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monstersandmaw · 5 years ago

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Patreon Tier Reshuffle in February and General 2020 Developments...

I gave my Patrons first look at this post, since some of the changes will affect their tiers (only to add content though!). Now I’m posting most of it to Tumblr for you to look at and perhaps have a think about...

It’s a long post, and I’m sorry for that...

First of all, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s supporting me on Patreon, whether you’re a long-time supporter or you just joined. I know it's a big deal to give your heard-earned cash to someone on the internet and am well aware of the responsibility I have and what an honour it is to be on the receiving end of your generosity and support. So, yes. Thank you more than I can probably ever express.

Secondly, a reminder that all tiers have access to our chilled out Discord server forever. We’ve got a channel for sharing photos of pets, for general chat, for monsters, for sharing artwork of all kinds, a library to share your own stories, an nsfw chat, recipes etc., so hopefully there’s something for everyone, but there’s no pressure to be active if you’d rather not be! There’s also an ongoing DnD game with some of the folks on there too, which is fun!

It might be worth joining the server anyway because I have plans for a new perk which will involve Discord (see below), and I also occasionally run ‘Discord Drabbles’ where I ask for prompts on Discord from folks, which you might have seen posted on Patreon from time to time.

Now, finally, round to the topic of this post!

I’ve been thinking about how to make sure that every tier gets the most that I can give them for their money, so I’m going to do a little reshuffle. It will start in February, and I’ve made sure that I’m pretty much just adding stuff to each tier, so you won’t miss out in the reshuffle.

Here are the new things I’m running only on Patreon from February 2020 in addition to everything else (see below):

Sculpt This!

Patrons can submit artwork or detailed descriptions (a creature/monster, a character, an object) to a designated ‘Sculpt This!’ channel on Discord, and I will pick one to sculpt once a month. I will create a post on Patreon with the artwork and the artist’s name (and a link to their page/site if they have one, and photos of my final sculpture based on their design. That will be available to everyone from the $1 tier upwards.

For those on the $5 tier upwards, a short video will be available, featuring footage of the sculpting process itself.

If the person whose art I use is on the $20 tier or upwards, I will post them the sculpture if they’d like it.

Trope Tuesdays!

A poll will go up prior to Tuesday, with a list of common tropes (notably from the world of fanfic – things like ‘coffee shop’, ‘bed-sharing’, ‘enemies to lovers’, ‘5 times +1’ etc. etc.) and the winning trope from that poll will be the theme for a short story to be posted on a Tuesday.

I’m aiming for these short stories to be a variety of fluffy and steamy, available to everyone from the $1 tier up.

Character Letters

$10 and up patrons can request a letter once a month from their favourite characters from any of my stories (providing I wasn’t using someone else's OC for a commission or the like). This can be sent as a PDF by email and/or posted publicly to Patreon only (not Tumblr), with the option to remove the name if you’d rather remain anonymous.

$20 and up patrons can request a hand-written letter once a month from their favourite character, again with the option to have the text posted to Patreon or not, and with their name, or not.

Commissions

I'm still in two minds about opening these up on here because I got absolutely exhausted – mentally and physically – at the end of 2019 and I’m only just recharging again. I had said I would open them up to patrons only in January 2020, and I may yet do that. If I do, I will create 5 slots, and a maximum of 5k words per story initially, and see how that goes. I realise that’s a small number of slots, but it’s still a lot of work for me on top of the rest of the Patreon commitments. I hope you understand, but I know a number of you responded in a poll to say you’d be interested in commissions from me again.

$10 patrons receive 5% off the first 5000 words of writing commissions, and $20 receive 10% off the first 5000 words of commissions.

Continuing rewards:

Monthly story – the monthly exclusive story will still be available for $5 and up (some of these stories have been known to go up to 10k words and be in multiple parts – think Kieran the satyr’s story from October 2018!)

Early release – I will continue to offer all Tumblr stories (except paid commissions from non-patrons and giveaways/specials) on early release – minimum of 4 days, sometimes longer.

Polls – help me decide what to write next

Character bios and artwork

Future things I hope to bring in later this year:

Gaming with Ghosti

I hope to do some streaming via Twitch of me playing things either on the PS4 (like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or we could do a special Dragon Age: Inquisition playthrough together), or from PC which could include a number of games, from Witcher III (I still haven’t played much) to Mass Effect, chilled out Minecraft sessions, and a huge number of other games which you could choose to inflict on me and watch me flail around in.

Hopefully Mr. Ghosti could join in too and laugh along with you and just generally have a chilled out time. This would probably happen at the weekend, but I’d have to look into the logistics of it if there’s enough interest.

Discount for Patrons on my Etsy shop

It’s actually live right now, but I haven’t got anything listed yet as I’m unsure of the last few things I need to get in place, but once I’ve got things up on there, I’ll make an announcement and give patrons a special discount code to use in case there’s anything you’d like to buy, from jewellery to polymer clay charms/sculptures.

More Q&A type things and video content

Some of you seemed to enjoy the video I did answering your questions, so I could always do more of this, if there are things you’d like to ask! It could be about anything, not just writing. If there’s interest, I’ll look into it.

More milestone giveaways and mystery ‘lucky dip’ giveaways

I love sharing things with you, so when I hit 200 patrons, I’ll have to think up something special, and in the meantime, maybe I’ll do some more giveaways for you.

If there’s something that you would like to see that you think I could put up on Patreon for you, then please get in touch! I’m always looking for ideas

All tier rewards will be as follows from February 2020:

Brand new items in bold, and slight changes in italics:

(putting in a ‘keep reading’ because it’s getting silly now...)

Shadows:

access to the Patreon-only Discord

access to the ‘Trope Tuesdays’ poll and story

access to the ‘Sculpt This!’ posts

access to some character profiles, aesthetics, polls, and story ideas

small discount on my etsy store (when it opens)

and my undying gratitude!

Pixies and Goblins – all of the above, plus:

one Patreon-exclusive monster story per month

access to the ‘Sculpt This!’ process video

access to the extra, long-running story, released once a month (Werewolf story - coming soon!)

early access for all Tumblr monster stories (excluding paid commissions)

the ‘what’s next?’ poll to help me decide what monster or reader to write

Elves – all of the above, plus:

you can request a letter once a month from your favourite character of mine! This can be sent as a PDF by email and/or posted publicly to Patreon only, with the option to remove the name if you’d rather remain anonymous.

entry into the monthly 3k word story commission – if you are chosen (at random) from the Elves tier (and above) you can have a 3k word story of your choosing written for you

access to ‘Writer’s Corner’, featuring occasional blog posts about writing and workshop goings-on

small work-in-progress previews from both my monster stories and my original fantasy fiction ‘Weaver of Threads’

5% off the first 5000 words of writing commissions, and priority placement in the commissions queue

Orcs – all of the above, plus:

you can also request a letter once a month from your favourite character, but yours can also be hand-written and posted to you if you’d like! You also have the option of it being posted to Patreon or not.

One short story (maximum 1500 words) with a monster and reader of your choice per month (by request only), included within your subscription

A PDF version of any monster story I’ve written and published on Patreon or Tumblr (by request, and sent by email)

10% off the first 5000 words of a writing commission

if your design was selected in the ‘Sculpt This!’ feature, I can post the finished sculpture to you, if you’d like to have it.

Dragons – all of the above, plus:

One 5000 word story of your choosing will be written for you per month (no fanfiction) as a thank you for your patronage (by request only)

Entry into the monthly top tiers free story draw but your story is 4k words instead of 3k

20% off the first 5000 words of a writing commission

A character with a name of your choosing (upon approval!) will be added to a monster story

Priority on jewellery and metalwork commissions and a larger discount on my Etsy store (when that opens)

Kaiju – all of the above, plus:

if you win the random free commission, yours is 5k words instead of 3k!

One 7000 word story of your choosing will be written for you per month (no fanfiction) as a thank you for your patronage (by request only)

One hand written letter of thanks (I have nice handwriting, don’t worry!) sent to you by post, including a little short story

25% off the first 5000 words of a writing commission

30% discount on jewellery and metalwork commissions

Dedication by name in any published work (let me know if you wish to remain anonymous)

Hope you’re excited, and don’t forget that you can always get in touch with me on any of my platforms – Patreon, Tumblr, Discord. If you want to share something but also want to remain anonymous, just send an anon to Tumblr and ask me not to post it.

#patreon #exophilia #new stuff #new content #exophilia stories #monster stories #monster boyfriend #monster girlfriend #long post

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littledarlinwrites · 6 years ago

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Sugar

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 4692

Author's Note: This was a request from @lilyrose3 based on the song Sugar by Maroon 5, I hope you love it dear! (Also, you may have inspired me to write more Maroon 5 song fics in the future because they are a guilty pleasure, especially their songs Sunday Morning, Harder to Breathe, and Wait, and a ton more but those three in particular.) Also, thank you @shield-agent78 for beta reading this for me, you’re an angel.

Summary: Bucky just got back from a mission and needs some love but has to attend a party to spruce up the Avenger’s image instead. The reader makes it difficult for him to accomplish this task.

Warnings: Pining if that’s a warning, a bit of insecurity (seriously like a line or two, maybe three for both characters combined, nothing specific), and smut at the end.

The last thing Bucky wanted to do was attend one of Tony’s parties, but attendance was mandatory in order to spruce up the Avengers image to society. Tonight the Avengers would schmooze with CEO’s and different politicians of the area that would donate money that the city would eventually need the next time something invaded. Bucky just wanted to stay in his room cuddled up next to you while half-watching movies you both had seen dozens of times before and exchanging lazy kisses. He was just in one of those moods where he just wanted your love, sweet and tender. Especially considering that the last mission hadn’t gone the way they planned. He need a little sympathy, he was beginning to get stuck in his own head and was over analyzing every move that he had made on the mission and was getting a bit insecure which ripped open a wound of insecurities that had only begun to heal with your help. Worst of all, he hadn’t even woken up next to you this morning. He had opened his eyes and saw a note where your head should be. See you beside the fountain, Sugar Plum. It read in your unique handwriting. The nickname only you called him in private after hearing the story of how Steve found him after he was buying plums, bringing warmth to his heart and was his small comfort he would get until he saw you at the party.

You had woken up in Bucky’s arms this morning and you did not want to move. You knew his last mission hadn’t gone well and he had only returned late the night before. You wanted to lay in bed with him and comfort him like you usually would until you absolutely had to get up and get ready, but you convinced yourself the surprise you had planned out would be worth it. Besides, you knew Natasha was no above dragging you out of bed and she would absolutely do so within the next fifteen minutes if you didn’t meet her in your room as planned. You slowly maneuvered your way out of Bucky’s warm embrace. Pulling the note out of the bedside table, you placed it where your head was laying moments before and made your way out of the shared bedroom.

You walked into Natasha’s room and the smell of freshly brewed coffee permeated the room. Her bathroom door was slightly ajar with steam still wafting out of the room. You walked over to her dresser where two cups of coffee sat. You grabbed the mug you always used and held the warm drink up to your face before breathing in its delicious aroma. The smell alone waking you up.

“I figured you might need that after waiting up for Barnes last night. So, what were you thinking about doing for your hair?” Natasha says as she walks out of the bathroom towel drying her hair.

“I was thinking about doing a sort of pin-up girl look, but a little more toned down since we’re going fancy tonight. Side part with curls? Something simple because I have a black birdcage veil.”

“You know you’re going to put Barnes through the worst torture he’s probably ever endured when he sees you tonight right?”

“What can I say, it makes killer foreplay.” You retort back, making Nat snort into her mug as she was taking a drink, nearly choking her.

“My god, warn a woman next time,” She replies chuckling. You give her a sly smile in return. Before setting your mug down and heading into her bathroom to take over her shower.

Natasha took the opportunity while you were in the shower to start getting herself ready. As you turned off the shower you heard her music softly playing. You wrap a towel around your body before you started towel drying your hair and walking into her room.

“So did Bruce ever work up the nerve to ask you to attend the party with him tonight?”

“He almost did, but Tony dragged him away to their lab.” She says with an eye roll. “So I left him a note on his suit that said the only thing his suit is missing is a redhead in a green dress.”

“Subtle.” I snark back.

“I’m done with subtle, and hopefully I won’t be wearing that green dress for very long tonight.”

“‘Tasha!” I bark out with a chuckle. “And you think I’m incorrigible.” Natasha simply smirks at me in the mirror while she adds some finishing touches to her hair.

“Alright woman, you’re turn.” I walk over to the chair she had been sitting in and take my spot. Natasha brings out the curling iron and starts to section off my hair. It’s silent for a bit, but not awkwardly so.

“Thank you for helping me get ready for tonight ‘Tasha. I’d be out of mind without you right now. I can’t believe after how long Bucky and I have been dating that I still get nervous. Not that the dress leaves much to the imagination. I guess I’m just feeling a little insecure, and I want to thank you for just being amazing and putting up with my shit.”

“Well, you put up with my shit too, and as for feeling insecure, even I feel that way from time to time. Also, I have seen you in that dress and you’re going to abso-freaking-lutely take Barnes’ breath away when he sees you in it, along with every other guy in the room I might add. Besides, we both know that you would have given yourself second-degree burns if I had left you to your own devices with a curling iron. I still don’t understand how you’re so graceful out in the field, but an absolute mess otherwise.” Natasha chuckles before finishing up your hair and giving you a smile in the mirror before announcing that you were finished and could check it out. What you saw had you shocked. Your hair had never cooperated with you trying to tame it, but Natasha had done it with ease.

“Alright, time for your makeup. I was thinking a smokey eye, with a bold red lip to match your dress. What do you think?”

“Sounds perfect.” You sat as still as you could and followed Natasha’s instructions as she told you to open and close your eyes or tilt your head a certain way. When she was done she was wearing a smirk.

“Alright, you’re all done, go finish getting dressed while I do my own makeup.” You couldn’t help but enthusiastically wrap your arms around her in gratitude while whispering a ‘thank you’ into her shoulder. You released her and made your way to her closet for your dress. You laid the dress out on the bed, shoes on the floor, and made your way to the bathroom for perfume and deodorant. You slipped on the burgundy silk with black lace lingerie set that you had bought specifically for the dress before making your way out of the bathroom once again.

“Woman, if Bruce and Barnes weren’t in the picture, even I would have you bent over my bed right now. I hope you aren’t too attached to that set because I’m pretty sure Barnes is going to rip it off.” Natasha’s words have you blushing. You can only hope that that was Bucky’s reaction when he sees it later. Although you were getting rather attached to this set because of how good the color looked against your skin. You slipped on the red dress which hugged every inch of your body from your shoulders to your knees, and from your knees, it simply flowed to the floor. The website had called it a Gilda gown. It had a plunging v-neck and the straps on the shoulders had flatbows, and the dress was made of luxuriously soft velvet. You paired the dress with three-quarter length black leather gloves. Finally, you slipped on your black ankle ribbon lace-up stiletto heels. You walk up to Natasha’s full-length mirror and begin inspecting yourself for anything out of place. You try not to stare too long to avoid any insecure thoughts from slipping into your mind and when you turn around Natasha’s jaw is on the floor.

“C’mon ‘Tasha! Stop staring and get your dress on so we can get them off faster.” You demand of her playfully. You both start cackling and promptly stop when you feel tears coming to your eyes. Natasha’s makeup was more natural, pale pink eyeshadow with a matte lipstick just a shade darker than her natural lip color. Natasha slipped off her robe and exposed the black lingerie set she was going to wear underneath the dress, much more modern than the set you were wearing and left little to the imagination. You helped her into her evergreen lace dress. It had cap sleeves, a thigh-high slit, and it was adorned with rhinestones that sparkled in the light. She paired it with a pair of glitter embellished, d'Orsay shaped upper pointed heels.

“Well, I think we are both dressed to kill and the party has just started. Ready to head out, Y/N?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Bucky had spent the day reading a book he had seen your nose buried in recently. His already thin patience was withering away every second. All he wanted was his arms around you, and the smell of your shampoo that still clung to your soft tresses that you always said were unmanageable but that he found perfect. He wanted the sweet taste of your lips on his.

He didn’t want to deal with people, especially people he didn’t know. He felt weak without you. His only consolation was that he wouldn’t have to endure tonight alone. Bucky knew that once he had you by his side he wouldn’t feel as insecure as he did right now. The looks that people gave him, either because of his past or his arm, wouldn’t even register because he would be too busy staring at you.

He looked at the clock for what seemed like the millionth time today and decided that he could finally start getting ready. Finally, he headed to the bathroom you two shared to kill a bit of time knowing he would rush getting dressed. During the shower he couldn’t help but smell the shampoo that you always used, it was like a balm to senses momentarily, and then like a tidal wave he missed you all the more. He quickly finished his shower before hopping out and drying off.

The only hint he had as to what you were wearing was the tie you had left out for him. Red velvet. After years of living under HYDRA’s control, you always did little things for him that were a bit extra that involved his senses. For his birthday you had gotten him a set of silk sheets, a luxury he had never experienced, but the first night you two had spent in bed he reveled in the feel of the sheets against his bare skin. You had told him that after decades of hard and cold he deserved something soft, or in this case silky, and warm. He had quirked an eyebrow at you since the sheets were typically cool. You giggled, and he swears his heart stopped, and you said you were more than happy to provide the warmth in that equation in particular. Even though he was the furnace in the relationship.

He pulled out his black dress pants, dress shirt, and velvet jacket. He pulled on each article of clothing with his back to the full-length mirror. He was still getting used to the slim fit of suits, something he thinks he’ll never get used to and thankfully doesn’t have to wear often. He doesn’t turn around until he has to pull his hair back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He’s definitely not as confident as he used to be back in the 30’s, but he will admit that he didn’t clean up too badly.

“Buck, I need your help!” Came Steve’s panicked voice through his bedroom door after a series of knocks.

“What’s the matter punk?” Bucky replies back as he makes his way to the door before opening it to reveal a panicked Steve on the verge of sweating and a bowtie hanging undone around his neck.

“I can’t get this stupid bowtie right and I’m supposed to meet Sharon down there any minute.” With an eye roll and a smirk, Bucky pulls his friend into his room and starts to twist the once hopeless piece of fabric into a presentable bowtie.

“You know, you always were hopeless when it came to these things.”

“Yeah, I guess there are some things even super soldier serum can’t change,” Steve replies with a chuckle. Adjusting the bowtie after he’s finished tying it, Bucky claps him on the shoulder.

“Alright punk, get to your date so I can go find mine.”

“Thanks, jerk, I owe ya one.”

Bucky follows Steve out the door, shutting it behind him. Finally, on his way to see you and wrap you in his arms.

You made your way down to the party. Stopping at the balcony that was overlooking all the guests. You looked towards the fountain to see if Bucky was already there, but the area around the fountain was surprisingly bare. A little let down that you didn’t see him yet which meant that you would have to wait that much longer for his arms to be around you, you slowly made your way down the stairs to join the other guests. When you reached the bottom a waiter had appeared and offered you a glass of champagne which you graciously accepted.

Gliding across the room with very few interruptions it didn’t take long until you were beside the fountain. The music from the live band had you tapping your foot and you were surprisingly tuned out to your surroundings lost in your own mind. IT wasn’t until you felt a hand at your elbow that you noticed someone beside you.

“You look absolutely stunning tonight.”

“Uhm, thank you,” you said a bit awkwardly before taking a sip from your glass. Not recognizing the man in front of you. He was tall, black hair, warm brown eyes, and to most women probably considered quite handsome, but he wasn’t Bucky.

“Would you mind accompanying me for a dance? Please?” He flashed a smile at you that would probably have most girls swooning. You looked around the room hoping to spot Bucky so you could have a reason to turn the man down, but you still didn’t see him in the sea of people. The man was still smiling at you waiting for an answer.

“Uh, sure.” You finally replied, hoping that Bucky would finally be here by the time the dance was over. The man took your glass from your hand and sat it on the edge of the fountain before replacing it with his hand and lead you onto the dance floor. Luckily the song wasn’t hard to dance to, but it was a tad on the slow side which led the man to pull you a bit closer than you wanted to be. His cologne causing you to wrinkle your nose.

“So what’s a stunning woman like you doing here alone?” The man asked about halfway through the song. Your stomach dropped as you knew where his questioning was heading and you didn’t know if he would be the type to take your answer gracefully or not.

“She’s not. Mind if I cut in?” Came Bucky’s short reply. Seeing the guys hands on you, let alone so low on your back had him seeing red. If he wasn’t likely to be some CEO or politician he probably would have physically pulled the guy off of you. The guy promptly removed his hands from you and went looking for some other girl to dance with. If looks could kill then the look from Bucky’s eyes would have caused the guy to spontaneously combust. You stepped forward and straightened Bucky’s tie, causing his eyes to drop down to you. A smirk was playing on your lips when you heard his sharp intake of breath when he finally got a good look at you. The subtle nod to the pin-up girl look you attempted did not go unnoticed by him. He actually had to close his eyes and take a deep breath in order to calm himself down. He put his hands on your waist before lowering his lips to your ear.

“Sugar, are you trying to torture me?” His voice down an octave from its usual timbre. His breath hitting the shell of your ear causing a shiver to roll down your spine. When his face was back in your line of sight you bat your eyelashes up at him innocently, your hands resting on his biceps.

“If you think this is torture, then just wait until you see what I have on underneath. Even Natasha thought it looked good.” Bucky couldn’t help the growl that erupted at the back of his throat. Not only at the thought of what you could possibly be wearing beneath his dress that he was convinced was designed solely for his torment, but for the fact that Natasha had seen and appreciated you in various states of undress. He knew that you would never cheat, but that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t be jealous that Natasha had seen what was his.

You felt his hands go from your waist to your hips before tightening their hold. At this rate, you weren’t sure that Bucky would last an hour into the party, let alone the next five minutes. You heard another slow song playing and leaned into Bucky, your breast pressed against his chest and you pushed yourself onto the balls of your feet to try and reach his ear.

“You owe me a dance, Sugar Plum.” You backed up just enough so you could look up at him through your lashes. You could tell that Bucky was struggling to restrain himself. If he had it his way, he’d lift you onto his shoulder and wouldn’t put you back down until he reached his bed where he could have his way with you. However, he knew that he needed to stay for at least an hour per Stark’s request before he could dip out.

“Let’s dance, Doll.” He said in a sultry voice that had you squeezing your thighs together. Bucky put his metal hand on your waist before moving it to your lower back and pulling you close to him. His flesh hand held yours before guiding it to his shoulder and letting his fingers dance across your soft skin down your arm, following the curve of your velvet draped waist and joining his metal hand on your lower back. His fingers drew patterns on your lower back as you two swayed from side to side. He rested his forehead against yours staring into your eyes. No matter how long you two had been together, he couldn’t believe how lucky he had gotten with you. You still amazed him with not only your beauty but your unwavering kindness. One song faded into the next, and then another after that. Both of you just enjoying the closeness of the other before you interrupted his train of thought.

“How long does a girl have to wait for you to lay some sugar on her?” You said barely above a whisper, a coy smile adorning your luscious red lips.

“You? Never.” Bucky replied before crashing his lips to yours. He desperately tried to keep the kiss ‘PG’ as you would say, but he couldn’t hold back the groan that escaped him. He sucked your bottom lip into his mouth before biting it just enough for you to gasp which allowed him to let his tongue fight yours for dominance. Before he knew it, his hand was in your hair and he heard someone clearing their throat beside him. Bucky was shameless in the moment and would have continued on if you hadn’t been so startled that you pulled away from him. He looked over to see a disappointed Tony Stark.

“If you two are going to play tonsil hockey then please take it to your room. We’re supposed to be cleaning up our image, not giving the press the impression that we’re corrupting the youth.” Tony said with a nod to May and Peter Parker who stood across the room. With heat flooding your face, all you could seem to manage was a nod of your head before tugging on Bucky’s hand. You two scattered from the room like teenagers to the elevator. You couldn’t help but giggle when you found yourselves alone in the hallway to your rooms. Bucky looked at you adoringly before backing you into a wall and kissing you thoroughly once again. His kissed your lips until you both needed air and then moved to your jaw, to that spot by your ear, and then down your neck.

“B-bucky, bed-room. Please?” You pant out, the last word coming out in nearly a whine. As much as Bucky wanted to continue kissing you right where you two were, he heeded your request. As soon as the bedroom door closed Bucky had you against it. His hands roamed freely across your body. Bucky groped your breasts first, your exposed cleavage had been teasing him to touch them all night, the soft skin beneath his calloused fingers causing you to moan and him to smile. Bucky pushed the straps down on your dress as far as they would go his mouth working its way down from your lips to the peak of your breast. The other being worked over with his metal fingers. You were already panting and his hot mouth and cold fingers caused a loud moan to escape you.

“Bucky, need you, please.” You were practically begging as you weaved your fingers from one hand into his hair and the other to squeeze his arm. He moved his flesh hand to the back of your dress while he continued his ministrations on your breasts. Finding the zipper he pulled it down agonizingly slow. He released your nipple from his mouth with a pop.

“Strip for me Sugar,” Bucky said, his voice rough. Bucky began taking off his jacket before he noticed that his words hadn’t even registered in your bliss-filled haze. He stepped forward and lifted your chin with his flesh hand and looked you in the eye as he had your attention.

“I wasn’t asking.” His voice as smooth as the velvet on your body, his command now registering. Keeping your eyes locked with his you slowly pulled the dress down your body. You noticed his eyes bulging at your choice of lingerie and the groan that exploded from the back of his throat left you smiling coyly at him.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it, Doll. And I’m gonna love it even more on the floor.” He says as he takes a step towards you before picking you up by the back of your thighs and carrying you over to the bed. He laid you down on the bed with a knee between your legs. His hands making quick work of your bra before flinging it across the room.

“I need your loving, and I need it now, Sugar,” Bucky says between kisses against your skin.

“I just wanna be deep in your love, James, please.” Bucky is right above where you need him most, looking up at you with lust blown eyes through his lashes. You swear the image could cause you to wreck your panties then and there if you didn’t know what else his mouth could do already.

“One more thing before we get started, baby.” Bucky tells you, his voice dripping with sin. He pulls the tie loose from around his neck and starts to unbutton his shirt before tossing it across the room. “C’mere, Doll.” He asks with each end of the tie in his hands. You sit forward and he wraps the tie around your head as a blindfold. Bucky still can’t believe how much you trust him in moments like these, and it turns him on more than he’d like to admit. When the makeshift blindfold is securely tied around your head he guides you by the shoulders back down to the bed.

Bucky begins to slowly pull your panties down your smooth legs. Your panties end up somewhere across the room with your bra. He starts kissing you slowly from your ankle up your leg, his fingertips grazing your legs along the way. When Bucky reaches the apex of your thighs he hesitates, causing you to let out a whine in desperation.

“Please, Bucky please!” That’s all it takes before he lowers his mouth to the set of lips between your hips. Your legs are draped over his shoulders but he uses his hands to hold down your hips in a nearly bruising grip. Your hand find purchase in his brown locks, you can’t help but tug him against you. The ministrations of his mouth are causing you to see stars. You're a writhing moaning mess beneath him, his moans against your clit causing your walls to clench around nothing.

“B-bucky. N-need you in-side me.” You pant out desperately.

“You want it, don’t you Doll,” Bucky smirks as he moves to removes his pants, releasing his aching member.

“Yes, baby, please. Need you so bad it hurts.”

“I got you, Doll,” Bucky whispers against your lips as he lines himself up to your entrance. Rubbing his tip teasingly against your folds. Your hips grind against him in need of friction. Bucky places a hand on your hip to keep you still. He brings his lips down to yours and as he does he slowly enters you. Knowing no matter how many times he’s made love to you that you always need a moment to adjust to his size.

When he’s fully sheathed inside of you his hips still. Your breaths mix together in pants before you urge him to move. Bucky starts off slow, every thrust measured and calculated. Soon he’s thrusting faster as your hand is pulling his hair and the other leaving angry red trails down his back. Bucky’s metal arm is beside your head keeping himself propped up as he begins to thrust vigorously inside of you and the other finds its way to your neck putting just the slightest bit of pressure just how you liked. It took a long time for him to reach this level of trust, not only with you but with himself that he wouldn’t hurt you. Eventually, that hand moved down to where you two were joined, reaching that nub that was aching for his touch. Bucky began rubbing circles against.

“Can’t believe your mine,” Bucky says before letting out a loud moan. “Mmm, my girl. Right, Doll? Need you to say it.” his raspy voice and words cause you to moan.

“All yours, Bucky. I’m your girl.” You feel your orgasm building, Bucky’s frantic thrusts a telltale sign that he’s close too.

“So close, Doll. Need you-need you to cum on my cock, Sugar.” And at that, your walls clench down on Bucky and you spiral into white-hot bliss, Bucky following behind you. Your names on each other's lips. Bucky rides out your highs before stilling inside of you. The only sound in the room is of both of you panting for air. Bucky pulls the tie away from your eyes, tossing it carelessly.

“I love you, Sugar,” Bucky whispers as he looks deep into your eyes.

“I love you too, Sugar Plum.” You reply, kissing his nose before he rolls over onto his back with you locked on his arms. It wasn’t exactly how he planned on spending his first day back from his mission, but he definitely wasn’t complaining anymore.

340 notes · View notes

pasteljeon · 6 years ago

Text

Nymphet Garden: Prologue

Prologue: White Heather - Calluna vulgaris is a flower native to Northern Eurasia and America with a history of being very versatile as it was used in nearly everything from household items like brooms and baskets to flavoring drink like beer. The plant is immersed within Scottish folklore as they believed that the soft blossoms only grow where faeries have been and that owners are blessed with good luck and protective powers. It means that ‘wishes will come true’ and that is what happened when the boys met you.

➟ Based off this request: I’d like to request a multi-part fic with the reader being a solo!idol and the bts boys perhaps being big fanboy of hers? I’d love to see your take on this. I’d love some down and dirty smut too please! from @/stxrlxghtsora

➟ Summary: He was just a fanboy, they got dragged into it, and so blooms your love story.

➟ Pairing: OT7/Reader, non-idol!BTS, idol!Reader

➟ Warnings: uhh, this is basically a short smutfest with a loose plot (reverse ynwa style), including, but not exclusive to: switch!reader, switch!ot7, overstimulation, oral (m&f), edging, cuckholding, bondage, breathplay, daddy kink, noona kink, some hot jealous fucking, 3somes

➟ Length: 6.8k

➟ In collab with @/sugarcookiesandsins - please give her some love! ♡♡

➟ Notes: We spent a literal 8 hours on this first part sdhjsk we hope you all enjoy and look forward to the next parts! The following chapter will be posted on Jae’s blog, @/sugarcookiesandsins so please keep this in mind! Links will all be reblogged.

“Please.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Hyung!” Yoongi groaned, throwing his head back to glare at Jimin who eyed him hopefully from across the couch. The boys were already crowded at the door, shoes on and looking rather excited themselves despite their reluctance earlier that week. Jimin, the source of exposure, had his hands clasped together and amber irises blown out pleadingly. They were practically glowing, and it was lethal, at least, to everyone except one Min Yoongi .

“Just get Taemin to go with you guys. You know I hate public places and that venue is going to be packed. I can’t stand another twenty thousand you’s screaming in my ear,” Yoongi grumbled.

“I’ll get you that new studio equipment you wanted,” Jimin wheedles. His bank account would suffer, but it would be worth it if Yoongi went to the concert. Having the iconic Bangtan Ensemble was what he wanted, after all, for attendance at his favourite idol’s concert tonight. Besides, he had spent good money on these tickets. He could have used it to replace the speakers in his dance studio or his worn sneakers, but no. He had single handedly paid for 7 front row tickets, and damn it to hell if he wasn’t going to get his money's worth.

The aspiring composer squinted at the younger suspiciously, but Jimin only beamed back at him. “Please, hyung? I really want us all to go together!”

With a drawn out sigh, Yoongi swung his legs over the couch and grabbed his jacket. “Fine. But you owe me. I better see that ASR 88 sitting in my room by the end of the year.”

Jimin winced inwardly but nodded eagerly. As long as he got all of them to go, then any future pain would be worth it. Besides, he was sure that after that night, Min Yoongi would be thanking him for dragging his ass to this concert. “It will, don’t worry.”

Twenty minutes and a bus ride later, Jimin still couldn’t believe that he was actually here, standing a couple feet from the stage where his future wife would soon be singing your her heart out. He had their wedding planned and everything, she just didn’t know it yet. Looking to his right and left, he was happy to be surrounded by his closest friends, even though he knew that what he had promised some in exchange for their attendance may be a little out of reach for his. He would deal with that later and focus on the now. Besides, there had to be extra shifts he could pick up at work to make up for the huge dent in his expenses.

Suddenly, any stress he had melted away as the familiar piano of your intro played over the speakers of the venue. The screen on stage lit up as the video began to play. He had seen it so many times, Jimin could probably watch everything with his eyes closed, but he still kept them locked on your features as you played your role in the video, your skin looking softer then it had ever looked on either his phone or his computer. The screams never stopped. The boys were sure they were going deaf wincing as pitched voices echoed around them. Still, they were at a concert. What did they expect?

Jimin had been lucky enough to snag tickets to the GA area and they rushed in to secure a position at the front. Camping was prohibited so it was a fight to the death to get into line as early as they were permitted. They lounged around on the ground, joking around as they patiently waited for the actual performance to begin.

It was almost an hour later when you came onstage yourself, decked in the familiar attire from your debut song. The boys shot to their feet instantly. It was an upbeat tempo that got everyone dancing and screaming the lyrics as you executed the choreography to perfection just like Jimin had seen in live performances.

Taehyung was jumping up and down next to him, yelling something indiscernible over the roaring of the crowd. “What?” Jimin yelled. Taehyung pulled him closer, shouting, “She’s really good! Where can I buy her album?”

Jimin grinned, telling him he would send the link when they were home. One down, five more to go. Taking a quick sweep around, he spotted Namjoon and Hoseok jamming out near the barricade. Seokjin was nodding his head along to the beat enthusiastically to the right of him, and even Yoongi looked impressed in spite of his reservations earlier. Jungkook was hooked the moment you walked on stage and opened your mouth. The music major was a sucker for a voice as angelic as yours, his jaw dropping so low Jimin feared the fireworks would fly right into it. He smiled to himself. Jimin 1 : Bangtan 0.

The concert ran for two hours, though there were breaks in between where you were offstage changing outfits and videos promoting your tour theme ran on screen, or you’d walk forward and speak to the audience. Jimin swore his heart stopped beating when you knelt in front of him, smiling directly at him as you sang a line to one of his favourite songs off your older albums. God, you were perfection. You sent him a heart and he swooned, mouthing an I love you. Jimin ignored Taehyung’s boisterous laughter, having noticed the exchange.

“You’re so whipped for her, Chims,” Taehyung cackled. Jimin flushed, still singing along.

He still didn’t forget to check his phone periodically, eyes flying to his notifications at every vibration in his pocket. Before the concert, you had done a vlive during the soundcheck when you announced the raffle that would make one group of people very lucky indeed. In between songs, you explained to an enraptured crowd that you would be drawing for the winners of backstage passes. Those that purchased in groups of 5 or more tickets were grouped together and solo purchases were randomly assigned to groups. Thankfully Jimin had purchased all seven tickets so when he checked the website, he was happy to find them all together in group number 713. He had watched the entirety of the livestream, including where you draw from a hat that was part of a costume set.

“... 713!” He swallowed. “Um, Tae?”

“Hmm? Yeah?” Taehyung said absentmindedly, eyes glued to the screens as a new teaser began to play.

“We won,” Jimin said slowly. His palms slickened and he shoved his phone into his friend’s face, his knees already quivering at the thought. “We’re going to see ___! Backstage! In person!”

Taehyung blinked at him uncomprehendingly. “Oh fuck!” Jimin screamed. His voice was swallowed easily by the crowd but now he could barely focus on the remainder of the concert, feeling dizzy and feverish.

“What’s going on? Is he okay?” Seokjin yelled over from the side. Taehyung smirked, making an O with two fingers and shoving another into it, eyebrows wiggling.

Jimin stepped on his foot so hard Taehyung had to squat and massage it for the entirety of your next song. The 95 liner sighed happily, returning his attention to you, eyes glazing over dreamily.

Jimin was practically vibrating with equal parts fear and anticipation. “Oh fuck, oh fuck,” he whispered, pacing before the door. “This is really happening. Oh fuck!”

Namjoon placed a hand on his shoulder, concerned. “You alright there? Should we leave?”

“NO!” Jimin almost shouted. “No,” he said again, shaking his head furiously. “I need all of you there. Besides, we won together. It’s not just me.”

“Don’t worry so much hyung,” Taehyung grinned. “Chims is just excited to meet my future wife.”

If he wasn’t in public, Jimin would have tackled him, but instead he just shot him a glare that could burn hotter than the sun. “It’s not good to lie, Taehyungie.” His voice was sickly sweet saccharin, that Taehyung knew he would be sleeping with one eye open for the next couple days. He had been witness to Jimin taking revenge on Jeongguk for breaking a speaker, and there was nothing he had wished for more than to be the last person in the sights of Park Jimin.

Before anyone could say anything to diffuse the situation, the security guard they had shown their tickets to came out from behind the door with 7 pases dangling from his hand, lanyards colored to match the tour’s theme with writing indicating both your name and the name of the tour in bold letters. Behind laminated plastic were the very things that Jimin had dreamed about: backstage passes. He had read enough fanfiction to imagine a lot of things, each one riskier than the last, painting his face a bright red. Clearing his throat before speaking, he grabbed one once the security guard held them out. He flipped it over in his hand multiple time making sure it was real. Finally assured that it would not get ripped from his hands, he pulled it over his head letting it hang where everyone can see it.

“Miss ___? Your guests are here.” The guard knocked on an ajar door, the mirrors and rows of clothing indicating it was probably your dressing room. Jimin choked on his own fucking saliva when you turned around from where you’d been speaking to a staff member. You were patting yourself down with a towel, wiping off sweat from your neck as you walked forward.

“Hello! I’m ___. It’s wonderful to meet you all,” you said warmly, voice melodic though a little raspy from exertion. You’d changed into casual clothing and removed the heavier aspects of your makeup, caring less about your appearance than how comfortable you were. Shit, you were even more beautiful barefaced. Jimin tugged at the collar of his shirt, the room suddenly stifling.

“H-hi! Your name is Jimin!” He stumbled over his words, immediately wanting the ground to swallow him whole. Great. The one time I meet my all time favourite idol and I fuck it up. Go figure. He groaned inwardly. “I mean - My name is Jimin,” he gulped. “And it’s really such an honour to meet you.” He nearly smacked you as he stuck out his arm.

You giggled, eyes crinkling as you regarded the man. His hair was tousled, looking like he’d run a hand through his thick locks several times in anxiousness and you noticed his body trembling slightly, fingers shaking as he shook your hand. He wet his lips, plump and pink and you concluded he was quite handsome.

In fact, all seven of them were. The one next to Jimin let out the deepest laugh. Ah. You noted. One of those whose face did not match what you’d expect his voice to be. “Don’t mind him, he’s just extremely nervous. I’m Taehyung, this idiot’s best friend,” he said cheekily, stepping up to take your hand next.

“Namjoon. Your performances were lovely. I loved the lyrics. Did you write them?” He looked like he wanted to take notes at your response.

“Hello, I’m a thief and I’m here to steal your heart.” Cue windshield laughter. “I’m Seokjin, but everyone calls me Jin.”

“H-hello. I’m Jungkook. I really like your voice! And um, your dancing. It was all very good.” Heavy blushing.

“I’m Hoseok! Your choreography was sick! What kind of concept are you going to be using for your comeback?” This one had the sunniest grin, making you recoil just a bit so you could shield your eyes from the blinding effect.

“Yoongi.” He didn’t say much, but you could tell it was his natural character. He was quiet throughout the entire exchange, though his eyes were sharp and watchful as he examined you.

Jimin, bless him, was still fluttering around awkwardly, clearly wanting to convey everything he’d been harbouring for years now that he had an opportunity, but he kept tripping over himself and ended up staring at the ground for most of the conversation, looking disappointed and frustrated.

Namjoon and Hoseok chatted animatedly with you, discussing choreography and the elements of music like mixing and editing. From what little they knew, you also composed most of your own songs.

Seokjin cracked jokes here and there, Taehyung popping in periodically and Yoongi simply listened attentively. Jungkook spoke timidly, asking a few burning questions and his smile was surprisingly sweet, bunny like and bright.

Forty minutes into their visit, your stylist tapped you on the shoulder, murmuring something as she passed.

“Ah,” you said apologetically. “It looks like our time is up. I really enjoyed meeting you all. Best of luck with your own careers! And,” you paused. They looked at you inquisitively. “I hope to see you all on the billboards one day. From the sound of it, you all have immense talent and potential.”

Taehyung nudged Jimin frantically, jerking his chin at you. “Do it now!” he hissed.

“U-um. Please, will you sign my album?” Jimin thrust it in front of you with trembling hands, bowing his head deeply.

He almost regretted his question as you turned to him and unleashed a wide smile that could put Hoseok's to shame, at least in Jimin’s eyes. He was the cutest of the bunch with his rosy cheeks and nervous habit. “I would love to,” you said with a grin as you motioned to a staff member to bring you a marker. Once the black ink was in your hand, you proceed to make your signature on the cover of the album, directly below the tite and accomapnying infomation. Below that you wrote a cute message. ‘Thank you for coming to my concert cutie!’ with a little heart and kiss.

It was simple enough, but Jimin felt his soul leave his body as you gave the album back to him, fingers grazing each others’. Smiling again at him, you got up and enveloped his body in a hug, a small gift for being a fan as well as a farewell. Jimin thought he would die of happiness again as Taehyung brought him back to reality by poking him in the side. You were hugging him! Over your shoulder, Jimin saw Taehyung motioning to your body and he understood the message. He wrapped his arms around your frame, squeezing a little. You pulled out of the hug a moment later, still with that smile as you said your goodbyes. Jimin could only stare, eyes dreaming of you as you said your departing words to the others.

On the way home, Jimin lay limp against the window, letting the cool glass dispel the heat that he felt after leaving the venue. He was still on an adrenaline high after the backstage experience. The other boys were in various stages of drowsiness after the concert since it had run late, not including the time that they spent with you backstage.

Still, all the boys were feeling the same symptoms. Doctors have termed the disease ‘idolstruck’ as most seem to become infected after meeting their idol. They were all lost in the image of your smile as you talked to them, face illuminated by the lights of the venue. The same smile that someone has when they are doing what they love. The boys were truly happy for you, and they were happy for themselves for agreeing to go with Jimin to this concert.

They had heard him a million times squealing from the confines of his room and knew the reason behind it. Still, they had left it alone, not really bothered by Jimin’s fanboying unless he spontaneously decided to take over the living room big screen to curl up on the couch and watch you participate in variety shows. They would walk in to see him smiling stupidly at your image on the television as it reflected in his eyes. Previously, they would all just shake their head and walk out, but now they were considering asking him if they could join him. They went home silently, and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit pillows.

Until the sun came up, they dreamed of you, angel eyes and all.

The next morning, not a single person was awake before noon as they took advantage of the weekend and slept in. Still, hunger affects the strongest of us, and soon enough the boys made their way into the kitchen, still rubbing the sleep from their eyes as they planned the quickest strategy to get back to bed. Almost as it it was magic, they locked eyes in the kitchen and burst out in smiles as they thought of the reasons they slept like the dead. The first one was your concert, and all other items on the list were only subpoints to this main header.

“Did that actually happen?” Jimin was the first to voice their thoughts, he was still sporting sweater paws as he had not worked up enough to care that he had slept in another boy’s shirt, not that anyone else was too quick to call him out on it either.

“It did Jimin,” Namjoon may have also looked sleepy, but he was still more awake compared to the rest of the boys since he had gotten a whiff of the coffee he was making.

“That was amazing. She was amazing.” Jeongguk was still hung up by the memory of your voice. Sure, he had been forced to listen to it with Jimin, but he had always put it down to really, really damn good vocal editing. He was in awe last night when your voice sounded exactly like the songs on the album as well as your ability to belt out the lyrics while still keeping up with choreography that was fast-paced and technique oriented.

The coordination with your back-up dancers made Hoseok's eyes shined as he remembered a 5 minute period when you demonstrated a difficult section that he liked, laughing as you recounted memories of mistakes that left the boys unsuccessfully stifling their laughter at your predicament.

“Hey Jimin.” Seokjin hid his face behind a mug of tea as spoke, half in embarrassment and half in relief as the tea woke him up slowly. “Can we have a variety show marathon tonight?”

The week following passed by in a blur. The boys consumed your content like Jungkook drank banana milk - every chance they got, they were glued to their phones, laptops, TV to watch you laugh, dance, sing and talk.

“Guys,” Namjoon said solemnly. “I think we have a problem.” It was Friday, with all the boys sprawled over couches and lying on their stomachs as your newest Run! episode played on screen.

The past few days had been stressful. Jungkook had finally finished the demo he’d been fretting over for his final project with some help from his hyungs - though they fared no better. Yoongi and Namjoon poured over a new collaboration with an indie artist that had just signed them, spending hours cooped up in their studio. Taehyung had all but disappeared, travelling to different ends of the city for material on his photography initiative. Seokjin had been on and off as well, working for his father at his company whilst finishing his Master’s. Hoseok and Jimin were instructors at one of the best dance studios in the city, but Jimin had recently taken up a part-time job at a nearby cafe to pick up some extra cash to fulfil his end of the bargain for Yoongi.

“Hyung, I think we’re addicted,” Jungkook said absentmindedly as he reached for the bowl in the middle of the table. Various snacks were poured into it, and given the state of their lean, well-muscled bodies, they could afford a day off. They burned through calories quick enough as it was.

“Holy shit,” Jimin exclaimed, interrupting their conversation, leaping to his feet. His eyes widened as they flew across the screen of his phone. “She’s holding a contest. Guys, this could be our chance to see her again!” His heart fluttered at the thought, beating fast.

“Contest?” They flocked him like birds, jamming together instantly. Even Yoongi dragged himself over, looking mildly curious.

“It says you can either do a song or dance cover. There’s a winner for both. The prize is being able to shadow her for the production of her new music video!” He explained, showing them the post on her Instagram. “It’ll give us a chance to see what it’s like to film in a setting like that and how the whole process works!”

Taehyung perked up. “You think they’d let me shadow the filmmakers instead?”

Jimin nodded. “They’re usually in the same room so it’s up to you really. You can ask about the editing process, maybe they’ll let you in on that as well.”

“Let’s do it.” They stared at the speaker in shock. Yoongi shrugged. “What? It sounds like a good opportunity. She’s part of a pretty big entertainment company. We could check out the equipment.”

Seokjin cackled. “Like you’re really going for that. I saw your browsing history and I’m pretty sure you have more tabs saved on ___ than Jimin at this point.”

The composer flushed hotly under the disbelieving looks his friends shot him and scowled at the older man. “It’s for science,” he muttered, crossing his arms. “Obviously.”

“Uh huh,” Hoseok said skeptically. “Didn’t you fail science in fifth grade?”

Yoongi hissed at him. “Fuck off, Hobi.”

“Let’s split up,” Jimin suggested eagerly. “Tae, Jin, Yoongi and Namjoon can do a vocals cover. Hoseok, Jungkook and I can do a dance cover.”

“Is there a limit to how many people can win?” Namjoon asked doubtfully.

“Nope, just everyone that was involved in the production.”

“I’m in,” Jungkook offered. Taehyung agreed readily. They all turned to Yoongi.

He sighed loudly.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Fine, you little fuckers. I’ll go along with you but if we lose, don’t come crying to me.”

Jimin ruffled his dark tresses, pushing back his bangs as he chewed his lower lip nervously. He whirled around the cafe, picking up plates and delivering dishes. One hand rested on his pocket periodically, as if anticipating the buzz.

“You okay there?” Jimin turned to Kai, a barista and an old classmate who eyed him with amusement from behind the counter. It was near closing time, clients trailing out as the hour ticked by.

He nodded quickly. “Yeah. I’m just waiting for the results. They’re supposed to come out today.”

“Ah,” Kai made a noise of understanding. “For ___’s contest right? Coups mentioned something about that. I think he entered too.”

Jimin clutched his phone tighter. Shit, if his other friends were contestants, they had to start praying. They were all extremely talented.

His phone vibrated quietly in his hand. “Good luck,” Kai sang as he picked up the disinfectant to start wiping the counter down.

Jimin gulped, swiping left.

Congratulations Jimin! Your cover is the winner of ___’s Shadow Set contest. Attached are the forms and details to the event. Please ensure all members of your group have completed these prior to attending.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon!

“Holy sh - ”

“So who were the lucky winners?” You hummed, looking up from your laptop. Your manager walked in, handing you the rundown of the shoot’s schedule.

“Who else? I knew they were something special.” She laughed but agreed. Sifting through the documents, you smiled down at the papers as Jimin’s voice played through your speakers.

“Jimin!”

“Hobi-hyung!”

The two ran at each other, jumping into a hug as they screamed incoherently at one another. “We won!” Hoseok promptly broke into a dance, grinning widely.

A groan. “Not this shit again.” But the dance managed to wrestle the composer down before he could escape. “We won hyung!”

“Yep, heard you the first time,” Yoongi muttered, rubbing his ear.

“I’m going to see her again,” Jimin said excitedly, eyes glimmering as he did his own little victory dance as he raced to print out the forms for the boys to fill out. The others were not as vocal in their excitement (except for Taehyung and Hoseok), but each was excited in her own way to see their favorite idol outside of there screen of electronics.

You sadly stood in the center of your practice studio as you finally got a break from the events of the day. It had been business as usual as you entered to the chatter of your back up dancers and the staff. Following your usual breakfast of a smoothie, you set up in the center of the room to practice the new choreography for your next mini-album. The company had decided to try a new theme this time to test the proverbial fan base waters.

Most of your themes had been powerful messages of believing in yourself or softer ballads that accompanied pastels and picnic. For the first, and maybe last time, you were doing a sexy themed performance. It was darker than before too, the lyrics angstier and centered around heartbreak. There was plenty of couple dance routines mixed in with the floor technique and your outfits were no less sexy. Plenty of fishnet and shorts with crop tops, that you had mixed feelings about. On the plus side, you would no longer be sweating buckets during performances; skinny jeans and t-shirts were hotter than you’d think when dancing under the lights. Still, you were still relatively on the younger side of the age spectrum, and thinking of the revealing costumes still made you cringe. Either way, you were starting to enjoy this new persona, it was confident and powerful.

Still, it seemed that it would have to be pushed back. One of the main dancers had broken their leg and was out of commision for a month or so. He was your main partner throughout the choreography and it would difficult to get a new dancer to replace either a back-up that moved forward to to replace the main. Not only that, the dynamic had to be pretty comfortable between partners or the flow was choppy. She had danced with Kyungin since she first debuted, so even if they were not partners before, they still knew each other to be comfortable with some of the choreography.

__ didn’t want the release to be affected by this set-back but it seemed like they had no choice.

“What do you want to do?” Your manager had pulled you to the side as the crew continued to set up, though slower as they waited for your decision.

“We don’t have anyone on the call, do we?” You tapped your chin thoughtfully. She shook her head ruefully. “No, but I should’ve. This is on me.” Then your eyes trailed to the boys at the side.

The seven boys had come trotting in obediently, lead by your manager, wide-eyed as they took in the logo of your company in big illuminated letters. This was the same sign they had seen in the background of every choreography video they watched, mesmerized by every twist and turn of your body and particularly interested in the moment when your lose shirt flew up when you jumped. Boys would always be boys.

You giggled at their expression, the small sound pulling their attention to your form. You had ended practice only moment ago, moving away from the new to practice the old as most of the staff went to the hospital. Thus your form was glistening with sweat, much like the night you first met them after to concert. Making you way over to them, you snagged your water bottle from a nearby table to replenish yourself.

You many be an idol, but you were still a woman so you felt their eyes very clearly on you as you tilted your head back to allow the cold liquid to run down your throat. You felt their eyes trace a stray drop that had escaped you mouth as it ran down your skin, tracing every curve and dip, much like men did with the woman they loved.

You smiled devilishly. Maybe this contest would be more fun than you thought, especially with these boys around. This concept had introduced to the character of the dominant female, and it was starting to become you more that you would ever care to admit.

Then you realized the reason they were here; they wanted to see the life of an idol, to shadow you with this next comeback. Now, with a dancer missing, you wondered if there was even gonna be a comeback. Unless….you took a long time looking at the boys who you had dubbed mentally to be the dance line.

You had seen their submission, they were very good at what they did so perhaps you could give one special treatment. You turned to you manager and raised an eyebrow? Tilting your head in their direction. The boys were silent, watching. The three who were under scrutinization sweated. Something serious was up if the managers expression was anything to go by. Looking back and forth between you and the boys, you manager nodded once, so quick it would be easy to miss, before stalking out the door towards the elevator. She had things to discuss with the CEO.

On the other hand, you turned to the boys with a smile and motioned for them to follow you. The eight of you walked through the halls towards the large conference room. You would be taking them to your personal studio, but the Shadow Contest was now up in the air after the loss of a dancer, so you still had to protect the interests of the company. The answer that you manage got would determine the future of these boys.

“You’re sure about this? You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” you told him gently. Jungkook shook his head, smiling. “I want to, ___-noona.”

Oh. Oh, you liked that very much. “Okay. Let me call over my choreographer and he can teach you the steps for the first part that we’re filming today. It’s not too intense or long. Do you think you can learn it in the next three hours?”

At that, Jungkook grinned. “Definitely. I’ve done worse, trust me.” He shrugged off his sweater, passing it to Hoseok. Underneath, he wore a plain white tee that shifted as he moved. Mmm. It surprised you to noticed that he packed some hard muscle, visible through the thin material. He was lead off centre, where they set to work immediately.

“Yoongi, Namjoon,” you called. They stood to meet you as you approached. “Would you guys like to meet my producers? I heard they’re working on something new today so if you’re interested, I can take you there.”

They looked at you, mouth agape. “No way, seriously?” Namjoon was the first to recover. “Please, that would be such an honour.” Yoongi nodded rapidly. You gestured them to follow through a separate door.

Jimin glowered at the youngest from where he sat with Taehyung, pouting. “Why didn’t she choose me?” Hoseok had wandered over not long after to observe Jungkook and the choreography.

“Because you’re too short pabo,” Taehyung flicked his forehead. Jimin sighed, melting back into his seat. He fiddled with Jungkook’s jacket, looking a bit put-out.

You returned shortly, and with your own outfit on for the video shoot. It was definitely more revealing than any of the outfits the boys had seen you in before. Even the makeup did not make it any better with a red lip and smoky eyes that made you more alluring. Combine that with your stage presence and it was a lethal combination to anyone remotely interested in girls.

You noticed the look on Jimin’s face and wanted to pinch his cheeks. The sweet boy was pouting as he clutched onto the jacket Jungkook tossed his way. He looks unbelievably small and child-like with his pastel sweater contrasting the leather of the jacket which looked big on his frame.

Smiling softly, you made a guess at the reason behind his disappointment and smiled at the jealousy. It was no secret that he was your biggest fan among the boys with his name always being used for the group as a whole. You walked towards the two men, grinning as they met your gaze.

Jimin smiled at you, red-faced as he dragged his eyes up your legs and torso, to stop on your face. Taehyung, though not as physically prone to show his feelings, still tensed at the sight of you in front of him. Since the concert, he had looked into you more and fallen deeper into your fandom, even dabbling in fanfiction as he cuddled his pillow, pretending you were the one there beside him. You would be the one greeting him when he came home, you were the one that made him coffee when he stayed up late to complete assignments.

“Having fun boys?” Both felt shivers run down their spine at your voice. It was smooth and sultry, the kind of voice that suited the theme perfectly. They could only nod in response, too distracted by your charisma.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m still me.” You grineed, teeth on display. For a second, __ the idol was gone and was replaced with __ the girl. This was the you the boys loved, the personality they saw on the variety shows with her twinkling eyes and kind heart. The girls who was not afraid to laugh or get messy in the kitchen having the most domestic of argument debating how much water should be added to the rice pot. This was the girl they saw when you looked at them and this was the girl they fell for when you appeased their fears, sitting next to them dishing out bad jokes that put a smile on both their faces.

Your stylist ushered Jungkook in a chair and you watched rather amusedly as she fussed over his hair, applying light makeup and rifling through the closet for clothing his size.

He changed quickly, tugging on the suit and smoothing over the wrinkles. You cocked your head, drinking him in. “You look good.” Jungkook blushes. “T-thank you.”

“Nervous?” You asked. He nodded, looking a little overwhelmed. “I’ve never been in a professional shoot before. But,” he hesitates, peeking up from his lashes to peer at you shyly. “I’m glad it’s with you, noona.”

You wanted to coo at him, he looked so sweet smiling up at you like that. “Thank you for doing this. We really appreciate it.”

He reddened, rubbing his neck. “I’m glad I could help.”

“Ready?” The director called. Jungkook nodded at you, retreating to the shadows as he waited for his cue.

“Take one.”

The music started. It was soft, a little haunting. You glided in, steps light as you walked to the throne set up in the middle. As the line quickened, you mouthed the first line as you took a seat, leg crossing over the other.

Jungkook strode in, one hand in his pocket, the other slicking back his hair as he made eye contact with the camera.

He knelt before you, taking your hand and dusting a light kiss onto the back of it. You tipped his chin up, the camera zooming in as you grazed your manicured finger across his chiselled jaw. You swore you felt him shiver beneath your touch, his eyes fluttering closed as your cool breath whispered across his ear.

He turned, ripping himself from you as he stood, feet planted apart and expression tormented. You snaked an arm around his upper body, tapping down the expanse of his chest. You pressed yourself to his back, staring at the camera with lidded eyes as you sang.

He twisted away from you as soon as the bass dropped. Stepping behind you, it started. Oh God, did it start. His movements were powerful, sharp and clean. His hands trailed up your legs resolutely, his hips rolling against yours. Though your pelvises did not touch, you could feel his heat through the fabric of his suit. Then the bass backed out of the tune slightly as your vocals became the center of the song, commanding the attention of all, including Jungkook. You gripped his body and brought it surely in front of you, pushing him gently to his knees as you gazed down at him, simpering at the expression on his face. The next part harkened back to your debut song as you controlled Jungkook like a puppet, your arms and his body moving in sync as his expression emulated the idea that he was at your mercy in all possible ways. Then the dynamic of the song switched again, the base entering as Jungkook took control of the situation. His popping showed him breaking out of your control as you struggled to maintain your power over him. In the most risque move yet, he turned you so you back faced the camera as he pulled gently on your hair, following his lead and the choreography, you bent backwards until you were looking at the camera upside down, still singing along to the track echoing from the speakers as his mouth came down on your neck. From the frontal angle, it looked inappropriate but he was doing nothing more than just shifting the angle of his head.

Still, Jungkook could almost feel your skin beneath his lips and temptation set to to trace the same path that the water droplet took the other day when you first met them at the studio. You were glistening the same way too, the sheen of the sweat making your skin shine like diamonds under the powerful lights. Then you pushed him back as the second verse started, already tired of dancing to his beat.

The music cut off just as he fell to his knees, the power balance shifting as you gained the upper hand. Sweat dropped from his fringe as he brushed it back, panting. You helped him up, breathing heavy yourself. Jungkook took it gratefully and gave you a tired grin. “How was that, noona?”

“Wonderful,” the director boomed before you could say a word. “No need for a reshoot. We can use this footage. Maybe even raw. Good work, ___-ah! And Jungkook-ssi, that was excellent. I should hire you permanently.” He gave a wink before whisking away.

“He’s right,” you said, smiling. “You did really great. Thank you once again. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Ah, it was nothing, really. If anything, I’m the one honoured I get to work with you,” Jungkook said awkwardly, a light hue dusting his cheeks as he looked down.

Staff came hurrying over, distributing towels and water bottles. Jungkook wandered off to greet his friends who had been watching with wide eyes. Namjoon and Yoongi had returned halfway through the scene and were now in similar states of awe.

“Guys,” Jungkook gulped. They all stared up at him dumbly. “I think I’m in love with her.”

“No shit genius,” Namjoon hissed, slightly jealous that he wasn’t the one getting to touch you. Jimin felt the same way, giving over an expression that was somehow pouty and hateful at the same time.

Hoseok could only watch the vacant dance floor, still dumbfounded as his mind failed to comprehend what he had just seen. You and Jungkook dancing together, running your hands over each other. Still, he was not the type to be overly zealous. He would get his chance when the time came. So all he could do was clap Jungkook on the back, perhaps a bit harder than necessary and shake his head. “You lucky, lucky bastard.”

Following the end of the first day shooting, your company treated everyone to dinner at a barbeque place. You had a table to yourself with the boys and more than an hour was spent eating, drinking and laughing as the boys told you more about themselves and they found out more about the girl behind the screen.

It didn’t hit the others as hard as it did Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin, but the feeling crept on them slowly like night swallowing the day, unnoticeable until the very end. They saw the separation between the you that they saw on stage and the you that was the real you, without the managers and company and staff. This was the you that they never realized would captivate them, but you did. And against what seemed like impossible odds, they interested you.

As the boys walked home that night, Yoongi muttered a single phrase that they thought summed up the whole situation pretty well.

“I’m so fucked. Completely and utterly fucked.”

Jungkook walked straight into a pole.

#bts #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #jungkook x reader #hoseok x reader #jimin x reader #namjoon x reader #taehyung x reader #yoongi x reader #seokjin x reader #sub!bts #sub!jungkook #sub!jimin #fluff #bts fluff #non idol au

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yellowanddepresso · 3 years ago

Text

A new perspective

I finally got the motivation to do some writing again! Not like I ever did much but still, I’m really happy that I wrote something finally. For anyone who sees this I hope you enjoy it, kinda just wrote the first scenario that popped into my head.

‘What are you even doing with your life?’

The voice pulls me out of the daydream I was having, it was a nice one too. I was with… crap it’s already fading. I look around my spartan room but don’t see anyone, which is nice, I’d like to think that someone didn’t just break into my house to criticize my life. How rude would that be?

‘It would be pretty rude, but hey I didn’t break in at least.’

I swing around in my chair, looking around frantically. I swear the voice was right behind me, it felt like they were talking right into my ear. Am I going crazy? Theres nowhere for anyone to hide, I use the space under my bed as ‘storage’ and there isn’t much apart from my dresser and bedside table.

‘I don’t think you’re crazy, although you definitely seem lost.’

“Who the fuck is there? I don’t even have anything worth stealing ok, please just leave.” I look around for something to grab, my pocket knife is the only real weapon but I left that in my jeans which are across the room.

‘Please just leave,’ They say in a mocking tone, ‘I don’t think it works like that. Unless you know a way for me to just walk out of your head.’

The words stun me, what… did they just say? In my head? No, no no no, crazy people have voices in their head. Sure I’m pretty lonely in life, and yeah I’m barely getting by day to day, but that isn’t enough to send me over the edge… right?

‘Look, I don’t know what to tell you but I promise I’m in your head. Although from what I can see I’m surprised you’ve managed to make it this far. Did you even eat breakfast… no, any food today? Maybe had some water?’

“What? Wait, you’re actually… in my head? Like the voices are speaking to me, in my head?”

‘Well, I’m A voice, not multiple, for starters. And I’m not so sure voice is the right term, I’ve kinda just been observing you for the last few days and boy, is your life depressing.’

Yeah thanks for the news flash, my life sucks, put it on the front page. Hold on, “you’ve been observing me? What are you, my personal FBI agent?”

‘Ugh, I wish. At least that would let me live my own life, which would hopefully be better than whatever this is. You really need a pick-me-up dude. Also can you just talk in here please? If anyone does happen to hear you they’ll probably put you in an institution.’

In here? What, like this?

‘Yeah! You got it, just keep doing that, it’ll look a lot less weird this way.’

I’m speaking to a voice-

‘Not a voice, we just went over this.’

Ok then, what the hell are you? You just appeared and started criticizing my life out of nowhere. Are you a ghost? Maybe an angel or demon? Do you have a preference? God this sounds crazy.

‘How about we just go with, entity. I think that’s a fitting title if you really need one. This entity, for one, thinks you need to do something more with your life. I mean just watching you has me wanting to be with a squirrel or mouse, they probably hate their life less than you do.’

Is insulting me the only thing you can do? I hate myself enough as it is, I really don’t need anyone else to join in on it if you don’t mind.

‘Fine, but back to my original question. What are you doing with your life?’

What kind of vague question is that? I’m living? I have a job, make enough money to pay bills and feed myself, I don’t know what else I’m supposed to say here.

‘That exactly what I’m talking about dude. You have no goals, nothing you aspire to do, you’re just… surviving. It’s like you’ve given up on life, like you’ve accepted that nothing better is going to happen so you might as well just keep doing what you’ve been doing.’

I feel the fabric tug at my skin as I slump down in my chair.

That sounds about right, I used to do a lot. Trying to reach a better future that everyone promised would come someday. But Honestly? I don’t think that future exists, I know so many people are out there that suffer through the exact same problems I do, and so many others have made it to a better life, and they promise that it gets better. But I’m tired of trying to find the better, I worked towards it for years, searched for it for another few years, and you know what? Nothing happened, not even the slightest good thing lasted longer than a week before disappearing to be replaced by the same old boring bullshit, or if I was particularly unlucky something bad would happen. There you go, happy?

‘…wow, that sounds completely stupid. Just because things didn’t always go your way, you’re giving up? Just like that?’

Just like that? Just like that?! Look you’re fucking new to this, I didn’t ‘just give up’ ok? I fucking tried, I tried so much. I held on to hope for years, I was always known as the optimist. I was the bright happy friend, the person who never got down, even when they were in the depths of depression. Even when I was at my worst I kept fucking going, finding something to be positive about. It wasn’t even forced optimism, I genuinely felt like everything would be ok, that I would figure out what was wrong, what I need to do to fix my life. But there’s no magic fix, no solution, you just have to be lucky.

‘So, what, your plan is to just get by until you get lucky? Until the world decides that it’s your turn to have a good life?

Congratulations Einstein, you pick up on things quickly at least. Now can I just fantasize about a better life in peace please? That daydream you interrupted was a pleasant one, and I’d like to get back to it.

‘Mmmmm, no.’

No?

‘Nope, I don’t think I will leave you alone. You obviously need a change in your life, so why not have a new bestie to walk through life with you, yeah?’

A new bestie… with no due respect that sounds stupid. What does you being here change? I’ll still be going to my same boring job, living my same boring life, isolated from the world because if it doesn’t want anything to do with me then I’ll gladly separate myself from it.

‘Well for starters how can your life be boring if I’m here to nag you constantly? Why settle for boring when you could have exciting? Why be isolated when you could just force yourself onto the world? Who cares if it doesn’t want you? You’re still here, it doesn’t get a choice in the matter if you don’t give it one.’

Oh no, the last thing I want is for you to be talking to me constantly. The only thing you’ve done so far is point out how shit my life is and I’m well aware of that enough on my own without you to remind me.

‘Oh but that’s the point! I’m not just going to remind you anyways, I’ll be here with better ideas for you to try than just getting by. Why go to your boring office job when you could work in a restaurant? Why sit at home when you can go embarrass yourself at a nightclub? Come on, lets go be exciting.’

A restaurant? Absolutely not, I barely make enough money for my bills as it is, why would I go for a job that pays less? And why the hell would I willingly go embarrass myself at a nightclub? People tend to avoid being embarrassed, it’s kind of unpleasant if you didn’t know.

‘Yeah, but it’s different! It’s better than nothing! What would you rather be doing, sit here at home playing videogames that you haven’t enjoyed at all for years, just passing the time? Or would you rather go out and try something new, something that might put a bit of spark to your spirit? You don’t have to go to a club, we could go play paintball, or join an acting club! Same with the restaurant, it’s just a suggestion, there’s so many other options though! You could go work in construction, or go to school to become an electrician, those would pay at least the same as the job you’re working and they actually have some energy to them! What’s the worst that could happen? You’re already bored to pieces, about as low as you can get, right? So at worst nothing changes, and at best you have a better life, yeah?’

If I go along with this, will you at least shut up a bit? You’re like a gnat constantly buzzing in my ear, and starting to give me a bit of a headache.

‘Sure! I’ll quiet down a bit if you start making some changes, but don’t think you’ll be getting rid of me that easily. Obviously you need someone to push you and if you won’t do that then I’m the only person left to do it. Now come on, lets go make some noise. Make yourself a problem for the world to put up with, be annoying, live an exciting life just to spite the world. It’ll be the best revenge story ever, local man perfects making himself a problem in every room he enters. Be Irresponsible! Be the name in bold lettering in a headline! Be the story behind a new oddly specific law! We could be famous! We could be, gasp, the next Florida Man! This has to sound at least a little fun to you right?’

Well, I guess it does sound better than getting my ass kicked in videogames I don’t even care about.

I pause for a moment, trying to process what they just said.

Ok fine, I’ll give some of your ideas a try, but let’s not get too crazy, ok?

‘Fuck yesssss, ok I have so many ideas! What should we do first? Skipping through a grocery store aggressively complimenting everyone sounds pretty great to me. Oh, or what about zip-tying shopping carts to the cars of people who park like assholes? Or, or we could go buy weird combinations of things to get funny reactions from cashiers! What do you think?!’

I think we should do something a bit calmer to start with, but we can start by going outside I guess.

I stand up from my chair and squeeze my shoes on before grabbing my keys and wallet from atop my dresser on my way to the door. While I step outside and lock the door behind me, the entity keeps flooding my head with ideas. I turn around to face the world, my street highlighted by the setting sun, and I feel like a weight has been lifted from my chest, replaced by a comforting warmth. And as I take my first step towards an uncertain future, I smile for the first time in a long, long time.

#short story #idk what else to put here #but I'm really happy to have made something finally

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symbianosgames · 8 years ago

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The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

I recently had the opportunity to share some tips and tricks with game development students at both Stockholm University and the Swedish Game Awards Conference - and since I don't seem to have made too big a fool of myself, I thought I should share the Toolbox I offered with the rest of the world as well. This is a list of things that will hopefully stop budding game developers from reinventing the wheel and tumble into pitfalls that others have already been in. The insights below have been collected while I was working at a publisher, a mid-size developer and my own indie company, as well as from other people.

Just like with a physical toolbox, you don’t have to use all of these tools. You might find that some of them are like those weird ones in the corner you don’t really know how to use. Some, however, might turn out to be your hammer and screwdriver.

So, let’s get started!

(By the way, you might need some popcorn. This is a long one.

1. Make games It pains me to see how necessary this point seems to be, when it should be fairly obvious. If you are a game student and plan to work with games for a long time, you should at the very least put in 8 hours a day, and do so with joy! I’m not saying you have to start crunching even before you get your first job - but you can't be bothered to at least spend the equivalent of a normal work day on studies and game development every day, how can you assume that you will enjoy actually working in the games industry?

You can either go the whole mile and spend your spare time making games with friends or on your own, or you can focus on the part of game development that you have a personal interest in - be it making 3D models, writing, modding, or what have you. This will show a future employer that you have passion and ambition, which will give you a brightly colored life vest out in the sea of students who want to break into the industry. More than that, you will have things to put in your portfolio, which is critical when looking for a game job.

2. Make mistakes - and admit it Your time as a student is the ideal, safe environment to try new things, and to fail. So do it! It is okay to make mistakes - as long as you admit them, learn all you can from the experience, and then move on. To many people, trial and error is the best way to get familiar with new things, so embrace that and create an environment among your fellow students where it is okay to fail. If you don't have that, people will not make less mistakes - they will just lie more about it. What sounds like a more sustainable way to make a game, do you think? You will also learn more this way, as you will be less likely to take the safe path you already know.

This might seem horrible but personally, I get inspired by other people's mistakes. Hearing about failed projects, or even better the mistakes a developer did on a successful project, makes you look at yourself and your own projects in a new light. Surely if they could do that, you should be fine? It makes people you admire look human and their accomplishments more reachable, which, if nothing else, helps relieving imposter syndrome.

3. Ask for help, pay it forward For some, asking for help when needed is probably the most natural thing in the world - but for others, me included, it really isn't. You want to be the lone hero, who can tackle any challenge on your own. That, however, can be directly harmful. Few will acknowledge your ability to isolate yourself and create something alone - it's far more likely that people will appreciate your ability to show that you are human and not too proud to ask for help.

Time for a personal anecdote! When I did not land a publisher for my game Midvinter, I was really bummed out. I cancelled the dev stream I had planned for that evening, and more or less wanted to shut myself in and not meet anyone for a few days. But then I remembered this great TED Talk by Amanda Palmer. In it, she basically encourages people to show vulnerability and ask for help - because that is when other people will step up and shower you with love. So I wrote a message for my friends and followers on Facebook, explaining the situation with the publishers and asking them to please share and like posts, so that I could get more visibility through them. The response was overwhelming (for a company that size), which of course proved that I have awesome friends - but also that people are more than willing to show that they have your back when you ask them to. Keep that in mind!

Just don’t forget to offer support back to the people who help you, and be there when they actually need you. Also, pay any help you get forward to others. We all benefit from an open industry where people help each other, so it’s win-win-win all around.

4. Game Jams Just like your time as a student is a great time to try new things, so are game jams. You go through almost all phases of game development in just a few days - and even if you do not have a finished game in the end, you will most likely have learned a lot and made some new friends. If you are not able to make it to the ones that take place in a particular physical location, there are many that run online over for example one month. On the final day, you simply submit your game to the jam’s website. Check out itch.io for jams like that!

5. Open Development

As a small developer - either while you still study, or if you chose to take the indie path after graduation - you can’t afford to have secrets. AAA companies do, but they also have marketing budgets the size of small countries’ yearly expenses. In order to sell your game in the end, you want to build a fanbase already during development - and what better what to do in than to include people in what you are doing? Make them feel involved, and they will be so much more loyal to you! A nice side effect is also that you learn a lot from watching other people playing your game and discussing ideas with them. They will most likely find things to do with the game that you did not even know about yourself, and tell you that the best part of your game is something you would never have anticipated.

Remmeber, ideas are cheap - execution is everything. Let me write that again, in bold.

Ideas are cheap - execution is everything.

No one is going to steal your idea. If there is one thing the games industry has in abundance, it’s ideas for games. Even great ideas - mindblowing ideas - are as common as bugs in the production phase. What matters is what you do with your idea. Therefore, you are better off allowing people to give input on your game, adjusting your development based on their opinions. It’s the difference between protecting an idea that in the end is not interesting to anyone, and making a game in the open that aligns with what people actually want.

6. Unique Selling Point In my experience, students are good at making pretty cool games, but not necessarily unique ones. To some extent, that’s okay - you need to learn the craft before you can master it, and looking at what other people have done is a great way of doing that. If you want to sell your game at some point, however, you will have to give a good reason as to why someone would buy your game instead of the one next to it.

The Unique Selling Point (USP) is what makes your game stand out from the crowd. What’s the edge? What’s the deal? This, you will have to be able to communicate to your consumers - and also investors and other potential partners (more about that below).

You see, back in the age of physical games on a shelf, you competed only with the games released at roughly the same time as yours. After a while, they were replaced with other games, and so it went on. Today, as we continue to move more and more towards digital platforms, you compete not only with the games released at the same time, but also all the games ever released on that platform. If you make a game inspired by DotA 2 and put it on Steam, you are competing with DotA 2. The player needs to have a clear reason as to why they should choose your game instead of all the other games in the same genre.

7. Elevator Pitch Imagine that you step into an elevator, and - lo and behold - standing there is a representative for a publisher, or your CEO, or maybe a journalist. You have one minute to pitch your game idea, before they get out of the elevator. Go!

The elevator pitch is a quick description of your game, with a good reason as to why someone would be interested in it. The USP needs to be front and center, most likely along with a mention of theme and setting.

If you are heavily inspired by the Diablo game series, you might feel compelled to say something like: “It’s kind of like Diablo”. Expand on that! “It has much of the gameplay of Diablo 3, only your primary weapon is a badass rocket launcher. Also, it takes place in the New York subway system.” While that might not be the best idea ever (but how about that game with excellent execution?), it gives a fairly good view of roughly what you would experience while playing the game. The listener will be much more interested in learning more, than if you would have stopped at the first sentence.

This is hard, no doubt about it - but it is worth it. If you have trouble finding your Elevator Pitch, I would recommend going to conferences and game developer meetups, if you are able to. In an environment when people are more than happy to hear what others are working on, you will most likely have plenty of opportunities to tweak your pitch and fine-tune it based on the reactions you get.

8. Synchronize within the team While you and your team are working on your game, you may suddenly find that you have some trouble knowing what kind of game you are actually making together. The artist’s colorful, Blizzard-esque art might not work with the writer’s dark and gritty noir story, and suddenly you realize that the programmer has implemented a complex crafting system for a game focused on sneaking. It could work - but without great execution and clear leadership, you are more likely to end up with a game that feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be.

A former colleague taught me a good way to avoid this. Everyone on the team should write down the game’s elevator pitch - in their own words - on a piece of paper. If these all turn out to be more or less the same, you seem to be fairly synchronized when it comes to what the game is all about. If not, you will have to take a step back and agree on what your vision is, before you continue.

9. Minimum Viable Product When making, say, a set amount of characters to your game, don’t work on one until it is 100% done before you move on to the next one. Instead, make the right amount of okay characters first, and then iterate, itarate, iterate. The product of each iteration should be a model that’s a bit better than the last one, and good enough to show other people while still not necessarily all the way there. This way, you minimize the risk of running out of time and/or money all of a sudden, leaving you with one perfect character and a bunch of white capsules.

You also decrease the risk of wasting time on unnecessary things. One example: I recently heard about a student who had made an enemy for their game that was probably good enough for Pixar. Every hair of its fur was there, and it was beautifully animated. The only problem was that it had to be very small once in the game, so none of the details would actually be visible to the player. If they had just thrown an early, rough draft into the game right away, they would have realized that much earlier. In the end, the student could probably have spent a couple of weeks or even days on the character, instead of two months.

It’s also easier to get feedback on your game and the part of it you are making this way. Instead of going “oh and all those gray boxes will be buildings”, you can then say “those buildings are WIP (Work in Progress), but I think you get the idea”. If the viewer is at least somewhat experienced, they will see in which direction you’re heading. It’s easier to test the game this way as well, for the same reason. It’s hard to make sure for example the combat system works properly when it’s just boxes jumping around - even the most crude models will help visualizing what you have in mind.

10. Plan When you get that great game idea you will most likely be tempted to just jump straight into it and start coding right away - trust me, I know. But try not to do that. Start by planning the project, both when it comes to time estimates and schematics for the systems themselves. How will the features interact with each other? What exactly can the player do when in the Marketplace? All things like that should go into your Game Design Document (GDD), before you write even the first line of code.

When you know which systems you want to use, start estimating how long time it will take to implement them. This, of course, goes for art, writing, sound etc as well. It always takes longer to create something than you think, so be generous here. If you have a financial budget to stick to, this is where you go through that as well. Make sure you know how much leeway you have if the project takes longer than anticipated, and remember to put some money aside for things like software licenses and marketing. This is an artform in itself, so I recommend reading other, more in-depth articles on the subject.

Once you are ready to start developing the game, make sure the whole team is up to speed with what everyone else is doing, whether or not you are on time, and what is next in the pipeline. This is achievable by using a Kanban board and/or Scrum. You can keep your tasks in either a physical or digital place - as long as you do keep track, and everyone in the team has access to the same information.

11. Production, Alpha, Beta, GM

Let us quickly look at the stages a game normally goes through when in development. People will tell you different things here so don’t take for granted that your future employers use exactly these definitions - but I will use terms I have been taught and am personally comfortable with.

Going from left to right in the bar representing development above, you will find that the majority of the time consists of production and pre-production. Their relative sizes may of course vary a lot, but this simply means that a well-planned projects spends a lot of time preparing for production and then even more just creating the basic systems.

When the game is starting to shape up, you enter Alpha. A good definition of Alpha is “feature complete”, which means that if you want an approved Alpha build, all systems will have to be implemented and working (albeit with a few bugs). This means that for example the dialog system needs to be in the game, but all dialogs do not have to be finished. It is important to remember that after this phase, you can no longer implement new features. It is far too dangerous, since you risk breaking other features late in development if you do.

To get an approved Beta build however, all those dialogs mentioned above need to be in the game. They are allowed to have flaws, but there can no longer be any major placeholders. Beta can therefore be described as “content complete”. Character portraits, animations, sound effects, game modes - they should all be done and implemented at this point.

After the Beta phase, you are getting close to release. There are many different words people use here - but for the sake of this post, I will only use Gold Master (GM). The term comes from the music industry, and refers to the actually golden disc which all other records were copied from. For games, that is the build that is as close to perfect as it can be. After completing a GM build, you should freeze the code and not touch it between then and the actual release. If you still have fixes to make before release, you should work on a separate build meanwhile, and release a stable version as a day-one patch. This decreases the risk of introducing new bugs when fixing others just before launch, making it a safer method than not freezing the code.

12. Test, test, test

There really is no way of stressing this enough. You need to test your game, and others need to do it too. As for you, don’t just test the little snippet of code you just implemented or check how that artwork looks in-game - play the game. Run through a few levels every day, put together an office Multiplayer session, or whatever works for you.

It is important go get others’ opinions on your game as well. You will inevitably be affected by your knowledge of how the game “is supposed to” work and look, which will skew your perception of it. You will also be very good at the game after having worked on it for a while, even if you do not recognize it yourself. The input of a few friends, family members or (preferably) total strangers can many times prove totally invaluable. If nothing else, they have more time to actually think outside the box and tear your game apart than you, since all you want to do is making the game - right?

Test the game before you even feel completely comfortable showing it to others. The earlier you find issues, the cheaper they are to fix. A good idea is to get input already on the Game Design Document. As mentioned earlier - the benefit gained from that input is much greater than the risk of someone potentially stealing your ideas.

Finally, make sure that you get input on all of these three areas:

Playability - is the game fun/engaging/entertaining/scary (whichever feeling you’re going for)?

Usability - do the players know what to do, and how to interact with the game?

Stability - is the game free from bugs?

13. Find inspiration everywhere

When you are designing your game or a part of it, don’t just look at other games for inspiration - go explore other forms of media and culture as well. Digital games are still the new kids on the block, and we haven’t figured everything out yet. Some of the others kids have, and they can teach us a great deal.

Some examples of things I recommend delving into:

Theatre, opera and ballet

Movies and tv-series

Music

Literature, graphic novels and comics

History, mythology and folklore

I want to especially recommend you to read up on history, if you are looking for inspiration for something you’re writing - and not just that of your own country. So many things have happened through the years that are literally stranger - and more badass - than fiction. I have personally tried to base fictional characters on historical ones, but ended up with a much more modest version of them because some parts just did not seem plausible.

As for the other things mentioned above, they are often dealing with themes you could use as well. There are also more technical things you can look at. How do comics use lighting and colors? How did that tv-series use music to achieve that dramatic effect? What did that opera do to give you goose bumps? If games are to be considered worthy of standing alongside for example works of classical art and literature, we have to put ourselves on their level - and the only way of knowing where that level is is to explore what it is they actually do.

14. Marketing

When I gave my lectures about this, I would here ask the students to put their hands up if they agreed with the following:

“A good game sells itself”

I would then go on to make fun of those who did, using these patronizing gifs:

I thought, rather me than the world - and this way they will hopefully remember it. Luckily only one person raised their hand anyway, so no great harm done.

No, a good game does not sell itself.

As mentioned earlier, we are today figuratively drowning in good games on our digital platforms, and getting seen in that sea is not an easy task. That is why you need to do marketing, whether you like it or not.

There are many ways to do this, all of which people more experienced than me have written long articles about. But in short, one point you could and should focus on as a small developer is social media. Make a presence, update often (even if you don’t think you have anything to share), and connect with other people. Create content that people want to share, like Armin Ibrisagic would say. You can also have an in-game share function, to encourage your players to show what they have created to their friends.

Streamers and YouTubers can also provide great exposure for your game. If you have fun gameplay that translates easily into an easy-to-follow video, people will run to buy your game after seeing someone have fun with it. This might be less effective for a linear story game, since you get most of the experience from just watching - but it’s still worth looking into.

You could argue that traditional journalism has lost ground in the last few years, but they are still relevant. As a rookie developer, try reaching out to smaller sites - maybe some that focus on indies - first. The big ones will be more hesitant to pick up your story if no one has covered you before. There are tons of articles on the subject here as well. But in short - remember to be brief and to-the-point in your email (remember your elevator pitch!), but also friendly. Show that you understand that the person you contact is a human being, not just another entry in a large spreadsheet.

15. Don’t say “I can’t do X”

Anecdote time again! Eight months ago I could hardly code. I had passed three university courses in programming, but I told myself I was rubbish at it. Then I looked at some code again in another context, and realized I could read and eventually apply it without any problems. That is when I started to change my way of thinking. I could code just fine - I just hadn’t done it on my own terms, on a project I had designed myself based on my own abilities. Now, six months later, I am about to finish my first game, for my one-person indie studio.

That is why now, whenever I hear someone say “oh but I can’t do X”, I add “...yet!” Ever so often, it’s just that your teacher’s way of teaching doesn’t match your way of learning. So try it! Find alternative routes to get around the things you “can’t”. For example: can’t do art? Make it wiggle!

16. Be prepared

If you want to become a successful game developer, you should prepare yourself for what will come. Know that there most likely will be rough patches. You may have a hard time finding a job, or a publisher, or getting press coverage. When your game finally launches, you might be greeted by a wave of hate from even your most dedicated players.

And you know what?

That’s okay.

Everyone started out somewhere, and most of the really successful creators you can think of have stories of how people doubted them and told them they would never succeed at what they did - but they kept at it anyway. So don’t give up, don’t take critique personally, and you’ll be fine in the end!

17. Take care of yourselves!

This might be the most obvious item on this list - but also the most important one, and the one I sadly think we compromise far too often.

Don’t think about the sprint, think about the marathon. Hopefully, you have a long and wonderful career in the games industry in front of you, so make sure you are well enough both physically and mentally to enjoy it!

Eat well! Kick that sugar addiction, cut down on at least the red meat, don’t skip breakfast. You know this already. It might be tough in the beginning to change your habits, but it’s worth it in the end!

Drink water. Coffee and beer can only get you so far - all sorts of good stuff comes out of being properly hydrated. Always keep a bottle of water on your desk.

Sleep. A good night’s sleep is better than all the energy drinks in the world. Staying up a few extra hours to work might be okay short-term, but it’s not a sustainable solution in the long run. Your brain needs the sleep to process what has happened during the day, and come up with new ideas.

Work out. If you don’t do this already, you might be one of those people who simply don’t like working out. The biggest problem here is probably that you haven’t found the right type of training for you - the kind that makes you forget that’s what you’re doing. Exercising makes you feel better short-term as well as long-term. It releases those nice little endorphins and gives your brain the oxygen in needs for long hours working on the game. Also, if you have access to adjustable tables, stand up for at least one hour every day. All the cool kids do it.

Take care of the people around you. The human is a social creature. Our bodies reward us for being nice to each other, so use that to your benefit! Take the time to show people that you like them, and note how much you get back. The greatest people of the industry, in my opinion, are not the ones who have made successful things, but the ones who truly care about the wellbeing of others. It’s the ones who humbly share all their knowledge, listen to input with open ears, and offer praise and confidence boosts when needed. Someone told me recently that a production company once wanted to make a reality show about game developers, but quickly cancelled it when they realized that the devs gladly helped each other out and refused to talk smack about each other. That’s the industry I want to work in. So continue being awesome, and tell others that they are too!

And there you go! A toolbox of tips and tricks to get you going. I hope that many of them were obvious to you - that means that you are already well on your way.

Please share any additional tips you may have in the comments!

Written by Anna Jenelius Independent Game Developer, Talecore Studios @TheAnaka

Thanks to Johan Dorell and Laura Bularca for giving input on this article, and the students who shared their thoughts after the talks!

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