#Belobog roleswap

[sorrinslays]

Belobog Roleswap AU

So this is a small thingamaching I've been thinking about sometimes. Truthfully, I just saw some versions of the same concept and while they were certainly interesting, they weren't really my style. So, I decided to try and make my own version.

To start off, I wanna say that I gave myself a few 'rules' to keep it consistent and whatnot. Specifically, I want it to be a true roleswap, so that means no true personality changes, at least not when it's unnecessary. The roleswap should make sense, like it should be able to happen realistically. Nobody expect the people of Belobog are roleswaped.

So I'll start by who we meet first and work my way down until we get all the characters.

We meet Gepard first. He is a petty thief/vigilante that fights fragmentum in his free time, mostly because nobody is willing to offer him a job. At some point, his parents were arrested for really huge crimes (up to interpretation). Due both Gepard and Serval being over the age of eighteen, they are in legal care of Lynx.

They have trouble finding a job due to their reputation and moved to the Underworld because the rent is cheaper. Soon they are forced to steal to get by. When the Underworld was sealed off, Gepard was in the Overworld, pickpocketing, separating him from his sisters. So, for ten years, he was forced to do petty crime to survive, abandoning his "dream" of becoming a Silvermane Guard.

All that changes when the Astral Express comes to Jarillo VI. After the Supreme Guardian "becomes suspicious" of the trailblazers, Sampo comes to Gepard, offering to show him one of the secret pathways to the Underworld. In exchange Gepard has to be the guide for the Express. (Sampard/Gepo fans rejoice, a canon interaction!)

Of course Gepard accepts. So when Seele is chasing after the trailblazers, Sampo sends a few smoke bombs and, with Gepard's help, gets them to the Underworld, reuniting the Landau siblings.

Next, we see Sampo and Luka. Sampo is the Captain of the Silvermane Guards. He's still a Masked Fool but after coming to Jarilo VI and seeing that the role of the Captain is basically empty (the old one is on his last breath) he decides to take up the role.

The first impression we have of him is that he is one lazy Captain. Always slacking off and "going with the flow". He doesn't do his paperwork or listen to anyone all that much. He kinda does his own thing and bothers everyone.

He's still the only one who can travel between the Overworld and the Underworld freely, but he does so in secret, behind the Supreme Guardian's back. He is still helping the leader of Wildfire and he's still the one to plan everything behind the scenes.

We learn that he's the one who got us to the Underworld through Gepard when Seele almost kills him.

When we get back to the Overworld, he greets us and we have to hold Seele from trying to murder him. He doesn't outright reveal anything but he does tell us that more soldiers have been dying under Natasha's rule because of her orders and he's been trying everything to find a way to prevent more soldiers from losing their lives.

He helps us sneak past the Guards, lying smoothly when something happens. Soon, they reach Natasha for the Boss Fight.

Luka is the Intelligence Officer. He used to be in the frontlines but he lost his arm in a very big fight and was "demoted" to a desk job. He hates it and oftentimes does Sampo's neglected paperwork so that the Captain owes him and takes Luka to the frontlines with him as "payback", which is why we see him when we first arrive.

When the crew is back from their adventure in the Underworld and he sees Sampo helping them, he questions the Captain. Soon enough, he joins the crew in fighting the fragmentum.

Followed by those three, we meet Natasha. As an orphan, she was picked to be the Supreme Guardian instead of Cocolia, so she never got the chance to live the life she could've actually enjoyed. When we meet her, she has a faint smile on her face, her voice are gentle and her words kind. Yet, something is eerily off about her, it's just very hard to put a finger on it.

Unlike the lies the Stellaron fed Cocolia of the world dying and everyone getting to live somewhere else, in "the new world", they tell Natasha that by killing everyone, they are gonna resurrect everyone and change their biology to be able to withstand the Eternal Freeze. The cold never bothering them ever again. They say that the moment all of Belobog dies, the life of the fragmentum would be transferred to the people, so they will never again be in danger of either the monsters or the cold.

Her story ends just like Cocolia's in the original timeline, losing her life to the Stellaron and the Astral Express.

Next in line, we have Seele. We meet her during the same scene as Natasha. She doesn't really question Natasha, at least not as much as OG Bronya. Not because she's stupid, no, but because she trusts Natasha whole-heartly. She just follows orders. It doesn't help that Natasha is hiding all the orders that are made specifically to kill as many soldiers as possible.

So, later on, when she finds out that Sampo, a somewhat of a father figure to her, went against Natasha and even kidnapped Seele herself with some "criminals"? She almost mauls Gepard, the "messenger", on the spot.

Of course, she gets her reality check when she sees how bad the situation in the Underworld really is. She sees Gepard in tears after finally reuniting with his sisters after 10 years, she sees kids who never ever went to school, she sees the lack of medical supplies, she sees how dirty everything is and she sees how the fragmentum has been affecting them too.

Just like canon, her romance with Bronya still happens and soon they are back in the Overworld. After a brief conversation with Sampo, she heads off to confront Natasha, and the rest follows canon.

Following Seele, we meet Oleg. He works at the Neverwinter workshop, the adoptive father of Luka. He used to be a Captain but after openly questioning Natasha's rule, he loses his job, leaving him to tinker at the workshop.

He's somewhat aware of what Sampo is doing, which is why he humours him and follows his orders of assisting the Astral Express. He isn't present during the Boss Fight, keeping the fragmentum at bay with Luka's help, he's devastated to learn about Natasha's death though.

Up next, we have Cocolia. She's a very smiley and kind doctor that greets us when we wake up from Sampo's smoke bombs. She is, gasp, in a happy relationship with Serval.

Competent is her middle name, and she mostly follows canon. Instead of Natasha, that doctor couple adopted Cocolia, which is why she becomes the Underworld's main doctor.

Not much to say about her, so let's move on to Bronya. She stops a fight from escalating when Seele causes a scene. While she still is very kindhearted, the Underworld has roughened her edges a bit.

We get bonding scenes between her and Seele and everything pretty much follows canon expect dialogue changes. I don't have much to say about her to be honest.

Pela! She works in the fight club, not because she wants to, but because she fell into debt due to trying to get her hands on the Tales of the Winterlands. Not much about her, sadly, Hoyo wasn't too keen on given her and Luka much screen time, I fear.

She helps us deal with the mine situation that happened in canon.

Now, we get to see Serval. She has an emotional reunion with Gepard and we learn that she is a member of Wildfire. Unfortunately aside from that nothing changes canon (blame the lack of Oleg in the story not me).

Now, we meet Lynx, who has befriended Svarog, the robot acting as her father figure. While Serval isn't a fan of Svarog, she doesn't discourage her little sister from befriending him.

Since day one, she is trying to get Svarog to agree to let people pass through the Furnace Core, she yearns for the outside and tries to find and all possible ways to change Svarog's calculations.

Of course it doesn't work until we, the variable, come to the Underworld.

Lastly, we meet Hook and Clara. Both are orphans adopted by Fersman, whose a Lieutenant under Sampo's command, send by the Captain. "The Moles", we learn, is a specific group of kids that wish to join the Silvermane Guards and, Sampo, to not break their hearts, made them honorary members.

Basically, he tells them sometimes to look out for any suspicious people, maybe follow one (if the job is not at all threatening), or the super duper important mission of getting lunch for him and the other soldiers. In this instance, he used them to lead the gang to Oleg and then to Sampo himself.

And that's it! Let me know your thoughts! If you have any questions about the AU, want a more in-depth explanation or wish to see scenes written about some of the things that happened feel free to ask!

[sorrinslays]

More about the Belobog Roleswap AU

So, I decided to make this post because of @lesbianbootheng. Specifically, their reblog right here:

#hsr#role swap au#op i hope u know much i enjoy those aus and the fact u made one is So Cool to me#pls tell me u have more ideas bc dude? i’d love to hear em#and i hope ur comfy w/ me adding some ideas myself bc this sounds soo fucking cool dude like wtf#love the idea of clara and hook being assistants to the silvermane guards that’s so cool <3 it fits them surprisingly well#ALSO THE FUCKING NERD PELA BEING PART OF THE FIGBT CLUB?? idk that’s so funny to me idk why LMFAO#oleg being luka’s father is rlly cute i love that <3 my HEARTT#also svorg being slowly being aaprt of the landau family by serval fixing him and they start to consider each other as the other loved ones#serval is still a musician i hope she’d just be one of those underground artists (literally haha)#also love the fact cocolia/serval r a thing in this au that makes me so happy u don’t understand :3#their yuri is NOT doomed after all :3#also… bc this is a roleswap au imagine bronya as the new supreme guardian… can u see it?#how do u think she’d act as leader?#sampo + bronya would DEF need to reign her in haha#also. do u think geppie sees sampo interacting w/ hook/clara & thinks of lynx & wants to sob when he’s separated#bc I DO. i so fucking do

So here's some more insight on the lives of the characters!

Gepard

He has this rule he set for himself that he doesn't steal from the less fortunate, guards and children. Those he does frequently steal from are nobles and since he used to be one (technically still is) he knows the obsolete worst ones. Sometimes, when he learns something particularly bad, he leaves an "anonymous" tip in Sampo's office.

He tried to grow a side business out of selling flowers. Since he's not a guard he has way more time to actually engage in his hobby, unlike his OG counterpart, he can actually keep a plant alive. However the business sadly didn't end up working out.

He does have "disguises" so he can get groceries without being chased around, although they are all kind of terrible. He doesn't know jackshit about makeup so he relies on hiding his face instead (hats, masks, sunglasses and the like). Almost all of Belobog knows this but they just kinda don't bother him cause the disguise is so bad it's sad.

Whenever Clara and Hook see Gepard in his "disguise" they try to get Sampo to arrest him cause "it's literally the guy you chase everyday, he's right here, just get him!!!!!" only for Sampo to pretend not to recognize him. Gepard goes through all five stages of grief whenever this happens.

He has accidently bumped into Luka sneaking into the restricted zone on numerous occasions and both kept it secret. They have even fought together in secret.

There are rumours of the "Phantom Shielder" amongst the guards, which is just Gepard. He keeps trying to help in the snow plains, since he feels guilty for adding to the workload of the guards by committing crimes. He believes it to the least he could do.

He is a supplier of automaton parts and the like for Oleg. Luka has a sneaking suspicion that's the case but since it's Gepard's most legitimate business venture, he doesn't bother reporting it. Oleg is, like, the closest thing Gepard has to a father figure.

Sampo

As the Captain, he rarely has time to relax alone and anytime he does have the time he spends it in the far away snow plains looking for medicine for Cocolia. He sneaks away when he's supposed to be doing paperwork. Or he "loses track of time and stays on patrol for longer periods".

He has made deals with pharmacists all around Belobog, asking for "defect medicine" that cannot be sold to the public (because of such things as a wrongly colored bottle, wrong print, a small cracks etc.). Basically, he collects it without telling the pharmacists where it actually goes. They don't really question him and he brings it to Cocolia.

He has a house near the restricted zone, not because he wants to be "closer to the actions" as he tells people, but so that he can have more alone time. You need a good reason to be anywhere near the restricted zone or you have to sneak in, so his apartment is like a safe haven to him.

He doesn't have any tells when lying, contrary to popular belief. He has fake ones that he uses to trick Natasha. She believes him to be a bad liar because of this.

Anytime he has free time (which is not all that often) he is surrounded by children anywhere he goes. If you hear manic giggling across the streets you know Sampo has a day off. He will have at least two kids around him at all times and the parents have to practically peel them away from him.

Sometimes, whenever he spots Hook bothering Gepard while he's "in his disguise" he walks over and chats with Gepard just to fuck with him. It's incredibly entertaining watching the poor guy squirm as his voice cracks in ten different ways.

He actually knows if Luka sneaked in and disguised himself as a guard because there's a standard hair length soldiers in the restricted zone have to have that Luka does not follow. He never mentions it, just let's him do whatever since he believes Luka to be capable enough. He does like ordering him around just to fuck with him, seeing Luka flinch and do anything without making a sound or "deepening his voice" so that Sampo "doesn't recognize him" is very funny to him.

Luka

As much as he hates paperwork, he's infuriatingly good at it. So he's probably staying an intelligence officer for a long while. Seele told him as much after a meeting with Natasha. He had begged Seele to bring up his situation, arguing that he's healed now and can go back to the front lines. Seele, true to her word, did mention him, but Natasha shout down any conversation about him, stating he's "too useful as an intelligence officer".

He used to have a small crush on Sampo. He was impressed by his fighting and was asking the Captain for a spar for weeks before the other agreed. It's still unknown if he still harbors that crush. The crush doesn't necessary have to romantic, it's honestly up for interpretation.

He attends every funeral, celebration and memorial held in honor of the Silvermane Guards. It's based on respect but also a little bit of guilt on his part. He believes that if he hadn't lost his arm, he would've still been in the front lines and he could've stopped some of the death that happened in the snow plains.

Whenever he is cooped up in his office for long periods of times, Clara and Hook are tasked (by Sampo, as their "superior") to get him out. Usually, they steal an important document and have him chase them all over the city. By the time he gets back, the day is over and he is ordered to go home and rest.

During his days off, he helps Oleg around the workshop. Oleg has tried to reassure Luka many times before that he doesn't need to keep helping, although all of them were in vain.

He has tried getting new hobbies to distract himself, and one that he enjoyed more than he thought he would was crocheting and knitting. He made matching scarfs for Clara and Hook and Seele called him a granny. He challenged her to a spar after that (he lost).

Whenever Luka and Gepard sneak into the snow plains together, they get into "competitions". Basically, they try to kill more fragmentum than the other. Usually, it's a tie or one of them winning by a small precent (like one or two more kills).

Natasha

Just like every other Supreme Guardian, she graduated in history. Although that's the case, she was always fascinated by human biology and the structure of the human body. She became even more interested after she met a man by the name of Vache, who told her he wanted to make a medicine specifically for people to be able to survive the bitter cold. After Cocolia banished Vache to the snow plains, Natasha brought him to Qlipoth Fort. He is still alive, even after the Astral Express' visit.

She really likes teddy bears, they used to be the only emotional support she had back when she was first selected to be the future Supreme Guardian. She had shared this information with Oleg, and since they used to be very close back in the academy, a lot of her stuffed toys were left at Oleg's place. So their absence during the Stellaron's manipulation helped her spiral quicker.

Vache lives in the lab of Qlipoth Fort and he is, basically, Stellaron 2.0. Since he also believes the Stellaron, he tries to pressure Natasha into following its plan. Natasha, isolated from any actually healthy influences, gives in and soon orders that result in more deaths than victories follow.

She and Oleg used to be very close, to the point that they even grew flowers together and used to babysit children together as a way to gain a little something something on the side. Whenever Luka reports to her, she asks about Oleg and how he's doing, every time she asks she has a wishful expression on her face.

Natasha was actually very suspicious of Sampo in the beginning, after all, before he joined the Silvermane Guards she hasn't heard a thing about him. She remained suspicious of him even after years, until the end of the Belobog arc. When he first made waves, she researched every little thing about him.

Oleg adopted Luka after his break up with Natasha, so when she first saw his last name she cried. She genuinely thought that she had missed a wedding or something.

Doctor handwriting. Even in another universe she couldn't escape the illegible doctor handwriting curse.

Seele

Used to go to the same elementary, middle and high school together with Luka. He was just a year or two younger than her. As a kid, she used to think he was okay, then during middle school she found him annoying and now it's a mix of two. However, he's probably the closest thing she has to a best friend and it's the person she trusts the most outside of Natasha.

She focuses a lot of her combat abilities. Since Natasha doesn't let her go on too many missions and she's not aware she's supposed to be the next Supreme Guardian (she is under the impression that she is just Natasha's adopted daughter) she doesn't think about the political situation or strategies all that much. She much prefers fighting the fragmentum.

Although technically she has a higher position than Sampo, whenever she gets overzealous during training or pushes herself too hard, she'll "be put in time out" by Sampo. Basically, she will be training and Hook and Clara pop out of nowhere, telling her how it's "time for a break, or else Sampo will put you in time out". She always tries to get out of it because she finds it stupid, but honestly dealing with Hook and Clara is a challenge in it of itself, so, unfortunately for her, Sampo's tactic works annoyingly well.

At first, she was struggling a lot in school, specifically with writing. When Natasha first caught wind of this, she sat down with Seele and they spent a whole evening just writing and Natasha helping Seele with school work.

For almost her whole life, Natasha and Oleg were together, so when Natasha turned distant and they broke up, she basically lost her parent. She visits Oleg's workshop every now and then, but they definitely aren't as close as they used to be. Now, unfortunately for her, the closest thing she has in her life that actively acts like a father figure is Sampo.

She regularly makes bets with soldiers in the front lines. Like, "oh, I bet Kyle can't headshot five fragmentum in a row". In general she is very friendly with them. Natasha is not a fan of that.

Luka asks her for a spar session almost any time he sees her. While it "annoys" her, she find comfort in the fact that she can tell him mood easily like that. She knows that if he's just fired up he gonna ask one or two times and if he feels bad for whatever reason, he's gonna be more persuasive.

Oleg

To him, the Neverwinter workshop was something that would've happened one way or another. He always knew that at some point he would own a workshop, however, what he didn't expect was how soon it would happen. He imagined opening it in his late forties - early fifties after passing his Stellaron research to a younger researcher. He never expected to have the nasty break up with Natasha and getting kicked out of the Silvermanes like that.

A side hobby he picked up after losing his job as a researcher was sketching. Whenever the workshop goes through a slow period with no customers or any work to do, people can find him outside, sketching whatever he sees.

When Luka lost his arm, he was devastated. He was so scared for his son he soot out Natasha, asking if she can find a better position for Luka that doesn't endanger him so much. Although he feels guilty for taking the choice from Luka, he also prefers feeling guilty with a son than feeling guilty without a son.

Back when Luka used to be in the frontlines, he wanted to meet his superior (Sampo) just to be sure that the Captain was capable. His first impression of Sampo wasn't a positive one, but after hearing about his achievements in battle, anecdotes from other guards, seeing Luka's admiration of him and seeing him around the street playing with the kids, he backed off.

He still misses Seele, even though technically she's not his kid. Even though that's the case, he still makes sure to prepare birthday gifts for her and congratulate her on any achievements.

He teaches Hook and Clara the basics of engineering. Every week he dedicates two hours for them. It's actually one of his favorite past times cause it livens up the place and reminds him of back when Luka and Seele used to be kids.

He still thinks about his research, specifically the Stellaron. He really wants to continue studying it and oftentimes thinks about it. He has a lot of theories about it but can't test any of them out.

Cocolia

She met Serval when the Landaus first moved to the Underground. While all the siblings have a positive opinion of her and they generally get along well, she and Serval clicked almost instantly. Serval helped her a lot with the orphanage, then with the clinic and finally with Wildfire.

Even though the Underground's atmosphere is pretty depressing, Cocolia tries her best make it more homey, warm and, in general, uplift the people. There's a reason why the people of the Underworld trust her with more than just medical issues.

One of her attempts to make the Underworld more welcoming was plants. Although most of them require sunlight, she got Sampo to look for ones that can survive without it. And just like that the Underworld is full of plants (as much as it can be). Unfortunately not all parts of the Underworld have a flourishing flora, the unlivable parts (thanks to the fragmentum) don't have any.

While she is a doctor and a healer is general, if it comes down to it, she can hold her own in battle. She uses a bass guitar when fighting, the one that in the original Serval broke during her companion quest.

She and Bronya have a very strong bond. They spend hours talking about different ways to optimize Wildfire. Serval helps with that too, either as the face of Wildfire or by suggesting ways to update equipment or create new weapons. Whenever Sampo is present, his input is asked as well, although he mostly helps with strategizing and ways to get rid of the fragmentum.

The hardest choice she had to make was exile Vache. She was conscious of his downward spiral when he started obsessing over blizzard immunity but the human experimentation was kept a secret from her until Lynx mentioned hearing something about it. Needless to say when she found out she was heartbroken.

She is well liked by all the children, and she always has some sort of candy on her desk. It's either for children who are being treated or, at the end of each day, the most behaved kid gets two.

Bronya

Although she didn't go to school, she knows the basics thanks to Cocolia and Serval. So now, her favorite hobby is reading. She has read as many books as she could get her hands on. Anytime she sees Sampo, she asks him to deliver her a book or two.

While she is part of Wildfire and she does fight against the fragmentum under Serval's command, whenever fragmentum activity is low, she is seen helping around Cocolia's clinic. While is mostly acts as a nurse following Cocolia's orders, she is still very skilled, to the point that other nurses sometimes call her "Cocolia 2.0".

She has learned the basics of engineering from Serval. It's a skill that comes in handy more often than not, from fixing up children's toys to helping fix equipment that was broken by the fragmentum.

The kids love her too. Whenever they get into trouble the first person they go to is Bronya due to her "not being an adult" (she is, she is just the youngest one working in the clinic so they assume she's still a teenager).

She has heard a lot about Gepard, but she has never actually met him since she wasn't adopted back when the Underworld and Overworld weren't separated. Despite this, she feels as if she had known him forever because of how often Serval and Lynx mention him. As if he's still here, with them.

She and Pela are good friends. Thanks to her, Bronya got into the Tales of the Winterlands. That series got her to wish to one day go to the topside and see the snow plains for herself. It's a wish she holds close to her heart.

She is close to Lynx as well, they spend a lot of time together due to her being the little sister of Serval. The two of them started reading Tales of the Winterlands together thanks to Pela and both of them loved it. They have spent hours talking about what they want to do in the Overworld.

Pela

She is a very important part of Wildfire not only because of her strength but also because of her great investigation skills and data collection. Thanks to her, Wildfire is not only able to catch troublemakers but also because she could predict future fragmentum activity based on the data she managed to collect.

She was the one who investigated Vache when Cocolia first heard of the rumours. She had come to Pela as a friend, asking for help, not as part of Wildfire. Pela accepted to look into it for free, and gave it her all. Let's just say the investigation wasn't all that pleasant.

She has created a fake identity that she uses to bet on herself. She is very strategic about it too. If she wins too many bets, she makes sure to stage a few loses to keep the attention away from her fake identity. She has made bank with that strategy.

Moreover, the reason she is still technically in debt is because the person she owes to is in the Overworld, so she had no way to reach him and she can't ask Sampo for help. She has a small box in her apartment that is the payment to her debt. She's not sure if there's any extra payment due to being late (although it's not really her fault) but just in case she keeps some extra shield.

Her closest friend is Lynx, they hang out together anytime Lynx isn't with Svarog. There's moments were they don't talk, Lynx just shows her picture as they cuddle on Pela's sofa and that's probably their favorite activity. However, anytime Lynx is in a talkative mood, the two of them theorize on what Gepard is doing in the Overworld.

She preforms in Mechanical Fever with Serval. It's a way for her to gain an additional income while hanging out with her friends (Serval, Lynx and sometimes Cocolia (when she's not busy with Wildfire and the clinic, which is pretty rare)). She is a drummer, her drumsticks are handmade and very sturdy (build by Serval) and she uses them when fighting as well.

She participates in a lot of food completions (like eating all 5 crabs that are in the game), but her favorites are the ones with spicy food. She and Serval were the ones with the biggest rivalry in a spice tolerance competition.

Serval

When she and her siblings first moved into the Underworld, they could only afford a one-bedroom apartment. She and Lynx shared the bedroom and Gepard slept in the living room. Soon, after Cocolia formed Wildfire, Serval go the opportunity to move. Now, she lives with Cocolia in a four-bedroom apartment, one for her and Cocolia, two bedrooms for Lynx and Bronya and the last one for Gepard.

While she is part of Wildfire, she also has her own "workshop" which is just her "experimentations" on automatons. She wants to create truly sturdy ones that can handle the fragmentum so that people don't have to risk their lives (and to also win in automaton fights shhh!!!!!).

While she doesn't like Svarog, she still helps him fix up a few things here and there, although she doesn't approve of the way they run their part of the Underworld she understands that he is an important ally. Plus, she gets access to better tools/materials.

She is still the lead singer/guitarist in Mechanical Fever. Most of her songs are about hope and a brighter future, it's her way of helping uplift the people of the Underworld. She is the most popular artist in the Underworld because of this.

When Sampo first arrived to the Underworld, she asked him about Gepard. More specifically, how he's been, if Sampo knows anything about him (whereabouts, health and the like). While he answered her questions, she asked if he could bring Gepard down, but he said "not yet". He did give her other reasons as well, but the "not yet" stuck with her.

Whenever Bronya and her go for patrols or missions together, they just talk. Like, they do get the work down, but they have insanely good coordination skills and synergy together that it's a breeze for them so it works more as a bonding moment rather than work.

The one taking care of most plants in the Underworld is Serval because they remind her a lot of Gepard and his love for plant life. On especially lonely nights she imagines his reaction to seeing how much the Underworld has changed since last time he was there.

Lynx

The reason Lynx got so attached to Svarog was because he possessed a lot of knowledge about the outside world and he could answer a lot of her questions. He once even showed her a projection of how the aurora looks back in the snow plains.

Before meeting Svarog she had tried to go to the surface to, one, find Gepard and, two, to see the Overworld once more. She went pretty far, but she couldn't unlock the Furnace Core, so she had to leave before Svarog found her.

She once confided in Pela that she doesn't remember Gepard's face, that it's very blurry for her and that she feels very guilty about it. She is frustrated because she does care about him and Serval always gets a sad distant look when he's brought up, but whenever she is trying to imagine the three of the reuniting, she can't picture it.

She has tried reasoning with Svarog on multiple occasions, but the robot never changes his mind. She still hasn't lost hope whatsoever. After all, her dream, aside from reuniting with Gepard, is to visit the snow plains.

She knows basic engineering thanks to both Serval and Svarog. Although she is not very interested in it. She prefers learning about the outside world much more, but it's useful information so she doesn't argue.

Whenever she wants to get a few extra shield, she goes to the fight club to bet on Pela. If she is not participating, she follows Pela's betting advice. She almost always wins, but that's because she doesn't visit the club that often.

When she met Sampo, she had asked for pictures of the snow plains, since she learned he fights the fragmentum there. He obliged and now she has a whole pin board dedicated to those pictures in her room.

Hook and Clara

The two of them are a very big deal in their school. They brag that THE Captain of the Silvermane Guards has them as "assistants". At first, the other kids didn't believe them when Hook said that they work for Sampo until he comes pick them up from school one day (Fersman was busy).

While the two of them have their separate bedrooms, every night they have "sleepovers" which is basically them sleeping together in each other's bedrooms. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays they sleep in Hook's room and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays they sleep in Clara's room. On Sundays they play rock paper scissors to decide where the sleepover will be.

Seele had to explain to them on multiple occasions that they are not official Silvermane Guards. Hook refuses to listen and Clara is just confused. Both insist that they are cause "uncle Sampo told us we are under his command!!!!!!!!! You're just jealous your boss isn't as cool as ours!!!!!"

While they get a lot out of following Sampo's orders, they are still not allowed in the restricted zone. They don't get it, and Sampo dances around the issue, ordering them to do things outside it like bringing lunch to Luka or something.

Both of them are really scared of Natasha. They've seen her once or twice in public appearances and whenever they bumped into her in Qlipoth Fort, and while at first she seems nice, something about her scares them. Most of the time whenever they see her they run to hide either behind Sampo or Fersman or Luka.

Once, Sampo had an infiltration mission but Hook and Clara kept wanting to hang out with them. Sampo noticed Gepard in his terrible disguise and told them to follow him. They ended up pestering Gepard all day instead.

Anytime there's a disagreement between them they solve it with a game of rock paper scissors. Even when doing homework. If one of them got a 7 as an answer while the other got a 100 they play rock paper scissors and list the answer as whatever the winner got.

[sorrinslays]

Gepard-Sampo confrontation

Roleswap AU

Gepard is running. That, in it of itself, is not rare. He's used to running. Either from people he stole from or the Silvermane Guards. Sampo Koski, the Captain of the Silvermane Guards, is chasing him. That isn't unusual either.

What is unusual, is that the blonde is panting and struggling to keep going. That is strange. For whatever reason, the Captain is much more determined to catch him. They've been running around for almost six hours with no breaks and, from the looks of it, the blue-haired man can keep going for at least another hour.

That is Unusual. Capital U.

Usually, after an hour or two, Sampo loses him in a chase. Or he gets distracted by other matters. Not today though.

And it's making the thief wonder, what the hell did he do for the Captain to be on his ass this ferociously?! Did he pickpocket from a friend of his? No, that can't be right. Gepard is always mindful to avoid messing with soldiers or any acquaintances of Sampo's. Did he offend the little girls that hover around Sampo at some point? They did come to him the other day asking to play...

Shit, is the Captain hunting him down like some kind of prey because he refused to play hide and seek with them?!?!

This is bad. He's going to get arrested after ten years because he refused to play hide and seek with some toddlers. Is this really how Gepard Landau's story ends?

Too lost in his thoughts, the thief trips, resulting in a crash on the pavement. He can hear playful whistling behind him and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who's humming a tune. "Well hello there Geppie!" a very aggravating voice calls out, chuckling.

Groaning, the blonde gets up, a frown on his face and his ears red. He doesn't grace the Captain with a response as he continues trying to even out his breathing.

"Aw, not even a hello?" this grown ass man fucking pouts, batting his eyelashes and making embarrassing faces. Yet, he's not making any attempts to arrest the thief. Why?

"You're not arresting me," Gepard points out, earning a raised eyebrow.

"Excellent deduction skills Geppie," the jade-eyed man chuckles, "could've mistaken you for a Silvermane."

Ignoring the other's comments, "why?" the thief asks simply.

"Straight to business, eh?" the Captain smiles, "I can work with that," he starts walking towards the other, "I have a deal for you, dearest Landau. One that I think you simply cannot refuse."

The blue-eyed man frowns at that. "Why would the Captain of the Silvermane Guards want to make a deal with someone like me?" he asks.

Sampo tilts his head at that, walking even closer. It feels as though he's circling his prey. "You know the newcomers?" he asks. "What are the names again...?" he hums in thought, clicking his tongue. "May 11th? Dan Feng?"

"March 7th, Dan Heng and the Trailblazer," the blonde answers. "What about them?"

"The supreme guardian just assigned them as criminals," the Captain comments. He keeps his eyes on Gepard, as if waiting for a specific reaction.

"Criminals?" the thief repeats, "why?" he asks. They seemed like good people...

"She accused the three of plotting against her," the jade-eyed man shrugs.

His choice of words is weird. Sampo is smart, especially with words. So there must be a reason behind this odd phrasing. "Why are you telling me all this?" the blue-eyed man asks.

Whatever reaction the Captain was looking for, he must've found it, because he smiles wide, all teeth. "Seele is sent to arrest them tomorrow first thing in the morning," he says, "they are gonna ambush them outside the hotel they are staying at right this second."

Gepard's frown gets deeper as he asks once more, "this is interesting and all, but, again, why are you telling me all this?"

"I need you to take them to the Underworld," the Captain says bluntly.

What.

"What?" the thief asks, "I don't know if you know, but the Underground has been sealed for ten years."

"And that's where my end of the deal comes into play!" Sampo beams, "I'll show you a secret passage to enter the Underworld, without anyone knowing, and in return I need you to guide those three in the Underworld!"

To say Gepard is stunned would be an understatement. "...Secret passage?" he asks with a shaky voice. Those exist? All this time, he could've sneaked off to find his sisters again?

"Yup!" the jade-eyed man popes the 'p'. "Got a couple of those," he answers, "and I'm willing to share one of them. Let's call it an, ah, secret. Just between us, okay, Gep?"

The thief feels tears build up, his vision slightly blurry. It's so overwhelming. He'll be able to see his sisters again. After ten years. All thanks to a guy that is supposed to be arresting him.

"Aw," the other man coos, "don't cry Geppie," he smiles sweetly as he wipes again the tears with his thumbs. All while avoiding touching Gepard as much as possible. "What do ya say?" he asks.

"You've got yourself a deal," the tears are replaced by a look of determination.

Sampo's smile widened, like a cat that caught the canary.

After the "meeting" with the Captain yesterday, Gepard found himself near Goethe Hotel, hiding in one of the numerous alley ways. He is peaking at the main street while the other man is leaning against the wall with a cigarette in his hands, smiling lazily.

"Why are we sitting here?" the blue-eyed man asks, "shouldn't we go and get them before the guards do?"

"And risk being seen with them?" the jade-eyed man raises an eyebrow, "there's no way we can sneak past the guards right now, not to mention the normal folks that are hanging out there."

Frowning, the thief huffs, "then are we doing here?" he eyes the other, who takes a drag out his cigarette. "What's your plan?"

Sampo just smiles, walking over to the other. "We're here," he pauses for a moment for dramatic effect, "to wait for a scene."

Gepard's frown deepens, "what do you-"

The Captain cuts him off, "there it is," he narrows his eyes at the sight just outside the alleyway.

Turning his gaze to where Sampo is looking, he is met with a surprising scene. There, the trailblazers are being led to Qlipoth Fort by some guards. Seele, the commander of the Silvermane Guards, is behind them in the distance. Next to her is Luka, the Intellegence Officer of the Silvermane Guards.

"We should help them," the thief turns back towards the other.

"Not yet," the Captain hums. As he says that, the grey-haired outsider hits one of the guards with their bat before all three of them turn to an alley that is full of fragmentum.

Gepard is about to say something, urge the other to help the outsiders. The jade-eyed man beats him to it, saying, "let's go."

The duo keeps up with the outsiders, making sure to stay hidden from the guards. Soon, Seele separates from the other soldiers and finds the trailblazers.

The commander attacks the outsiders, and the thief turns towards the Captain, "they aren't going to win this," he states, "we need to do something, now."

Sampo's eyes narrow and he takes something out of his pocket. Is that...?

"Is this a bomb?!" the blue-eyed man whisper-yells, "what are you thinking?!"

The jade-eyed man just chuckles, ignoring the other as he lights three small bombs and sends them towards the heated battle.

Immediately, smoke erupts, and a small part of Gepard's mind sighs in relief. The others are coughing and covering their faces as the Captain casually enters the smoke-filled area, completely unaffected.

"I apologize for the interruption!" Sampo says, no hint of struggling to take a breath like the others around him. "But Sampo is not one to turn his back to friends in need. I say what I mean and I mean what I say."

Just as he finishes his little speech, the Trailblazer, the last one conscious, passes out and slowly the smoke dispenses. When the cost is clear, Gepard walks over to the Captain, seeing him pick up Dan Heng and Seele.

As the thief watches Sampo work, an uncomfortable feeling creeps up his spine. He can outrun Gepard and he had smoke bombs with sleeping gas for Qlipoth's sake! For the better part of a decade, he could catch the thief anytime and he just. Chose not to.

Too lost in thought, he didn't noticing the jade-eyed man walk over to him. He jolts violently when he hears the other's voice again, "come on, pretty boy, pick up the other two for me."

Dumbly, the blue-eyed man nods, doing as told. Before he realizes something. "You're taking the commander too?!" he asks, a panicked expression on his face.

"Yup!" Sampo says, popping the 'p' as he starts walking away. Hurrying to catch up with him, Gepard holds the trailblazer and March 7th tighter. "She deserves a change of scenery, don't ya think?"

The thief remains silent, following the other as they pass through never ending alleyways, avoiding all guards. Soon, they are in some sort of tunnel, opened by a manhole cover. And while he knows that he should be paying attention to his surroundings, the blonde can't help but try and make sense of the other's 'plan'.

The Underworld was pretty underprivileged, especially compared to the Overworld. He and his siblings came to realize that when they moved there for the sake of cheaper rent. And, technically speaking, Seele has never really seen the Underworld.

So the jade-eyed man taking the commander there while also saving the criminals from the law does make sense. But what then? Best case scenario Seele manages to go back up and everything goes back to normal and worst case she never gets back and a new commander is selected.

So, again, what is the bluenette's plan? And also why is he actively helping criminals (including Gepard)?

"Ask away," the Captain suddenly says, jolting the other right out of his thoughts.

"What?" the thief frowns, readjusting his hold on the two people he's holding. They take a left turn, he notes.

Sampo chuckles, "you're not good at hiding your thoughts Geppie," he teases, "I can practically hear your thoughts."

Glancing at the man who is walking a few steps ahead, Gepard shakes his head and starts walking a bit faster. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm doing a lot of things right now, Gep," the jade-eyed man smiles, "ya gotta be more specific."

The blonde can't help but frown more, "you know what I mean," he weakly defends, "why are you helping them? And why did you bring Seele with you?" after a small pause, he decides to ask, "why are you helping me?"

The bluenette shrugs at that, "they're not bad people," he states, "and while in the past I might've listened to Natasha no questions asked, her recent orders are..." he hums in thought before shaking his head. "Either way, this one has been staring at the moon so much she has missed the butterflies, don't you think?" he asks, pointing with his head towards the unconscious Seele.

"You are making zero sense right now, just so you know," the blue-eyed man informs the other, "I genuinely don't know how your guards tolerate or even understand you."

The Captain just laughs once more, "where's the fun in making sense?" he asks, although it's obvious he isn't expecting an answer. "As for you," he shifts the topic, "I wouldn't say I'm helping you as much as I'm making profit, you know? You can do what I need you to and I have something you want. A fair deal, really."

Frown deepening, the thief speaks once more. "But what's your plan after this?" he asks, "what is the purpose behind all of this? Do you even have a plan?"

"Would you look at that!" Sampo exclaims, "we're here!" he smiles, "now, just head to Cocolia's clinic, I'm sure you know her, her new clinic is in the center of Boulder Town, a man named Peak is gonna come and help you," he explains, setting Seele and the Trailblazer down, "now I gotta run before Natasha looks for me! Bye Geppie, good luck!" he blows a kiss as he leaves.

Needless to say Gepard is very confused.

[sorrinslays]

At this point I'm debating if I should start a fanfic about my Belobog Roleswap AU

[sorrinslays]

Your wish is my command, my friend!

So, this is in reference to my a follow up post about my Belobog Roleswap AU. Initially, I wanted to swap only the Belobog cast cause those are the characters I'm the most familiar with. This post is not canon to the AU, this is a small "what if" and how it would happen realistically. This Roleswap follows the rules of the original, so no personality changes and no backstory changes (expect necessary ones for the sake of a cohesive narrative). The only one who is not getting roleswapped is the Trailblazer since the plot kind of relies on them being with the express.

So here are the roleswaps!

Himeko <--> Kafka

Welt <--> Silver Wolf

Dan Heng <--> Yingxing (Blade)

March 7th <--> Firefly

The way I see it, the only way for this Roleswap to happen realistically is for the Astral Express to be abandoned in Kafka's planet instead of Himeko's. So Kafka fixed it up and set sail, looking for something that will make her feel fear or, in general, intense emotions.

On her way, she meets Yingxing. She helps him with his mara and offers him a place in the express and he accepts. He goes through a lot of self reflection, going through the "I want to kill Dan Feng and all his reincarnations" to a more chill "I want closure so let me sail the Express and maybe I'll see him. And, maybe, I'll find a way to finally die". He's not sure how he's going to react to seeing Dan Feng, but he does know he wants to see him at some point.

As the two continue travelling, they see Firefly floating in space. They decide to save her and invite her to board the express. Having nothing else, she agrees. Now, she travels in hopes of finding a cure to her illness and to live her life as Firefly, not as SAM, another weapon of war.

They met Silverwolf when they visited Punklord. She decides to board the Express just to because, she doesn't have a clear goal in mind. She just wishes to explore the universe for videogames and entertainment reasons.

Since Himeko never got the chance to board the Express, she ended up meeting Elio first. Due to that, she becomes a Stellaron Hunter. I'm not sure what her ideal future is, so the most crackhead idea I can come up with is her wanting to become the "next Akivili" so that she can explore the universe without any issue. (I legit have no idea what her wish for her future could be. Navigator of the Express feels like the perfect role for her. Himeko fans, I'll leave this up to you).

The first recruit after Himeko is Welt. He joins with the hopes that Ellio can bring him back home. His ideal future is one where no one will ever struggle with finding their way back home.

Later, Dan Heng comes along. He joins the Stellaron Hunters because he lacked other options. The "perfect future" for him is one where Vidyadhara don't reincarnate but reproduce normally and the memory of Dan Feng is gone, so that he is seen as his own person.

They find March 7th floating around in her giant ice cube. They rescue her and offer a place in the Stellaron Hunters. She, like Dan Heng, accepts cause of the lack of other options. Her ideal future is one where not only she remembers everything, but where nobody would ever suffer from loss of memories.

The game starts the same way with the Trailblazer and the Stellaron being inserted into their body.