Pencil’s Astral Express Family Continuity
A series of loosely connected HSR works, involving the Astral Express Crew. Aka, my headcanons escape me, and everything I write ends up being in the same continuity and sometimes referencing other works, but not enough so that it necessitates a series (although some are in a series of their own) so I will group them here, for organizational purposes. Most all fics can be read as a stand-alone, but things like backstory headcanons, jokes, and sometimes events from other fics might be included, as a sort of noodle-incident, although I try to make sure it's not too load-bearing. Also certain character headcanons carry over between all my works, since that is how I usually write them lol.
The Astral Express Crew is very found family shaped to me. All relationships depicted between members are strictly platonic for my purposes. (But I won't stop you from reading into it however you like, of course.)
(Closed, Moderated)
Recent works
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broken soil (births and buries) by PencilofAwesomeness
Fandoms: 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game)
29 Apr 2026
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Summary
Blade breathed in and then out, slightly ragged. His grip tightened… then loosened, to something desperate instead of violent, and Dan Heng could feel the way the other man trembled, ever so slightly. Or maybe it was the both of them, for different reasons.
Neither Blade nor Dan Heng could have ever expected to be in each other’s company as Fulwish’s plot rages on in the background, and certainly neither expected that company to be helpful. An inexplicable and unknown change turned the once-volatile combination into something capable of quieting the mara. In the process of deciphering this change, more discoveries are made along the way. The past cannot be removed or forgotten, but it can be laid to rest and smelted, to forge something anew.
(Or, a study into the off-camera scenes between Blade and Dan Heng during “So Laughed the Masses”)
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The Nightmare Club by PencilofAwesomeness
Fandoms: 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game)
14 Apr 2026
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Summary
The Irontomb disaster has been averted, and their Trailblaze into Amphoreus is complete, and everyone is back home safely—but that does not stop March 7th from having a bad experience with nightmares soon after everything calms down. Is that what a traumatic memory is like in dream form?! How awful! Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—March is not the only one who had a bad night.
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Catch and Release (and Release again) by PencilofAwesomeness
Fandoms: 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game)
20 Mar 2026
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Summary
The self-destructive obsession of Perhippas and his seal companion, predictably, leads Dan Heng to a nightmare-riddled night of contemplation. However, the nightmare doesn't linger when chased away by a very determined seal and chimera, and the contemplation is not painful, when shared with a friend.
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Stelle vs. Vertical Space by PencilofAwesomeness
Fandoms: 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game)
08 Mar 2026
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Summary
Half of the Astral Express Crew can fly, and as a slightly above-average-height person, Stelle finds this extremely offensive.
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The Moon Must Weep Too by PencilofAwesomeness
Fandoms: 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game)
19 Nov 2025
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Summary
“You are an artificial body created for the purpose of hosting a Stellaron. From the moment of your birth, it was your destiny to receive the Stellaron at Herta Space Station.”
After Stelle reluctantly helped Kafka after the events of the Luofu’s Stellaron crisis, she is left with the truth that she gleaned from Kafka’s game. She is more than aware that the middle of the Divination Commission is not a good place for a breakdown, but her body seems to have other plans. Fortunately, with the help of Yanqing, Mr. Yang, and the rest of the Astral Express Crew, it works out anyway.
(In which Stelle learns that to be loved is to have the safety to fall apart.)