#( kh verse tag tba )

[madamhatter]

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself so much, dearest hatter. Sophie, please, go to bed."

In the cramped confines of her workspace, Sophie Hatter never considers that the existence of darkness counters her loneliness. 

Just as she fills unclaimed spaces with quiet lament, so too do the shadows. They occupy and co-exist between or behind material objects, moving and changing as much as the light did. One key difference is that her subjection to the living world meant her participation with her shadow sewn to her heels. 

Not too human, not too inhuman either. 

Perched on her aged stool, pencil rolling between her thumb and index finger, Sophie retreats into the farthest corner of her bedroom-turned-office. Curtains drawn, merely a sliver of sicky yellow street lights breach in the dark, flitting with the occasional passing car. 

Her bleary eyes affix to the pencil in her hand, the grip intensifying momentarily. Neglected paperwork from the business owner—no, mother, Sophie amends—returns to hours upon hours of poured labor at her desk, concluding to a drained mind. 

Mother has been preoccupied in recent weeks, but as always, I couldn't leave the work undone—whether she expressly requested it or not. Omitting the details of her rationale, the copper-haired woman presses her lips together, forcing lead to the paper. 

The pencil's scratch, pointed and persistent, breaches the silence of the room as though progress and work have come. Yet, the lead burrows deeper, darkening the curvature of a "t" meant to continue an unfinished statement. Overwhelm, override. Amidst the ghastly awareness and the hollowing horror of recognition, she clings to a familiar cure-all: work. Immersing herself in it would numb the creeping, insidious frustration neath her flesh.  Hopefully, that is. No, assures. She corrects herself once more, amid the interplay of paperwork, shadows, and isolation.

The seamstress adjusts her position, her eyes darting between her work and the curtains. A heavy, uncomfortable presence seems to burrow into her, akin to uninvited eyes observing her like a bird in a white-gilded cage. Her shoulders slump, and the pencil lifts from the page. Taking a deep breath, she presses the lead back down. Yet again, an uneasy weight forms at the base of her throat.

Who is there? What is there?  Squeezing the pencil till her knuckles turn ghostly white, she indignantly turns her face, entertaining her irrational imagination. 

Pure yellow retinas, devoid of irises or pupils, fixate on her. The figment of her worries, brought to life in hues blacker and bluer than ink. The creature, seemingly timid, gazes at her, its head canting slightly, unmistakenly worried.

Her red-rimmed eyes blink once, then again, she softly utters, "Mister Shadow?" 

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself so much, dearest hatter. Sophie, please, go to bed."

Sophie's shoulders were tense, barely noticeable, at the eldritch mystery's gentleness. Again, the pencil rolls between her fingers. Raising her eyes, a soft yet unyielding firmness is in her voice: "Mister Shadow, though I appreciate your concern..." Steadily, her tone hints at the weariness of a sharp tongue: "But the work must be done. None of this paperwork can magically finish itself, and every stitch delayed is something closer to breaking." Her gaze flits to the papers. "As you are aware, waiting is not an option for me." 

With a sigh, she leans forward in her chair, her eyes momentarily closing as if seeking a moment of respite. "I have to keep going..." 

Who else will if I don't?

[atlaslain]

“ i suggest we move quietly. ”

the last of us.    /    @flamereign

            what response the soldier might’ve offered is delayed. suggestions are uncharted territory; he’s familiar with instructions and barked orders, and assumes those words aren’t for him. a moment drags by, then two, and finally he registers the expectant gaze upon him — terribly gentle, for such sharp eyes. zack startles, pulls in a shallow breath as reality reasserts itself. he’s zack. not soldier. 

        “yeah.” a quiet rasp. he casts about for something, anything, else to contribute and comes up empty. his fingers, itching for something to do, begin pulling the gemlike green of potion bottles from his pockets — the few remaining, snatched up from defeated heartless on their way to this safe little alcove. he gave the majority to lea to kick-start his healing. now he proceeds to divide the stash between the two of them, unconsciously offering lea the lion’s share. beyond their hiding place, the attack on thebes rages on — heartless crawl from the shadows and, in the distance, titans storm olympus. it will be better to avoid battles. 

        “do you…” he trails off, tries again. “after. when we … get you out of the city. where will you go?” 

[sinnhelmingr]

MAINS POST.

This is a post to outline those muses/blogs that I am comfortable with and have built enough of an OOC rapport with the mun to reference them as the DEFAULT muse or ship for a setting. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT ME PRACTICING EXCLUSIVITY. I don’t believe in it on my own blogs, and I won’t practice it. Other versions of these muses are welcomed and encouraged to interact with my blog! I will ship Hel with other characters within a verse! It’s just that these specifics takes on the characters have so impacted Hel or shaped a verse that I am shining a spotlight on them as my mains. to the fandom/characters tags i am about to end up in, i am so sorry that tumblr is like this, bear with me, please keep scrolling.

SHIPS:

HEL/ANSEM (KH verse, as played by @andallsoend​)

HEL/GWYNDOLIN (Dark Souls verse, as played by @ryunonendai)

HEL/VICTOR VON DOOM (616 verse, as played by @trushalodji)

HEL/ZODD (Berserk verse, as played by @maledictgaol​)

CHARACTERS:

Ansem (KH verse & Modern, as played by @andallsoend​)

Areban (DnD and myth verse, as played by @monagxrie​)

Armand di Venezia (mythverse, as played by @thyhorrorremains)

Caleb Quinn (DBD verse, as played by @gamblershand​)

Casca (Berserk verse, as played by @maledictgaol​)

Death (any setting, as played by Redd, blog TBA)

Deirdre nic’Dubhshlaine (myth setting, as played by @monagxrie​)

Edmond Dantes (any setting, as played by @bringhelltoyourdoorstep)

Johanna Constantine (mythverse, as played by Redd, blog TBA)

John Constantine (mythverse, as played by @gamblershand​)

Jonathan Sims (TMA verse, as played by @thyhorrorremains)

Kaz Brekker (Grishaverse, as played by @thyhorrorremains​)

Loki (any setting, as played by @loptgangandi)

Luxord (KH and Modern verses, as played by @gamblershand)

Luxu (KH and Modern verses, as played by @nxctividus​)

Matthew Cable (mythverse, asplayed by @versin-surfin​)

Meg Thomspon (DBD verse, as played by @teardownheaven​)

Michael Shelley / The Distortion (TMA verse, as played by @thyhorrorremains)

Nosferatu Zodd (Berserk verse, as played by @maledictgaol​)

[starryburglar-archive]

Skuld Info

Full name: Skuld ( Lupin )

Species: Human

Age: 17

Sexuality: Asexual

FC(s): Mitsuki Nase // Benedetta Gargari

Bio: Skuld, originally one of many chosen children by the Keyblade living in Daybreak Town, off in missions to collect lux across the worlds, suddenly became involved in a much larger plot as the Keyblade War crept in. She befriended the MC of KH Chi and KHUX, who was searching for Ephemera after the boy vanished out of the blue. Both ran across Master Ava, who invited them to be a part of the Dandelions; while MC didn't accept, Skuld did. 

Eventually, just before the war took place, Master Ava chose her to be one of the 5 new Union Leaders to guide the Dandelions after the war. She, alongside Ephemera, Ventus, Blaine, and Lauriam, are to guide the survivors of the Keyblade War while making them forget such war even took place, by hiding inside the datascape.

Note: Follows the Union Cross lore but also applies personal headcanons.

[ MAIN || INBOX || HEADCANONS || VISAGE || MUSINGS ]

                                 -----------------------------------------------

V001: Union Leader

Default main verse. This takes place during the events of KHUX after the Keyblade War has already happened and they, the leaders and Dandelions, are already inside the datascape ( I know, it’s weird ).

V002: modern verse tba

modern verse tba

                                 -----------------------------------------------

CONNECTIONS

Ephemera :: [ Monie ]

pending tag

[atlaslain]

@flamereign    /    here.

          “sure, man. whatever.” no attempt’s made to conceal his flare of temper; he turns away, expression hardened, and hopes more heartless spawn. since he’s not permitted to yell when he feels like it, he’ll at least have a good fight to take his anger out on. it’s the first time he’s been so pissed with lea and he’s not sure what to do with it --- it’s a strange, unsteady feeling like trying to keep one’s footing on a rocking boat. lea’s his foundation, his stability, and right now zack wants to punch him in the face for dismissing his concerns, for pretending, for dictating when he gets to be worried. ( logically, he gets it, but logic’s a quiet whisper in the back of his mind at the moment and shows no signs of getting louder. )

 “you find cover until you’re able to do your dark corridor thing. i’ll deal with them.” there’s a lot of heartless --- he can hear them crawling through the undergrowth, estimates over twenty of them --- but zack’s handled worse. his own injuries are negligible and he’s not opposed to digging into his leftover dark magic if it means protecting lea. 

[atlaslain]

five times kissed, do hades verse

five times kissed.     /     @flamereign

i.       neverland.   lea brings him here a lot. before they began their travels, he asked zack what kinds of worlds he wanted to see and zack said bright places. places with light and warmth and sunshine. he never wants to see the underworld’s cavernous jaws again, lit only by the sickly glow of the river of the dead. neverland is paradise by day: halos of sunlight glittering on an endless ocean, laughter echoing through seas of trees, life and vibrancy as far as the eye can see. by night, it’s a starlit expanse: constellations coiling through velvety skies, mermaids’ tails glinting in the moonlight painting their lagoons silver. zack can breathe easily here. he often catches lea smiling at his delight with the world. 

zack’s begun playfully referring to their outings here as dates just to watch lea’s reaction. it appears to give him pause; he tends to flick his gaze carefully to zack’s face, read his expression, and then seem to decide against whatever he was going to say. it’s frustrating, this slow attempt at luring him into displaying some inkling of his feelings. zack’s never been particularly skilled at subtlety — he’s going to run out of ways to hint about his crush soon, and then what will he do? he has no idea how to go about this dating business! ( self-consciousness nags that this is why lea doesn’t want him: zack’s got none of the experience he’d expected to have by this age, thanks to hades. surviving brainwashing instead of learning to kiss has put him at a minor disadvantage. )they’re watching the mermaids today, and zack’s thrilled because at least they seem to want to flirt with him! they tell him how pretty his blue eyes are and coax him nearer to the water so they can braid tiny seashells into his hair. when they leave, zack’s still grinning broadly.“they said i was pretty.” he hasn’t had a compliment like that in years. since … before. it’s nice. fluffs his ailing ego up. “you are,” lea tells him without hesitation. and, oh. that makes zack’s heart flip. he’s horrified to feel his cheeks heat. pull it together, fair. his crush says one nice thing to him and he falls apart. “think so?” zack asks, mouth dry, throat tight with nerves. that’s it; he’s doing this. he pulls in a deep breath and takes hold of lea’s shirt, uses it to reel him close. he can hardly breathe. is a first kiss supposed to be this exhilarating? gods, what if he’s awful at it? he’s zack fair; he’s supposed to be amazing at everything — he’ll lose his reputation! lea watches him steadily, seems to be considering pulling away — as if he’s afraid zack’s not ready to be doing this. that settles it. defiant, zack yanks him in for that damn kiss. turns out pretty good, if he does say so himself.

ii.       halloween town.   they haven’t kissed again. aside from that one chaste — if slightly rough — kiss, they’ve continued on as they were. zack understands better now that lea feels he’s experienced entirely too much trauma, and wants him to heal before they become physically entangled. he seems to have some idea he’ll ruin what they have, or push zack too far, if he follows what he wants. zack finds the whole thing ridiculous and would much rather be kissed on every available surface to rid him of his pesky inexperience. lea’s too protective of him. ( it’s rather annoying that zack can’t help but be endeared by that. if lea could stop providing reasons to fall more in love with him, that’d be appreciated. ) though halloween town isn’t quite one of those bright, warm places he’s wanted to see, zack loves it the instant he lays eyes on it. it’s healing, in its own way, to find enjoyment in a place so grim. his outfit helps: zack’s a vampire here, complete with very real fangs and a revealing outfit in dark leather and strategically placed rips. lea’s a scarecrow. he manages to make it look incredible. zack makes a flirtatious comment about how he’s never found a scarecrow hot before. they watch a show by the fountain: the world’s ghoulish residents perform a vaguely horrifying song about monsters, backed up with some gleefully violent dance moves and a sparkling array of disco lights. afterward, the whole thing devolves into a party — music thrums through the streets and the graveyards, coffins expel their skeletal residents to join the dance, and zack grins at lea and insists they partake. “when else are we gonna get to dance with werewolves and ghosts?” he reasons, but only ends up dancing with lea. he gets bolder as they dance, grabbing lea’s hands and positioning them where his outfit slits open at the sides. warm hands against skin feels indescribably good. zack, touch-starved and a little too eager, presses as close as he can get. lea gives him a look like, i know exactly what you’re trying to do.zack grins, unapologetic, and waits to be kissed. he wants it to be lea’s choice this time. he’s not disappointed. lea gives him this impossibly fond look, even as his eyes darken with want and he leans in to press their mouths together. zack meets him greedily, forgetting altogether about the fangs this world has given him until he just about cuts lea’s lip open with them. “oh — oh, fuck. fuck. i’m sorry!” he backs up, but lea’s laughing and leaning in for a far more careful kiss and he really doesn’t mind that it tastes a little like blood. 

iii.       wonderland.   the flowers are real chatty here. the roses wave their leaves and threaten to stick zack and lea full of thorns if they don’t stop staring — but the daffodils gently offer them directions to ‘what they’re looking for’. they wind up more lost than they’d been originally, but zack gets the sense the flowers’ logic is a little skewed anyway. they stumble into a maze of constantly shifting hedges, and only realise they’re too small for their current location when they happen across a dainty little table set with ‘eat me’ cakes and ‘drink me’ vials.they play musical sizes ‘til they’re right. zack’s never had so much fun. he grabs lea’s hand as they explore, winding their fingers together, and now it feels like a real date. he almost can’t believe he gets to see places like this. there are still days he wakes up swallowing screams, certain he’s going to be staring up at the underworld’s vast ceiling — and instead here he is, safe and learning not to be constantly on edge. seeing all the star-scattered worlds lea can show him. he promptly leads them into one of the maze’s dead ends, despite earlier assurances his sense of direction is great. lea makes a comment to that effect, mouth curled into an amused smile. “maybe i meant to lead us here,” zack suggests, playful. “just wanted to get you alone.”he’s teasing, but it does seem too good an opportunity to pass up. zack backs lea into the hedges, careful not to press him too close to the brambles winding there, and maps languid kisses over his cheeks. he’s getting more confident with this. it’s easier, now, to sink into the enjoyment and find lea’s lips, kissing slow and sweet. arms wrap about zack’s waist to draw him nearer and he smiles into the kiss. lea’s stopped treating him quite so carefully. it’s thrilling to watch him lose himself in this.zack only stops when he hears card guards approaching. he drags lea off, insisting he wants to see the mad hatter’s tea party before they go home. 

iv.       port royal.   zack’s perhaps not destined to be a captain, but he enjoys sailing lea’s ship nonetheless. this world may be his favourite yet. it’s all vast stretches of dazzling ocean, baking sun and a thousand islands to explore. the towns are tightly-packed and well-populated, but full of fascinating locals and tales of piracy. zack requests this world often. they lay down anchor in port royal as the sun begins to dip low on the horizon. zack’s wearing the captain’s hat, the hair beneath it bound in a loose bandana. lea, dressed in his pirate finest, looks roguish and entirely too appealing. his clothes are wet and clinging to him from the swim they took. they kissed surrounded by ocean and the froth of waves, and zack’s been aching to be touched again ever since. he wants … he wants. more. lea doesn’t treat him so gently anymore, sure, but he doesn’t fling him to the ground and ravage him either. zack’s not entirely certain what it’d take to warrant that kind of behaviour but he plans to find out. he’s yet to figure out how to say ‘i want you to bone me ‘til i can’t think straight’, what with lea’s protective need to shield zack from his own fucking horniness. zack takes matters into his own hands and suggests they spend the night in the ship’s cabin. lea agrees, puzzled but willing, clearly affected in his own way be the sheer amount of kissing and touching they’ve done today. he’s still holding himself back. it’s easily remedied. zack tosses him to the bed in a display of strength designed to remind the man just how far from weak he is, and straddles his hips. “hey, so i dunno how to approach this tactfully,” he murmurs. “i really want you to fuck me. or … let me fuck you. either way. i’m not picky. and i know — i haven’t … before. and you’re worried about pushing me too far. but i want to with you.” a pause. “like, you could shove me onto all fours and ram me whenever you wanted and i still wouldn’t think you were pushing me too far. okay?”he’s maybe a little too casual about it, but lea seems to get the point. he goes this strange contrast of soft in the eyes and decidedly hard lower down. maybe zack’s got a knack for this dirty talk thing after all! zack kisses him hard, rocks his hips with need. he’s waited so long for this feeling. he should — show lea some appreciation first. he kisses his way lower, yanks lea’s shirt off as he goes, and tugs at his pants. “teach me how to…” he begins, but impatiently pulls the clothing out of the way and gets his mouth down there before lea can say a word. zack pulls back a few moments later, slightly breathless, to complete his sentence. “teach me what you like.” 

v.       thebes.   he had to come back here. it’s almost rebuilt now. zack’s recollection of its destruction is blurry at best, largely dominated by his encounter with lea and his subsequent salvation. he vaguely recalls sending statues splintering into dust — but there are new ones in their place now, most of them depicting hercules. that’s good. the place isn’t ruined. the people seem happy again, busy. the colosseum is up and running again. zack insisted on dropping by the second he heard.lea respected his choice, but seems to understand he needs comfort. he holds zack’s hand, lingers close by his side as they make their way through the city. they’ve spoken, at length, about lea’s time as a nobody and how the actions of his past self hurt him. it’s similar for zack, though he didn’t lose his heart; he lost his free will instead. “wanna enter the tournament together? you’n’me could win it,” he suggests, wanting to paint over the rough memories with something good. possibly also wanting to watch lea fight, because he greatly enjoys that. lea hums an affirmative, and the playful glint in his eye suggests he knows precisely why zack wants to do this. he leans in for a kiss. zack holds him close even after they’re done.thebes is healed. zack thinks he’s well on the way there, too. 

[atlaslain]

the hug that lasts longer than the rest / hades verse perchance.

hug prompts.          /          @flamereign

          time’s a foggy, muddy concept and the reality of years snatched away has not yet sunk in. still, his body knows. physically, he is aware of differences: a certain ache rooted in his bones, the remnants of darkness curling through his system, and a coldness sunk deep within. he craves warmth, but has forgotten quite how to ask for it, forgotten that he is allowed it. he craves touch, tangible reminder that he is no longer a puppet but a person, free to exist. it builds, this sensation of need, like a carbonated drink shook ‘til it froths over. he can’t take feeling lonely in his own body anymore.          lea feels safe. he’s an anchor in a storm, a saviour. he’s more warmth than zack can bear sometimes: overwhelming. but precisely what zack needs.          they sit together by radiant garden’s fountain. lea holds an ice cream; zack declined one. they waited ‘til night to come here, when there’d be less people around. the quiet is nice, but he wonders if he’d have enjoyed the loud more. he can never quite decide, now, what he needs in order to recover. it’s --- confusing. zack makes a soft, uncertain sound that cuts into lea’s chatter.          “hey...” he begins, voice no longer hoarse from under-use but still unsure, still flat. “can i...?” he makes an awkward gesture with one arm. hug. he wants to be hugged. lea does that for him sometimes. zack hesitates a moment longer and then, tired of his own indecision, curls his arm about lea’s waist and leans carefully into him. his eyes close, slowly. “jus’ lemme stay here for a little bit.”