The Dome Works is delighted to present to you: A Life to Dream — A free Verstave Visual Novel. Explore an alternate reality where Verso decides differently at the Stone Wave Cliffs and Gustave survives to see Expedition 33 through to the end.
The visual novel features 11 story acts, multiple routes and endings (some featuring NSFW content, which is why the visual novel is rated 18+), gorgeous art created by our wonderful artists, music and environmental audio, and of course, a list of future updates with more content that is already in the works.
All 23 members of the Dome Works crew wish Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a belated happy first birthday, and we thank Sandfall for creating such a brilliant game that has touched our hearts and inspired us to create this fan project. We thank you with all our hearts ❤️❤️❤️
It is such an incredible honor to have worked with the amazing, talented, gorgeous Dome team. I am the Art Director for this project and I learned so much. This opportunity to work on a video game was something I never dared dreaming about it before and now, it's real.
I am extremely proud of everyone's hard work. Artists, Writers, Devs, Testers, Audio department, everyone put their heart in the project.
We are absolutely delighted to gift this wonderful game to the E33 and Verstave community.
Thank you a lot Sandfall Interactive for having inspired us so much for a year. Happy anniversary to Clair Obscur : Expedition 33 🫶
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It's been a while here. I always said since the beginning of e33 fandom that I wanted to stay away from women because I dont have time to focus on more ships.
So, you know how this story goes: my dear twin-braincell @shinpm forwarded me a tweet about Verso sending nudes to Gustave, and then we started talking about dating apps and .... arrived at elevator smut, somehow.
Yes, this was the whole sequence of things. Consequently, it was only natural for us to go feral about it and produce an 18k word-vomit complete with jaw-dropping, gorgeous illustrations done by @shinpm 🤭
Also yes, this happened in approximately 48 hours. So we are happy to present to you a horny two-shot with our favorite idiots! ✨
En Apesanteur - Chapter 1/2
(Rating E, most definitely nsfw)
Summary:
Gustave Virlogeux, lead engineer for a luxury watch manufacturer, has spent two years decidedly not staring at head designer Verso Dessendre's ponytail. He has been very professional about this. He has never once thought about yanking that ridiculous ribbon loose and finding out just how that infuriating voice sounds while begging for more.
Verso Dessendre, on the other hand, has spent two years definitely not thinking about Gustave Virlogeux's capable hands. He has been extremely composed. He has absolutely no opinion on what those oil-stained fingers might feel like wrapped around his cock, and he only got a hard-on at work twice. A week.
When they both sign up for the same anonymous hookup app in order to blow off some steam and match with a stranger who is devastatingly, inconveniently perfect — well. At least it's not a workplace romance.
Right?
(Getting stuck in an elevator has nothing to do with it.)
Update 13. Taking break to enjoy uselessness of today to gather energy for usefulness of tomorrow.
It is end of week 9 and it was a rather chill week. Today we have not a lot of updates, but still something was done.
So, what exactly happened?
1. Painters are still painting like they want to bring Verso to life. Here we have 2 beautiful backgrounds by Azaroth and there is more!
2. Some of the Writers are fully done with their writing and even facial expressions for sprites appearing on screen. Give them round of applause for breaking out of project jail and been extremely talented and efficient!
3. Programmers had a difficult encounter with Unity Pixelates Everything problem and won the battle.
4. Today we have @hairyecballium , @shinpm and Hazelninja24 here to answer questions asked through this form.
You can still ask questions through it, don't be shy😉
1.Can there please be a BTS section where we get to see baguette man dialogue? I'm so down bad for behind the scenes things. Sneak something in. Like Maxence's Dance if you cannot add baguette man in.
Hazelninja24: I reckon we could do a Director's Cut sort of thing after the game is released providing alternate non-canon prompts that take you on a "Director's Dream" or something where you go through the dialogue then come back to the same place you left? Ie you have three choices: Regular butter, chili and garlic, and lets say Cream Cheese. If you choose the cream cheese option then you go down a dialogue tree that brings you back to the same decision without affecting anything.
2. How did you come up with idea for Verstave visual novel?
Shin: We needed Verstave in this game. And something else.
HairyEcballium: A while back, in October, we ran Interactive Romance/Friendship with Gustave in the New Lumiere serve. It was a very short text game, where I would prepare daily dialogue for Verstave channel, and people would pick what they want to answer. At some point there was a personal quest with a boss fight with Chromatic Noir, which Shin dominated and this is why she was the one to choose something else for how exactly romance will be locked. During this game I had an idea to make it into actual game, but either time was wrong, or I was feeling unsure if fandom would be interested, something else would come up. And then in December I told J about this idea that lived rent-free in my head and she said I should try at least. So, I set up form to gauge interest and... well, let's just say I did not expect so many talented people to be interested and work so well together. And here we are, writing devlogs and working on mid-scope now.
3. Do you use AI for art?
Shin: The only AI we use is Adorable Ingénieur, which means "adorable engineer" and it's Gustave. And his arm for prostate overcharge.
4. Do you plan other games like this? For Scielune or any other ships?
HairyEcballium: I am not opposed to idea. In fact, I love Scielune as much as Verstave, and would love to make something for them, and I'm sure a lot of people would be interested too. However, this is a big, time-consuming project and it does require a lot of energy and planning. It's not a no, it's "we will need time to chill after it".
Shin: Alanoir. HairyEcballium told me.
HairyEcballium: Or maybe Simon harem game. He breaks free and goes on romance spree. Listen, there will be discussions at least, okay?
5. When can we play?
HairyEcballium: If everything will continue to go as well as now, it would be on 25th of April.
6. Can you show more art in posts?
HairyEcballium: I suppose, we could. When compiling devlogs I'm deliberately choosing to show something new but not too-spoilery or wow-ish, so player can play and experience it properly. But yes, I don't see a problem in dropping more art, let's do it.
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Week 4 is concluded, and it's been a wild ride on Esquie and fighting the final boss of being adults. Weeks like this happen, but we won and brought you news about Monoco and his involvement in expedition... and Gustave's equipment.
It's complicated.
So, what exactly happened?
- Let's start by saying that we are working on what we call Monoco smack game. Our beloved feet lover rides Esquie from Visages to Sirene island and smacks flying nevrons with a bell. He is very determined to smack as many as possible and perhaps beat mini-boss. Our cartographer Shin even charted path for him, look at this gif!
... factually it's Dino Run game with extra steps and Monoco.
- We are also proud to announce that Gustave is fully equipped to walk Monoco's Station and Frozen Hearts with winter outfit, carefully put together by yours truly and Lutza. You better not be asking what they did to Monoco to convince him to give some of his glorious fur for Gustave. It's a lot as you can see.
- Expedition now magically travels via Unity Teleportation picto. The scholar behind this technology is qkat and she is bright and fast. Lune, you better be careful.
- Writers are now full threat and shadowy geniuses. How canon! The story is finalised, the character development is present, the river scene still present.
- Swimsuits are ready. With a very distinct difference in certain areas. As we said, we are trying to stay true to canon as possible and there is important difference in swimsuits😏
Stay tuned for the next update! And be ready for a wave of beta-testing soon. The development is going great so far so we may need more beta testers soon
a quick little verstave drawing, because I was inspired by a gif I found ♡
also let me recommend you Le Clair-Obscur de Nos Âmes by Kai (Roxel), it's GOOD STUFF
"Next year, there’ll be peaches here. For now," he said, stepping back but not far, never far, "let's just have this morning."
And Gustave, wrapped in Verso's coat with a perfect nectarine in his hand and the September sun finally warming his face, found himself unable to argue with that—one tender promise woven into another, draping gently over him.
- Baiser Volé by @milkymisia on AO3
---
And here's the Christmas Tombola comm I did for Diari for the chapter 4 of "Baiser Volé"
It was a pleasure to do this raffle and to work with you 🫶
"His Book lay there, silent and inert for now, yet it held Gustave captive. It commanded his thoughts. It fed his dread.
He was not usually an anxious man. But tonight, nothing less than his worth would be measured on that stage. Tonight, he would be judged." - Immergés dans l'encre (Swimming in ink) on Ao3
Huge thank you to @mpthecoolest-blog for commissioning me a Dark Writer Gustave 🥰 It was a pleasure to make, I love this evil boy 😏❤️
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⚡️WE FINISHED GATHERING THE TEAM FOR THE VERSTAVE VISUAL NOVEL, YAAAYY⚡️
I wanted to say huge thank you to everyone who joined our fun little project❤️❤️❤️ We got 28(!) expeditioners (alas not 33 🤭), which is insane, we didn't expect that much enthusiasm but here we are. We are no longer accepting expressions of interest, the team is packed already. BUT you can still join as a beta tester (and help us reach 33 number) so in case you wanna become one, feel free to DM on any social media of mine.
🎉That said, the development has officially started🎉
I'll also post some dev logs in the near future so stay tuned!
Second, got a little treat for my fellow crack ship enjoyers. Alanoirlings, rejoice! Our Verstave VN chief, HairyEcballium, commissioned me this piece and I'm happy to share it with you. I couldn't post the nude version here since the Tumblr censorship sucks ass but you can find it in our NSFW Clair Obscur server, feel free to ask me for invite if you are one us or love other niche Clair Obscur stuff, hehe😏
2 Fun things about this pic:
1) While drawing this, I noticed that Alan's facial structure is awfully similar to Verso's...do what you will with that information 🌚
2) Alan's dress is a sluttified version of the Chic outfit from the game AND I added those accessories from Hannah Martin×Clair Obscur collab too, they are soooo pretty 💅👄
3) HairyEcballium actually has a kinktober prompt fill with a similar plot so go check it out if you are into possessive Renoir fucking his pretty boytoy🌚 Here
Look back at what you have done in 2025 and answer the questions. Answers are as short or long as you want them to be. Artists sub in draw for write.
Tagged by @theartsypumpkin 🫶 thank you!
1. Favorite character to write or draw?
Painted Renoir and Alan are my favorite to write and draw. I love playing with them so much.
And then, Painter/Writer Verstave 🤌
2. Least favourite characters to write or draw?
I'm not really good with gestrals, but mostly because I didn't really try yet.
3. Favorite pairing?
Verstave and Alanoir, they're my obsession for months now 🫶 (And all their alternate pairing as sandwich Verstave, Alalinoir, Jelanoir, etc…)
4. Least favourite pairing?
I am a multishipper by heart and I give a try to everything. I guess I'm not really into gestrals/gestrals pairing (but not against Vernoco, I like them a lot)
5. Favourite POV and tense?
Multi 3rd POV and past tense as a writer. I don't care as a reader.
6. Something new you did this year?
A lot of things this year was absolutely crazy with the e33 fandom. I took part in amazing collabs, I drew my first NSFW pieces, I wrote my first fanfics. I changed my style a lot for the better and I keep improving.
7. Something other people have told you you're good at
Angst. I'm the pillow fort destroyer after all 😏
8. Something you think you're good at
Cinematic lighting is my thing. I love playing with it and ambient colors.
9. Something you want to improve on?
Backgrounds. I'm tired of learning it but I really want to know how to draw them.
10. Favourite thing you've read this year?
The last Hunger Games book was absolutely perfect.
And then, I will never say it enough but both Pianissimo-verse from @blastia-heart and Pentimento from @reinarandraw are my top favorite e33 fanfic 🫶 I keep re-reading them a lot.
11. Favourite event you did this year
Without hesitation the collab piece for the Clair Obscur concert that leads to meet Lorien and Daniel in person. It was such a precious moment for me ❤️
12. Favourite song to listen to while you write/draw?
All the e33 OST, and more recently, the Verso's drafts album. I LOVE Osquio’s theme so much.
13. Favourite type of fic to write or art to draw (crack, fluff, angst, smut etc.)
Angst, once again 😏 And if it's smutty angst, it's even better 🫶
Tagging (to be completed if/as you wish): @reinarandraw @blastia-heart @amikoroyaiart
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Here we are, I'm working on a new fic I rumbled about in e33 servers, I'm very happy to say that yes, it's finally here !
Immergés dans l'encre - Swimming in Ink
It is an AU about Clair Obscur Expedition 33 which starts 5 years before the fire, will continue until we're inside the Canvas and we'll have two povs : Gustave's and Alan's (you know, the e33 commander 😂, not Alan Wake)
In this story, Alan and Gustave are both Writers outside the Canvas and Gustave will be the very bad guy. You see Light Yagami ? It's the vibe.
I talked about this "Dark Gustave" a lot, I'm happy to finally begin this long journey ! 33 chapters are planned, I'll try to be regular in the posting as much as possible with my hellish schedule
Lil twist : this story will be illustrated by me !
Here are the arts from chapter 1, the setup during La Croisée des Chemins, the big Creators' event 👀
This will be a Verstave and an Alanoir story with a bit of Alalinoir (with smut 😏 but you'll be warned for smutty chapters, I know not everyone is into Alanoir ship)
I hope you'll like it, do not hesitate to give kudos and comments, I'm curious to see people's thoughts about it
Big love to my dear Alanoirians and Verstavelings from NL and GV servers 🫶
I created these costumes for the last render and wanted to show them off a bit more, as I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Some notes under the cut:
Of course, I could have just kept them in their original outfits, but I wanted them to have real expedition uniforms to highlight their 'innocence', for lack of a better word.
Verso
Verso was the easiest: I just removed some bits that seemed like they might have been added over the years, like his waist-wrap, gauntlet, the wooden rune pieces, and so on. I added the backpack, and if it looks familiar it's because it's from FFXIV. :) I just recolored it a bit.
I'm not sure why I added the backpack, other than I felt like I needed something to show the length of their journey, and because (as I was thinking about the backstory of Expedition Zero a lot while working on this image) I suspected that Verso was taking on more responsibilities as the expedition proceeded. When it started, Clea was still the heir and he was still the spare, and I'm sure he was fully expecting find his indomitable big sister and to step back neatly into her shadow. By the time they were close to the Monolith, however, he would have abandoned that hope, and Renoir would have begun to drag as his injuries and refusal to prioritize himself accumulated. So he took on more and more, in attempt to live up to his father's example and to continue protecting Alicia.
Of course, he doesn't have his white hair or scars yet. He looks quite different without them. Younger and more handsome, a bit smarmy. I can definitely see Verso being a bit of a playboy, in the literary tradition of second sons. Overshadowed by Clea, spending his days sleeping, his nights gambling and dancing, but carrying a secret love for the piano, a secret hero-worship for his big sister, and a secret desire to support her and protect the family. But he was overlooked because he was not needed ... until his life was tragically cut short, and the family was rocked by the size and shape of their unexpected loss.
Alicia
Alicia's uniform was also pretty simple. I toyed with the idea of using some pieces from Sciel and Lune's original uniforms from the early concept art, but although the meshes are still in the game they aren't textured, and that was too much work. So her top half is the standard Female Expeditioner outfit, and her bottom half is from Sciel's uniform.
Her boots are the same ones she wears later in the game. It's not always easy to see, but there are subtle silver and gold runes etched on her usual clothes, similar to the gold marbling that shows up for other members of the Dessendre family. So I got rid of them but kept the boots, because I think they're really cool looking. The other thing I used was the scarf -- it was originally Lucien's scarf, judging by the names of the files (a character who didn't make it to the final draft) so that seemed fitting. I imagine that she would often hide her face behind it, as a kind of precursor to the mask she ends up wearing later.
I decided to use her real colors instead of the grayscale skin/hair that she uses in the game. I also have some headcanons/ideas about how that came about, but maybe I'll save that for later. I'm leaning towards the idea that she was supposed to stay behind in Lumiere, but stowed away with the Expedition and didn't reveal herself until it was too late.
Renoir
Renoir's uniform was the most work. His vest and shirt are Real Renoir's, just recolored. The coat and pants are from an early version of Verso's outfit, which was still in the game files (it seemed fitting). The original coat was clearly stitched together from multiple past coats, so I made them all the same color to try to make it seem newer (obviously they were going for a battered and many-times-repaired look for Verso, but this was at the beginning of their journey). The boots are Verso's. It makes sense that they would have the same boots in their uniforms, right?
I also gave him some pieces from Verso's final outfit, like the fur hood and the sling. I originally toyed with giving him a cape, like the one Verso wears in-game, but Verso's cape is too destroyed (and has the same gold/silver runes as Alicia's outfit) and I couldn't get anything else working in time. In my mind, Verso adopted those pieces of his uniform later, in imitation (conscious or unconscious) of his beloved Papa. With Renoir, I wanted to make him broader and beefier than the others, very much an old veteran and a solid bulwark against any harm (I see Renoir as the tank, Alicia as the healer, and Verso as the DPS).
I also headcanon that Renoir died before they reached the Monolith, leaving Verso and Alicia to carry on alone. He has a strange line in-game about whether Verso knows what it's like to cease to exist, so I think he stayed behind to hold off some enemy (maybe Duelliste?) and laid down his life to give his children the opportunity to flee. I suspect that when Clea was encountered outside the Monolith, she was also helping to hold Aline captive or something similar, so Aline was unaware of what was happening to her Painted Family and unable to protect them the way she does in-game. That would also explain how Painted Clea's fate remained such a mystery. Once Aline was freed and told them the truth (or some version of it) she resurrected Renoir, made the Mirror Family immortal, and froze them in time.
Armbands
The final thing was creating the Expedition Zero armbands, as well as the 100 for the Monolith. The 100 was from a screenshot from Maelle's nightmare, with some tweaking. The armbands were pieced together from the Expedition Zero and Expedition 33 armbands in the game. They're kind of twisted oddly on their arms because I wanted to make sure they were visible in the final render. :D
It might be silly, but the armbands felt weirdly momentous. It signified for me that they were among the first batch of expeditioners. They struck out for answers and to protect their city and their world. And after all they saw and all they learned, all three did their best to stick to that mission, although they came to interpret it in different ways....
