In Light Of The Recent Nora Post: I Don't Know If I Can Ever Be Mentally Stable If Kevin Day Gets A Duology

i did not fully grasp the chokehold aftg has on me until a situation i found myself in this evening: just came back from running 4.6 kilometres (not much but it's not zero so i take that as a win) for the first time after not having been running (or doing any sports tbh) since march-- all because i imagined the disdain Neil Jean and Kevin would have looked at me with for slacking off like this for two months straight

granted the speed (or lack thereof) i was going with would have probably prompted even more scorn but we can't all be fucking inhumane fast can we now

ALSO turns out wearing a bandana really is a game changer it's so cool not having my fringe in my eyes all the time (but i do feel a bit terrified that i start resembling Neil more and more first i found out the running joke in the fandom about neil and jorts and i might or might not be a proud wearer of those now the bandana and i also realised halfway into the run that the camp half blood tshit i wore was technically the foxes orange so... feeling very cringe rn ngl)

i caught beautiful sunset though yay

so i was rereading aftg this week and since i had read it for the first time lots has changed including the fact my german has become really good (i'm afraid of the word fluent like i can't seriously be that vain yk) and since i've lived in germany for the last three years i was kinda automatically translating all of andrew's group's conversations in my head as i was reading i guess i wanted to experience the plot with how they could've potentially sound and now i'm wondering how many people were doing the same as they read it

I love Jean so so much. Five years in hell and still his favorite color is that of his lovers eyes and the garden he tended to after he chose to heal. Five years in hell and still he cares enough to ask if Cody was safe. Five years in hell and still he put rainbows on his list of miracles, and open roads, and friends, and fathers. Five years in hell and still he wants to grow a peach tree. Five years in hell and still "Stupid, beautiful Kevin" and "not your capacity for unkindness but how fiercely you fight against it" and "Jean moved without thinking, pressing a close-mouthed kiss to her temple the way she did whenever she thought he was unraveling."

something something declan lynch kevin day

ok i'll try treating tumblr like my personal diary again:

a couple days ago i accidentally spiralled back into an unhealthy obsession with the aftg series which was so random but it's about four years after i've read the og trilogy for the first time and imagine my reaction when i found out there's a sequel about my favourite character like hello??????? i haven't slept properly since monday but now i've read all five existing books and how to survive until the release of the sixth one is beyond my comprehension i fear

anyway i forgot how aftg makes my mental health state ten times better and hundred times worse at the same time wtf is this piece of literature

this will interest exactly zero people but I've been thinking about it for a while now and spent like four hours on this so may I present:

AFTG characters in a Dracula! au

featuring Jean's glasshouse, a grey-haired Neil and Renee with a Dutch accent

disclaimer 1: if u see my aftg mina and lucy and ask how their friendship is supposed to work in this case I expand on that and some other interactions down below*

disclaimer 2: aftg obviously has way more core characters than dracula and I tried out a lot of combis but I'm still doubting the results so yeah... and also while I altered some relationships I tried to preserve the og dracula feel as much as I could

so here goes:

Jonathan Harker - Neil Josten (main character with zero survival skills, tries to lie low but can't NOT stir some shit up, had a lovely few weeks at Castle Dracula/Castle Evermore, dramatic hair colour changes by the end of the story)

Mina Harker - Andrew Minyard (clever™, done with everyone's dramatics, has to deal with Jonathan/Neil's shenanigans, quiet observer, the only one who seemingly has their shit together while actually suffering a lot but not wanting to let others be preoccupied by that)

Count Dracula - Riko Moriyama PLUS some others (it was difficult to place just one big bad guy because aftg has different layers of antagonists so while Riko is the primary Dracula 1.0 in his Castle (Evermore) whom Jonathan/Neil and the gang opposes they later on encounter another vampire, an ally of Dracula's from the west — Jonathan/Neil's father Nathan (the Butcher of Bristol) (no shade towards Bristol it just sounds neat) whom Neil thought he was long rid of in his life (Neil didn't know he became a vampire), think of him like Dracula 2.0, not less of an enemy than Riko)

Lucy Westenra - Jean Moreau (the epitome of being a victim of circumstances (made a target of Dracula/Riko's because fate just oh so wanted to screw them over), somehow simultaneously sweet summer child and hot icon, everybody wants them, lively extrovert (Jean IS canonically a sassy extrovert we just don't see a lot of it in tsc because his very fresh trauma dampens it but in tgr in becomes clearer)

Arthur Godalming - Kevin Day (the it girl, aristocrat (queen parallels), despite earnestly caring about Lucy/Jean still oversees a huge part of their pain; in my au Lucy/Jean doesn't choose him as husband)

Quincey Morris - Jeremy Knox (southern American sunshine, loyal to death and extremely protective over Lucy/Jean, quote from the og novel 'a rough fellow, who hasn't perhaps lived as a man should' (freshman jeremy giving a huge side eye rn) (his pupils are suspiciously diluted), the only one who does not canonically journal (concentration problems lol); in my au Lucy/Jean chooses Quincey/Jeremy over Arthur/Kevin)

Jack (John) Seward - Aaron Minyard !!! I swear !!! not just because they are both doctors it makes sense okay???? (logical thinker, has to deal with mentally unstable people on a daily basis, sceptical, secretly a softie, truly wants to help people get better; in my au he's crushing on Arthur/Kevin instead of Lucy/Jean but doesn't admit to it for a while because Art/Kev is a lordling and he is a common psychiatrist and also Art/Kev is too obsessed with Lucy/Jean to notice him (only at first though I'm a sap I like HEA))

Van Helsing - Renee Walker !! hear me out on this one before you ask wtf !! (seems like a cutie patootie but knows how to saw off a head, seen some shit in their life, has a deeper understanding of Mina/Andrew's intelligence, steps in to save Lucy/Jean's life, does not fear Dracula/Riko (or more like is not hesitant to challenge him despite the fear)

Renfield - this one was such a PAIN to place my first thought was Jean but I ended up giving him Lucy so after turning it this way and that way I thought maybe Seth Gordon would work? he died as a prop in Dracula/Riko's sick game so that fits but the overall dynamic still seems a tad off to me, let me know if you have a better take on aftg Renfield

* Lucy&Mina/Jean&Andrew:

so as I see it Andrew and Jean could actually have a nice platonic dynamic:

I think they are very compatible. In canon if Andrew was not (understandably) unable and unwilling to fully trust anyone but Neil (and Bee but to a certain degree) and if Jean was not royally fucked over by his time as Riko's property I believe they could have been friends or at least have a good understanding because they both couldn't care less about exy (and Kevin and Neil being exy junkies are the bane of their existence), they are sharp, sarcastic, often amused (but don't show it openly) by others' stupid behaviour (or what they perceive as stupid regardless of whether it actually is such).

In my dracula! au Andrew met Jean when he was ten and Jean nine after being thrown around various fucked up orphanages. He was separated from Aaron (who ended up adopted by a local physician) at birth.

Jean was adopted, too, when he was little (the Westenras saw a broody abandoned toddler on the streets of Marseille while on vacation and were like welp guess we have a kid now huh). His adoptive parents, the Westenras, took Andrew in because they thought Jean was lonely as a teenager (he was okay with the company of his dogs and the bugs in the garden and the swallows living in a nest under the slope of the roof by his room's window but whatever). The Westenras are the kind of wealthy who are trying to 'make a difference' and not be like those other rich folks or something like that but my world is all sunshine and rainbows so they actually are THAT nice and did not adopt the boys for public appearances only. They wanted to give Andrew a chance at good life though Andrew obv has the impression of it all being bs at the beginning (who can blame him he's been through Things). Jean was very patient about his attitude and supported him on the journey of healing from the childhood abuse so they are practically siblings. (Aaron is very hurt and bitter because his brother feels like that about some random ass obnoxious French guy and it makes him dislike Jean initially which is only made worse when Kevin ends up fawning over him but as they are forced to work together when Jean is targeted by Dracula/Riko Aaron sort of starts seeing more of his actual personality and they actually get to know each other outside of Aaron's jealousy). (Jean was actually not at all hostile and very curious (ahem) about Aaron at the start, the young gentleman who appeared exactly like his adoptive brother at first glance but somehow completely different, so contemplative, unreachable, oftentimes letting out bitter quips abot this and that, a competent doctor, so mysterious and lonesome, for some reason reluctant to respond to Jean's attempts at getting to know him better. But then Quincey/Jeremy turned up and Jean was done for lol).

The dracula!au version of Jean and Andrew not giving a damn about exy would be them not caring about high society soirées and such, they would rather go explore some ancient abbey ruins together, read a book or study shorthand (in Andrew's case) or do some gardening and pottery (in Jean's case), while Arthur/Kevin organises all these high society events and cricket games and whatnot desperately trying to spend some time with his bestie (Andrew, remains unimpressed) or engage Jean's attention (unsuccessful, Jean would rather visit Kevin's good friend Aaron at the asylum to hover at his side while Dr Minyard speaks to some guy expanding on how he would prepare Aaron for dinner should he have a chance to strangle him, or listen to yet another good pal of Kevin's, an eccentric American with tan arms and cute freckles rambling about rare plants he encountered on his journeys which he swears he could acquire for Jean's winter garden should his dear Mr Moreau express such a whish) (Jean has scored with this one lol the neighbourhood's ladies will be foaming at the mouth at the mere sight of his gorgeous conservatory)

**bonuses:

Swales (old guy in Whitby who sences Dracula's coming) - Wymack (ngl I chose this one because it's objectively hilarious: just an old man who's seen it all and does not hesitate to openly say his opinion on anything with no filter whatsoever, also kinda the voice of wisdom to Mina/Andrew although they do not take him very seriously but he ends up being right every time)

the three vampire women in Dracula's Castle - Lola, Romero and Jackson (basically Dracula 2.0/Nathan's sidekicks)

***what's up with the rest of the characters (not exactly based on the novel but I tried (emphasise on tried) to be loosely historically accurate to the Victorian era setting):

Matt and Dan are a married couple, both children of formerly enslaved abolitionist activists. They are working at Jonathan/Neil's solicitor office and are thoroughly baffled by him skipping work (he left a cryptic note temporarily transferring his responsibilities to them) after being abroad to work with a private client and showing up a couple weeks later completely grey-haired, stacking the office cupboard with gallons of holy water and decorating the space with awfully smelly flowers. Obviously, knowing Dan's character, she (with Matt's support) was also an active advocate for equality (for women's rights as well as black people's rights)

Allison is a countess. She's friends with Arthur/Kevin and although he is supportive of her he does not always get her since she mostly spends her time exploring the life of lower classes all over England and travelling around the world shooting documentaries about different cultures (of course she has early access to the curious new invention of moving pictures). She meets Van Helsing/Renee during her stay in London and they bond over interest in science and being explorers in their respective fields

Nicky Hemmick is a renowned tailor, his clothes are worn by every self-respecting Londoner who can afford it and quite a few aristocrats all around England. He discovers his relation to the twins a bit later in life than he would have wished but he tries to be there for them both as much as he can. He loves tailoring but he also runs his salon as a front for what is basically a safe space for queer people since they are targeted by the Labouchere Amendment. Nicky doesn't know it but Andrew (using Kevin's ties) watches out in case Nicky falls under the government's suspicion because of such activities. Also, Nicky is friends with Oscar Wilde :)

Cat and Laila live in their own little paradise on a ranch in Texas, Jean and Jeremy will secretly elope there eventually after the gang deals with all the vampires because I refuse to kill them off in this au

Okay I think that was it for now. What am I doing with my life

is every second song ever written really about jean moreau or do I just have a very specific taste in music

i just love how my instagram fyp realised aftg is back to having a chokehold over me (SO back) so it immediately started recommending me the raven cycle fanarts because apparently the universe decided these series go hand in hand and now it's a rule lmao

treating tumblr like a diary again sue me:

I'm currently reading a fic where Aaron is written like an almost perfect mirror of myself and when I tell you I did NOT need to get called out like that--- also if you'd've told me 2025 would be the year I start shipping kevaaron and randomly get (back) into a Hozier phase because of none other but Aaron Minyard I would have probably scoffed at that

this is so neil josten coded