#cuz i have like 3 other aus i have on the backburner oof

[chxna-cheeseycake]

Was bored and kind of had a neat little MCD idea where Gene and Dante swap roles but only kinda?? It's weird but I'll try to explain it I guess lol. Also will probably be a long one again cuz I have many thoughts and need to put them somewhere lmao.

So at first,nothing with Gene and Dante's whole backstory changes, Gene is still a scheming dubious hoe that Dante still looks up to anyway. But things change regarding the issue with the lord's daughter. Idk what to do exactly but I was thinking that either Gene doesn't come up with this idea at all or he does think about it but ultimately never goes through with it. Either way, one of those things happen so in the end Gene never messes with anyone's memories and life is still the same as always... or is it?

While taking a break of sorts from his duties, Gene spends some time with Dante and they probably have like a picnic or something idk. Anyways, they end up getting attacked by bandits and unfortunately said bandits snatch up Dante and use him as a ransom of sorts against Gene. The bandits basically demand that Gene steal a huge amount of gold from the lord for them or else they'll kill Dante. Gene obviously doesn't want to lose his precious little bro, so he leaves the area hesitantly and heads straight to the lord's home. He explains to the lord about the situation and essentially asks his lord if he can just willingly give the gold to the bandits so that Dante can be saved. The lord thinks about this but ultimately says no as he claims that the village was on hard times and really needed that gold to stay afloat. Gene understands this but is also very upset about the situation as he desperately wants to save his brother.

Gene does consider just stealing the gold behind his lord's back but he then comes up with a plan that's better in his mind. He'll just order his guards to perform some sort of sneak attack on the bandits and brutally kill all of them for even thinking of trying to harm Dante. After creating the plan, properly organizing it and going over it with his men, they launch this plan into action. Everything seems to be going okay at first but it wouldn't stay that way forever. With most of the bandits distracted, Gene goes to grab Dante but the bandits' leader steps in and blocks Gene from doing such a thing. The two get into a fight and when Gene tries to stab the leader in the chest, the bandit does something supremely fucked up. He grabs poor Dante and uses the child as a human shield, meaning that Gene ends up stabbing Dante instead of the leader. Gene is obviously in shock and is mortified at what he's done. The bandit leader laughs in Gene's face before telling the bandits to just surrender and retreat which they do.

Dante dies in Gene's arms almost instantly and Gene... he has no idea what to do or say. I imagine he doesn't even cry because of the amount of shock of what just happened. Dante's funereal happens but nobody in the village blames Gene for what happened, not even Gene and Dante's parents who reassure Gene that there was nothing that could have been. And Gene hates it so much. Because Gene thinks himself as nothing but a filthy murderer that doesn't deserve forgiveness so it pisses him off that people are being so understanding towards him. He probably snaps at his parents at least once because how DARE they forgive him for murdering Dante, for murdering his own brother, for murdering their son. Gene quits being head guard and isolates himself from everyone, including his own family because of the guilt that's eating him alive. He failed his little brother, that he always swore to protect, so he doesn't feel worthy to be trusted with protecting an entire village of people. There's also the guilt that settles in from the fact that he schemed his way to get that position so he especially doesn't feel worthy of such a job. He's actually becoming aware of what a shithead he was.

The pain and the guilt from all of this became too much for Gene and eventually... he decides to leave his village and never return. Without Dante, Boboros didn't feel like home anymore. He also couldn't walk around the village without being constantly reminded of his sweet little brother that should still be alive right now. Gene just couldn't do it anymore so he packed up some of his things and quietly left his old village behind in the dead of night. But not before using his magicks to make everyone, even his parents forget who Gene was completely. He didn't want anyone coming after him but he also believed that someone as awful as him shouldn't be remembered by anyone. Everyone still had the memory of what happened to Dante but Gene altered it so that everyone would think that Gene was just some random disgusting killer that took Dante's life, exactly how he viewed himself now.

Gene proceeded to just wander around the Ru'aun region, staying in random villages for a little amount of time before moving onto the next. He became a lost soul of sorts, growing into a reserved and quiet person who keeps to himself. All motivation for life had died the day his brother died and for awhile it seemed that it would stay that way forever. Until Gene accidentally gets too close Eastern werewolf territory and finds himself being thrown in their prison. He kind of shrugs it off as he's been through worse on his travels. Of course he meets Donna and Logan who also accidentally trespassed onto this territory and got thrown in jail for it. But he also doesn't know how to react when they treat him rather nicely (well that's mostly Donna but still). After so many years of being alone, he isn't sure how to accept other people being kind to him whatsoever especially when his self-esteem is horrendously low. So he prompts to not say anything in response (not like he was much of a talker anyway). But yeah just like canon, Donna escapes with Gene from the Eastern werewolf tribe but unfortunately have to leave Logan behind. And it's the first time in a long time for Gene when he feels this great urge to help someone in need like this. And maybe that has to do with the fact that this situation is a little similar to what happened with his brother and Gene will be damned if someone else had to go through the same pain he did.

Meeting Aphmau is... kinda awkward at first. Because for one: Gene hasn't interacted with a lord in ages and he still has some bad blood towards his old lord that he served once upon time. But then there's also the second thing: Aphmau reminds him a little of Dante and that is definitely still a sore spot for him. So yeah, Gene's even more quiet around Aphmau then he is with like Donna or just other people in general. Aphmau at first thinks she accidentally offended him somehow but learns from Donna that Gene is just kinda like that for whatever reason. Aphmau understands and tries to not make Gene uncomfortable but conversation proves to be hard with how quiet Gene is. They're very awkward with each other until they end up in Malachi's castle. Gene being a magicks user himself immediately senses that something is very off with this place and his protective instincts kick in. It doesn't matter that he hasn't known Aphmau for long because again, he's not going to make the same mistakes as before. He's not going to let someone else die because he didn't do enough to protect them like a proper guard should. Like a proper older brother should. Gene used to be a hardcore con artist but now he's given up that lifestyle, now he's going to prove himself worthy to wear the armor and wield the sword of a guard.

Aphmau is unable to convince Gene to not go by himself so she waits until he's deemed that the coast is clear. But then she gets tired of waiting and goes after Gene herself. And just like in canon, Aphmau eventually finds Gene but he's cast under Malachi's fear magick, muttering the name 'Dante' over and over again. Aphmau as per usual sees her own worst fear which of course shakes her but she was certainly not prepared to be hit with Gene's worst fear nor the contents of what said fear was.

The vision Malachi shows her, tosses Aphmau into a middle of a fight between what she assumes are guards and bandits. Things are clearly intense but in the midst of all the fighting she sees a 12 year old boy being held against his will but what she assumes is the bandit leader. Then she sees Gene, who looks a little younger, running towards the leader and engaging in a fight with him. She sees Gene make an attempt to stab the leader but what happens next makes Aphmau sick to her stomach. The leader grabs the young boy, using him to shield Gene's fatal attack, meaning that Gene had accidentally stabbed the boy instead of the enemy. It's clear that Gene felt the same way as Aphmau as he dropped his sword, immediately holding the boy close while being almost in a complete state of shock. She hears the leader laugh and sees him run off with his fellow bandits. The boy had died by then and Gene was still in a horrified shock at what just happened. Then the world around them turns into a black abyss, the young boy's mouth suddenly turning into a twisted grin as he looks up at Gene. The boy begins telling Gene that he's awful, that he's a terrible murderer and that he'll never forgive Gene for what he's done. Gene finally starts sobbing as the boy continues to say these things over and over again, blood pouring out of his mouth as he continues to talk.

Aphmau suddenly snaps out of the vision and looks over at Gene in great concern. She had no idea what she just saw but it chilled her to the bone nonetheless. The rest of this section would be the same with Garroth and Laurance losing their shit with that fake illusion of Aphmau kissing someone else (which I personally find DUMB but that's a post for another time). Gene is definitely not pleased to be woken up and have a very angry brunette threatening him for some reason. Boy is just highly confused and has no idea what is going on anymore. Also I imagine Gene is very uncomfortable/scared of Malachi at first due to the fact that the ghost straight up psychologically tortured him and that's not something you get over so easily. He warms up to the kid eventually but he's gotta have some time to recuperate after reliving one of the most traumatic moments of his life. And speaking of trauma, Aphmau being the way she is will inevitably try to talk with Gene about what she saw but it doesn't go well initially. He just brushes her off and says he's fine despite the fact that he's clearly not. Aphmau lets it go at first but is still concerned and hopes that Gene talks with her eventually.

Gene does do that and for the first time in awhile, he actually tears up as he tells Aphmau his story. It feels weird to him as expressing emotions hasn't been something he does as of late but he almost feels comfortable doing that around Aph. Probably because at that point he would've warmed up to her more but also her reminding him of Dante had something to do with it. After hearing this, Aphmau proceeds to hug this poor, traumatized man and reassure him that what happened to Dante was not his fault whatsoever. Gene has a hard time believing it but appreciates the comfort anyway. It's been a long time since Gene has been hugged too...

Because Gene never died and became a Shadow Knight, he actually does age here. I hc specifically that Gene is about 4 or so years older than Garroth and Laurance so the dynamic is a little different here. Garroth gets a tad nervous around Gene because he sees Gene as an authority figure that should be respected as he has more experience than Garroth. Garroth lowkey thinks Gene is a little cool even if he's weird. Laurance, however, does not give a fuck about respecting authority and does not like Gene at first (which partially has to do with the kissing incident lmao). But Laurance starts viewing the other differently after he overhears Gene talking with Aphmau. Laurance feels a little bad for Gene as no one should go through such a thing. He still sasses Gene but it becomes more playful rather than full on venomous like it was before. Gene is confused but just goes along with it. But as for Gene's POV of his relationships with Garroth and Laurance, he's awkward at first (as per usual with this sad, pathetic and technically homeless man lol) but soon enough he ends claiming the two guards as his younger brothers. Whether they like it or not does not matter because nothing will stop Gene from his spontaneous adoption tendencies. And while I don't think I need to say this at this point but he also adopts Aphmau as his younger sister.

There's more I can add to this for sure but right now I kinda ran out of ideas so maybe I'll do more with this another time. Also I'm unsure if I should either keep Dante dead or turn him into a Shadow Knight. Cuz if I did do the Shadow Knight route, I'd make it so that Shad alters his memories and like makes Dante hate Gene or something. Idk I still have to think about it more.