a joyless place

Rowan Chow art is by @lowokiii

Hi guys, I’ve been working on an AU on disc with a couple of friends, but the original conceptualizer of the AU has given me the control over it, so I really wanted to post it!!! Essentially, it’s a swap au where Howard and Phillip swap roles with Morose (Thomas) and Samantha, as well as ages! So essentially:

Nowhere swaps with Angelique, becomes a human named Nolan Noetall (pronounced know-it-all) while Angelique becomes Elsewhere, a human fused with Angel..dna..or bird DNA due to Phillip’s horrible jealousy in this au. She takes up the role of a jazz singer in the bar at the island, and is a bit more bitter and cynical due to the fact she’s bound to the club for her own safety and for what’s been done to her. (She’s called elsewhere because she’s literally…elsewhere)

Samantha swaps with Howard, I know this initially seems like a weird choice, but I can explain!!! Not only have I seen the devs like a comment saying that Howard looks similar to Samantha, but I do believe they’d share a lot of traits, including impulsivity, determination, and dedication. In canon, Samantha is able to accept the fact there’s nothing more she can do for herself to stop her passing or have children, while Howard is able to accept his mother’s death. They’re both figures in their other half’s life who are able to keep moving forward, both in canon and in this au.

Thomas Morose swaps with Phillip, and the death of Katie Lou is underlying in this au, which only fuels his unspoken possessive behavior toward Howard that he is in denial of. His behavior is fueled but him and Howard’s inability to confirm their feelings, and Howard’s ability to keep moving forward despite his chronic illness, his own losses, and the fact that he seems to be accepting that he’s leaving Phil behind. (Think Too little Too Late)

As for everyone’s designs, I thought it would be fun to make Thomas and Samantha early hippies, since I hc them as non conformists and it just seemed like a nature step. Dunno how much you can tell. Also gave morose a less crazy moustache, and they usually just go by Tom and Sammy/Sam in this au.

I’d say in this au they’re still unmarried, I’m going back and forth on if they’re fiancés or not, but Thomas is very dependent on Samantha. Still, Samantha retains a similar ego to Howard. Thomas was always there for her, looking up to her, yet he is somehow picked over her. She’d likely try to bottle up her envy at first, but unable to seem happy for him since Thomas keeps asking her if she’s truly okay. This ends up blowing up on the last day, and Thomas finally seems how Samantha truly feels and how she sees him. They leave angry, and what’s worse is that this is one of their first BIG fights. Samantha writes and is apologetic, but is unsure how Thomas actually feels about her now.

As for Phillip, I really loved the idea of the jackolope form instead of MOROSE’S tentacles, so I tried to make him a satyr type bunny thing? It’s my first time drawing anything antrho so I hope it’s okay, I tried to make his beard a little longer, change the shape of the robe, and put a star for Howard ofc

Credit to @slythepuffle for coming up with Knowhere’s name! I tried to let him retain some of his feline features, with the stray strands of hair and growing back his arm as a feline arm

Anyway, I think that’s all the lore I have to drop for now, please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions! I know it’s only the main cast for now. I’ll drop the rest of the concepts I have below!! Maybe more to come? I’m unsure at this point but yeah!!

Finding out that Bram Stoker was in a sexless marriage and that scholars believe that he very likely was closeted gay puts the entire book into perspective as to WHY it reads EXACTLY like a self insert wattpad Dracula kidnap fic:

Wip(edit: update on the wip what I originally posted is under)

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