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shoezuki · 2 months

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Sampo has taken him to dozens of planets at this point, massive ships the size of celestial bodies and burnt out stars that have turned lush with discolored plant life over billions of years. Massive, writhing metropolitans and quaint, warm planets with people who gawked at their appearance. He's seen massive astral leviathans' open maws that span galaxies and ingest stars, phantom ships made of wood and bone slice through shimmering fogs. Planets composed of intertwined living beings, made of twisting and layered plant matter, places where the stars speak low sharp words and dance over his closed eyelids and make him dizzy.

But he hasn't take Gepard to his home planet.

Gepard assumed it was inevitable; he had known a while before Sampo had taken him off Jarilo-IV that Sampo wasn't from Belobog. He'd suspected it but been unsure long before Sampo mended him back to health. It was a partially spoken truth now, while Sampo divulged more information about every aspect of the universe to him.

"When are we going to your home planet?" Gepard had asked, openly, one night they spent on a waterlogged planet with specks of land, watching as the ocean jumped up and strange aquatic creatures swam through thick air.

Sampo had scoffed, Gepard watching him stand and look out over the horizon with his arms crossed. "My home planet? Please, no need to go to that lump of rock! Trust me, it's the worst planet out here. I've walked on gas giants and burning sun's that were better than that place."

"You came from it," Gepard said softly, maybe thinking Sampo would understand why there's something clinging on the inner walls of his heart that make him want to see where Sampo came from so bad. "It can't be that horrible then, right?"

Sampo doesn't speak, but he shakes his head. "Do you wanna go out? Do you think we could swim in the water... sky... thing?" He grins and Gepard let's him change the topic, content to follow Sampo.

He doesn't talk about his planet without Gepard pushing him. He doesn't talk much of anything about where he came from, how he grew up, why he apparently spent years jumping across planets long before he ended up in Belobog. Gepard asks, sometimes, when he feels maybe he can coax a response from Sampo. But he always deflects, gives vague or contradictory answers, or only responds with tame non-answers.

Sampo acts as usual; he talks constantly, about little things or memories or stuff he wants to show Gepard. When he's not talking, he's humming, tapping his fingers against the glass control panels of the ship, kicking his foot absentmindedly against his chair with a constant metallic thunkthunkthunkthunk. He always grins wide when he looks at Gepard, sometimes grabbing Gepard by his face and pressing kisses against every inch of skin so rapidly it's almost overwhelming.

Sampo talks to Gepard when he thinks he's asleep. Gepard, every time, pretends not to listen.

"I don't want to take you back."

Their bed is small, more like a cot made for one person. Gepard had offered it to Sampo the first time they'd investigated their stolen ship but Sampo had just laughed and pulled Gepard to lay with him. Every night Sampo holds Gepard, arms locked around him and keeping his head pressed to Sampo's chest, or his own body weight draped over Gepard like a weighted blanket.

Right now, he hooks his chin over Gepard's shoulder, running fingers through his blonde hair, one hand over his side. Sampo's hand ghosts over his ribs, burning through Gepard's shirt, directly over the rough, newly healed scar.

He's quiet, so painfully quiet, and gentle, with his touch faint and entirely for Sampo's own gain. Gepard nearly drifted off, but now he keeps his eyes closed, his breathing soft, hoping Sampo doesn't feel how his heart jumps when Sampo brushes a finger over the shell of his ear.

"I don't want to take you back," he repeats softly, his words dark and low with the confession, "I'd keep you in this... stupid little ship, in the stars with me forever. If I could. If you wanted. Only if you wanted."

Gepard does want it: to keep waking up to nothing but stars and Sampo's sleeping face or exhausted grin; to listen to Sampo drawl on about all the stars and planets and strange celestial lifeforms they pass with knowledge that feels bigger than Sampo himself; to be dragged from planet to planet, Sampo's hand searing new marks into his own palm and finger prints, his excitement electric and tangible.

Gepard does, deep down, want it. He wants Sampo to himself, too. To give himself entirely to Sampo. But a part of him will always be in Belebog. They both know it.

Sampo is quiet, the next morning. More than quiet--he's subdued, faraway, as if locked inside himself. Even when Sampo isn't speaking he's loud, his presence always drawing and begging for Gepard's attention. Now he seems small, curled in on himself in the piloting seat.

"Sampo?" It feels rude, wrong to break the silence with his own voice, but Gepard does. "Are you okay?" Sampo turns his head, barely, to look at Gepard where he stands against the wall. He shoots him just a smile, but says nothing. It makes more concern coil and simmer deep in his gut.

Gepard has no clue where they are now, in the vast impossibility of space. The universe is foreign to him, but Sampo treats it like an old friend, like he knows it intimately. Gepard has let Sampo take the reigns, guide them to wherever he wants to go. It had stressed him out, at first, the lack of knowing, the unfamiliarity of new worlds. But now more than ever, he's content just being with Sampo. He'd go with him anywhere.

Where they are now, though, feels different. The outside space is dark, swirling celestial bodies of black and grey and bloody reds and browns the colour of bruises. The terrain is made up of fragments of comets, rocks, shattered formations and debris. The debris varies from collections of dust to meteors larger than their ship, jagged and broken apart like Qlipoth had shattered them open with his hammer. Gepard sees the metallic glint of wrecked ships, metal shards embedded in rock and flayed among it all.

He hates this place. Gepard doesn't know if it's him, or if it's some sort of cosmic effect, but there's a heaviness pressing on him. Maybe it's something real, tangible, or maybe it's the way Sampo navigates the wreckages and meteors with a stiff ease in his shoulders.

Gepard walks up to him, quiet behind him. He wants to touch Sampo, feel the heat of him against his palms, but for some reason he feels like he can't. Instead he places his hands on the back of Sampo's seat, his fingers barely brushing against Sampo's back.

"Sampo, are you okay? If... if something is the matter, you can tell me--"

"What d'ya think?"

Gepard blinks, finding himself shocked by the weight of Sampo's gaze suddenly on him. His eyes always have a dull quality to them, the shine underneath his pupils gone save for when Gepard whispers against his skin or presses his lips across his face. Now, though, his eyes are dark, all consuming. They absorb the light and snuff it out, making the small ship feel cold. "I... what?"

"This place," Sampo hums, turning back to focus on navigating. His smile is a practised, stiff line. "It's lovely, isn't it? Or do you find it creepy? Messy? I mean, it's a lot of destruction. There's a good reason no one but ol' Sampo comes around here anymore."

Gepard frowns, feeling like Sampo's having a conversation he's not a part of. "What do you mean? What is this place?"

"There used to be a planet," he pauses, making a noise in the back of his throat, "actually, a few planets. Small ones. They'd been under the IPC's control for a looonnng time. Until they abandoned 'em after clearing all the minerals out and leaving the planets hollow."

His mouth is dry, his fingers digging into the back of Sampo's seat harshly. Sampo's voice is light, conversational, like he's explaining one of the allegedly 'boring and lame' planets they'd passed before. "The planets were basically just rocks, before the IPC made them into mining projects and shipped a bunch of people to work away there. They left the workers when the mines dried up.

"Rivet Town looks almost exactly like the mining planets did, back then." He clicks his tongue, shaking his head slightly. "The people who'd scrounged up enough money took off, taking everything they could with them. Mine supervisors left behind their working families and their kids and went back with the IPC while the planets starved slowly."

The ship slows, between asteroids and at the edge of a vast, whirling expanse of debris. It swirls around out and around a burning, black body of... of something, within the center of a shattered planet light years away from them. Gepard stares, and the sight of it burns into his eyes.

"D'you know how Masked Fools recruit people?" Sampo says it with a giggle, not waiting for a response. "Sometimes they just whisk kids away from happy families before they can remember anything. Sometimes people go to the taverns themselves and try and choke down the drinks, but that's not often. Most often, though, the Fools find hopeless, little planets and whisk away orphans seconds before... boom! Planet gone! You never forget the popping noise a collapsing, imploding planet makes."

He cackles, laughter loud and echoing off the metal walls. Gepard's hands are shaking, staring out into the ruined abyss, the remnants of planets and lives and a past Gepard can never, ever see or understand. His eyes burn and his heart aches.

Gepard lunges forward, pressing himself harshly against the chair as he wraps his arms around Sampo. He circles his chest and presses his face into the curve of his neck, holding him so tightly as if Gepard is trying to squeeze Sampo into his very being. Sampo's laughter becomes broken, wet and frantic when Gepard holds him tightly. He shakes under Gepard's tight grip, the shine of tears of Sampo's face as he continues to stare into ruined space. Sampo bites his lip, hard, to stifle himself.

"Come home," Gepard exhales, pressing his words into Sampo's skin, "come home with me. After-- after all this. I don't care how long we're out here or where else we go but please. Please come home with me. I'll copy the key to my apartment. I have enough room in my closet for you. We can--I can buy you wigs and dresses and whatever the fuck you want. Anything."

"Why?" It's a whisper, barely a question. Sampo lifts his hand and grasps the forearm pressed over his chest. "Why?"

"Because Natasha probably still needs your help, and Seele will gut me if you don't return, and Hook without a doubt misses you, and Serval pretends she hates you but still asks me how you are when you text me, and I'm in love with you." He sucks in a breath; saying it always makes him feel airy, lightheaded. "I'm in love with you, and I want you there. Why else?"

There's silence for some moments too long, Sampo still shaky in Gepard's grip. He starts to worry that he's suffocating, that it's too much, but when he tries to pull away Sampo grabs his arms and holds them there, stopping him from moving.

"... but my criminal record's gone," Sampo whines, the faintest bit of humour in his voice. He tilts his head back, eyes still red rimmed when he looks up at Gepard with a searching smile. Gepard, having spent so long with him at this point, knows what he's really saying.

"I'm sure you'll record will be as long as it was before in no time." Gepard grumbles, wrinkling his nose and letting his conflicted feelings into his tone. But he lets it drop away with a sigh, shaking his head and feeling fond. "... as long as you try not to give my Guards too much grief, Koski."

Sampo doesn't say anything, but when he smiles and laughs, when he pokes into Gepard's cheek and says that the Silvermane Captain better not go soft on him, his eyes are shining.

#sampard #honkai star rail #sampo koski #gepard landau #in the bones #this mini fic has been half done in my drafts n i been unsure on finishing it cuz its quite. obvious. how this relates to other. stuff #but i want to write more minifics of these idiots going around the universe n shit #anyways i hc that sampo became so fond of jarilo and belobog cuz he had a childhood a lot like the kids in the underworld #before he became a fool

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foxspritez · 9 months

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i can only draw on my phone atm i can’t be bothered to try any harder on this

#based on another fic i read #part two??? if im still motivated by the time i get another stylus #i was too lazy to find pose refs my anatomy is so off omg #sampard #sampo x gepard #gepard x sampo #honkai star rail

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feroluce · 29 days

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Lucid Dreamer (1/2)

part 2

Gepard notices that it's been. Quiet lately. Like weirdly quiet. TOO quiet. He hasn't seen Sampo Koski in almost a week, which is about the longest he's ever been absent. And he is NOT worried. He's not! So what if they've been getting along more lately! So what if Gepard sometimes looks for him in his favorite hiding places! So what if he's been dreaming about blue hair and green eyes! It's nothing!!

But they're….strange, these dreams. Gepard doesn't usually remember what he's dreamt. It's out of his mind seconds within waking up. But these stick with him, they won't leave him be, they feel different somehow.

He dreams of Sampo bringing food to the frontlines and eating breakfast in his tent with him. Sampo always sneaks him extras. He dreams of chasing Sampo through the alleyways, Sampo sometimes letting himself be caught, Gepard sometimes catching him, and trying to ignore how it feels more like a game now more than anything else. He even dreams that Sampo tags along with him on one of his few civilian days. Sampo runs errands with him, prattles about inane bullshit while Gepard picks out groceries for the week, drags Gepard into some bakery he's never been to but he thinks Serval mentioned once.

And sometimes, it feels so close to reality, that Gepard half expects to see Sampo, shamelessly swaggering into the frontlines with all the guards' breakfast like his wanted poster wasn't only recently taken off the walls of Belobog. He's disappointed when it's always someone else instead. He tells himself his disappointment is ridiculous and if Sampo wants to go prowl around the Snow Plains or wherever he is, then fine. It's not any of his business.

…But it IS his job to investigate any unusual criminal activity relating to the frontlines. And the frontlines are Sampo's usual haunting grounds, and this is unusual activity, and Sampo IS technically a criminal, so it is absolutely part of his duty to look into this - is what Gepard tells himself the entire tram ride down into the Underground.

Natasha tells him he's gone, and Gepard has to steel himself. He knew Sampo made enemies wherever he went, there are a lot of people who would love his head on a platter, but he didn't think-

Natasha corrects him that she means literally gone. As in off-planet. Sampo always leaves her a note before he goes anywhere, so she knows not to expect any supply runs from him. He should be back in exactly two weeks. Thank the Preservation.

Gepard goes back home. He waits.

The uneasiness doesn't leave him.

"Where did you go?" Sampo stops dead in the middle of some story about Seele, and how you'd think someone with as blunt a mouth as her wouldn't have so much trouble asking a woman out, even if that woman IS the Supreme Guardian, and stares at him. He nearly fumbles his cigarette.

"Ahaha, what do you mean, I'm right here?" Sampo smiles at him the same way he always does. Gepard has no idea why he asked. It just popped out. He can never tell when Sampo is lying, anyway.

"I don't know. I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time." Gepard idly mouths at his own cigarette. He almost never smokes, but he wants to ration their stocks of Blizzard Immunity, and it helps with the cold. It's seemed colder lately, for some reason.

Gepard flicks his lighter once, twice, sighs at the third time because a metal prosthetic and thick gloves make the damn things so difficult. Sampo reaches over and wordlessly kisses the end of his cigarette to Gepard's, lighting it. "Thank you."

Nothing happens for almost a full 30 seconds. Something churns behind Gepard's ribcage. Because Sampo never leaves a "thank you" hanging. This is the part where he gives his spiel about how helpful and kind he is and Gepard either brings up how long his rap sheet was before Bronya helped clear his name, or just stares deadpan because seeing Sampo squirm is weirdly satisfying.

"…I'll be back in one more week."

Gepard jolts awake in his cot, mouth dry and eyes bleary.

The hell.

The next dream he has, Sampo looks tired. Sometimes he seems normal. Sometimes he says strange things, like how he wishes he'd gone to some restaurant in Belobog. Ate his favorite food more recently. Brought something with him. Gepard asks why he can't do that now. Where would he bring something? Sampo only shrugs. His rebuttals have less energy.

Gepard doesn't know if he wants to dream more, or less.

He ticks down the days on his calendar. Natasha hasn't told him any different. She promised she would if she got any kind of message. Sampo returns tomorrow, from whatever vacation or seedy business dealings he's been off having. He is not excited about it. He is not looking forward to it. He's not!!

Gepard falls asleep late that night, unable to settle. He dreams again.

He's alone. There are tons of people everywhere, the frontlines are always crowded. But he's alone. They all pass right by him as though he were a ghost. Gepard starts to walk before he realizes his feet are even moving.

He checks the trashcans in the dead end alley. He checks the supply crates that someone always stacks too high because they don't feel like finding more space for them. He pauses to check the soldiers that march past him, watching their footprints in the snow.

He finally finds Sampo on the rooftop along the northernmost wall, the one that looks out over the plains, towards Everwinter Hill, towards where the Stellaron had once been kept. With a full moon and an entire land of white snow, Gepard can almost see clear out to the horizon.

"Found you." Sampo stiffens, and Gepard is almost prepared for him to sprint off the roof. He doesn't. But he doesn't relax either. Gepard sits down next to him and stares out at the wastelands.

"…I fucked up." It wasn't what Gepard had been expecting. Sampo never 'fucks up,' Sampo just gets into incidents that are entirely, supposedly, not his fault and that he just happens to always be within the vicinity of.

"What did you do now?" It must be really bad if Sampo is coming to the Silvermanes for protection.

Instead, Sampo ignores his question completely. "See out over there? Right on the other side of that mountain. There's a safe house that way. It's hidden under a lot of snow and dead trees, but it's there. And in that safe house is a box full of letters. I need you to deliver those letters for me."

Gepard's brow furrows. It's a weird favor to ask. Sampo would never tell anyone where his hidden safehouses were. It defeated the whole purpose of a hidden safe house.

Something is wrong, something is really really wrong.

Gepard turns back to look at him again and startles, all of his questions dying in his throat, because the entire left side of Sampo's head is suddenly matted down, dark and sticky, his skin is dyed red red red-

"In three more months, there's gonna be something big happening." Gepard grabs Sampo's hand and it feels slick and warm against his palm. "I won't be here. So I need you to do my end of things for me." Gepard tries to keep hold, but something is fading, something is slowing, the sun is coming up but the colors are all wrong, everything feels like encroaching fog, Sampo's hand slides right through his. "I was gonna come back with my mask to finish setting the stage, but…" Gepard makes a frantic grab for Sampo's wrist, the air twists, he comes back empty-handed. "They have you. And you're the Iron Wall of Belobog. So it'll be ok."

Gepard finally manages to find his grip, snatches the front of Sampo's dark wet jacket and yanks him forward to hold onto him, and this close up, he can see it better, his colors are bleaching out, leaking outside the lines as if Sampo will become part of the background, as if he's fading into the strange fog that's been closing in on them. His fingers are already starting to feel empty again.

"Wake up."

Gepard jolts awake, uncurls his hands from where they're fisted in the blanket, scrubs the dampness off his face. Breathes. Breathes. Breathes. Today is supposed to be the day.

He throws on his civilian clothes, and he goes down to the shipyard the IPC had built. He finds a spot where he can see every person that returns to Belobog, and he waits.

And he waits and he waits and he waits.

No one he recognizes appears.

#sampard #gepo #hsr gepard #hsr sampo #gepard landau #sampo koski #honkai star rail #hsr #blood #my fics #lucid dreamer #there was more to this but it didn't feel right included here so part 2 tomorrow maybe?#I just think Penacony being the land of dreams presents some FASCINATING possibilities like showing up in other people's dreams #the end of masquerade duet killed me just beat me dead #Sampo going through all this trouble just to protect Belobog...#poor Ray got such an earful that night haha #In the Penacony dreamscape someone can change their appearance however they want but I think in this case where one of the dreamers AREN'T-#-on Penacony it would take more concentration to keep that illusion up #and if someone were say. hurt and badly bleeding. it would start to fall apart eventually as they lost their concentration.#but oh my heart #Sampo being away and missing Belobog so badly he shows up in his friends' dreams just to do the same mundane shit they always do...#He probably showed up to everyone #he sat around and kept Natasha company in her clinic. he pestered Seele until he provoked her into asking Bronya on a date.#he played one last song with Pela and Serval. he told them he'd always kept his old bass guitar.#he took Hook out on one last joyride on his scooter and he even let her sit up front and steer like she'd always wanted.#and he stood around to shoot the shit with Gepard #he got to go do things like run domestic errands together with him. as if they could have been something more than what they were at the en #it was nice to get the chance to do all that #it was nice

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ducotte-real · 23 days

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Ok so AO3 user Eggio's Sampard Divinity AU fic series has me going Bananas mhm mhm so i had to scribble or I'd combust (EDIT: AND THEY HAVE A TUMBLR @/SHOEZUKI OOOOHHHH IM GONNA DOUBLE COMBUST)

#sampo koski #gepard landau #hsr sampard #honkai star rail #honkai star rail art #hsr fanart #OMGOMOMGOGMOGOMGMGMG #god the way this person writes is such good prose #the description for Aha and Nous in one part of the fic is SO good #like these inhuman fellas are conceptual the way any god is! hell fuckin yea!!!!!!!

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lovelynim · 11 months

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The One That Got Away

Honkai: Star Rail - Sampo x Gepard

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY @fresh-thomato!!!! I couldn't refuse such a request from my biggest supporter, huehuehue. You are one of the best people I met in this site and I really hope you like this!

It's already june 15th in Brazil, so I don't want to waste a single second before giving you your gift hehehe

Happy birthday, my dear, hope you have lots of good moments and may all yours dreams come true!

Summary: Gepard needs to catch some sly mercenary, but things go completely out of hand.

Word count: 1865 words

Gepard massaged the side of his head with two fingers while he listened to his soldiers’ report about their current mission. He needed to remain calm, focused and, above all that, come up with a proper plan to catch that damned mercenary that has been causing all kinds of trouble to the silvermane guards lately.

“That’s all, sir,” the soldier said out loud before taking a step back to align with the rest of the group’s formation. Gepard nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he took a deep breath.

“Based on the reports, we know the target is somewhere inside the Administrative District. We need to act fast to cover the largest area as fast as possible,” the captain started, looking to his men as he continued to explain the plan he had just come up with, “splitting up seems like the best course of action under these conditions. Let’s divide our group into pairs and start searching.”

“B-but captain, sir,” one of his soldiers interrupted, “we are in 7, someone will end up alone.”

“And that will be me,” Gepard said, with a serious look on his face, “I’m more than enough to deal with some mercenary, so don’t worry about me.”

The rest of his men nodded, paying attention to their captain’s commands as he designated each pair to a different region while taking a different part of the city for himself. With the unit dispatched, Gepard started his patrolling.

Sampo Koski could play the fool as much as he wanted, but Gepard knew what the mercenary was capable of. After all, he wouldn’t have made this far if he didn’t. Truth to be told, the captain couldn’t help but to recognize how… good he was at this.

Crossing both the upper and the underworld, going through all kinds of security measures for his services… Sampo was a real headache. And that was exactly why Gepard felt like he should take the matter into his own hands.

Inspecting one alley after the other, the silvermane guard kept walking towards the edges of the city, already starting to wonder if his men had any more luck than him in finding the criminal.

Empty… empty… empty… where was he? This whole search was starting to feel more and more like a total waste of time. Were the reports wrong all this time?

But just when Gepard was about to turn around and walk back to the center of the district, a feeling of being watched made the captain stop. As he checked the end of the alley, he could spot someone - with blue-ish hair - peeking their head to look at him.

And just as they were caught, the figure hid itself. Gepard gritted his teeth, clenching his hand into a tight fist as he started running. “Hey, you! Stop right there!” He shouted, getting to that alley as fast as he could.

As he turned around the corner, however, the captain was met with a dead end. An empty dead end, to be more precise.

“What..?” He muttered, walking inside it as he looked around, searching for any clue of where that figure might have gone. They couldn’t have simply vanished out of thin air, could they? He placed his hand on the nearby wall, dragging it along as he walked, trying to find any secret device.

“Looking for someone, captain?” Sampo muttered close to the bottom of Gepard’s ear, his warm breath sending shivers down his neck. The captain widened his eyes, completely caught off guard.

With a swift move, Gepard turned around, trying to slam his clenched hand against the mercenary’s head. Yet, thanks to his previous unawareness of Sampo’s presence, the other man could avoid the strike with ease, quickly pinning Gepard’s hand against the wall where it landed.

“You!” Gepard groaned, about to move his other hand, but freezing in the middle of his action as Sampo thrusted his blade just inches away from his head, probably as a threat, the captain supposed.

“Oh, were you looking for me?” The mercenary grinned gently, standing in front of Gepard while keeping his hand pinned. “I’m flattered, captain, you know how much I love the attention.”

A faint blush spread across the blonde’s face at the comment. It would probably have gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for how close Sampo’s face was to his. “Unhand me this instant, Sampo Koski,” the blonde roared, gritting his teeth as he tried to intimidate the other and free his hand from his grip.

“Easy there,” Sampo insisted, chuckling nervously as he looked over his shoulder, “I just need you to wait… a few minutes before my client is done, you can do that for me, right, captain?”

“You are bold to ask me to cooperate with your schemes.”

“I will take that as a compliment,” Sampo continued, checking his back every now and then, waiting for his client’s sign and looking out for any other silvermane guard.

Gepard sighed, taking his eyes up to his restrained wrist, trying to find an opening to turn the tables and arrest the mercenary once for all. Clenching his other hand, the captain waited for the right second to strike, just looking for an opening in the mercenary’s guard…

“This guy is sure taking his tim-”

As Sampo turned his head back to the silvermane guard he captured, he could catch a glimpse of an incoming punch towards his face. In the brief seconds he had to plan his reaction, all the mercenary could do was grab the first thing inside his reach and prepare for the incoming impact.

With his eyes closed shut and shoulders slightly scrunched up, he tightened his grip around Gepard’s pinned wrist and tried to block, or at least hold down, his other arm. However, he missed and ended up landing his hand against the captain’s side instead of the incoming punch, but at the very moment he touched Gepard’s body, an unexpected sound caught Sampo’s attention.

“GYAH-”

“H-huh?” Sampo opened his eyes, blinked in confusion as he looked back to Gepard, finding the captain with cheeks tainted by a pink tone from embarrassment and a crooked smile on his lips. His hand, that once was inches away from delivering a strong blow, was now tugging at his arm, trying to pry it off his body.

Looking down to his hand at the other man’s side, the mercenary squeezed the spot again, curious about that reaction.

“W-whahat are you- hnng!” Gepard choked on a giggle, trying his best to hold his reactions and push Sampo’s hand away from his body.

“Ohh…” Sampo hummed at his discovery, continuing to massage the captain’s side with enough pressure for him to feel through his thick clothing. Connecting the dots, the mercenary could only smile amused. “Who could think that tickling would protect me from captain Gepard himself?”

“S-shuhut up, you- ahAHa, s-stop this ahahalready!’ The blonde said, throwing his head back as a strangled fit of giggles left his lips, which were already cracking up into a bright, adorable smile.

“Oh, captain, I’d love to,” Sampo hummed pleased, tickling Gepard’s torso with ease, even through his attempts to block him, “but you didn’t want to collaborate when I asked you before, so it seems I need to make my request more… appealing to you, general, sir ~”

Gepard’s cheeks were getting redder and redder and laughter was managing to slip out of his mouth like a fountain. It was so… ridiculous! He tried to push the mercenary already, break free from his hold, but each stroke against his sides seemed to make him go weaker and weaker.

“AhaHAhah, enohohough!! S-Sahahampo!” Gepard giggled, unable to hold back the fit of laughter any further when the other man lowered his hand and started pinching his waist, holding it firmly while his thumb rubbed deep ticklish circles in a horrible slow motion.

Amused with the guard’s reaction, Sampo started to lower his guard as well, stopping the constant checking on how his client was doing and focusing all his attention on the giggly captain he had at his hands. “Oh, captain, sir, what a lovely way to use my name,” he teased, moving his hand around as he poked Gepard’s stomach, “it’s so different from the tone you use when you are chasing me ~”

The captain stomped his foot, trying to turn his body away from the devious hand that kept the ticklish onslaught going. Sampo definitely was crossing all the boundaries of their relationship - that shameless bastard… if only Gepard could get his hands on him.

“Y-yohohou will pahAHhay fohohor this!” He roared, but his angry facade crumbled in a matter of seconds, turning into an adorable, harmless smile.

“Oh, please, I’m not even going that hard on you, captain,” the mercenary said, leaning his face a little closer, nuzzling against Gepard’s cheeks despite the captain’s attempts to avoid him. “You are not even trying to escape anymore… Do you enjoy this kind of attention, sir? ~”

Those words made Gepard’s heart race, beating so fast that it could be heard even through the metal plates on his clothes. He gritted his teeth, turning his face away as it burned bright with embarrassment, not answering the mercenary. Of course, that also didn’t go unnoticed.

“My my, is this one of the secrets you hide behind your armors, captain?” Sampo whispered, hearing the blonde whine as he still refused to answer his questions, revealing an adorable stubbornness.

As Gepard’s laughter continued to flow freely, Sampo insisted on the topic, one question after the other, trying to get that confession from the captain. Still, he was answered with nothing but silence - well, not exactly silence since Gepard couldn’t stop giggling all the time, but - ah, you get it, right?

“Cat got your tongue, captain, sir?” Sampo mused, nuzzling the tip of his nose against Gepard’s trembling jaw line, making the guard try to scrunch up his shoulders to protect himself. “Guess I’ll have to tick-”

“Sampo!” A distant voice called for them - or, perhaps, was finally heard through the captain’s laughter. “I got it, let’s go!”

“What a shame… since timing is not on our side today, captain…” The mercenary said, kissing Gepard’s cheek before pushing himself away, letting the captain fall on his butt. “Until next time, sir.” Sampo said with a clear hint of affection in his voice, bowing as if it was some kind of curtain call.

“A-ah, stop… right there!” Gepard said, getting on his knees as he tried to get back up, “I-I’m not done with y-you!”

His empty threats, however, fell on deaf ears as the mercenary smiled, walking away before disappearing from his sight. With his heart still beating fast and cheeks tainted in red, Gepard stood up, patting his clothes to get rid of the dust and fix them. “That bastard…,” he muttered to himself, looking to the direction Sampo just went, but deciding to not follow it this time, “I guess… I could just say he got away,” he continued, slowly making his way back to the Administrative District while trying to process what in the name of Qlipoth just happened…

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail tickling #gepard landau #sampo koski #gepard x sampo #sampard #lee!gepard #ticklish!gepard #ler!sampo #happy birthday thomato <3 #love you #tickle fic

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demonwithshades · 19 days

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I truly and deeply hate it when one of my favorite characters (Sampo Koski) is only popular around fandom spaces because of the popular ship they're in (sampard) and not because of their smart, creative and heartwrenchingly deep character writing.

YES THEY ARE GAY. YEAH I OBVIOUSLY CANNOT STOP THE SHIP. YEAH I THINK IT IS WONDERFUL THAT THEY ARE QUEER AND HAPPY. BUT LET ME ENJOY MY CHARACTER WITHOUT ANY PAIRINGS PLEASE!! I WANT TO SEE JUST THEM!! HAPPY AND THRIVING ALONE!! THIS IS TOTALLY NOT BECAUSE IM AROACE AND IM PROJECTING!!!!

#mfw I looked up sampo fics on ao3 and it was all sampard.#I dont have anything personal against the ship ofc #I think its pretty cute #but I want to see JUST sampo #sampo koski #hsr sampo #I may be autistic about sampo #shipping #shipping culture

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superlazytuesday · 2 months

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sampard modern au where gepard is injured and in the hospital mistakes sampo for a doctor. suddenly he's sitting there, half-naked and this tall (handsome) guy's treating his injuries and flirting with him to a point where he considers to get better first aid kid at his home so he doesn't have to go through all of this again. and then imagine his face when natasha walks in there later and with tired and not a bit surprised face looks at sampo with "why are you playing a doctor here, sampo..."

sampo ends up running from there because even with his injuries gepard's ready to kick his ass. but when he founds a piece of paper in his pants' pocket with a number, he blushes even hours later when serval comes to check on him.

#hsr #honkai star rail #sampard #gepard x sampo #gepard landau #sampo koski #fic ideas

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windtorndagger · 10 months

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Sampard modern aus live in my head rent free - but to be fair some of them can just be canon divergent.

Okay but I REALLY want streamer au with streamer!Gepard who plays farming sims and works on his art and like it’s Belobog’s most open secret. Everyone knows that the cute little snowman on the screen watching art tutorials is the beloved Captain Gepard, but no one brings it up. At all. Everyone knows how much of his young life has been dedicated to the protection of their city so they just watch his streams and support him through that.

After the Overworld and the Underworld are reconnected, Gepard (or rather SilverShield), opens donations on his stream for the Rivet Town Orphanage, as well as the rebuilding of the Underworld as a whole. He doesn't expect much, doesn't want people to give more than they can afford, but he leaves it there.

As it turns out, he's popular in more than just Belobog.

As it turns out, he's made quite a name for himself across multiple planets and the galaxy. So donations just come rolling in.

There is however, one viewer who always makes sure they are top donor.

And that person?

Sampo.

Sampo who will literally pause mid interrogation with a customer who betrayed him because Gepard started streaming. Sampo who will change the screens in The Tavern to Gepard's streams and throw anyone out who dares try to change it. He's gotten in several fights with Fools and Actors both for attempting to bother him when he's watching Gepard's streams. (Those fights are short lived because neither group can tell if he's an Emanator of Aha or Aha themselves so they don't put up too much of a fight—especially since he can also wield IX's power too...)

Sampo who is Gepard’s boyfriend and has been for a few years now, but only recently did they make it public. Sampo who has two accounts, one in which he chats and mods (the dashing Mr.ColdFeet) and one that he just donates money with (the elusive TheLadyElation). He knows that Gepard won't take his money, even if it's honest, so he makes do with a side account.

Sometimes, when Sampo has down time (he always has time for Gepard but sometimes Gepard gets worried that if he ignores his clients they'll come after him—like they can harm him, ha!—so he doesn't do it often), he'll either appear on Gepard's chat as a cat in a trash can or he'll just sit offscreen and be a presence in the room.

Gepard likes streaming, likes to be able to work on his art and improve and hopefully inspire others to pursue their passions. He enjoys playing his farming sims because it's so different from his day to day life as a soldier. His model was gifted to him by Sampo, after the man had caught Gepard watching an offworld stream. He doesn't ask, but was happy to receive the model and to have the chance to do something he now deeply enjoys.

Now if only Serval would stop asking to be a guest on his stream. She already did his intro an outro music and he knows all she'll do is tell embarrassing stories. (And if he says yes to her then Lynx will want to join and they would just embarrass him on stream and Sampo would never let him live it down.)

#LOOK im weak for streamer aus #pls let gepard have a break #sampo like LOOK i know im weak but hes so pretty i just want to give him all my money #sampard #im sorry yall i love sampard so much i wanna cry and talk about them all day #hsr gepard #gepard landau #hsr sampo #sampo koski #it took all my effort to not make this a sugar daddy fic but i can do that later

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steflionheart · 11 months

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Fandom: Honkai Star Rail

Pairing: Sampo x Gepard

Wordcount: 2.520

tags: AU - canon divergent; Gepard chasing Sampo; Sampo being a smug fxxker; very slightly spicy (nothing graphic or anything, no actual mentions of nsfw, just some light hinting); Gepard actually being into it; Sampo being the sassy dude he is

“Stop right there, Sampo Koski! Running is futile, I will arrest you!” Sampo’s pursuer called, just a few steps behind and hot on his heels.

The blue-haired man chuckled low to himself at the fact that it was yet to be decided who would catch whom as he took the next turn leading into another abandoned alley.

He could do this for hours; walking around in circles, leading whoever was chasing after him into the darkest corners of the underground, or finding a hideout and simply waiting there until they gave up on trying to find him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done that and certainly not be the last.

And he’s been running in circles for who knows how long that day already while fooling his pursuer into thinking he actually had a chance to eventually get him. But even Sampo Koski’s patience was bound to reach its limit sooner or later, so he decided it was about time he finally lured his prey straight into his trap.

Knowing the streets of Belobog’s Underground better than anyone else, he took yet another turn, this time purposefully stepping straight into a dead-end.

“Oh nooo! What to do now? I’m trapped!” Sampo called over his shoulder in an overly dramatic manner, “What an unlucky fella I am…”

He said it loud enough for his persecutor to hear him but not too loud to give their position away to the other guards. Sampo was sure that none of them would be able to find their way here anytime soon in the first place but that was exactly what he’d aimed for from the beginning.

He didn’t need anyone interrupting them now.

Sampo slowed down, taking the last few steps toward the end of the alley. He came to a stop in front of some abandoned, old, and dusty wooden boxes that were scattered there in front of the tall stonewall. They’ve been looted before, considering that some of them were open, the tops mindlessly thrown aside and others simply cracked open to access their content.

A short moment later, his scheme played out just as planned.

“Stay right where you are and don’t you dare move a single finger, Koski!” Gepard Landau called, loud and firmly, voice booming across the narrow street. “You can’t escape anymore.”

Sampo grimaced before taking a deep-drawn sigh and slowly turning around, wearing one of his trademark lopsided smirks on his lips the moment his eyes fell on the blonde.

“No need to shout, Cap. I heard you just fine,” Sampo answered as he lifted his hands in feigned defeat. “Seems like you finally got me, huh?”

The Captain of the Silvermane Guards took two careful steps forward and Sampo waited for another few moments, letting the Captain believe just for a bit longer that he was actually cooperating. But Sampo had never planned to do that, so soon enough he narrowed his eyes, gaze turning predatory as he slowly let his arms down again.

Instead of staying put, the Mercenary was now slowly approaching Gepard. His lips stretched into a mischievous smile as he watched Gepard’s eyes widen with realization and a spark of anger flashing in them.

“Don’t move!” the Captain called.

Sampo didn’t bat an eye at the command, rather taking another few steps closer to his target.

“I said. Don’t. Move!”

A low chuckle escaped Sampo.

“Aw, or what?”

The Mercenary kept moving, only stopping right in front of Gepard, and staring at him with an amused glint in his emerald eyes. The Captain was frozen to the spot and his heart must’ve been racing, considering that he was breathing heavily through his nose while trying to hold Sampo’s gaze.

“Will you handcuff me?” Sampo asked, voice low and provocative.

He wanted to see how fast he could get the Captain of the Silvermane Guards, Gepard Landau, to let his guard down and how much Sampo could get under his skin. Considering that the Captain had been on Sampo’s mind almost every day those past weeks— it was only fair, one would assume.

It wasn’t out of fear that Gepard could eventually catch him and lock him up but for several other reasons. Reasons, which would certainly make Gepard get all flustered and tongue-tied if Sampo told him about.

“Will you punish me for being a bad boy, my dear Captain?” Sampo asked again as he took a step to the side and slowly started to circle the blonde while keeping his eyes locked on him.

Sampo studied every emotion flitting across the Captain’s face, watched a single bead of sweat running down his cheek, and was captured by the way his Adam’s Apple bobbed slightly as Gepard swallowed under the pressure of being observed so closely.

And Sampo wanted to do more than just watch, fingers itching to touch, tease, and simply do whatever indecent thought was crossing his mind right at that moment. Being this close to the sole reason for many of Sampo’s sleepless nights and being able to smell his heady scent— it was hard to resist. But Sampo also knew he needed to go slow about this and ought not to make any rash decisions.

But a little teasing never hurt anybody, right?

Sampo leaned in close, nose almost brushing the flushed skin at the back of Gepard’s neck as he continued.

“Would you enjoy doing all those things to me?”

The Mercenary lowered his voice even more, barely above a whisper as he breathed. “Or would you enjoy it more if I did that to you instead…?”

Gepard visibly shivered, his adorably flushed skin puckering and Sampo had to bite down hard on his lower lip to keep himself from simply latching onto the Captain’s neck right then and there. Instead, he let his hand wander to the small of Gepard’s back, gently brushing over it as he tensed. Sampo then finished his round and came to a stop in front of the blonde again, keeping his hands to himself with a satisfied smile on his lips.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” Gepard asked and Sampo swallowed hard at how unbelievably enticing the sight of a flustered Gepard was. His flushed cheeks, the frustrated look on his face, and the way his eyes were dancing around as he tried his hardest to hold Sampo’s gaze but ended up being too shy to do so— everything combined was almost too much for the Mercenary.

“I’m going to arrest you, so don’t get ahead of yourself,” Gepard eventually said, voice low and less convincing than before.

Sampo chuckled low.

“You sure about that, Cap?”

“What do you mean?” Gepard asked, brows knitting in confusion.

What Gepard hadn't noticed until now was that Sampo, while walking around him, had taken advantage of the situation and snatched the handcuffs from Gepard’s belt.

Sampo once again leaned in close, so close their noses almost touched. And at first, Gepard flinched hard, backing away an inch or two but just a moment later he visibly steeled himself and stood his ground, trying not to show any weakness.

Which played right into Sampo’s hands.

“I mean that I am the one who actually caught you…” Sampo whispered as the soft click of the handcuffs locking echoed through the quiet alley.

That was the moment Gepard’s eyes grew comically wide in realization as his face went slack and his mouth fell open in surprise. A moment passed, then another until Gepard blinked a few times, mouth moving in an attempt to form a coherent sentence but it just didn’t work. He tried to retreat, taking two steps backward but in the blink of an eye, Sampo grabbed him by the handcuffs and pulled him back closely.

“Nuh-uh, no running away now…” Sampo warned.

Their chests touched and even through the thick fabric of both their clothes, Sampo could feel the Captain’s heartbeat hammering in sync with his own.

Sampo’s eyes turned dark with burning desire as he uttered his next words.

“I gotta admit that at one point I started to enjoy our little cat-and-mouse games because you are quite the fascinating fella. I’d love to break through that stoic and upright facade of yours someday to see what you hide behind all that. But not today and not here, my dear Gepard…”

Sampo pulled back slightly, just to satisfy the urge to see a flustered Gepard once more but the moment his gaze fell on the blonde’s face, he was completely mesmerized.

A dark crimson had settled high on the Captain’s cheekbones, accentuating the brilliant blue of his sapphire eyes, and making them shine brighter than Sampo had ever noticed before.

But that wasn’t everything that had captivated him; he was taken aback at the glint of something dark and wicked hiding in them, a secret waiting to be found out, an ardent longing wanting to be released as Gepard stared straight at him, brows knitted in frustration.

Sampo was concentrating hard, trying to find out if his mind was trying to play a dirty trick on him or if what he’d just witnessed was actually real. He decided to go for the latter as a lopsided smile spread on his lips and he stated.

“Or maybe you’re already enjoying all of this more than I’d expected from you…”

Sampo closed the distance between them, grabbing Gepard’s chin between the thumb and index finger of his right hand, and pulled him in.

Their lips almost touching, Sampo breathed.

“I hope you don’t mind…”

Gently pressing his mouth on Gepard’s for a soft peck, Sampo felt him tense underneath the touch, body turning rigid against his own for a moment. The Mercenary was sure that Gepard would soon enough start a fuss and find a way to free himself of the handcuffs. Sampo was also sure that he was about to catch one of the blonde’s relentless fists any second now.

After another agonizingly long moment, Gepard suddenly relaxed, slightly pressing forward and—

Sampo needed a second longer to realize that Gepard was actually reciprocating the kiss.

It felt like a stroke of lightning had struck him, surging through his whole body, and setting every single nerve alight with a sizzling feeling that finally settled, pooling low in his gut. Sampo willingly took the invitation, angling his head, and slotting their lips together like fitting puzzle pieces and hands wandering, cupping the Captain’s face in both of them.

But before he could get any further or enjoy this moment a bit longer, he heard the stomping of heavy boots and guards calling Gepard’s name coming closer and closer.

Sampo reluctantly retreated as he heard them yell in the alley right beside them. He knew they would find them in less than a minute, so he had to act fast. Groaning, he pulled back completely from a still very much spaced-out Gepard while fumbling for a smoke grenade in one of his back pockets to prepare his escape.

Sampo couldn’t suppress the soft chuckle that escaped him as he focused back on Gepard, who was slowly coming back to his senses and flushed a crimson red the moment realization hit him hard. The Mercenary closed the distance between them, pressing their bodies together as he uttered a last warning into the small space between them.

“You better cover your sweet little mouth now or the smoke will cause a nasty coughing fit. And I wouldn’t want that to happen to you, my dear Captain Gepard.”

He watched with an amused smirk on his lips as Gepard’s eyes grew wide and followed the grenade Sampo threw over his head. It landed a few feet away behind the blonde and continued to roll a bit further until it stopped right at the feet of one of the guards who had just stepped around the corner.

Sampo placed a quick peck at the corner of Gepard’s mouth before he unlocked the handcuffs and freed his hands. Taking step after step backward, he blew the Captain of the Silvermane Guards one last kiss as the grenade went off and thick white smoke started to fill the alley. The Mercenary winked, then turned around, and climbed up the wooden boxes in a fluid motion before swinging himself over the sturdy stonewall.

The guards were coughing violently as Sampo landed smoothly on the other side of the wall in yet another abandoned alley. He paused for a brief moment and took a deep breath, heart and mind still racing as he recalled the latest events.

Sampo was still very much surprised and would’ve never thought that a simple kiss could break so easily through Gepard’s defenses and that he would willingly let him in. It was exciting, exhilarating even and Sampo wondered how far he could’ve gone if they hadn’t been interrupted. The possibilities were endless and thinking about them sent an electrifying shiver down his spine, fueling his darkest desires, and granting him some of the wildest fantasies.

He groaned and dragged one of his hands over his face in desperation as a wicked smile spread on his face. Just a moment later he heard a guard shout his name behind the stonewall he’d just climbed over.

“Sampo Koski!”

He didn’t hesitate for another moment, not wanting to risk getting caught after all as he took off and disappeared into the maze of Belobog’s Underground alleys.

Meanwhile, the Captain of the Silvermane Guards, Gepard Landau, was still unable to move a single muscle, blood rushing in his ears and heart hammering wildly in his ribcage as he dragged a single finger over his lips. They were still tingling from the touch of someone else’s lips.

Chapped lips, though skillful and luscious.

Lips that had him captivated.

Sampo Koski’s lips.

Gepard was so lost in his mind, reliving every second of what had just happened, that he didn’t notice the smoke engulfing him until the sharp sting of it burned in his throat. He hiccuped as it became hard to breathe and immediately covered his mouth with both hands. The Captain coughed a few times until he managed to calm down again and was able to somewhat breathe normally.

He needed another moment before he eventually shook off the thought of Sampo and what had just happened between them, straightening his back, and bellowing orders.

“Koski escaped! Scatter ‘round and find him, we can’t let that happen again! And cover your mouth and nose while searching in this area until the smoke has dissipated.”

Gepard himself then moved to leave the dead-end he was still standing in but stopped after a few steps. He turned around and looked back at the wall Sampo had disappeared behind, just a few minutes before.

A thought crossed his mind, one so indecent, he tried to shake it off as fast as it came up. But it didn’t keep his face from erupting into a crimson shade of red as he grimaced and sighed miserably.

Eventually, he stomped off, determined to catch the obnoxious and sassy Mercenary sooner rather than later.

#sampard #sampo x gepard #sampo #sampo koski #gepard #gepard landau #honkai star rail #honkai star rail fic #fanfic writing #slight spice #I just love their dynamics #and also love me some gepard secretly but not so secretly into sampo #me loves them #steflionheart #steflionheartwrites

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thoughtsofagremlin · 8 days

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Sorry for making your fave a troublemaker whose shenanigans no one will ever believe because in canon they’re “well-behaved”. It will happen again.

#fic writing #writing #hsr #this is about Gepard Landau specifically #gepard #gepard landau #hsr gepard #sampard

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kaisquawks · 1 year

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The first chapter of my Sampard fic is up on Ao3!

#kaisquawks #kaiwrites #Sampard #Gepo #Sampard Fic #Gepo Fic #Sampo x Gepard fic #Gepard x Sampo fic #honkai star rail #hsr

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shoezuki · 2 months

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Doctor, the problem's in my chest

Chapter 7

But he doesn't fixate on his own suffering for long, cataloging his pain and shoving it into the back of his mind. The full reality of yesterday catches up to him. Sampo realizes he's in Gepard's room, was sleeping in Gepard's bed, with Gepard . The existence of the other man instantly pulls him back together, becoming Sampo's full focus.

“G-Gepard?” His voice is rough, throat dry and scratchy. Gepard's name feels heavy in the air. Gepard hadn’t moved in his sleep, laying flat on his back just as he had when Gepard pulled Sampo into bed.

He looks horrible, worse than Sampo has seen before. His skin is red and blotchy, a raw heat Sampo can feel radiating from him. There’s a sheen of sweat on his face, his neck, his collar, hair matted to his forehead. His eyebrows are pinched together and his eyes squeezed shut in his sleep, his mouth barely open as he puffs out warm, strangled breaths. Sampo’s chest constricts, a pit of worry burrowing into the fabric of his heart.

“Gepard? Hey, hey, Geppie?” Sampo shakes Gepard’s shoulder lightly, than more insistently. Gepard makes a low, groaning noise in the back of his throat but is completely dead to the world. Sampo feels nauseous again. “Shit.”

Read the full thing on Ao3!!!!

#sampard #honkai star rail #sampo koski #gepard landau #tried to cut a bit of the fic to post w that wasnt like. sampo upchucking his lungs out or gepard being nearly dead lskhglshg #o ya warning sampo pukes in this its like the first line lshglh #should i tag that? maybe??? idk #in the bones

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foxspritez · 7 months

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not enough mermaid aus in this society

#SOCIETYYYYY #thought it would be funny if he said the skyrim quote #sampo’s earring is supposed to be one of those swirly shells idk they’re pretty #if someone drew sampard mermaids already send it to me immediately #sampard #gepard x sampo #honkai star rail #sampo koski #gepard landau #u know what would be sooo cute… u should ask me about this au #but in short prince gepard gets rescued by mermaid sampo and they’re in love #sampard loves each other btw canon real #the fic art i’ve had in my procreate drafts for months vs this i did after class today #it’ll get done eventually… mark my words…#no more tags im shutting up #mermaid au #mermaid sampo

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feroluce · 28 days

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Lucid Dreamer (2/2)

part 1

Gepard stalls almost a week before he finally goes out to the safehouse, and it takes him a couple days to find it because Sampo didn't have the time left to be wasn't super specific about the location. But he does find it.

It's pretty bare bones, really. Gepard knows that was probably to be expected, but… It feels crushing, when he realizes there are so few personal things here. It's nothing specific to Sampo. Just some food, some medical supplies. A cot and a heater and a lot of mismatched blankets. Nothing to remember someone by.

But he does find the letters, in a metal box stashed away under the bed.

There are two for him. Three for Natasha, and two for Seele. One for Hook, one for Serval, one for Pela, one for Bronya.

Bronya's is mostly business. They knew each other from the whole Stellaron incident, but not much beyond that, and the incoming catastrophe is a more pressing matter. Seele's is actually two copies of the same letter, and Gepard realizes why when Seele is so angry she rips the first one up without reading it. He gives her the copy a couple days later, and she slinks off without a word.

Pela seems completely normal after hers is delivered, but Gepard knows better than to trust that. The next day, he finds her asleep in bed with Serval, bottles abandoned on the floor, both their eye makeup smeared and running and Pela's glasses horribly smudged and crooked on her face. Serval doesn't read hers in front of him, but she's clingy with Gepard, Pela, and Lynx for quite a while after. She throws herself into her work a lot. She insists the heater from the safehouse is busted and she needs to keep it. It's too dangerous for use by someone who's not an engineer. Might burn their house down or something. Gepard doesn't argue.

Hook's letter is short, with easy to read words. The rest of it is actually a treasure map, and she and the moles spend the next several days running through the Underground, finding hidden candy and toys. Hook asks them when Sampo is coming back, because one of the marbles she found from his map looks green, just like his eyes, and she wants to give it to him. Natasha shoos Gepard out of the clinic before he can even begin to think of an answer.

Natasha refuses to let him see what's in her letters, which ok, fine, he'll respect that. He hears from Bronya who heard from Seele who heard from Natasha herself though that one of the letters was a map and the other a catalogue, with all of Sampo's hidden "warehouses." Gepard promptly marches himself back out to the frontlines, where he can turn a blind eye. If a ton of stolen goods suddenly enters the black market, and if the orphanage and the clinic suddenly have new supplies, well, technically that's none of his business.

Gepard goes to bed, curls up under mismatched blankets and closes his eyes.

He doesn't dream.

One of Gepard's letters was also business, like Bronya's and Natasha's. He and Bronya follow everything meticulously, down to the letter, because there has to be some good to get out of all this, there has to be. Gepard can't let it all be for nothing, it would bury him.

And so the catastrophe passes. Not without casualties, and not without a lot of damage and destruction. But Belobog survives.

And after that, time just kind of…goes on. Gepard has been a part of the Silvermanes since he was old enough to enlist. The Fragmentum had gotten so much worse in the years before Welt sealed the Stellaron. He knows the statistics, it is literally his and Pela's jobs to keep track. He knows when he sees a face everyday in the camps and then it's suddenly gone. He's not unfamiliar with things like grief and loss.

He still catches himself checking the trashcans and the supply crates and soldiers' footprints sometimes, though.

But there comes a night where Gepard goes to bed, holding the mismatched blankets to his face, and he dreams. And it's strange, it's off, it sticks with him. Sampo doesn't look the same. He's thinner. His muscles have atrophied. He looks like how Gepard has seen soldiers after months in the hospital.

The most unsettling difference is there's a scar across the left side of his head, Gepard can see it over his ear, peeking out past his hairline, carving towards his cheek. Sampo is always careful about his face. Gepard once saw him dodge a Fragmentum monster and literally let it cut across his neck just to keep his face clear. He wouldn't let that happen for nothing.

Their actions in the dream itself aren't new. Sampo seems tired, run down and worn out, but he announces his presence with aplomb by lobbing a bunch of smoke bombs off the rooftops and sending his soldiers scrambling. Same shit, different day.

The new part is what he says when Gepard chases him out to the edges of the camp, tackles him into the snow. Gepard pins him to the frozen ground to detain him and Sampo doesn't even fight it, just looks up at him like he's seeing sunrise for the first time in months.

"I'll be home in one week."

#sampard #gepo #hsr gepard #hsr sampo #gepard landau #sampo koski #hsr natasha #pelageya sergeyevna #serval landau #bronya rand #hsr seele #hsr hook #honkai star rail #my fics #lucid dreamer #I was initially just going to let Sampo stay dead because I love that kind of thing #but I ended up liking this ending so I guess I'll let it stay haha #I love thinking about Sampo's relationships with the rest of the cast and their reactions to all this #he was a founding member of Mechanical Fever. he still plays shows with Pela and Serval.#Pela is constantly giving him second chances like in the museum event and letting him volunteer with the Silvermanes.#And Serval could say SO much about him but all she says is 'hah that guy' and mentions Gepard is going to catch him someday.#I need the three of them to be a weird trio of buddies fdksaljfdkl #Sampo is seen with Seele plenty and he's with Natasha so much that Hook literally thought he was horribly ill for a long time.#I love them having some kind of odd comraderie #and oh my god I am the biggest Hook & Sampo stan ever they're so so cute and sweet and precious and WAH #so I think Sampo would want to be prepared for just in case he didn't make it back. that he would have a contingency plan for everything.#and he would miss these people and this city enough to show up in their dreams one last time.#but I'd like to think he saved Gepard for last #and it is not just because he has a crush or any kind of romantic feelings for him. There's more to it than that.#(If I'm being super honest I don't even really ship them with romance involved. I have a hard time picturing them like that.)

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