Liyue-harbour - Garden Of Avalon

𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚

pairing :: dottore x (ghost) reader

part 2

rumour has it that a student’s soul who had died on campus at the time lingers there forever. sages and students alike have seen them. the spirit had h/c hair with glowing eyes and an unfriendly gaze, and often seen in the sumeru akademiya kshahrewar uniform looking neat and tidy.

their appearance was so realistic that if it wasn’t for their see-through appearance, people would mistake her for a living student. however, actually getting a glimpse of them was a more rare occurrence than hearing them.

students and sages claimed to have heard things being whispered to them when no one else was there. were they about how she died? or were they just trying to help with whatever work others had? no one really knows, for the whispers were mostly inaudible.

their name?

y/n l/n.

and there he was, rummaging through the restricted section of the akademiya library.  zandik flipped through the pages of a book, desperately trying to find information he could use for his research on mechanical lifeforms. unable to find it, he circled moved on to the next.

that was when he heard it, a soft whisper in his ear. “such interesting research you’re doing, zandik.”

he turned around, expecting to see someone but he saw no one. he shrugged it off, thinking that it was just his imagination until he remembered what he had overheard the other students talk about yesterday.

what was it again? ah, yes. the famous spirit of the akademiya. however, zandik wasn’t one to believe in ghosts. at least, he thought he didn’t believe in them. his imagination began to run wild. could that have been them? the y/n l/n? there’s no way ghosts exist, right?

“who’s there?” he questioned. nothing. zandik was about to ask again but the whisper came back.

“you don’t know? looks like i expected too much of you…” they whined, voice muffled. zandik could feel the air around him turn sad but it soon became lively again. “anyway, your work looks interesting!”

he blinked and muttered a quick ‘thanks’. he thought it was strange, if he really did meet a ghost, why would it talk to someone like him? besides, weren’t they supposed to scare others? zandik blinked. he was still confused but continued with his research, a little more seriously now. he wondered how they had known his name. hearing their humming getting further away, he spoke up.

“how do you know my name?” his hands started to feel sweaty, and the humming stopped. the spirit let out a small giggle and answered the questioned proposed to them.

“are you for real? your name is very well known around the akademiya…” you stopped talking and hovered around the shelves. pink dusted zandik’s cheeks, and he wondered why he had asked such a silly question. soon, another round of humming started up. you let your fingers linger over some books.

he started to get restless. your humming wasn't horrible, it was just that he was trying to get as much information from the restricted section he could without getting caught. not being able to ignore you any longer, he decided to start a conversation with the ghost.

 "so….l/n" he started, "if you really are real, you're going to need to do more than whisper in my ear to convince me." zandik gulped as he felt the air turning heavy. he could not tell where the ghost was, for you were invisible.

 “of course i am!" you pouted, "and please, call me y/n." you floated behind him and materialised― eyes boring into his, hands behind your back. he saw you, standing on the ground in the akademiya uniform and kshahrewar beret. zandik was convinced that you are real. "does this make you believe?" he nodded and proposed yet another question and the air turned heavy once more.

“why are you still here?”

“because i can’t cross over.” suddenly, an idea popped into your mind. “let’s make a deal.” you had piqued his interest and it was evident in the way his eyes shined. 

smirking, you disappeared, only to re-materialise next to him. “i help you with your research and you help me find a way to cross over to the other side. as a former kshahrewar dastur and someone who has been in the akademiya for many years before you, i will be a lot of use to you.”

zandik roared with laughter. he accepts your deal and makes a final decision mentally. he would achieve his goals and find a way to bring you back to life.

masterlist | part 2

when wriothesley heard your scream from the other room, he rushed in, afraid something was wrong, that you were in trouble. but he finds no trouble except for you with your eyes tightly closed, blindly reaching for the keyboard and scrambling to type in a command. when you’re sure the game is paused you open your eyes to find wriothesley, confused and a little worried.

“video game,” you offer as an explanation.

“i see that.” he glances at the screen where the game’s menu takes center stage. he gestures to the computer, small smile on his face. “you screamed… because of a video game?”

“it was scary!” you protest. wriothesley’s smile widens and you continue, defensive now, “i would like to see you try.”

and that’s how wriothesley ended up in front of your computer, playing your horror game while you sit and watch the screen from the corner of the room. except that unlike you, wriothesley is unamused and not scared at all.

“really, [name]? this is it?”

“just wait,” you respond. it’s only been five minutes.

wriothesley glances over his shoulder with a judgemental look, questioning how you were screaming at the computer before he started on, but then the screen goes black. he turns and thinks something’s wrong, and doesn’t see as you quickly draw your hands up, anticipating what’s next to come. wriothesley squints at the screen, gets closer, and tries to figure out what’s wrong.

your fingers are tightly covering your eyes when the jumpscare sounds. you couldn’t cover your ears as well so the sound permeates into your brain, scarring it for the second time tonight. maybe worse is wriothesley’s startled yell, and though you can’t see, a crashing sound lets you know he fell out of his chair.

you peak open one eye and yes, he’s on the floor now, face pale as a sheet. not looking at the screen, wriothesley reaches a single finger up and hits the escape button.

he doesn’t ask to try your horror games after that.

I love WRIOTHESLEY's contrasts. His rugged appearance, numerous scars, a strong build, broad shoulders and muscles that he has gained during years of hard labour- Everything about this man screams that you should keep your distance from him.

You would not consider those large, calloused hands being capable of handling even a single thing with gentleness. But they do. He does. His palm cupping your cheek feels like the morning sun gracing you with the warmth of its rays, leaving a pleasant shiver in its wake that leaves you only yearning for more of him.

And even when he does give you more, he does it so carefully and with a tenderness that never fails to make you tear up out of love for him. Goosebumps appear where his fingers caress you, silently worshipping every single curve and mark of yours, treating them like treasures that he wants to keep for himself. At the same time, there's probably not an inch of your neck that his lips have not touched or marked up. The bites that are followed by the wet and soothing strokes of his tongue leave you in a constant state between pain and pleasure, giving you no other choice but to take everything while clawing on his back, leaving red marks beside his scars.

His thrusts switch from hard and fast to slow and teasing, back to steady and passionate, your desperate pleas and whimpers riling him up further, making his heart pound even faster. And yes, he does have a way with words. "Yeah? Like that?" "My gorgeous girl, taking me so well." "I know, sweetheart, I know." "You want to cum, huh? Go on, love."

However, those piercing eyes look at you with an adoration that is hard to put into words. Words that he could probably never find, but neither you nor him mind because at the end of the night, when you're both lying in each others arms, your head on his chest and his hand wrapped around the back of your neck with his thumb stroking along your pulse point, your hearts beat in sync at the same rapid rate.

"…please stop that." "Stop what?" You let out a faint groan at his reply, you acknowledge that this young prodigy detective in front of you always has such a wild imagination, but he also has a mind for meticulous logic and reasoning. Which is why, you hope you can find at least one good reason why your boyfriend, Shikanoin Heizou, keeps pinching and squeezing your cheeks right now. It all started a few days ago when Heizou brushed your cheek for the very first time. He offers to eat lunch with you every day during his break, to make up for the lost time he insists. Which in return, you happily suggest having a picnic instead that weekend in hope to have more quality time together. He leans in towards you, to wipe some sauce off your left cheek while you were eating your favourite food. That's when he learned how soft your cheek feels, his eyes were wide open as he made a new discovery about you. Addicting it seems, he smooshes your cheeks and looks directly into your eyes. His gaze focused as if he was trying to solve some puzzles. He squeezes your cheeks once, then twice, making you stare at him with a very confused face. Now he keeps pinching your cheeks at the most random moments, other times he would just poke your cheek no matter when or where, looking into your eyes with a wide smile. Despite appearing "brainy" to many, you wonder where all his brain goes when he looks so lovestruck like this, he doesn't even seem to care about other people's gaze directed at you two in public. He stop pinching your cheeks, but he didn't bother to remove his hands from cupping your face at all. Instead, he leaned in, landing a quick kiss on the very tip of your nose. He burst out a soft laugh, pulling you close and pressing your nose against his own, making you blush as he gently nuzzled against you. "Sorry I can't help it, you're too cute for me to handle." He mumbled an apology, promising you that he won't do that again, before throwing you some compliments about how adorable you look right now. But judging by that ever-present grin and cheeky glint in his eyes, you can hardly tell if he is actually serious about stopping his 'affectionateness' actions.

𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚

back in his akademiya days, dottore (who had gone by zandik at the time), was known for his good looks and morbid personality. he was often seen throwing dirty remarks at the sages and everyone else, giving them cold stares. with his approach, others often steer away from him but that didn’t stop the girls from falling head over heels for him.

in most eyes, zandik was a walking nightmare, or the devil himself. however, one should never judge a book by its cover. as someone who had been by his side for quite the number of years, you saw their viewings as false accusations and misunderstanding. yes, most of his thoughts were inhumane and unethical but you always admired his dedication to science and research.

you met zandik shortly after he had been driven out of his hometown. hungry and alone, zandik had trudged through the sand storms until out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a small house in the outskirts. he knocked on the door and you stepped out. after seeing how dirty and hungry he was, you quickly let him in and that was how your friendship with him started. you had let him stay at your home (your parents left for the city for work). during his stay at yours, you had granted him access a decent amount of books and equipment for him to conduct small experiments and research. bring the curious person you are, you kept trying to get him to explain everything to you.

at first, zandik saw you as a pest whom the archons brought to him only to make his life tougher but after spending time together, he warmed up to you. you showed interest in his work. though you didn’t always agree with his approaches, he saw that you never tried to leave him but instead take a step and try your very best to understand his perspectives. eventually, the both of you made it into the akademiya.

when it came down to being honest, or showing emotions, zandik was the least person you expected to be good at it. he's not one to open up easily. if other's could try to understand him better, they could at least see the zandik you knew.

you were walking out of your classroom when you saw the bluenette at the end of the hallway. arms crossed, he would send death-threatening glares to the other students who made eye-contact at him. as usual, you noticed that his actions were scaring the students. sighing, you sped down the hallway.

“zandik? how long did you wait?” you called out. giving him a teeny tiny heart attack as he had not noticed you. it even took him a few moments to calm himself down.

“were you trying to kill me? at least make some noise before showing up!” he half-shouted, glaring daggers at you. in one swift motion, he grabbed the books in your hand and walked ahead.

“no, i saw you from afar. i wanted to call you but you looked deep in thought. is something on your mind?” you inquired, catching up with him and stopping  after you noticed that his outburst had cause several students to whisper. although he was used to having others spread nasty rumours and whispering at him, you weren't.

a pang of guilt and pain stirred in you. you stopped in your tracks as he continued to walk on, lecturing you while at it. when he noticed that you were no longer next to him, he turned around and walked back to you. "(y/n)?"

facing him in full, you lifted two fingers to flick his forehead. doing that earned collective gasps from the other students as they started worrying about what would happen to you. you knew nothing would happen as he only allowed you to have physical contact with him. zandik furrowed his eyebrows, slightly annoyed that you did that in front of so many other people. he shot you a questioning look.

you shook your head. "this is why others are afraid and think wrongly of you." mimicking his current facial expression;  a menacing look with a ominous aura. he clicked his tongue.

"you think i care?" flicking your hand away from his face, zandik turned his back on you and took a few steps ahead of you. you knew those words were just cover up. you knew that he cared.

catching up to him once again, you opened your mouth to say sorry but he beat you to it. his words clear and audible, making it sure you could hear it.

"hey, your opinion of me.." giving you a sideways glance and then holding his chin up in thought. as he took your hand in his empty one and constructed his sentence, you could see the ends of his mouth etching up into a small grin. with this, you once again thought that it was a shame that others could not see this sight of him.

"..matters more.”

masterlist | apologies if this is out of character for someone like dottore, this fic is a very self indulgent one

CARETAKER.

pairing: wriothesley x gn!reader

synopsis: despite dealing with an allergy attack, you opt to go to wriothesley's office instead of the infirmary.

tags: sfw, fluff, can be interpreted as romantic or platonic, i'm sitting here surrounded by tissues and my head is full of mr big bad duke and i wanna be babied. so here u go

it's very rare for wriothesley to be surprised. given his extensive list of connections and knack for gathering intelligence, hardly anything within the fortress of meropide escapes his ears.

however, when sigewinne mentions in passing that she saw you in the administrative area earlier this morning, his eyebrows raise in genuine shock. normally, you make a beeline for him upon arrival to the fortress, and you're well aware that he spends most mornings and early afternoons collecting reports from the guards and the leaders in the production zone.

seeing that he's already passed through most areas in the fortress today while making his rounds, there's only one place he can think that you could be (if you're still there).

lo and behold, as he heads up the stairs of his office with a thick stack of papers in his hands, he spots you laying on the couch towards the back of the loft.

"it's odd of you to come here and not have the decency to say hello," he teases. you jump at the sound of his voice, turning your head and revealing your reddened eyes and a cluster of tissues in your hand.

before you can greet him properly, he's setting the papers down and coming to stand in front of you. "what's the matter?" he asks, eyeing you up and down. "are you upset?"

"not exactly," you say, your voice thick and congested. "my allergies got the best of me this morning on my way over, so i had to lay down. i promise i wasn't avoiding you." to prove your point, you sniffle. the sound is muffled, and upon closer inspection wriothesley can't see any evidence of you crying.

he hums, kneeling down in front of you. "why didn't you go to the infirmary? you know sigewinne could whip up some concoction to have you right as rain in no time."

your nose scrunches at the thought. "no thanks. i'd rather have the flu than have to choke down another milkshake." to prove your point, you bring a tissue up to your nose and press it against where it's running. "i just wanted to see you today, and this was the quietest place for me to lay down. i hope that's okay?"

the duke smiles a bit at the question. "of course; you're always welcome here. you know that." one of his hands comes up to brush a stray hair from your forehead, and you visibly relax at the feeling. "can i get you anything? we have generic allergy medication, and i've got some green tea from liyue that i hear helps."

"will you put honey in it?"

he nods, quickly kissing your temple before standing back up. "you don't even have to ask. two tablespoons, and a cube of sugar."

"you've got me all figured out, huh?"

wriothesley chuckles, then brushes your cheek with his thumb before turning around.

"guilty as charged. i'll be right back."

happy wrio release! i've already got him c1 and fully built :333