#wait.......this may be because i am in the us right now

[sunrisecaminus]

Hi I hope you having a wonderful day

May I request some sfw optimus x reader?

Message - I am having a great day actually! Also of course! Got to love the Prime once in a great while! I didn't know what to put as a story so I just made the human have a job.

Optimus x Mechanic Reader SFW

Summary - Optimus having a cute hang out at the human's store!

Warning - Very adorable!

Type of fic - Fluff

You have never had to fix so many vehicles before, until you met the Autobots. You never wanted to tell them, but Cybertronian anatomy was actually easy to learn to help Ratchet with the minor injuries these idiots get from missions. You own your very own Mechanic shop and the bots just make it less boring when they come to visit. Optimus was very respectful to you and rarely visits, but after some deep discussions you both have with each other, he will come by to see you a lot more now a days.

Right now you are giving an oil change for someone when you see from the corner of your eye the red, white and blue truck pulling up. The smile that grew on your face said it all and you finished the guys truck, got paid, and let him leave your garage. Walking outside with your o/c overalls (overall color), you pat the front of the hood and greet your big truck friend. "Hi big guy! What you in for?" You wait patiently as he transforms and looks around. "Hello y/n. I came to drop off some parts for your work. Agent Fowler said it's for Bumblebee when he comes in."

You have lifted so much weight off Ratchet's back by giving the mechs their own check ups and basic plating care routines. You have noticed that you haven't given Optimus a full check yet, but you figured it was because the man was very private about his body. You heard from a lot of his friends that he rarely likes to be touched and they blame it on him being a Prime. It didn't matter to you though, you just wanted him to feel comfortable around his new environments and relax. "Well why don't you come in? I closed for the night so no one is coming around anytime soon." Your shop close really late and it's in the middle of no where. Just outside of Jasper was just your mechanic shop, a mini gas station, and the desert. You liked how peaceful it was here, and the autobot base is actually close by, so anytime the kids need a place to stay they could always come to you for a sleep over. You lived in the back of your shop, but you didn't mind. It was like a cozy apartment inside your home with a tv, kitchen, bedroom, and your own bathroom so you didn't need to use the shops public restroom. It wasn't much, but the quiet nature of it made it feel like a luxury to you. Anyway Optimus walks over and sits just outside of the garage as you pull up a chair and grab your microwaved dinner. "So, any new stories you need to tell me? How are the kids?"

You both talk for what seemed like hours. It was so nice to get to be with him again, but what you didn't know is he felt the same way about you. You listened to everything he said and gave such good advice. What he loved most about humans was their empathy, and you had a lot of it. You played a lot of music with your vintage record player and he loved to just close his eyes and listen to the sweet music…made him forget about the war for a few hours. You NEVER talked about the war with him, unless he talked about it first. Being the person you were, you never wanted to talk to someone about deep things unless they initiated it first, a lot of people find dark topics to be uncomfortable to talk about and you knew Optimus was an awkward person. "Hey, thanks for the shipment. Speaking of, I have some new tires for you if you ever wanted to get some new ones yourself. Treat yourself and get something good once in a while to make you feel better." You eat your food, waiting for an answer as he got quiet to think about it. "I don't want to bother you about it y/n. It's very late." He spoke to you like he was such a nuisance. You wanted to change that ever since this man met you. Standing up, you grab your tool box and throw your empty container into the trash. "Transform and come on in, I can hook you up with some good classic black tires! Nothing flashy I promise."

He obeyed and did just that, transforming, and driving inside your garage. He has never done this before, so he may be a little nervous doing this with a human mechanic. It's not that he didn't trust you personally, he was just worried a human wouldn't know how to change Cybertronian tires. What Optimus didn't know, was that you have been taking classes from Ratchet and reading books in translation to help yourself understand how to do everything. You already practice changing tired on Bumblebee and Arcee, so this was going to be a piece of cake for you. Opening the tool box you walk over and hook him onto the big machine. He didn't know what it was for at first until his entire body gets lifted a few feet off the ground. "Are you sure this will hold?" You chuckle from how anxious he was and pat his bumper. "You'll be fine I promise, Fowler hooked me up with some expensive tech so this baby can hold a plane." You put on gloves and start to get to work.

After about two hours, you clean off the last tire and lower him to the ground. He was a big mech so you made sure you lowered him slowly and you see the tires pressing against the shops floors. "Aaaaaand we are done! Now I already sprayed them and put some air in them so you won't have to come back for another check up in-" You interrupt yourself when you heard nothing coming out of him. You could sense that he wasn't listening so you press your hand on his door. "Hey, you ok? Optimus?" That was when you heard a soft noise coming out of his engine…he was asleep. You smiled from the cute moment that is happening right now and you grab a tarp from the back. It was a nice giant blue tarp that is used to protect vehicles from weather conditions as you draped it over his entire body. Going inside the kitchen, you make yourself a cup of hot chocolate as you go back outside into the garage to sit yourself by the desk you have. You take a sip of the mug and place it on the table, grabbing a pen to start drawing for your next blueprint idea. You look back at the sleeping prime that was in your garage. "Sweet dreams Optimus…love you." You go back to work as what you don't see is him flustered on the inside. He woke up when you gave him the blanket…and now he plans to visit you everyday from now on.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Home Grown 1

Warnings: non/dubcon, stalking, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Characters: Cole Turner

This AU is called Watcher Anonymous and will include different series for different characters. This is our introduction to Cole and Eartha.

Summary: loneliness can drive one to desperate measures.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

Cole is tired. He's never really not. He spends all day on his feet, cleaning up some clog in the drains or fending off the pests in the fields. There's not much going on aside from the constant battle with the earth for his livelihood. His family's too.

Ever since his dad had a stroke, it's been on him to balance it all. His sister if off who knows where with who knows his name and his mom is looking after his dad. So it's all up to him to keep this place going. And it's all on her to keep him going.

The shame used to make him squirm. His skin would burn and his blood would boil. He'd close his laptop and mope, feeling bad for himself, calling himself weak. Then he'd open it back up and keep doing it. His persistence became indifference, Not to her. No, he only ever thinks of her. He just doesn't care if it's wrong because it makes him feel right.

That night, he's addled. His dad isn't doing well, his mom is worried despite efforts to hide that, and he can't get an answer from his sister. She said she'd come see them so he could spend more time working. Not that he really wants to.

He slips his phone into the little plastic pocket to protect it from the water. He balances it on the rack that hangs around the showerhead and he cranks the faucet to a steaming spray. He stands under it as he lets it wash away the tension and waits for the stream to buffer. It's taking a bit today but sometimes it happens. Out here in the farm lands, reception is spotty.

It's not working. He's lathered up by the time the error shows. Disconnected... Strange. Why?

He gives up with a sigh. The one thing he has to look forward to and even that isn't going his way. He'll give Jensen a call when he's done.

He rubs dry his hair as the water drips down his legs onto the mat. He looks down at himself then moves to face his reflection in the mirror. He's not an ugly guy. He's not being a narcissist, he just doesn't think he's that bad. He shouldn't be alone. Still.

He huffs and wraps the towel around his waist. He grabs his phone from the show and closes the curtain. He walks down the hall and locks himself in his room. His bars are full. He shouldn't be having issues with a signal.

He dials out and waits for Jensen to pick up. He does right as Cole expects to go to voicemail. He's whisper.

"Hey, dude," Jensen scuffs around.

"Busy?" Cole asks.

"Eh, sorta, just..." he clears his throat. "All clear now, bud. What's up?"

"Mm, well... you remember... that... feed. So, er, it's not working."

"Hm, and it's just on her laptop?"

"Yeah," Cole sits on the bed and chews his thumb. "All of a sudden."

"Did the error have a code?"

"Uhhh yeah, I think," he recalls the numbers as best he can.

"Device is either off or broken. Could be both. You could give it a few days and see," Jensen suggests.

"Sure, but, er..." A few days is a long time especially when they're so slow. "Yeah, you're right. I'll wait her out."

"Dude, trust me, I get it. Boss went out of town last week and I saw her pack her favourite toy," he purrs grossly. "Anyway, it's about that time for me."

The line clicks. Good. Jake kinda weirds him out sometimes. He drops his phone.

He'll be cool about this. He can handle a few days without watching her. I mean, she's a stranger. They've never even met. She doesn't even know he exists. So he can log off and touch grass, so they say.

~

The days pass in a torturous slog of dirt, pollen, and lonely nights. Cole is wound tight, ready to snap as he has a thousand things pulling at him at once. His mom wants to hire a nurse, his dad is getting aggressive with everyone, and his sister just convinced his mom to send her money they don't have. Worst of all, he's alone. He's not sleeping because all he does is dream of her.

As he cuts away the rot from the tomato vine, he catches the tip of his glove, just enough to pinch himself good. He curses as a flash of rage swells in him. He whips the clippers into the dirt and snarls. Goddamn it!

He paces back and forth angrily. He rips off the gloves and tucks them into his workbelt. He combs his fingers through his hair and prowls like a wild beast. He can't take it anymore.

He takes his phone out and calls Jensen. It takes two tries but he gets an answer. Not a happy one.

"Dude, I had to leave a meeting--"

"Feed's down," Cole interrupts. "I'm having a real bad day and I need--- I need it."

"Jesus, you sound like it. Hm, okay, you know her email?"

"Uh, sure I do," Cole says.

"Right, you know everything," Jensen laughs. "Come on, guy, let's not pretend here. We're all a bit freaky. So, I'll send you something. Don't click on the link, got me? You take that template and forward it to her. I'll include instructions so you can dupe the sender... she'll think it's some bullshit coupon redemption or whatever. She clicks on it, you got full access again."

"Really? That easy?"

"Well it all depends on her, doesn't it?" He snorts. "Alright, I'll get that too you when I can. Gotta go."

The call ends. Cole leans against the fence and sighs. He better follow through. Better yet, it better work.

[reality-shitting]

(Noting this for me, but maybe it'll help or work for someone else.)

I just had a bit of a crash out regarding shifting.

"Why do I need to persist if everything happens instantly?! Why do I try so goddamn hard only for nothing to happen?!! How much longer am I going to sit here, waiting, while KNOWING that I don't need to wait, but none of my actions are working?!!"

And it reminded me of an autistic meltdown. That's basically what it was. I was so frustrated and angry, my mind was screaming and flailing and throwing a fit like I did as a kid.

As a kid.

Like a toddler.

I'm having a toddler tantrum.

My subconscious was throwing this major tantrum like a spoiled brat. Like Veruca Salt or Caillou. What do these kids need? Discipline. So, immediately, I split my thoughts. My conscious, and my subconscious.

"HEY! You may not like it, but we're IN my DR. You're just lingering in the past reality because you don't want to accept it."

"There's nothing for me to accept!! Im HERE. No matter what, everyday, I wake up HERE and not THERE."

"That's because you refuse to let go of the old. I'M in the house, with Diluc, with Kaeya, having drinks and laughing. YOU'RE in the car, sulking, complaining, moaning, looking out the window and throwing a hissy fit. You COULD come inside and join us, but you don't want to."

It kept going like this for a while but eventually, the subconscious went quiet. It burned itself out from the meltdown. Like a child throwing a fit, it passed out from exhaustion. Intrusive thoughts and ADHD redirection was still there (Subconscious, the fucking iPad kid. Left the train of thought open on YouTube and now some song released in 2005 is playing in your head. Turn the volume down.) but it's quiet.

I thought, "hey, like a sleeping kid, maybe I could carry it in to the house." And then I thought: "Isn't that just.. me taking control? Instead of trusting it to do what it's meant to?" And maybe I had the right idea the first time, but if im supposed to trust my subconscious... Then I need to let it wake up. Eventually, the kid will wake up and come inside, sleepy and ready to go. Ready to accept our new home. We can still visit our old home, our friends and family, but this is our new home. And we need to accept it. It will take time, but it will be accepted.

[koyagifs]

𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆

pairing: seokjin x reader au: | idol genre: | fluff word count: 0.7k synopsis: seokjin finally came back from the military, the joy of seeing you, his wife. warning(s): cursing,

Seokjin was giddly the moment he sat in the van, his leg bouncing up and down that made his other member laugh at him. He didn't care though because you were the only thing on his mind. He had missed your touches, the warmth of being near you. The feeling of being home. He's been gone for 18 painful months due to the military.

" yah, hyung is more excited to see yn then us," jungkook whined, Jimin and Taehyung chuckling at the maknae whine.

Seokjin face lit up at the mention of your name, Namjoon and Hoseok snickering at his obvious excitement.

"Of course I am!" Seokjin declared, completely unbothered by their teasing. "I've been away for a year and a half! You guys act like I don't love you, but Yn—" He sighed dramatically, placing a hand over his chest. "Yn is different."

"Aigoo, he's gone soft," Yoongi muttered with a smirk, shaking his head.

Jungkook huffed, crossing his arms. "I bet the second we drop hyung off, we won’t hear from him for days."

"You say that like it’s a bad thing," Taehyung added with a knowing grin. "Let him be with Yn. He deserves it."

Seokjin wasn’t even listening anymore. His mind was already elsewhere—already with you.

"Hang on, I'm going to take a nap," he announced, leaning his head back with a small grin. "Wake me up when we're there."

The others exchanged glances before Hoseok chuckled. "Yeah, sure, hyung. We all know you’re too excited to sleep."

And they were right. His eyes may have been closed, but his heart was already racing, counting down the seconds until he was finally in your arms again.

When he felt the van stop, he felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest. The other members rushing out the van to greet you at your door. Your laughter being heard made Seokjin nervous.

He swallowed hard, running a hand through his hair as he took a deep breath. Why am I nervous? This is Yn. My Yn.

Still, after 18 months apart, he couldn’t help but wonder—had anything changed? Would you still look at him the same way? Would you still hold him the way he remembered?

"Hyung, are you just gonna sit there?" Jungkook teased, poking his head back into the van. "Yn’s right there."

Seokjin blinked and looked out the window, and there you were—standing on the porch, laughing as Taehyung playfully spun you around. His breath caught in his throat. God, you’re beautiful.

He didn’t wait another second. Scrambling out of the van, he ignored the hoots and cheers of his members as he practically sprinted toward you.

And then you saw him.

The moment your eyes locked, the world around him faded. Your lips parted in surprise before you broke into a run, meeting him halfway.

And then—warmth.

Your arms wrapped tightly around him, and Seokjin let out a shaky breath, his own arms crushing you against him. His heart pounded as he buried his face into your hair, inhaling the scent he had missed so much.

“You’re really here,” you whispered, your voice thick with emotion.

“I’m home,” he murmured, holding you even tighter. “I missed you so much.”

The others cheered in the background, but Seokjin didn’t care. Right now, there was only you. Seokjin had a few tears in his eyes as he spun you around, your laughter filling the air as you wrapped your legs around his waist.

" bye boys!" you called out, making the others groan in protest.

"Yah! We just got him back too!" Jimin whined, crossing his arms.

"At least let us have dinner together first!" Hoseok added, pouting dramatically.

But Seokjin was already walking towards the door with you still clinging to him, his grip on you firm like he was afraid to let go. He turned his head slightly and smirked at them.

"Sorry, guys," he said, his voice full of playful arrogance. "I've got 18 months of cuddles to make up for."

Taehyung gasped, clutching his chest. "Betrayal! Pure betrayal!"

You laughed against Seokjin’s shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to his neck. "I’ll make it up to you guys later," you teased before looking at Jin. "But right now, I need my man."

"That’s right," Seokjin agreed proudly, adjusting his hold on you as he stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

The last thing you both heard was Jungkook dramatically yelling, "Don’t forget to come up for air!" before the sound of their laughter faded into the distance.

And then—it was just you and Seokjin. Finally.

[deanpinterester]

NOO tumblr live has finally caught up to me

[todayisafridaynight]

Holy fuck I thought Jo was in a speedo for a second 🥵🥵🥵

crying at the thought of jo in a speedo cause i know he's miserable 24/7 and speedos are for people who love life. like adachi.

[thebirdandhersong]

btw in case you're wondering if, after reaching adulthood, you finally escape the horrible pain of always being picked last for sports/games: unfortunately, it does still happen, and it still hurts as much as it did when you were a kid

[mad-hunts]

lbr, johann would be fascinated with barton’s mask and compliment him on how well preserved it is.

❝ holy shit. i almost gave up hope with this stupid card, but it seems like someone is just my type, ❞ barton let out a loud incredulous laugh upon seeing that ALL of the boxes for this card were ticked. he was almost tempted to ask if johann was lying about some of them, but what would he really have to gain from that besides... his favor, i guess you could say? and the other didn't really seem like the type to try to manipulate him. at least, in this way. barton honestly was kind of speechless — he hadn't really planned for someone to be perfectly compatible with him, so what the hell was he supposed to do now?

marriage. that was the only solution.

[kavehayati]

Man I just give up.

[foxmulderautism]

looking myself in the mirror like am I really about to completely reshuffle the lover boy timeline just so i can get the single release of i want your sex in there and write beau’s live reaction

[realest-nilou-kinnie]

i hope jade leech knows that every second i spend building terrariums im thinking of him

[atlafan]

…

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Watchers Anonymous 2

Warnings: non/dubcon, stalking, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Characters: Peter Parker, skinny!Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Thor, Loki, Curtis Everett, Jake Jensen, Cole Turner, Captain Syverson, Nick Fowler(so far)

This AU is called Watcher Anonymous and will include different series for each of the above. This is our introduction to the group.

Summary: men with illicit infatuations come together to share and plot their perfect fantasies.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

Sy walks in with a stack of pizza boxes in hand. He put them on the table between the home-baked brownies and layered bean dip. Curtis shakes his head as Peter avoids his derisive gaze.

"Wasn't aware this was a buffet situation," Curtis mutters.

"I'm starving. Didn't wanna be rude," Sy steps back. "Some of us work hard."

"I worked hard," Curtis retorts.

"You're so pale, I bet you ain't seen the sun in years," Sy scoffs.

"Hey, guys," Jensen cuts in, "come on. You don't gotta be jerks. We're here for support, right?"

Both of them shrug and turn away. Peter sighs.

"How's boss lady?" Peter sneers.

"Whatever, dude. Don't start."

"When's the dick measuring contest?" Bucky approaches the table to take a slice after Sy claims three.

"You can claim last place right now," Peter snips.

Bucky snorts, "oh, we're going smallest to biggest. Congrats, Pete, you earned that gold medal."

"Buck," Steve sniffs as he approaches, opting for a brown, or half as he breaks one in two.

Jensen sighs. There's a tension in the air and he knows what it is. Now that they're there, in person, it's real, and they're all growing impatient. He can't say he isn't.

He looks at Cole, glued to his phone as he slouches in a chair. A figure strides through the door, almost missed as he moves as smoothly as a shadow. Peter looks over as Loki stops and looks around. His hands go to his hips as his eyes narrow. He shakes his head and marches over to the table.

"No wine?" He muses sharply.

"Not you too," Peter warns.

"My brother, you've not seen him?" He asks.

"Would ask you the same thing..." Jensen intones.

"Yes, he is typically very bothersome and yet I find myself entirely without agitation," Loki crosses his arms. "It's been some days since last I've heard from him."

"He hasn't been in the discord." Peter says.

"Well, you can catch him up," Jensen says, "hey, look, guys, I wanted to go over something."

"Who put you in charge?" Bucky challenges and takes a bite of pizza.

"I'm not trying--" he pauses and looks at the door. He huffs and goes to close it.

He marches back to the center of the circle of chairs. Some sit, others hover behind the seats, Loki glides like a restless cat along the wall.

"Look, we came together because we want to help each other, right? Because we all have someone... in mind. A goal. And well, I don't know about you, but I'm tired of watching. Of waiting." He turns to look at each man. "What are we waiting for?"

"Well, what should we do?" Steve asks as crumbs litter the floor around his leather shoes.

Jensen pokes his tongue in his cheek. He looks at Curtis who tilts his head. Then he glances at Cole as he frowns at his phone.

"Cole," he says and the sandy-haired farmer jerks up in his seat. "You have land."

"Sure, lots of it," his blue eyes round.

"Thanks for the maps, by the way," Jensen adds. "Anyway, er, I did ask for a reason."

"You ask a lot," Bucky huffs and Steve pokes him.

"Look, we all have our talents, our skills. And we can bring them together."

"How so?" Peter sits and taps his fingers on his jeans.

"Sy, you're have a background in construction. Curt, you too. I'm sure the rest of us can learn. Or help." He pauses and looks at Steve then Loki, "some of us are good at planning and others..." he once more looks at Sy, noting Thor's absence, "will be good for muscle."

"Alright, get on with it," Bucky snipes.

"Cole, it's just you and your parents, right? You do all the work. You need help too."

Cole grimaces and shrugs in confusion.

"Tell me what your plan is. All of you. Tell me. What's the plan? You gonna sit on your hands and hope and pray that they fall into your arms?"

Curtis shifts. They didn't discuss this part. Jensen's hear pounds.

"We build a place. For all of them."

"What?" Several babble from the chairs.

Loki marches closer and brings his thumb to his chin, "a prison?"

"No! No. A home. A..."

"Compound," Bucky adds. "Let's be honest. What he's proposing is that we cut the shit. Make our moves."

"And if they're not into it?" Peter asks.

"It might take time..." Jensen says.

"But they'll see. We only care about them," Steve pipes up.

"Holy shit," Bucky chortles, "you're not serious?"

"It could work," Sy says.

Loki twitches and reaches under his jacket. He pulls out his phone and scowls, "Ah, there he is." He puts it to his ear and turns his back.

"It's illegal," Steve says. "What you're saying."

"Who else is going to take care of them? They can't take care of themselves." Jensen argues.

"He's right," Sy says.

"And... they could be friends," Steve suggests.

Bucky snorts again. Jensen is getting annoyed.

"Well," Jensen throws his hands up, "anyone got a better idea?"

The room goes silent. The men exchange looks. No one speaks.

Loki's spine goes rigid then he pulls the speaker away with a tweak of his head. He faces the men again and exhales. "Well, it would seem my brother is well ahead of us."

[spikeisawesome456]

.

[xhais]

Bad news. KOSA advanced.

Continue calling your representatives and tell them to vote no on KOSA. It passed the Senate Commerce Committee, not the full Senate, we still have time.

STOP KOSA NOW.

Edit: July 29: The full Senate is voting on KOSA TOMORROW! Please call your representatives and senators to vote no! PLEASE!

Edit: July 30: Senate passed KOSA! The House vote is next. Contact your representatives to vote no now! PLEASE!

Edit: August 1st: KOSA IS DEAD! For now. It may pop up again. Be on the lookout, if it does pop up again, tell your senators and representatives to vote no!

Edit: September 13: KOSA MIGHT RETURN! Follow the instructions on this post PLEASE!

Edit: September 20: KOSA PASSED THE HOUSE COMMITTEE AND ONTO THE HOUSE FLOOR!! This happened on September 18th, I am a bit late and for that I'm sorry. But it’s not over! FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS POST, PLEASE!!

Edit: September 27: THIS ENTIRE POST STILL APPLIES! THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER, WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO FIGHT! PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE NO! PLEASE!!

Edit: October 6: @the-vampire-fish-queen said, “Do want to point out Congress is not in session right now but come back around 11/12/24. Also, the Republican leadership is fighting over the bill.” WHICH IS VERY TRUE!

FOR REPUBLICAN REPS:

FOR DEMOCRAT REPS:

Edit: October 25: The Heritage Foundation KNOWS that Kosa will REMOVE Pro-Abortion and Trans content IF Trump wins. It has also come to my attention, that from what people have heard from the House of Representatives, Kosa will MOST LIKELY not move on. The keywords there are most likely, keep fighting!

[fictionstudent]

How to pull off descriptions

New authors always describe the scene and place every object on the stage before they press the play button of their novels. And I feel that it happens because we live in a world filled with visual media like comics and films, which heavily influence our prose.

In visual media, it’s really easy to set the scene—you just show where every object is, doesn’t matter if they’re a part of the action about to come or not. But prose is quite different from comics and films. You can’t just set the scene and expect the reader to wait for you to start action of the novel. You just begin the scene with action, making sure your reader is glued to the page.

And now that begs the question—if not at the beginning, where do you describe the scene? Am I saying you should not use descriptions and details at all? Hell naw! I’m just saying the way you’re doing it is wrong—there’s a smarter way to pull off descriptions. And I’m here to teach that to you.

***

#01 - What are descriptions?

Let’s start with the basics—what are descriptions? How do you define descriptions? Or details, for that matter? And what do the words include?

Descriptions refer to… descriptions. It’s that part of your prose where you’re not describing something—the appearance of an object, perhaps. Mostly, we mean scene-descriptions when we use the term, but descriptions are more than just scene-descriptions.

Descriptions include appearances of characters too. Let’s call that character-descriptions.

Both scene-descriptions and character-descriptions are forms of descriptions that we regularly use in our prose. We mostly use them at the beginning of the scene—just out of habit.

Authors, especially the newer ones, feel that they need to describe each and every nook and cranny of the place or character so they can be visualized clearly by their readers, right as the authors themselves visualized them. And they do that at the start of the scene because how can you visualize a scene when you don’t know how the scene looks first.

And that’s why your prose is filled with how the clouds look or what lights are on the room before you even start with the dialogues and action. But the first paragraph doesn’t need to be a simple scene-description—it makes your prose formulaic and predictable. And boring. Let me help you with this.

***

#02 - Get in your narrator’s head

The prose may have many MCs, but a piece of prose only has a single narrator. And these days, that’s mostly one of the characters of your story. Who uses third-person omniscient narrator these days anyway? If that’s you, change your habits.

Anyway, know your narrator. Flesh out their character. And then internalize them—their speech and stuff like that. Internalize your narrator to such an extent that you can write prose from their point-of-view.

Now, I don’t mean to say that only your narrator should be at the center of the scene—far from it. What I mean is you should get into your narrator’s head.

You do not describe a scene from the eyes of the author—you—but from the eyes of the narrator. You see from their eyes, and understand what they’re noticing. And then you write that.

Start your scene with what the narrator is looking at.

For example,

The dark clouds had covered the sky that day. The whole classroom was in shades of gray—quite unusual for someone like Sara who was used to the sun. She felt the gloom the day had brought with it—the gloom that no one else in her class knew of.

She never had happy times under the clouds like that. Rain made her sad. Rain made her yearn for something she couldn’t put into words. What was it that she was living for? Money? Happiness?

As she stared at the sky through the window, she was lost in her own quiet little corner. Both money and happiness—and even everything else—were temporary. All of it would leave her one day, then come back, then leave, then come back, like the waves of an ocean far away from any human civilization in sight.

All of it would come and go—like rain, it’d fall on her, like rain, it’d evaporate without proof.

And suddenly, drops of water began hitting the window.

You know it was a cloudy day, where it could rain anytime soon. You know that for other students, it didn’t really matter, but Sara felt really depressed because of the weather that day. You know Sara was at the corner, dealing with her emotions alone.

It’s far better than this,

The dark clouds covered the sky that day. It could rain anytime soon.

From her seat at the corner of the room, Sara stared at the sky that made everything gray that day. She…

The main reason it doesn’t work is that you describe the scene in the first paragraph, but it’s devoid of any emotions. Of any flavor. It’s like a factual weather report of the day. That’s what you don’t want to do—write descriptions in a factual tone.

If you want to pull off the prior one, get to your narrator’s head. See from their eyes, think from their brain. Understand what they’re experiencing, and then write that experience from their POV.

Sara didn’t care what everyone was wearing—they were all probably in their school uniforms, obviously, so I didn’t describe that. Sara didn’t focus on how big the classroom was, or how filled, or what everybody was doing. Sara was just looking at the clouds and the clouds alone, hearing everybody just living their normal days, so I mentioned just those things.

As the author, you need to understand that only you, the author are the know-it-all about the scene, not your narrator. And that you’re different from your narrator.

Write as a narrator, not as an author.

***

#03 - Filler Words

This brings me to filler words. Now, hearing my advice, you might start writing something like this,

Sarah noticed the dark clouds through the window. She saw that they’d saturated the place gray.

Fillers words like “see”, “notice”, “stare”, “hear” should be ignored. But many authors who begin writing from the POV of the characters start using these verbs to describe what the character is experiencing.

But remember, the character is not cognizant of the fact that they’re seeing a dark cloud, just that it’s a dark cloud. You don’t need these filler words—straight up describe what the character is seeing, instead of describing that the character is seeing.

Just write,

There were dark clouds on the other end of the window, which saturated the place gray.

Sarah is still seeing the clouds, yeah. But we’re looking from her eyes, and her eyes ain’t noticing that she’s noticing the clouds.

It’s kinda confusing, but it’s an important mistake to avoid. Filler words can really make your writing sound more amateurish than before and take away the experience of the reader, because the reader wants to see through the narrator’s eyes, not that the narrator is seeing.

***

#04 - Characters

Character-descriptions are a lot harder to pull off than scene-descriptions. Because it’s really confusing to know when to describe them, their clothing, their appearances, and what to tell and what not to.

For characters, you can give a full description of their looks. Keep it concise and clear, so that your readers can get a pretty good idea of the character with so few words that they don’t notice you’ve stopped action for a while.

Or can show your narrator scanning the character, and what they noticed about them.

Both these two tricks only work when a character is shown first time to the readers. After that, you don’t really talk about their clothing or face anymore.

Until there’s something out of the ordinary about your character.

What do I mean by that? See, you’ve described the face and clothes of the character, and the next time they appear, the reader is gonna imagine the character in a similar set of clothes, with the same face and appearance that they had the first time. Therefore, any time other than the first, you don’t go into detail about the character again. But, if something about your character is out of ordinary—there are bruises on their face, scars, or a change in the way they dress—describe it to the reader. That’s because your narrator may notice these little changes.

***

#05 - Clothing

Clothing is a special case. Some new authors describe the clothes of the characters when they’re describing the character every time the reader sees them. So, I wanna help you with this.

Clothing can be a way to show something about your character—a character with a well-ironed business suit is gonna be different from a character with tight jeans and baggy t-shirt. Therefore, only use clothing to tell something unique about the character.

Refrain from describing the clothing of characters that dress like most others. Like, in a school, it’s obvious that all characters are wearing school uniforms. Also, a normal teenage boy may wear t-shirts and denim jeans. If your character is this, no need to describe their clothing—anything the reader would be imagining is fine.

Refrain from describing the clothing of one-dimensional side-characters—there’s a high chance you’ve not really created them well enough that they have clothing that differs from the expectations of the readers. We all know what waiters wear, or what a college guy who was just passing by in the scene would be wearing.

You may describe the clothing of the important character in the story, but only in the first appearance. After that, describe their clothes only if the clothes seem really, really different from the first time. And stop describing their clothes if you’ve set your character well enough in the story that your readers know what to expect from them in normal circumstances—then, describe clothes only when they’re really, really different from their usual forms of clothing.

***

#06 - Conclusion

I think there was so much I had to say in this article, but I didn’t do a good job. However, I said all that I wanted to say. I hope you guys liked the article and it helps you in one way or the other.

And please subscribe if you want more articles like this straight in your inbox!