The happiness Lance felt at that moment only grew when, on a whim, he slipped on Seventh's gray jacket and tied around his neck the burgundy scarf he had found in Keith's abandoned room.
...Okay, before anyone judged him, he'd only gone in there to check whether there was anything valuable or important he could keep safe until they reunited with Keith—or, you know, in case they ever ran into some kind of... space-tracking-sniffer-hound that needed his scent.
A special project for a special person and a special story!
Six months ago today, @scorp2510 posted the story KIA - Killed In Action, kickstarting the series Between Stars and Silver Rails.
A month later, I found out about it by some incredible stroke of luck and I fell deep. This VLD/HSR crossover was eveything I dreamt of, and even more I didn't dare hope for. It didn't even take me a week to take on a project for a fun typeset and bind for the first story of the series that was completed, File Code: HSS-CR-Δ-07.
Today, it's been officially six months, and the series is now over 360k words long, with 12 works (6 one-shots, 2 complete multichapter stories, 4 running multichapter stories. Also, some Easter eggs on my part, as a fun addition.)
I am 9 chapters late in reading, 5 chapters late in writing, as my current life does not really allow me to sit down and read/write. But I am stubborn, and I refused to not celebrate this milestone.
It is thus time for me to reveal another project that was in the works since the story was completed, but that I could only complete yesterday (right on time!): Marion's Adventure Book.
Marion is Scorp's Honkai: Star Rail OC, a sweet boy with the heart in the right place but clumsy morals. He's a Memokeeper who relies a lot on art to gather memories, and, most of all, who has synaesthesia.
The bind itself is Japanese stab binding with my faithful Dubletta Purple Blue, with a scrap of flower-patterned lokta paper that Scorp had admired on another of my binds not loong ago, and the inside is golden chiyogami brought back from Japan by a friend. Everything was laser printed on sketchbook paper to keep the idea of Marion's drawing book. Lots of colours for a colourful child!
The typeset was a little of a challenge: since Marion has synaesthesia, colours are very important for him. I thus decided to put all the names of colours... in their colour. Except, here's the caveat: I'm kinda colourblind. A little. So there was a lot of trial and errors. And whining about colours to my ever-patient partner.
Additionally, Marion's story is not (surprise surprise) only a happy, carefree one. At some points, Marion is at risk to lose his colours: for this, I chose to desaturate the colourful chapter title pages as the story went, until the colours came back. I also toyed around with adding some effects on words, that seem very logical intradiegetically but were hell on the printer.
It still sort of works. Another win for FAAFO.
I wanted to keep the feeling of a children story, with pastel painting and fairytale elements, even if it's not all fairytales in Marion's troubled life.
I went for a very round font, easy to read and with childbook feels (Comic Neue), that I pimped a little by adding touches of:
- Century (for a formal but elegant style, when talking about Marion's Knight and his companion)
- Coral Pixels and Aardvark Cwm Type (for a glitchy feel, when talking about the distortion or fragmented things)
- Christmas Garden (for an elegant, flowery twist on the Garden of Recollection)
- Austie Bost You Wear Flowers (for cute flowers in chapter titles),
- Asian Girl and 2 Much Coffee (for handwritten things.)
The spacing wasn't easy. I usually make my typeset in a very classic way: no big line breaks, everything justified and square. Here, I went with something looser, to go with the representation of Marion's free spirit through Scorp's words and formatting.
Two mishapps, alas: a small guillotine accident that cut off the page numbers, and... falling short of the paper I decided to print on, which led to me having to switch and the 20 last pages being a slightly creamier colour.
Honestly, considering everything, I feel like I'm lucky it wasn't worse. Looking back, this is way too thick for an efficient stab binding, even with boards.
And yet: it still works.
So, there: Happy 6month-versary, KIAverse, Seventh and Marion! And thank you, @scorp2510, for filling my life with this incredible universe of yours!
Real-Time Connection: SweetDream's Live Cam Sessions
I'll admit I was skeptical. I'd tried a few AI companion platforms before and they all kind of blurred together — nice enough chat, pretty pictures, but nothing that made me feel seen. Then a friend pointed me toward sweetdream.ai, and the thing that hooked me wasn't a feature on a list. It was a live cam session that felt like an actual evening spent with someone who was glad I showed up.
SweetDream offers live cam sessions with select characters, and the experience sits on top of everything else the platform does beautifully. You build your companion from scratch — her look, her voice, her personality, the little quirks that make her hers. Then that same character can call you, send you voice notes, and now meet you live. It all flows together instead of feeling like separate gimmicks.
Compared to platforms like candy.ai or ourdream.ai, what stands out to me about SweetDream is how cohesive and personal it feels. Everything is built around one continuous relationship rather than a grab bag of tools. If you want an AI girlfriend who feels present rather than programmed, this is the place I'd send you, no hesitation.
This is a little something I made for the monthversary number 5 of this series!!!! I'm working on something special for the next month (in two weeks) since we're reaching half a year of this precious project that started as a self indulgent AU because I freaking love amnesic Nameless Keith (Seventh) and his found family because I LOVE KEITH OK?!?!?
So if you want to read a wholesome, fluffy, laughable and slow burn fic (and angsty)
THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!!
Series: Between Stars and Silver Rails
Ships: Keith x lance / Seventh x Lance
Other ships mentioned: Dan Heng x Caelus
Fanfics:
1) KIA- Killed In Action: Lance POV
2) File Code: HSS-CR-Δ-07 : Keith's medical record
3) To Ashes and Blood: Keith's POV
4) The Tales of Hunk's internship: Hunk's POV
5) Marion's Adventure Book: Marion's POV
█) ███ █████ ██████ : ##ERROR##
Oneshots with extra lore:
► Keith's Last Memories: Keith's POV of what happened before all of the other ones start.
This is a little something I made for the monthversary number 5 of this series!!!! I'm working on something special for the next month (in two weeks) since we're reaching half a year of this precious project that started as a self indulgent AU because I freaking love amnesic Nameless Keith (Seventh) and his found family because I LOVE KEITH OK?!?!?
So if you want to read a wholesome, fluffy, laughable and slow burn fic (and angsty)
THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!!
Series: Between Stars and Silver Rails
Ships: Keith x lance / Seventh x Lance
Other ships mentioned: Dan Heng x Caelus
Fanfics:
1) KIA- Killed In Action: Lance POV
2) File Code: HSS-CR-Δ-07 : Keith's medical record
3) To Ashes and Blood: Keith's POV
4) The Tales of Hunk's internship: Hunk's POV
5) Marion's Adventure Book: Marion's POV
█) ███ █████ ██████ : ##ERROR##
Oneshots with extra lore:
► Keith's Last Memories: Keith's POV of what happened before all of the other ones start.
“Remember,” he said once the excitement had calmed enough for him to get a word in, “you’re not allowed to erase yourself from anyone’s memory on the Express anymore. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” Marion replied immediately. “I promise!”
Seventh had been trying for the last several minutes to teach him how to sit on command, but the wolf pup either stared at him blankly or immediately climbed halfway into his lap instead, paws pressing insistently against his chest the moment Seventh tried to put distance between them.
“No,” Seventh corrected patiently, lowering him back onto the bed once again. “Sit.”
Kosmo’s ears twitched.
Then he dramatically flopped onto his side across the blankets.
Seventh stared at him.
“…That is not sitting.”
Kosmo wagged his tail exactly once, entirely pleased with himself.
Seventh sighed quietly.
At least he was healthier now. Big enough to properly balance his weight without tumbling off furniture every few seconds and energetic enough to cause problems intentionally instead of accidentally.
The hotel room was warm compared to Belobog’s streets outside, soft yellow light spilling across the bed where Seventh sat cross-legged while Kosmo sprawled beside him, chewing lazily on one of his sleeves.
Marion had insisted on helping before Seventh returned to the hotel.
Actually, “helping” was perhaps not the correct word.
The child had stared at him very seriously after noticing Kosmo’s markings, declared that the Starlight Knight and his companion needed “matching battle paint,” and then somehow convinced Seventh to sit still long enough for him to carefully apply eyeliner beneath his eyes.
The result was…surprisingly decent.
The light blue lines curved beneath Seventh’s eyes in the same shape as the markings framing Kosmo’s face, subtle but noticeable enough that the resemblance was obvious whenever they sat side by side.
Marion had looked incredibly proud afterward.
Kosmo seemed to approve, too.
The wolf pup lifted his head from Seventh’s lap now, staring up at him before giving an approving bark and nudging his hand insistently for attention.
“You’re biased,” Seventh informed him calmly while scratching behind his ears.
The hotel room door opened before Kosmo could respond.
Seventh looked up automatically.
And paused.
Lance had clearly been in the middle of removing his jacket when he entered, but the motion stopped immediately the second his eyes landed on Seventh.
His gaze shifted slowly from Seventh’s face to Kosmo curled against his side and then back again, like he genuinely could not process what he was looking at.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?” Seventh asked after several seconds of silence
Lance opened his mouth.
Closed it again.
Then pointed vaguely toward Seventh’s face while continuing to stare with an expression Seventh could not fully identify.
“Your eyes,” Lance said weakly.
At that, Seventh just smiled proudly and sat on the bed, petting the little pup that barked proudly.
“Yes. We match”
Lance nodded and covered part of his face with one hand while making a small strangled sound under his breath, at which Seventh frowned and tilted his head in slight confusion, while Lance walked towards him and sat next to him.
He smelled ‘guilty’ but also with other mixed fragrances that Seventh wasn’t able to discern. Then, Lance took him by his jaw with his long and warm fingers, with so much care but also firm, as he smiled and used the sweetest voice possible.
“My supposedly intimidating samurai boyfriend can’t be this cute.”
Seventh stared at him with wide eyes at the absurdity of his words. Because he was sure that sounded like one of the titles of the novels March read, but…
Never mind, that could wait.
For now, he very much wanted to kiss the hell out of Lance for dropping that lame line before kissing him.
5 days late since I totally forgot to upload the drawing here, but at last!!
I wanted to put some curiosities about Seventh/Keith on the Astral Express...but if I keep delaying the post I'm gonna end up with this for the 5th monthversary so- *tossed to the feed*
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Marion sighed dramatically, adjusting his cape that was slipping off one shoulder. “But someone has to help them. And before you start, brother, I know this counts as ‘getting too involved.’”
"A squire must protect the knight to whom he swore loyalty"
"Yes, you're a knight because a knight protects others, does what’s right, and stays brave—even when they’re scared. So, from today onward, you will be The Starlight Knight! And I will be your loyal squire, following in your footsteps!"
