Four of some of my favorite tropes in one fic!!!! I must be spoiled. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of Vampire!Ateez especially after Deja Vu. And i have such a strange fascination with cults. Seriously the first two chapters are amazing and I can’t wait to see what you have in store. Do you have a yandere type picked out for each of the boys or just a general yandere vibe? And hopefully Felix survives through it all. It’s such a creative idea!!!!
me too! i've probably watched way too many cult documentaries in my life, but i find them so fascinating. for this piece, i think it was going to start out more cult like when the idea first came to me, because that's how it is in 1BR, but then the idea of vampires popped into my head and i just couldn't not include it. it'll still hold cult elements to it, but the emphasis might be a bit more on the vampire side of things.
as for yandere types, i'm not quite sure, but i'll give a run down as how i imagine each one being beneath the cut.
as for felix, i am struggling. i love him, okay, but i'm also fully aware that he is in a very precarious situation here. the last thing i want to do is put him in any harm, but i'm fully aware that making it out unscathed through it all isn't going to happen. what all happens to him though, we'll just have to see. i don't see any physical harm going his way per se, but he might not get to stick around mc forever...
hongjoong is probably the worst out of them and is definitely the most possessive one. very much into showing y/n off and making sure everyone knows just who you belong to. and though he is willing to share with the others, this act of showing off can sometimes extend towards them as well. without giving too much away on how their abilities work, he will happily twist your mind to make sure your focused completely on him and takes absolute pleasure in the attention you'll give him in these moments. (i may or may not have a scene with mc and hongjoong that has been playing nonstop in my head since this idea started and i've been craving to write it but it's pretty far away in the plot line.)
seonghwa comes across as a caring and sweet partner, but can be very manipulative. he will always take care of you and make sure your needs are met, but sometimes his care will come from situations he caused himself. he just wants to be someone you depend on, and if he has to do certain things to make you aware of this fact, he will. and all the while, he will make absolutely certain you're none the wiser for it.
yeosang: while the others might be more forward or manipulative in getting your attention and love, yeosang is much more subtle. he might not go out of his way to gain your attention, but he doesn't need to. he would much rather have you to come to in, thriving in the fact he has you crazy for him without any major tricks or manipulation. but every interaction between you is carefully planned and calculated, the smallest of gestures or actions all but making you crave to get in closer. and once he has you there, good luck getting back out.
san: can be very clingy. wants to spend time with you constantly, and will make certain things happen so that you're forced to go to him. oh, did your washer or dryer suddenly break? guess you'll have to come over to his place and hang out for the next few hours to do your laundry. oh, you have someone over that's not one of them? will find an excuse to squeeze his way in and make sure nothing happens between you and your company.
mingi: the one to quietly control your life, dictating your actions and choices with quiet subtlety. while he does have concerns for your own safety and health, he does influence your decisions on what you do and eat to make sure your blood's quality is at the highest with actions such as bringing you food or asking you to accompany him on certain endeavors. can also be very overprotective, having a hard time letting you do anything by yourself. if you try to do something on your own, he has no shame in ensuring it doesn't end well for you. absolutely relishes in the way you'll come crawling back, telling you once again how he told you it wasn't a good idea and boosting your dependence on each of them.
yunho: may seem normal on the outside, but quietly works his way around so that you come to depend on him. uses your interests as a way to get in close, and is always there as a shoulder to lean on in times of need. can be manipulative, however, in these tactics as he uses them almost as leverage over you. oh, he just spent the day doing one of your favorite activities with you, now why don't you do something that he wants to do next? may seem like he's spending time or helping you as an act of kindness, but it's mostly for his own gain. wanting you to feel as though your indebted to him.
jongho: may seem not as bad as the others at first. he's desperate for your love and attention, but has more qualms than the others in using certain tactics to get it. once you're in close, however, is when his true colors show. extremely clingy and needy, and may whine when you go to leave, begging you to stay with him just a little longer. may get pouty if you choose one of the others over him, like you decided to sit in one of the others' laps, and uses these tactics to make you feel guilty and give him the attention he so desperately wants.
wooyoung: can also be clingy and can get very jealous at times. he's fairly decent with sharing you with the others, but if anyone else were to come too close, he'll be right there, pressing a lingering kiss along your skin and oh, so innocently asking who your friend is. a bit like hongjoong, he'll take his jealousy out on you afterwards. never violently, but almost slightly degrading. asking if that person could ever love you the way he can, if they could ever please you the way he can, etc. but while hongjoong takes more pleasure out of acting on these thoughts and actions in front of said person, wooyoung enjoys privacy. having your full attention on him only.
(preview of yandere!vampire!cult!poly!ateez au wip below the cut!)
merry christmas and happy holidays!! in honor of this festive time of the year, I was hoping to do a short christmasy drabble with in love and lore, but am sorry to announce my procrastination has gotten the better of me to the point it’s just not getting done, at least not in time for this christmas.
speaking of in love and lore, I have hit a rough bit of writer’s block, so I’ve taken a short break to just clear my mind and enjoy the season. the last thing I want is to force things and come to hate writing it. I’ll be visiting my family this week, but once I’m back home, I’ll be back to writing. I have a few ideas floating around in how I want the next chapter to go, and hoping for the next chapter to come out mid-January at the latest.
however, I would like to give you all something, so I have decided to give you all a short preview of a wip that hit me like a storm this past week. It’s based off the movie 1BR on Netflix, with the inclusion of vampires because I just couldn’t help myself. Keep in mind, that this is a very early wip and that it’s still in major development. with that also being said, I do not plan on making this work as big as a project as in love and lore. More as just a series of drabbles and scenarios. like there will still be a plot, but not the world building that my other work has. but who knows, maybe as it develops, it’ll get there.
so, without further ado, I present to you a preview of… The Paradigm Complex
“So, what do you think?”
You were startled from your thoughts at the voice that spoke up next to you. The seat beside you that had previously been empty now occupied by the sweet-talking man who had been your tour guide for the day - Yeosang if you were recalling it correctly. It had surprised you how young he was when you had signed in for the open house earlier that afternoon, and you were once again struck by that very same thought as he plopped down next to you, head propped up by the elbow that rested against the table.
“It’s very nice,” you replied, eyes once more taking in the scene around. After touring the available unit for the first half of the showing, you had been brought to the center of the complex that was used as a community center. The outside area was enclosed by the building around it and included everything from a garden and greenhouse to a swimming pool and grilling area. “And the community also seems very nice and safe.”
You referred to the young boy currently sitting in your lap, content with drawing on one of the backs of the application you had been given at the end of the tour to fill out. You didn’t know anything past his given name, Junseo, but he had become attached to you when you noticed him crying on the ground near the garden. While the others in your group had swept their eyes right by the sniffling child, you had approached him, rustling through your purse for the bandages you kept when you noticed the cut on his knee. His mother had thanked you profusely when he led you to her, too busy tending to another part of the garden to notice what had happened. And though you had left him with her, it didn’t take long for him to return to you, preferring your company over the other kids milling around while his mother worked.
You thought it strange, but the wave the mother sent you when she saw him with you told you she didn’t mind, making you wonder just what sort of community there was here for her and the others to be comfortable with letting their children run free.
It was just another factor that told how nice this place was. Everything about this place was nice. Nicer than any place you had ever lived in before. It was perfect, everything you could wish for, but-
“But…” As though he had read your mind, the man finished your train of thought, a hint of a smile tracing his lips as his eyes traveled to the papers you had left blank up to this point. The only markings on them from the scribbling Junseo had done along their backs.
“But it’s a bit out of my price range, I’m afraid.”
A bit was an understatement; the place was double what you could afford. You had known that going in though. The Paradigm housing complex had made a name for itself within the past few years as one of the most prestigious and highly exclusive apartment complexes in the city, and you had known the price for the available unit would be high above your budget. And yet, you couldn’t stop yourself from signing up for the open house the following weekend when you noticed a few spots were still available. It wasn’t often a unit became vacant, the last one had been nearly a year ago, and the timing had been impeccable.
You weren’t really looking for a new place to live. You had one in the south end of town with your boyfriend, and yet, that hadn’t stopped you from looking at available housing in the city on your laptop late at night when he was still at ‘work’. You wanted out. You had wanted out for months since you had first caught wind he was cheating, and still cheating, but it had always seemed so impossible. You were still finishing up your last year in school, and even with working enough hours to be considered full time at the bookstore, you could barely afford your half of the rent. A fact he readily reminded you of any time you wanted to leave him. As much as you hated every time he said it, he was right. You needed him. Unless you were willing to sacrifice your own safety and move into a shitty unit in a sketchy part of town, you were stuck where you were. You needed him and he knew it.
Perhaps it was because of this that you had come out today. He had been scheduled for a weekend shift at the hospital, leaving you free to come to the open house without him questioning you on your whereabouts as you left. The Paradigm was a life you could never afford, and yet, it was nice to escape reality for a few hours. To sit and imagine what your life would be like if you hadn’t landed yourself in such a sticky situation. And yet, you hadn’t expected the stab of melancholy that had hit you as you had roamed the studio apartment available for rent, nor as you sat here in the courtyard with the pleasant buzz of the complex’s current tenants as they roamed through the area.
“Does that mean you’re looking for a place on your own, then?” he asked, attempting to blow the piece of hair the wind had cast in front of his eye.
“Myself?” You asked, not quite fully understanding which way he meant his statement and feeling a tad panicked at the thought of leaving your boyfriend to start afresh on your own. Was that something you could really do? “Uh, yeah, it would just be me.”
“Well, if you ask me, it doesn’t hurt to still apply. We’re always more than willing to negotiate prices for the right person,” he hummed, fingers tapping against the table. “Though it would probably be best if I grabbed you a new copy. Junseo doesn’t seem too keen on letting yours go at the moment.” Junseo looked up at the mention of his name, and matched the goofy smile Yeosang sent his way.
“That’s very kind of you, but even then…” You turned your face away, fighting the blush the embarrassment your current situation brought. Despite attempting to dress up for the event, you still stuck out from the other people who had signed up. The designer clothes and handbags a stark contrast from your thrifted outfit. Hell, even Junseo had nicer clothes than you to run around the garden in. “To be completely honest, I just really wanted to get an inside peek of this place. I knew I can’t afford to live somewhere like this at the moment, but I thought it might be fun to just see what it would be like.”
You resituated Junseo’s position in your lap, taking in the people milling around the grounds. It was a beautiful day, bright and warm. The perfect day to spend some time outside and enjoy what remained of the summer. You could see yourself fitting in well here. Helping out in the garden in between playing with the few children roaming the grounds. Maybe even take a dip in the pool to cool off from a hard day’s work before lounging in a nearby lounge to soak up the last of the summer sun.
It was just too bad that was a lifestyle you couldn’t afford on your own. Not while you were still in school and struggling with bills and debt as it was.
“But you are currently looking for a new place to live, right?”
“It’s not an immediate necessity at the moment, but yes,” you nodded, “if given the opportunity, I would move in a heartbeat. Not just here, but anywhere. As long as it was safe and something I could call my own.”
“Then fill out an application.” He ruffled around in his bag, pulling out another application and pen and pushing it towards you. “I’m close with the owner and can put in a good word for you. Just fill it out, list the rent you can feasibly pay at the moment, and we might be able to work something out. After all, we’re much more concerned about quality than quantity here at Paradigm.”
“You would do that?” Your eyes widened, wondering why on earth this man would do that for you when the rest of your group would be willing to pay twice the starting rent just for the opportunity to say they lived in the most exclusive complex in the city. “Why?”
“I like to think I have a nose for good people,” he smiled, fingers tapping against the application, “and you’re a good person, y/n, I can smell it. So, come on, Junnie,” he reached for the boy on your lap, ignoring the pout that crossed his lips as he took him from your hold, “let’s get you back to your mother so the pretty lady can fill out her application.”
He left you at that, but only made it a few feet before he was stopped by a nearby couple that had been in your group. By the glance they sent your way, you could tell they had overheard Yeosang’s mention of putting in a good word for you and hoped to earn a similar feat for themselves. After all, it didn’t matter who the first person to apply for the unit was or who was the highest bidder when it came to the Paradigm. You didn’t get to choose whether or not you lived here. They chose you. And a good word from the tour guide was exactly what you needed to get in. Not wanting to stick around for the conversation, Junseo wriggled his way out of Yeosang’s grasp and made off in the direction of his mother with one last toothy grin in your direction.
You turned to the second application he had handed towards you, twirling the pen in your hand as you mulled the decision over. None of it made much sense in your mind. Why would they select your application when there was hundreds of others that would willingly pay triple what you could? But even if that was the case, what did you have to lose by following through with it? If it didn’t go through, and you weren’t selected, you’d still be exactly where you were now. In a shitty situation, but no shittier than it already was. And on the tiny chance it did go through, well, your entire life could change. You would have that fresh start you had been yearning for so long.
That and, well, there was something charming about Yeosang. It didn’t slip your notice that he had called you pretty in passing, and though you knew it was just the way his personality seemed to be, you still felt a pull towards him. He was someone you felt you could get along with. Someone you would enjoy getting to know and become friends with if you only had the chance to.
So, before you could give it too much thought and talk yourself out of it, you pulled the application closer towards you and began writing.
~
You weren’t the type of person to pick up unknown calls, but something about the number that flashed on your screen as you waited out your lunch break in your car seemed familiar. You didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, not after all the shit you had dealt with the first half of your shift, but your finger still hovered over the accept button as you quickly searched your brain for whose number it could have been. Thinking it might have been your doctor finally returning your call for a refill you had been waiting on or even possibly a call on one of the countless job applications you had been filling out the past few weeks, you grudgingly accepted. Figuring it was better to get it over with now instead of living with the stress of what it might be the rest of your shift.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this y/n l/n?”
“Um, yeah.” You shifted the phone in your hand, trying to place the familiarity of the voice on the other end. Was it finally a call back from one of the job applications you had put in? “This is y/n.”
“This is Kang Yeosang from Paradigm. I’m calling to let you know that your application for unit 617 has been accepted.”
“Wait, are you being serious?”
You couldn’t hold back the gasp his response elicited, sure this was some sort of joke being pulled. Despite Yeosang’s promise of putting in a good word for you, you had never expected anything to come of it. Not when you had followed through with his suggestion and wrote down the actual amount you could feasibly pay for the place. And though you had held on to some hope something would come from it, you had never truly expected to hear from them again.
“I can assure you, I’m quite serious,” he chuckled. “I talked with the owner about your application and he was willing to accept it with a few added stipulations I would like to discuss with you if you have the time.”
“Oh, okay.”
You did your best to hide your disappointment, fearing the worst. Despite Yeosang’s insistence they were willing to negotiate on pricing, you should have known they wouldn’t just willingly drop the rent by half for you just because he had felt pity for you.
“You see, one of our administrative assistants recently put in her resignation and we’re in need of a replacement. When we looked over your application, we noticed the address of your current residence and place of work are on the other side of the city and figured you would likely be in need of a job with a shorter commute if you were to move here.”
The dread which his earlier statement had caused was slowly being replaced with excitement once more as he continued to speak, eagerly hoping he was beginning to allude to what you thought he was.
“We’d like to extend a job offer towards you here at Paradigm, which if you were to accept, would cover the cost of your rent plus a biweekly stipend to cover any other expenses you might have.”
“And what exactly would the job entail?” you asked, trying hard to cover the shock his reply gave you and trying just as hard to not let your hopes get too high before you figured out exactly what it was he was offering you. There had to be a catch; the offer was just too good to be true. “I’m finishing up my last year of college online, but I would still need some flexibility in my schedule.”
“Oh, it would just be your typical administrative work. You’d mostly be assisting myself and the other managers here at Paradigm and we’d be more than willing to work around your class schedule,” Yeosang replied without skipping a beat. “When you have time, I’ve sent an email to you that includes a detailed description of the job, alongside the logistics of your pay and housing for you to look through so you can have a clearer idea of what you would be signing up for if you were to accept.”
You were silent, unsure of what exactly to say. What could you say? Everything you had wished for the past few months was finally being extended towards you. A new job, housing of your own, and most importantly, a way out of the toxic relationship you had been stuck in for so long. All of it. Everything you dreamed of for so long, now within reach.
There had to be a catch, right? It couldn’t be as good as it seemed, right? So what was it? A whole new life in exchange for your soul?
“I know this is a lot to take in, so don’t feel as though you have to accept anything right away. Read through the emails I sent you and just give us a call back sometime within the next two weeks with your answer.”
-
and that is a very rough start to my new project. feel free to let me know what you all think and if this is something that you would be interested in! once again, I hope you all had/have a wonderful holiday/Christmas season. :)
just in case anyone's been wondering where my head has been the past few days, here's a sneak peak of what's been going down in part two of the paradigm complex:
“What was it I said?” Yeosang interrupted Wooyoung when he suddenly rounded the corner, a cup of tea in hand and looking like he had just tumbled out of bed with the messy state of his hair and the yawn that followed. “Oh,” his face fell, “she’s not here yet.”
“Fucking hell.” Seonghwa sighed, shaking his head. “You too?”
“Me too, what? Yeosang cocked his head, an overtly innocent expression on his face as his thumb pointed to the mailboxes at his right. “I’m just here to get my mail.”
“Dressed like that?” Seonghwa’s eyes glittered dangerously as he took in the casual outfit he wore, the tight-fitting sweatpants and loose tank exposing his sides, all but screaming for attention. For your attention. “And precisely, “ he paused to check the time on his watch, “two minutes before she’s supposed to be here?”
Hiii I love the paradigm complex sm! I cant wait till the next chapter
I remember Hongjoong mentioning the vampire laws, can you explain them?
hi!!! :)
so, i can't really go into too, too much because i don't want to spoil too much, but i can give you some snippets and maybe some better explanations of some tidbits i've revealed so far.
i guess to start out, we'll delve a little bit into the government/heirarchy. while some vampires do tend to be lone wolves, the majority do tend to clan up, especially with those that initially turned them. why? well, you have more power that way, especially in terms of owning territory. certain areas belong to certain clans, and vampires can't typically live or hunt in another clan's territory without permission.
vampire! ateez own the city in tpc, but this is a fairly recent development. how, when, and why they ended up claiming the territory will be gone into later. but while, the city is theirs, according to vampiric law, some other vampires do still live in the city with permission. we'll actually meet some of these here in the next chapter.
one law that is universal amongst all vampires, however, is that no human can be turned without permission. permission by whom, you might ask, well, that'll be answered later on. as stated in the last chapter, tpc's reader's ex-boyfriend is a vampire who wasn't given permission to be turned. what will become of that, well, you will also have to wait and find out.
other laws typically differ from territory to territory, but the only other major one is to basically keep their, and any other supernatural creatures' existence a secret from the humans.
i know it's not much, but a lot of this i would like to answer later on in tpc's story. i actually have a scene planned out already that will reveal a lot of how the vampires live and who's in control, etc. but i hope this helps just a little!
i have a little bit of downtime today, so we'll see how much of tpc i get written today. in the meantime, here's a little snippet of the next part beneath the cut. :)
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
“Careful, that’s-“ You barely registered the invitation to dinner, more concerned about helping Jongho with the box he was pulling out, but he lifted it with ease, “…heavy.”
You found it impossible not to stare, watching in awe as he shifted the box onto his shoulder to help support the weight, and unable to keep your eyes from wandering over the muscles on his arms. You had struggled to just lift the box into your car earlier, and yet, he made it look like it was nothing.
Just how much did this guy workout?
“Careful, Jongho,” Mingi’s voice held a hint of a tone you found difficult to place, breaking you out of your thoughts once more. You were acutely aware you had been staring at that moment, and shifted your gaze away, but not before Jongho caught your wandering eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” He waved both of your concerns away, an innocent, yet almost smug smile on his face.
Mother I beg for more paradigm complex crumbs I beg
so, i'm a bit lacking in tidbits that i feel are suitable to share, but i think i did finally get something that will work. things have been a bit slow here lately, but hopefully i'll get in quite a bit of writing today and the next update will make it here in the next few days. until then, another sneak peak of the paradigm complex pt. two beneath the cut:
“Felix, I swear to god, this place is going to kill me.” You could hear the laughter this statement elicited from your best friend through the car’s speakers, and you had a hard time hiding your own flustered smile despite knowing he couldn’t see it. “No, I swear, Felix, how the hell am I supposed to work and act normal when everyone around me looks like the physical embodiment of a god. We’re talking Haneul level here, Felix. Haneul.” You continue, referencing the coworker the two of you had both been crushing on since he started a few weeks ago to drive your point down.
“Hanuel level?” Felix’s voice evened out, finally understanding just what these men looked like. “All of them?”
“Yes!” you cried, though a bit of a giggle did escape alongside it. “Now do you see my predicament?”
“y/n, I don’t think that’s a predicament,” he began, “I think that’s heaven. And as your best friend, I think it’s only right for you to let me come see your new place… and perhaps these eight gods in the form of your coworkers.”
do you have any concept photos for the complex and like the rooms and buildings inside because honestly I’ve just been imagining like a line of houses on a street but the street is inside the property so there’s a gate 😓
hi! so, the way i picture it in my head, is a little similar to how it's set up in the movie 1BR which is what helped inspire this piece. but the building itself is bigger and more urban than suburban because i imagine it in the middle of the city. what city and country, well that's up for you to decide. basically, there's nine floors, with an open air atrium in the middle of the fifth floor which provides a private, outside space for everyone. all the community amenities are on the first floor. so, your mailboxes, the office, clinic, fitness center, etc. are here. floors 2-8 are housing, with mc being on the 6th floor, and then the top floor is the penthouse where hongjoong's room (which the cover photo is inspiration for) as well as a few other rooms/areas that are only accessible to the boys.
and then mc's room is a loft apartment, so this picture here is a general idea. san's room is also of similar design because these style of apartments are what are offered on floor six.
there's also an attached covered parking garage beside the building because if you're in the city, you're going to want to make sure your cars aren't getting broke into.
hope this maybe helps?? but i'll be honest, since i started this, i've wanted to get on the sims 4 to try and plan it all out because it does make it easier to picture in my own head. if i get around to doing it, i'll let you all know. :)
