” he screams. “My nipples, oh my god it’s cold. I hate you so much.”
And with the hand still holding Phil’s, Dan drags him forward so he can hear the quiet groan he lets out when the freezing water laps at his collarbones.
---
“That is the worst thing I have ever done in my life.”
They’re out of the water, now. Phil’s shirt is clinging to his chest, wet white fabric letting Dan see the shape of his chest, darkness of his nipples.
Dan swallows, looks back up to see Phil’s smirk.
“Are you always that loud?” asks Phil.
His gaze sweeps across Dan’s body, the way his skinny jeans cling uncomfortably to his legs, how his shirt is stuck to his chest. Dan feels himself squirm, fabric clinging to all the wrong places, cheeks warming even as shivers wrack his frame.
“It’s cold,” he squeaks.
Phil’s gaze catches his, and then drops pointedly to Dan’s crotch.
“Oh, shut up.” Dan groans.
Phil’s tongue sticks out from between his teeth when he laughs.
—-
They end up back between the two buildings where Phil left his bag. Dan leans back against the wall, his coat sitting at his feet because he doesn’t want to get it wet with freezing ocean water.
The winter wind whips at his frozen clothing and Dan strongly considers going out to murder Ethan for disappearing with his clothes.
Phil gets his own out of the bag, glances around and draws his shirt over his shoulders.
Dan squeaks. Phil has a little bit of chest hair and pale stick and–
“Like what you see?”
He coughs. “I’m just gonna–“ he mumbles, turning around to face the wall.
Phil laughs, and Dan can imagine how his shoulders would shake, the rumble of his chest. Ethan’s words come back, a quiet echo in his mind. Experiment.
“You didn’t bring any clean clothes?” asks Phil.
“No, I did. Ethan has them and he probably– I have no idea where he is.”
“Oh,” says Phil.
Something hits Dan in the back, falling onto the sand at his feet. Dan turns around. Phil’s facing him, smiling. A heavy woolen jumper has replaced his t-shirt, and his jeans are unbuttoned, pushed low on his hips.
Dan pointedly does not stare.
“I brought extra clothes,” says Phil, motioning to the ground between them. “They’re a little sandy now but it’s better than you turning into an icicle.”
“Oh,” says Dan. “Thank you.”
He reaches down, collects the pair of jogging pants and bright green hoodie Phil had thrown at him.
“York?”
Phil nods, reaching down to shove his jeans further down his legs. “Bachelors in English linguistics and Masters in post-production.”
“Wow,” says Dan.
“You at Manchester?”
“Yeah,” he says. “Law.”
Phil kicks his jeans off, seemingly uncaring about how the sand clings to the wet fabric. That he’s standing there in front of Dan in nothing but his pants.
“Sounds interesting,” says Phil. “Now get dressed. Don’t worry, I’ll turn around, since you don’t seem to want my first impression to be when you’re cold.”
Dan chuckles, and turns around quickly because Phil is reaching down and starting to tug at the waistband of his underwear.
—-
Phil’s hoodie smells good. Dan tries not to think about it as he gathers his clothes, how comfortable the clothing is, how he and Phil are practically the same size.
But when he turns around, Phil’s staring at him.
“You look good,” he says.
Dan rolls his eyes. “It’s your clothes.”
Phil flushes, dipping his head as he mumbles: “I know.”
Dan feels his cheeks go red, and clutches his clothes tighter to his chest as though that will quell the way his heart seems to flutter. He doesn’t say a word, and Phil reaches into his bag, hands a spare plastic one to Dan.
“Do you need to go?” asks Phil.
Dan shrugs. “Not until Ethan comes to find me.”
“Okay,” says Phil. “They’re serving hot chocolate and handing out blankets if you want to get some?”
Dan smiles. Warmth twists in his stomach, floods his chest even as the chill of frigid water lingers on his skin. He reaches out, taking Phil’s hand in his.
“Lead the way.”
—-
They end up wrapped in the same blanket, sitting on the other, each sipping a cup of hot chocolate. Phil’s shoulder is warm against Dan’s. His hoodie smells like home cooking, vaguely sweet.
Dan smiles, hides his joy against the fabric of the hoodie.
“It’s good, huh?” says Phil. “It was the only thing that made coming here worthwhile.”
Something twists in Dan’s gut. He looks back up, catches the bright blue of Phil’s eyes.
“The only thing?”
Phil smiles, gaze falling away. His hand falls into the space between them, drifts across the small of Dan’s back, slipping beneath the fabric of his hoodie.
“Well, the second best thing,” says Phil.
Dan grins. “Good.”
They keep sipping at their hot chocolate. Dan presses closer, so their thighs are pressed together and he can reach out to set a hand on Phil’s knee.
“So, um, would you like to go out to coffee sometime?” asks Phil. “I promise I won’t make you run into a freezing ocean this time.”
Dan laughs. Phil’s smiling at him, crooked and shy and adorable.
“I’d love to,” he says.
—-
Ethan comes to find him once the sky’s gone purple and their hot chocolates are empty. Dan untangles himself from Phil, gives him a hug before saying goodbye.
He’s still wearing Phil’s green University of York hoodie.
It’s only once they’ve started driving back to the university that Ethan turns to him, grinning wide.
“So, you found a cute boy, huh?”
Dan dips his head, folds himself deeper into the hoodie so the fabric brushes at his nose. The smile spreads across his face without his permission.
If I'm gonna write some, I need prompts! Ask me with your prompt and I'll most likely do it! I'm a big fan of writing smut if I do say so myself ;) And fluff is chill too So don't hold back as long as it doesn't get too fucked up haha
