wonderspectacles

[wonderspectacles]

Muse Favorites: Preferences

✧ Animal:  Badgers! They’re surprisingly endearing to him, although he’s never met one, he thinks they’re wonderful. If we’re talking about traditional house pets, he would like both cat and dog. For dogs, he would like more medium breeds.

✧ Flowers:  On his way to headquarters, an older lady ran a flower shop, and she’s always had a jar of white lilies sitting in the windowsill. He would see them again, and again, and every time they would have his attention. 

✧ Scent:  Ooh, his favorite scent might just be those festivals coming into Liberio, although he's never been to them. They always bring pleasant smells. Petrichor in Liberio is also something he finds himself appreciating a lot. 

✧ Coffee:  He may love the stuff, but he can’t drink his dark, he’d need at least some cream. Cream is more of a necessity to him than the sweeteners.

✧ Tea:  Mint! 

✧ Drink:  He eats his meals with water, but if he had to choose a favorite drink, it’s probably coffee. 

✧ Alcohol:  He definitely drinks, let’s add more bad habits of his! Really though, Zeke isn’t an alcoholic. I think he isn't a fan of the more potent kinds, but some alcohol he enjoys is hard cider.

✧ Food:  Hmm… in canonverse, something Zeke regularly ate was roasted fish, so I think it’s a food that brings him comfort in a way? It was routine, and on track. Generally speaking, I like the idea of Zeke loving spicy food. He’s weird, I think he would crunch on peppers like carrots, and has a mild spice tolerance.

✧ Dessert:  Carrot cake! He really likes sweets, and I think his favorite type of dessert are cakes of some sort. Vanilla cake, blueberry cake, he’s just a cake kinda fella. Although, blueberry anything he's bound to enjoy I reckon.

✧ Clothing:  Trench coats, button up shirts, long- sleeved shirts, blazers, are his exactly clothes in his clothing line. In specifics, business casual, or *maybe* light academia? His general color vibe I associate him with are lighter colors, like tan, beige, and white. Zeke is boring in terms of fashion. 

✧ Candy:  Not much into it!

✧ Left or Right Handed?:  Right Handed!

✧ Sloppy or Neat Writing?:  Zeke probably writes like shit. I think it takes good attention to try to read his handwriting.

✧ Clean or Messy Home?:  Clean enough. Despite all the monkey jokes, he’s actually fairly clean, and functions best in a clean home. It isn’t spotless, as a coat may be on a chair, a few plates might be unwashed, because he can be a little lazy.

✧ Shower in Morning or Night?:  Zeke likes to shower at night. 

✧ Tasks Done Early or Last Minute?:  Eh, kind of in the middle really.

✧ Love Language?: Oooh, hmm. This is a hard one actually. If we mean traditional love language, then it’s ‘acts of service’. He’s complicated with relationships, but he’ll do things, the boring and tedious things, just so they wouldn’t have to. Just to save them time, and show them more convenience. Zeke has trauma, a lot of *deep* and unresolved trauma, so he’s generally awkward with romance, for better or worse. I definitely think he, mostly in canon, can be a little possessive.

✧ Believe in Love at First Sight?:  Nope, Zeke is a bit of a realist, he would deny it existing.

Tagged by: @knightinsourarmor

[wonderspectacles]

The Beast came equipped with the will of its inheritor. One of the most fearsome Titans, but without a doubt the most adaptable. Its abilities were transformed to benefit its user. Zeke had the arm a pitcher would be most envious of, but purely situational, was his voice. He could overturn the trees, leave the soil moist with blood. Unlike instantaneous healing, his roar didn’t need the body of his titan. Just because of his ploy, Zeke would prove himself right. All of his cards were aligned. 

Except now he decided to humor him.

Which soldier was his favorite? Did he truly care about his damned? Pointless. Zeke didn’t understand his defiance to begin with. Although, being raised on this pitiful island, without the hatred of what was on the other side. Zeke supposed someone like Levi couldn’t understand. Afterall, at war with titans, with less fortune than what the Eldians in Marley received. At least they were taught. His greatest foe very well could’ve been Bertholdt during their siege those years ago.

“Now you’re just being unkind, Ackerman,” Zeke scolded, tsking. “You don’t expect me to sit here without any food, do you?” Food was somewhat scarce as it was, at least for him. Shelter, water, and even strategy, was a pleasure Zeke wasn’t given. Possibly a right for these troops, but Zeke was an outsider. Offered beforehand, a week ago, might’ve been a stale piece of bread. Believed if he ate quick enough, the mold would have turned invisible. His previous babysitter had no history with him. Zeke’s was the island’s history. Their island was reduced to a morgue in under twelve hours.

He couldn’t teach a hound to read. Zeke was their race’s salvation. All he was required to be right now, was patient. An opening was what he needed. Zeke couldn’t blast through with the agility of the Female or Attack Titan. He heard what Levi was capable of, and lived it from  recurring memory. Brute strength wouldn’t break this man. Some finesse, and one spontaneous move, and Levi would be an afterthought. Fiendishly, he dared himself to wonder if he even needed to steal such an easy victory. If the extremity of spiked wine was the only path. 

In wolves, the hierarchies were set, teeth and claws, willfully hurting their underdog, forcing them to grovel. To submit. They weren’t friends, or even comrades. Zeke was meant for greater things than to bow his head. Not to the enemy. He almost had to pity him. A fine way to rationalize his own demise. If he continued living, without cutting a few strings along the way, it all would have been worth something. 

“Help yourself.” He smiled. Either way, his book would have been stolen. Better to maintain his composure. His pulse was still climbing down from that shot. “If you’re having a hard time reading it, I can give you a play by play. I make pretty strong character voices.”

— Zeke Yeager | @wonderspectacles

He had to admit it to himself, before he could think of expressing it on his face, which had oozed smugness, there was a second or two where he panicked. Hair at the back of his neck stood on end, feeling a dozen barrels pointed at him. Death was something Zeke evaded many times. Now he had the finest honor of relishing in the captain’s company, with his little subordinates. His prize, something he earned, for washing away his commander, wasn’t a medal, but a barrel aligned just perfectly to his skull. It wasn’t the hesitance to kill which stopped Levi, he’s seen him fight, the man was a monster, but the very reason he hadn’t slit his throat on that airship.

Levi needed him.

Miles away from the walls of Paradis, was the forest they currently inhabited, likely laced with greedy parasites in the trees, but no true predator. Even by horse could no one reach them in time. And certainly not hauling a mindless titan. For how his soldiers flinched around him, there wasn’t a chance a squad could be tasked, or competent enough to lead his successor. Zeke would have long bonded with the mulch and dirt.

He saw it in Levi’s eyes. Ferocity alone, he was a lion waiting to gnaw the hind leg of an antelope, and despite his calculations, Levi easily had the means to pull the trigger. Silver eyes met Levi’s with arrogance, one indisputable fact, both of them understood. He couldn’t do it. Yet, his stomach was ice cold with something he couldn’t name.

He drew in a slow breath.

BANG!

Birds scattered from their perch at the draw of a well aimed shot. The noise got lost in the thick of the forest.

Pressure immediately left his wrists, but he felt the beginnings of soreness creeping into his body. Zeke leaned forward to pick up the bullet that rolled beside his boot.

The subject of their disdain, or rather Levi’s hatred, came to mind. Someone he forgot the name of the day Reiner brought up the regiment, and someone who could have been a pebble beneath his feet. If his esteemed commander ordered Levi to kill him, to bring their flimsy plan to ruin, maybe, just maybe Levi would have rolled over and brought him a bone while he was at it. Zeke had to laugh.

“Ah! Much better,” Zeke said, disregarding the look in Levi’s eyes. “Now, would a bowl of soup also be out of the question?” Zeke wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue testing his violence. Pain didn’t particularly worry him, but with Levi at the hilt of the blade, he was reasonably hesitant. Those would be wounds he had to suffer with since his healing stunted, and there was no way in hell Zeke could challenge Levi in a brawl with only his fists.

Arrogance. That look in the beast’s eyes, holding the certainty of a winner in a game with no rules or safe bets. Incapable of looking past his pride, the man would falsely believe to be the one to hold the power. The master of a plan, when he would only be treated as a tool, when the time was about to come. Unless he had another idea of what would become of him. Unless they were all acting, playing the roles they were worst at: Zeke as Eldia’s last hope, and Levi as the grateful host.

Levi wasn’t supposed to treat him like that, like a means to their cause, but as their valuable ally — an ally to have nearly annihilated the Survey Corps. One he was ordered to look after, and treat with the minimum tolerance he could stand showing. Feed his ego, let him buy his own fairytale. Let him believe he was the one having the upper hand, when it’d be the other way around. This was the only reason he held back on beating him to a pulp. The expectancy of the look on the monkey’s face, when he would have been cut to pieces like the piece of meat he was.

With Erwin’s death, and his unfulfilled promise to kill him, feelings to belong to the past, as if to somebody else, someone he had forgotten about, had reawakened inside of him. The almost irresistible urge to kill another human. There was a part of his past almost nobody knew about, a secret to have died with the last to have known and accepted him fully — was it a secret, or a horrible truth they had chosen to overlook — that he had murdered people. Violence was meant to be repaid with violence in the underground, and Levi had gotten tired of watching the blood flow endlessly in his time as a thug. Something the other was blissfully unaware of. That Titans hadn’t always been his enemy.

“ Valis. Please make sure our guest won’t eat or drink anything for the next three days. Since he seems not to be fond of the food we provide. ” He’d certainly enjoy watching him fade away, but this wasn’t the plan. It was a game of dominance, the one they played and he had no intention to give the blond bastard the slightest hope he’d let him win. He was in control, and in every attempt to defy him, Zeke would pay one price bigger than the other. Maybe, instead of playing at being the kind host, Levi could enjoy his time by trying to break him. It would only be between the two of them and his squad, wouldn’t it? But a broken puppet wouldn’t suffice in the play they had prepared, wouldn’t it?

He moved to pick up the book the other had been reading. “ Come on, I’m doing you a favor. You won’t need to shit for a while. ” His attention turned to the last opened page of the book, only to be reminded, that their alphabet was different. He’d only stare at a bunch of symbols to make absolutely no sense. How convenient for the bastard. “ You won’t need this, will you? ” he asked, but it wasn’t a question expecting an answer. “ I was thinking about giving it a try. ” Better say, taking the last thing that could keep him somewhat busy.

[wonderspectacles]

continued here: @knightinsourarmor

He had to admit it to himself, before he could think of expressing it on his face, which had oozed smugness, there was a second or two where he panicked. Hair at the back of his neck stood on end, feeling a dozen barrels pointed at him. Death was something Zeke evaded many times. Now he had the finest honor of relishing in the captain’s company, with his little subordinates. His prize, something he earned, for washing away his commander, wasn’t a medal, but a barrel aligned just perfectly to his skull. It wasn’t the hesitance to kill which stopped Levi, he’s seen him fight, the man was a monster, but the very reason he hadn’t slit his throat on that airship. 

Levi needed him.

Miles away from the walls of Paradis, was the forest they currently inhabited, likely laced with greedy parasites in the trees, but no true predator. Even by horse could no one reach them in time. And certainly not hauling a mindless titan. For how his soldiers flinched around him, there wasn’t a chance a squad could be tasked, or competent enough to lead his successor. Zeke would have long bonded with the mulch and dirt.

He saw it in Levi’s eyes. Ferocity alone, he was a lion waiting to gnaw the hind leg of an antelope, and despite his calculations, Levi easily had the means to pull the trigger. Silver eyes met Levi’s with arrogance, one indisputable fact, both of them understood. He couldn’t do it. Yet, his stomach was ice cold with something he couldn’t name. 

He drew in a slow breath.

BANG!

Birds scattered from their perch at the draw of a well aimed shot. The noise got lost in the thick of the forest. 

Pressure immediately left his wrists, but he felt the beginnings of soreness creeping into his body. Zeke leaned forward to pick up the bullet that rolled beside his boot.

The subject of their disdain, or rather Levi’s hatred, came to mind. Someone he forgot the name of the day Reiner brought up the regiment, and someone who could have been a pebble beneath his feet. If his esteemed commander ordered Levi to kill him, to bring their flimsy plan to ruin, maybe, just maybe Levi would have rolled over and brought him a bone while he was at it. Zeke had to laugh.

“Ah! Much better,” Zeke said, disregarding the look in Levi’s eyes. “Now, would a bowl of soup also be out of the question?” Zeke wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue testing his violence. Pain didn’t particularly worry him, but with Levi at the hilt of the blade, he was reasonably hesitant. Those would be wounds he had to suffer with since his healing stunted, and there was no way in hell Zeke could challenge Levi in a brawl with only his fists.

[wonderspectacles]

❛ don’t look at me like that. ❜

&. 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

( for Levi! )

Dreadfully boring. 

Each read of this book felt he was actively losing knowledge rather than obtaining it. He may have recited it if requested. Same principals, a lecture of an old king, and his lovely pawn, the proud knight. A tale he could have told before propping it open. A potent earthy smell crawled up his nose, reminding him of his location. Surrounding him were trees thicker than the spine of this book. Except the book was resting dangerously close to the fireplace. Zeke could forget about it, but his sitter was far more interesting. His bitter reply invited a smile to his face. Rousing Levi always was entertaining. He only ever replied to him in limited speech. There were only ever so many conversations to have. When he did make comments, Zeke considered it a rooster’s call, marking a certain time of day. One thing to almost look forward to, for an afternoon he lived a thousand times.

His tone was warm, soaked in honey. “Come now, Levi. Only natural to gaze at each other from time to time.” More like the glares Levi shot at him. “We are on the same side after all. I’d shake your hand as a testament to our comradery but my hands, they’re tied I’m afraid.” Over the crisp fire pit, the rattling of his cuffs were heard as he shook for emphasis. Zeke asked countless of times to be freed. Even if to piss behind a bush. “On the subject, would you be so kind as to get rid of these? Not, like I could harm you. I wouldn’t dream of picking a fight with Humanity’s Strongest.” Zeke’s transformation was stolen from him through the art of a restrictive medical syringe. If he wanted to shift, he certainly couldn’t. It worsened his stamina, and if Levi decided it, Zeke could lose a tooth and not recover it for hours.

I hate those damned things. 

[wonderspectacles]

&. 𝐡𝐢𝐭 ‘𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

(  more  angst  to  devastate  your  writing  partners.  metaphorically.  )

❛ you’re a weapon, and weapons don’t weep. ❜

❛ you can’t save everyone. ❜

❛ it should have been you. ❜

❛ did i do good? ❜

❛ i’m sorry that i can’t save you. ❜

❛ wait for me, will you? ❜

❛ i can’t lose you again! ❜

❛ you were dead, i saw you die. ❜

❛ we won’t forget each other, right? ❜

❛ i’m real. i’m here. ❜

❛ you already know how this will end. ❜

❛ it’s always my fault, isn’t it? ❜

❛ i don’t want to go. ❜

❛ can you remember how you died? ❜

❛ i love you, but you’re not mine. ❜

❛ have you ever lost someone? ❜

❛ i didn’t ask to get made. ❜

❛ you’re as beautiful as the day i lost you. ❜

❛ i never meant to hurt you. ❜

❛ is it really you? ❜

❛ their blood is on your hands. ❜

❛ it would have been better to die. ❜

❛ i’m not ready to lose you yet. ❜

❛ i wish i met you sooner. ❜

❛ let’s just stay here. grow old. ❜

❛ you’re the first friend i ever had. ❜

❛ i told you not to fall in love with me. ❜

❛ you always push people away. i just thought you’d never do it to me. ❜

❛ everyone i’ve cared about has either died or left me. except for you. ❜

❛ i know i have a heart because i can feel it breaking. ❜

❛ they’re not coming back. ❜

❛ i’m sorry, have we met? ❜

❛ in my dreams, we’re still together. ❜

❛ you’re the one good thing left in this world. ❜

❛ i hate the way that i don’t hate you. ❜

❛ it’s okay. you can let go. ❜

❛ you mean nothing to me. ❜

❛ we’re on our own now. ❜

❛ you can’t kill me, i’m not alive. ❜

❛ it wasn’t supposed to end like this. ❜

❛ do you remember when we first met? ❜

❛ we’ll see each other again. ❜

❛ there’s nothing you could have done. ❜

❛ we did it. we won. ❜

❛ let’s not go back. not ever. ❜

❛ thanks for playing with me. ❜

❛ why does it feel like this is goodbye? ❜

[wonderspectacles]

&. 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

❛ i didn’t know where else to go. ❜

❛ i’ll never be that me again. ❜

❛ you can still be good. ❜

❛ i thought you’d be here. ❜

❛ don’t act like you know me. ❜

❛ because i care about you, okay? ❜

❛ it wasn’t supposed to end like this. ❜

❛ i was scared. i thought you had lost your way. ❜

❛ am i supposed to just let you go? ❜

❛ you deserve better than me. ❜

❛ don’t make me do this. ❜

❛ i’m not who you think i am. ❜

❛ you don’t mean that. ❜

❛ please just hold me. ❜

❛ i don’t want to understand, i want you to stay. ❜

❛ and why should i care? ❜

❛ you look awful. ❜

❛ i can’t do this without you. ❜

❛ don’t let me lose you too. ❜

❛ for what it’s worth, i really am sorry. ❜

❛ it’s not your fault. ❜

❛ i don’t know who i am anymore. ❜

❛ is this the part where you kick me out? ❜

❛ don’t we deserve to be happy? ❜

❛ promise me you’ll still be here when i wake up. ❜

❛ you can’t save everyone. ❜

❛ it was a nightmare, that’s all. ❜

❛ it’s just a scratch, don’t worry. ❜

❛ you know me better than i know myself. ❜

❛ don’t go where i can’t follow. ❜

❛ you’re better off without me. ❜

❛ we all die alone. ❜

❛ people get hurt if they get too close to me. ❜

❛ i hate what i’ve become. ❜

❛ i’m not going anywhere. ❜

❛ is there anything i can do to help? ❜

❛ i don’t even recognize you anymore. ❜

❛ who did this to you? ❜

❛ please don’t leave me. ❜

❛ oh, now you care? ❜

❛ don’t come any closer! ❜

❛ i missed you so much. ❜

❛ you don’t have to say anything. ❜

❛ do you want me to leave? ❜

❛ why are you avoiding me? ❜

❛ you could have died, you know. ❜

❛ i wish you were here. ❜

❛ you’re not alone. i’m staying right here. ❜

❛ i can be your family. ❜

❛ of course i’m here. where else would i be? ❜

❛ we just can’t seem to get it right, huh? ❜

❛ don’t look at me like that. ❜

❛ don’t push me away again. ❜

❛ this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. ❜

❛ you’re leaving already? ❜

❛ this was a mistake. ❜

❛ can’t sleep? ❜

[wonderspectacles]

Meet Uglies & Ugly Situations

ideas for first meetings which… aren’t as ideal as first meetings could be. emetophobia, car accident, illness, gun violence, and other general whump trigger warnings apply. 

Car accident  - some form of on-road collision between the two muses

Late night - our muses live nextdoor to each other, and keep waking each other up accidentally for whatever reason (one works days and one works nights, etc)

Sick  - one muse throws up or passes out on the other while in a public place/on public transport.

Party  - one muse is not having a great time at a party or bar for whatever reason. Out of options, they ask the other muse for help escaping/leaving/etc.

Followed  - one muse is being followed/threatened and knocks on the other muse’s door in search of shelter.

Hold-up - the two muses are held up together. (Alternatively: one muse holds up the other.)

Fast food   - neither muse enjoys fast food, but that’s where they meet, in a bad fast food restaurant at 3am trying to get something to eat.

Drowning  - one muse saves the other from drowning. This is a meet ugly because drowning is, I promise, not very attractive.

Soaked  - one muse is waiting for a bus/taxi on the side of the road. The other muse drives through a puddle and soooooaks them through. they either pull over or recognise each other at a later coincidental crossroads.

Spill - one muse spills their coffee on the other. And on their laptop. and their book. just their table in general, actually.