howthestarsdidfall
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"Life isn't a storybook, Durin."
"Ours could be," Durin said quietly. He put his cheek on Scara's shoulder again. And now he held onto Scara's upper arm, hugging Scara's elbow to his chest.
"No," Scara said, pulling his arm free. "It can't."
Later that night, Scara lay alone, tracing his stare over the patterned ceiling of his Akademiya room, telling himself that it was better this way. Better to give Durin a small, manageable wound and teach him not to be so vulnerable, so open-hearted, before the world gave him the kind of wound that never heals.
Scara pressed his palm to that empty place in his chest. He never understood how the absence of a heart hurt him more than its presence.
A series of interconnected one-shots, set during the summer that Durin spent with Scaramouche in Sumeru.
Scara volunteers to look after Durin for the summer. But he didn't anticipate just how hard and how quickly he would fall in love -- or how terrifying it would be, to allow himself to trust another person.
Smut starts in Chapter 3
Series
- Part 1 of A Summer Together, A Summer Apart
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These Cruel Stars: The Demon Called Red Xiao by howthestarsdidfall
Fandoms: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
01 Jun 2026
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Xiao did not flinch or look away. He sat there, his horns nearly brushing the Geo Archon's hair, and stared up into his eyes. Ancient dragon eyes, that had seen every mystery of Teyvat and still found something worthwhile in him.
"What if I become him again? Will you promise to kill me?"
Rex Lapis snorted, his warm breath clouding over Xiao's face. "I'm not concerned about that."
"Please." He grasped Rex Lapis's hand in both of his, holding desperate and tight. "Promise me."
This hidden vale could have been the entire universe, in that moment. Everything in Xiao's being was pinpointing onto the expression on Rex Lapis's face.
Rex Lapis closed his other hand over Xiao's and told him, "I promise."
Slow-burn Xiao / Zhongli romance, heavily focusing on how Xiao recovers from the torment he endures from his former master. His traumatic memory splits into two selves: Xiao and Red Xiao. In order to become the Conqueror of Demons, Xiao must first conquer the demon of his own past.
Tags will update over time
Romance sparks at Chapter 17; smut only in Chapter 20. All tagged characters appear on the page.
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Morax raised his eyebrows and glanced meaningfully at Xiao's memory box. "That was a very romantic letter."
Immediate disdain and disbelief flooded Xiao's chest. He scoffed and pulled his hand back. Then he shook his head at Morax, fixing him with a stern, disapproving frown.
"Stop sullying my letters with your degenerate mind. You're the one who told me I should be honest with my friends."
"Oh, and you honestly love her?"
"Morax, you know I don't like when you tease me."
The archon grinned. "I'm sorry."
"You are not."
Xiao has spent six years dutifully sending Lumine letters for his birthday. When Rex Lapis reads one of these letters, Xiao becomes painfully aware that they are full of romantic subtext that he did not intend.
After enduring (affectionate) mockery from both the archon and adepti, Xiao must face something even worse: Lumine's reaction.
Major characters: Xiao, Zhongli, Lumine
Minor characters, still on the page: Cloud Retainer, Moon Carver
Spoilers for the end of Nod-Krai's AQ
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These Cruel Stars: Extra Smut Scenes by howthestarsdidfall
Fandoms: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
08 Apr 2026
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Xiao is now free from his cruel mistress, but his memory is a shattered mess of trauma and self-doubt. His attraction to his savior Morax is undeniable, yet baffling -- just like Morax's affection for him. After being abused by a cruel god for so long, Xiao finds healing and comfort in the arms of the gentle, protective Geo Archon.
Posted Scenes:
1. Xiao's first blow job (fairly vanilla, undertones of D/S dynamics)
2. Xiao and Morax discussing boundaries turns into fucking on the kitchen table (D/S verbal roleplay)
Planned Scenes: Xiao's first realization that he is really into being held down and dominated
These are scenes that don't fit my longfic, These Cruel Stars: The Demon Called Red Xiao, but they can be read as standalone
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I Know What You Did In Mondstat Last Summer by howthestarsdidfall
Fandoms: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
15 Mar 2026
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Summary
Durin tilted his head and felt the soft tickle of Razor's hair against his jawline. The other man was so close. Eyes half-lidded, flicking from Durin's eyes to his mouth. Durin reached and brushed his knuckle against the scar on Razor's cheek. He could feel the ridge of it, even through his gloves.
The heat between them, the pyronic cove of Durin's own wings. His whole body was a lute string plucking, over and over. Blood pulsing, insistent and alive.
"It doesn't have to be serious," Durin said softly -- to himself, to Razor, to a wanderer in the past who could no longer hear him.
A three-part smut series, focusing on Durin's messy on-again, off-again relationship with Scaramouche -- and the ~drama~ that enters it when Durin hooks up with Razor one night in Wolvendom
Part 1: Durin x Razor (vanilla, semi-public)
Parts 2 & 3: Durin x Scaramouche (bondage, CNC)
Minor / Background Characters: Klee, Albedo, Flins, Varka
Series
- Part 2 of A Summer Together, A Summer Apart
Recent series
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A Summer Together, A Summer Apart by howthestarsdidfall
Fandom 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
10 Jun 2026
Summary
Part 1: That Summer in Sumeru
Scaramouche spends a summer trying to teach Durin how to be human. But in the process, Scara realizes just how little he knows about being human.
Tone: soft fluffy summer love, with a tinge of angst and smut.
Minor Characters: Albedo, Nahida, Tighnari, Sethos
Part 2: I Know What You Did in Mondstat Last Summer
Durin returns to Mondstat and has an unexpected summer fling with Razor. Scara spends all that time working up the nerve to be honest about his feelings. And when Scara reunites with Durin in Nod-Krai, he's heartbroken and pissed. Mostly pissed.
Tone: sweet and sad, faint angst, lots of smut (vanilla with Razor, CNC with Scara)
Minor Characters: Albedo, Flins
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