#it doesn't go into details about anything besides the emotional status of their relationship

[riftofthestars]

Been thinking about Blackwood and Ada lately and how - were they in any other place but Asterium - they would have been in a really healthy sub/dom relationship. Just because of a few factors.

Their first meeting was when Blackwood took shelter from a snowstorm in a cavern, but tripped and fell down into an underground river, ending up in Ada's kingdom injured and on the brink of death. Intrigued by Blackwood's plain body, Ada took him in and saw that he would be healed by her own hands. She used crystals to mend his broken bones and bark to mend his skin and flesh, resulting in his distinguished appearance.

But an important thing in Asterium is that people's bodies change to fit their surroundings: a smith will grow metal to be protected from the flame, a sailor would grow ghills and webbing etc. But Blackwood, despite being of age, at a time where he should have had signs of change for years, never evolved such things. So this change was basically forced onto him by Ada - both to experiment what would happen and because she knew no other way to help him - and this, during a time when Blackwood was in too much pain to even resist or say anything, resulted in a mutilation that wouldn't give his body an attempt at a slower evolution.

That didn't mean he wasn't grateful for Ada's help, she saved him from certain death, didn't she? So while he recovered in this place of almost pure darkness, say for the fluorescent plants that littered the cavern walls, and dangling by silk ropes from the ceiling, he still showed Ada the kindness and gratitude he would have showed anyone else.

Ada got her power by making people submit to her rule after dethroing and killing her father, so she was used to people recognizing her status and acting accordingly.

And that got Ada's attention. She had a lot of consorts, and quite a few of them submitted to her easily. Those that didn't were those that held some sort of status in her kingdom. But Blackwood didn't have any sort of status, there was no bolstering pride or resistance against in him at that time.

Blackwood was the first person in a very, very long time to not treat her as a queen, but rather just a person that saved his life. He treated her with kindness born not out of respect of her status, but from his heart. Ada wanted to see more of that. The two talked like any two people would while Blackwood recovered, but there was always something in the back of Ada's mind that wanted to see more of this hunter that fell from high above, hear more of his stories.

The presence of this hunter was pleasant to her, of course she would want to spend more time with him. He had a way of telling stories of the people he met, of the things he'd done, of what he'd seen that it was music to her ears; the way he treated her servants with such nervousness and humility was just adorable and endearing; his passion was delectable to witness. Ada wanted Blackwood to be hers, she wouldn't allow for her other consorts to do the same things she would allow between themselves.

She wasn't going to keep him in her caverns by force, goodness no - but that didn't mean she wouldn't convince him to come back. And she was in certainly no rush to get him out of her kingdom.

When Ada figured it had been long enough after Blackwood's full recovery, she made sure that he would be allowed to leave. She was part of the escort that guided Blackwood out of that mountain, giving him a kiss on each cheek before allowing him to leave with an invitation to come back to the Crystal Caverns at any time.

Blackwood had also enjoyed Ada's company. Compared to most royalty he heard of and most peope in power he met, there was something... different about Ada. The way she was careful with her actions, how her words seemed so captivating and deliberate and how curious she was of the outside world. The gentle yet powerful way of her sway is what captivated him.

While going on about his life, he kept visiting her more and more. From a day to two, from two to three, from three to a week and so on. And each time he fell in love with her just a little bit more.

Blackwood was always a loving person - he loved the earth and its trees, the sky and its wind, the water and its rivers, and the people. But this love was different, it grew as time went on, putting a pleasurable weight on his chest. The weight wasn't anything negative, it wasn't worry about what others would say or paranoia about what Ada would do or anxiety about how his body looked. This was the weight of a passion towards a person, genuine love that sparked intensity.

His mind came to accept that the crystal and the bark was just how he looked now, that it was just a reminded that tried to dampen the bad memories of his almost death through beauty.

But in truth, that was just a coping mechanism - he began to say that what Ada did to him was "A piece of art made by a very skilled hand" because he was worried that he would see it as a mutilation that some saw it as if he didn't convince himself..

He was truly in love with Ada, she didn't even need to try and plant any sort of seed for him to come back - she didn't even get the chance to try.

Ada also slowly fell in love with Blackwood. It wasn't just to satisfy her curiosity or to fulfill this thirst of hers for whatever Blackwood's presence brought her.

Slowly but surely, Blackwood began to spend less and less time with in the city and with the people he would travel literal days before, even spending less time in the cabin he's lived all his life in, preferring to spend his time in the caverns, with Ada.

And slowly but surely, Ada took more and more. She did love Blackwood and Blackwood loved her, so he would surely tell her when she was too much, right?

Blackwood was never pushed to the extreme or on the point of breaking. Ada was so careful and gentle as she tried newer and riskier things, she would know when to stop, right?

Blackwood's boundaries were pushed bit by bit, yes, but it was a slow enough progression for the both of them to think that he was adapting well.

Blackwood put trust into Ada to not go too far and Ada put trust into Blackwood to make sure she didn't went to far.

Yet there where still these... moments, cracks in their relationship that were never discussed besides being fixed in the moment. With time, over the course of the 5 years they were together, these cracks just gathered. Not once did Blackwood truly move in with Ada, but he did spend more time with her and on the trips to her kingdom than in his own home.

While most of Ada's consorts accommodated to Blackwood and his relationship with Ada, there were still those that were jealous that he was getting special treatment - those that thought they deserved to be by Ada's side instead of Blackwood. One of them took it upon themselves to give Blackwood a piece of their mind.

He was told he was nothing more than a pet for Ada, a plaything, something to be admired, used then discarded. After all, Ada still had her consorts, she still showed them affection and slept with them.

Blackwood never told Ada this. He tried to put whatever he was told to the side, because he knew that Ada was actually in love with him, right?

She indeed was in love with Blackwood, madly. But she couldn't read minds.

Next crack in their relationship showed up was what broke Blackwood. It wasn't long after this jealous consort confronted Blackwood, not even a month. And normally this would have been a moment where either Blackwood would have asked to stop or Ada would have realized that this would have been too much for him. But he just bared it with clenched teeth and let the moment go. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, a voice was telling him that if she actually loved him, Ada would have already known that what she was doing was too much. But again, Ada couldn't read minds.

What followed was a spiral of reliving every crack in their relationship, which devolved in realizing how much power Ada had over Blackwood not only in status and strength, but also how swift she was in her words.

What he once loved about her, that smooth influence over those around her that she had, turned from filling his chest with passion to filling his mind with paranoia. Had she been doing the same to him? Was she indeed just using him?

The answer was no. After a very short while, after she made sure that Blackwood would visit her again, Ada stopped trying to influence him intentionally, she would have probably allowed him to leave one last time and never retun if she was asked to.

In Asterium people can influence others in much heavier ways. Sometimes unconsciously.

That's what Ada didn't realize. She might have stopped doing it on purpose, but that didn't mean she stopped doing it entirely.

Blackwood figured that out. He began seeing things as that jealous consort put it in front of him. He felt broken. He felt betrayed. There was no use in even talking to Ada, because in his mind she already showed her colors.

So he left at the same night, at the first chance he got. Without an escord and without telling Ada anything. In the morning she was confused about Blackwood's disappearance. Worried that she was a bad partner, which wasn't entirely wrong, nor right.

They never met since.

--------

PHEW that was a lot... this took me to write... an hour holy shit.

I just felt like I had to give the whole picture. Now for some author notes:

The most important thing in their story is Ada's influence. Were they not in Asterium, it would have been seen just as a dom being a dom. A good one at that. Blackwood's boundaries were never broken, even if they were pushed.

The main problem was a lack of real communication about each other's concerns, which only served to amplify all other problems. If they had just talked, if Blackwood didn't unfairly put a new responsibility on Ada without saying a thing and if Ada didn't put a blind ammount of trust into Blackwood being strong enough emotionally from the start they would still be together.

[mystery-skulls-ghost]

cracks knuckles

please welcome the Duskmarch dorm.

Founded on the determination and will of the Grand Marshal, Duskmarch is a... relatively obscure and bleak dorm. Its members are usually ones that keep to themselves and focus on their passion (which is mostly art in all its forms.) The only people they interact with are with each other and a few other people, but they're generally not sociable with the general public. They have some traditions, but the most prevalent ones are the events held every 22nd of each month, March 22nd being the most grandiose. Their purpose is celebrating the memories of its members past and present. And some other stuff, but we'll get to that eventually. Think a mix of Heartslabyul + Ignihyde. The current dorm leader is Emil A. Carcino while the vice dorm leader is Vice Abriss.

Dorm Location:

The general area is a monochromatic ghost town in the mountains that seems to be literally stuck in time, as in all surrounding fauna and wildlife are in suspended motion. The weather is always overcast. The only things that move are incorporeal ashes falling from the sky like snowflakes and a proper day and night cycle. At night, the sky clears up to show the stars above.

The dorm quarters are located in a mansion right in the center of town. The architecture seems to be similar to the one from the Ramshackle dorm. It's reserved for the dorm leader and the vice dorm leader. All other members reside in the other abandoned buildings. How do they get to choose which building? As a great man once said: "It's free real estate." As long as it's theirs, they can do whatever they want with them. For example: Xander's building is entirely covered with colorful spray paint art.

Members:

Emil A. Carcino

Twisted from: The Black Parade

Dorm: Duskmarch, Dorm Head

Year: 2nd

Birthday: October 23rd (Scorpio)

Pronouns: He/Him

Relationship Status: Taken by that edgelord below

Age: 17

Height: 176cm

Dominant Hand: Right

Birthplace: Rose Kingdom

Club: Board Game Club

Favorite Subject: History

Likes: Vice, skeletons, sounds with a good beat to them, celebrations

Dislikes: Killjoys (lol), clowns, babies

Flaws: Too easygoing, he's gonna let one minor thing slide and that escalates into some major problems

Favorite Food: Adobo

Disliked Food: Anything with cinnamon

Special Skill: Perfect pitch

The mysterious, dreamy, charismatic head of Duskmarch, Emil is a very lax kind of guy. He may not look it, but he's very passionate about the arts. Can't you tell by the parties the dorm holds every 22nd of each month? Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be fazed by anything, not even jumpscares or existential dread. Emil's the kind of guy to live in the now rather than dwelling on past regrets. He's wiser than he looks.

Unique Magic:

"Carry On"

Allows Emil to view a singular, specific memory of a target. The catch being:

He can only view them as a dream. He can't see them immediately, he needs to take a little nap.

You know how dreams are. Weird, vague, trippy, and all associated synonyms. They also take the form of musicals!

Emil's gonna have to interpret them by himself.

Relationships:

Vice - Dormmate. Boyfriend. He really is in deep, cutesy love with him. Could this not be just a high school first love thing?

Xander - Dormmate. Much needed lighting in this place! He admires Xander's feistiness. Fun to tease.

Azul - Clubmate. Always enjoys a round of Brabble with Azul. Their scores against each other are a perfect tie.

Idia - Clubmate. Appreciates Idia from afar. Every time Emil tries to get to know him, he's conveniently not there.

Riddle - Next door neighbors. Emil doesn't really know Riddle that much, but his mom does.

Tiny Tidbits:

Emil smells like a hint of vanilla.

His fondest memory is of a parade; so when he found out that Duskmarch held monthly parades, he was overjoyed.

He dyed his hair white to match the previous dorm leaders.

Emil's art is entirely in black and white. He says it's more "aesthetically pleasing" that way.

If he were sorted into a canon dorm, he'd be sorted in Heartslabyul.

Vice Abriss

Twisted from: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

Dorm: Duskmarch, Vice (haha) Dorm Head

Year: 2nd

Birthday: June 8th (Gemini)

Pronouns: He/Him

Relationship Status: Taken by that boy above

Age: 17

Height: 187cm

Dominant Hand: Left

Birthplace: Isle of Lamentation

Club: Film Studies

Favorite Subject: Poison Making

Likes: Emil, poetry, the color red (a specific shade being "Pitchfork Red")

Dislikes: Anyone getting TOO close to Emil, fish, Xander

Flaws: being a fucking dick

Favorite Food: Cinnamon rolls

Disliked Food: Big Bean Burritos

Special Skill: A very attentive eye for detail

The vice dorm head of Duskmarch. A heart attack in black hair dye. Vice is a very strict man. He's serious about everything he does. Does he even have any emotions besides quiet, seething anger? That all seems to go away when he's with Emil, so that's one thing. Although, please don't interrupt his alone time...

Unique Magic:

"Starless Eyes"

Makes Vice invisible. He can't do it for more than 3 minutes, because it'll take some serious damage on him, both physically and mentally. How, exactly? His clothes may disintegrate, his flesh might also disintegrate, he'll become slightly more unhinged, etc. etc.

Relationships:

Emil - Dorm head. Boyfriend. Truly, madly, deeply in love with Emil. Nothing comes in between Vice and him. Literally nothing. Because he'll destroy whatever gets in the way.

Xander - Dormmate. An annoyance. Vice barely tolerates Xander.

Vil - Clubmate. Surprisingly on good terms. Vice does double work, both behind the scenes and onscreen. Vil's picky perfectionism strives him to do more.

Tiny Tidbits:

Vice's art is very abstract. Abstract as in they look like a madman's scribbles on a wall as his sanity slowly deteriorates. They always have some splotch of red somewhere.

He would definitely kill a man if anything were to happen to Emil.

Has a fear of heights. This is why his worst subjects are everything that involves broom flying.

If he were sorted into a canon dorm, he'd be sorted into Pomefiore.

Xander Ammonitra

Twisted from: Danger Days/Party Poison

Dorm: Duskmarch

Year: 1st

Birthday: November 22nd (Scorpio)

Pronouns: He/Him

Relationship Status: Single

Age: 16

Height: 180cm

Dominant Hand: Right

Birthplace: Davane

Club: Track and Field Club

Favorite Subject: Practical Magic

Likes: Street art, parkour, cartoony shenanigans, monkeys

Dislikes: Authority, drab colors, sterilized entertainment

Flaws: Loud, obnoxious, dirty mouthed [BLEEP]

Favorite Food: Deep-dish meat pizza

Disliked Food: Canned Marshmallows

Special Skill: Really good hearing

An extremely loud kind of guy. How did a boy like Xander even get into the dark, monochromatic aesthetic of Duskmarch? He expresses himself with bold colors, graffiti, confetti, and anything colorful (both literally and verbally.) He doesn't take kindly to strict rules. Despite the rowdy personality, he's kind of a dork. As things should be.

Unique Magic:

"Make Some Noise"

Lets Xander turn random objects into (non-lethal) bombs of various effects. It's a lot lamer than it sounds.

Relationships:

Emil - Dorm head. Appreciates Emil's "anything goes" mentality. Xander does get huffy over his moments of teasing.

Vice - Dormmate. Shares the same feeling of antipathy towards Vice. Xander's willing to go through slapstick shenanigans just to fuck with him.

Deuce - Clubmate. Sometimes flings snarky negative quips towards Deuce. Not the very best of friends.

Jack - Clubmate. Legitimately thinks that Jack is cool. Xander doesn't really give his usual temperament towards him.

Jude - No relation. He's seen Jude around right before they were both enrolled into NRC. Xander sees him as an idol, him standing up to the city of bullshit that is Davane.

Tiny Tidbits:

Xander has a potted Mars flytrap among his mess of a room. Did he steal it from the campus? Maybe.

He WILL find a way to vandalize every seemingly impossible to reach places with a cartoon monkey. He gets bored sometimes.

His birthday happens to be on the 22nd of November! That means he's in charge of the parade of that month. Expect an extravagant eyeblinding event.

Xander is an appreciator of anything involving wheels. Mostly rollerskates. His cowboy boots may or may not be heelys.

If he were sorted into a canon dorm, he'd be sorted into Scarabia.

[yukiobeyme]

Okay this is gonna be really specific, I really need this because I've been in the feels... If you can, a fic where Beel is crushing on an asexual MC (preferably fem! but I'm not picky aha) and she's feeling paranoid and guilty whether Beel would be happy in a relationship with her cause of bad experiences with past partners and has a break down when he confesses to her because she likes him back but he doesn't know she's asexual. Angst with a happy fluffy end pls 😊 thanks 💕

Thanks for being so patient with me! I hope this meant expectations. There is no in-depth details of the bad experience of relationships, but it is mentioned. i.e. statements of being broken or just haven’t had good sex yet. Please please let me know if I misrepresented something or anything came off as offensive. I am completely willing to redo/edit it!

   “You’re avoiding Beelz,” Belphegor’s voice broke through your thoughts. You flinched and immediately straightened, briefly meeting Belphie’s glaze before avoiding it. You were like a fish out of water, you tried to find the words to defend yourself to say no that wasn’t the case, but you have been avoiding him. You finally sighed and let your head drop down with your eyes closed.

“He is upset about it and it’s your fault,” Belphegor sneered at you before turning on his heel and leaving you be. His words were like a knife twisting in your gut, the final blow that brought you to tears. You were always drawn to the fifth born foodie and over your stay started to crush on him. It seemed that he returned your feelings. The only thing that stopped you was you were asexual. In past relationships, it never ended well. You were told you were broken, or you just haven’t had good sex yet. It led to experiences you could only wish, and hope would one day disappear. You aren’t exactly repulsed by the idea of sex, but it wasn’t something you were interested in and did find it was needed or wanted in a relationship.

You couldn’t help but feel guilty and your gut stayed tied in a knot.

“I need to go talk to him,” you talked out loud into the empty room. “But what do I say,” you stared at the ceiling hoping it could provide you the answer. Finally, you dropped your head and let out a puff of air, “Whatever I say I need to look him in the eyes and be honest,”. You slowly pushed yourself off the chair you were seated in and slowly made your way to the twin’s room, you prayed that only Beelz was in there.

You took a deep breath before you raised your hand to knock on the door, “Beelz?” you called out softly. A moment past and your gut twisted, you wondered if he wasn’t there or if he was ignoring you. Another moment past, your shoulders dropped feeling defeated when the door cracked open.

“MC?” Beelz whispered, as if he spoke too loudly you would disappear as if this wasn’t real. He opened the door more and had a surprised look on his face when he realized you are really outside his door.

“I think we need to talk, can I come in?” You asked shyly, hoping he would say yes. Beelz gave you a simple nod and stepped aside allowing you to enter. You stopped in the middle of his room before taking a seat on his bed. You patted the stop beside you, signaling Beelz to take a seat beside you. He moved wordlessly and was frozen like a statue once he was seated. You sat in silence, you didn’t know how to start, you avoid each other’s eyes and stared straight ahead.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you, I didn’t mean to I swear,” you finally blurted out.

“It’s just I like you and I think you like me too,” you were rushed to keep talking and fill the emptiness. Your stomach knotted when Beelz didn’t respond immediately.

“You like me too?” Beelz looked at you in disbelieve, “Then why avoid me? Do you not want to like me?”

“I do a lot, too much. It’s just I’m...” you let your sentence trail off, knowing you are about to reveal something that might make your world end, your deepest secret.

“I’m asexual,” you whispered, you risked a quick glance at Beelz seeing he was looking intently at you.

“Asexual? Okay?” Beelz said with a simple shrug. For some reason, his reaction wasn’t what you wanted or needed. He was so casual and nonchalant about it; this was such a big deal for you, and it seemed he didn’t care.

“I just remembered I have work to do, I’ll see you later,” you muttered out and quickly escaped the room. Tears filled your eyes as you went to seek refuge in your room. You were so caught up in hiding in your room, you didn’t notice you passed by Levi or that he was hot on your heels.

As soon as you were closing the door, a hand flashed out to keep it open. The door pushed open to reveal Levi.

“MC? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Levi rapid-fire the questions, looking at you with big eyes. You reached out and pulled Levi into your room and locked the door. You threw yourself on your bed before you turned and looked at Levi. You rushed to retell the story, tears refilling your eyes and threatened to spill. You sat in silence for a bit, Levi had reached out and grasped your hand. He was awkwardly rubbing circles in his unique form of comfort.

“Maybe I am broken,” your voice trembled as you tucked your knees to your chest.

“No,” Levi said with such force your head snapped up and looked at him. Levi shook his head and made sure to make and maintain eye contact with you, “You aren’t broken, nothing is wrong with you,”.

“I really do get it and understand,” Levi continued looking at you, “I thought I was asexual before a bit,”. You felt your head cock as you looked at Levi in wonder.

“But it didn’t seem to fit right, after a while I stumbled upon demisexual and that seems to resonate more with what I feel,”. Levi looked at you shyly but gave you a soft smile.

“Thank you,” you whispered to Levi, grasping his other hand, holding tight.

“Do you want me to go talk to him for you?” Levi looked at your intertwined hands.

“You would do that for me?” Your eyes widened and a smile blossomed on your face, “If you don’t mind, thank you so much,” you pulled Levi into a tight hug.

“I’ll send him your way once we are done chatting,” Levi gave you a final squeeze before he left your room.

Time seemed to drag on, you were waiting for Beelz. Nothing seemed to distract you, nothing could take your mind off how he would react to this information. You were wondering what Levi was talking to Beelz about. You jumped when you heard a knock on your door, you sprang up and opened the door quickly to see Beelz standing sheepishly outside.

“You can come in,” you whispered quietly and opened the door more. He nodded but avoided to meet your eyes as he entered the room.

“Sit,” you said as you nodded towards your bed. Beelz sat down slowly and waited for you to join him.

“I’m sorry,” Beelz started looking at his hands, “I didn’t know,”. He stopped after that, his face twisted as he got lost deep in thought.

“You didn’t know what?” you asked, encouraging him to continue.

“Honestly, a lot of things,” Beelz finally picked his head up, “I didn’t know what asexual meant. I didn’t know or even it was important or a big deal to you to reveal to me,”. He let out a sigh, a deep frown on his face and you could see tears forming.

“Do you understand now?” You asked softly, reaching out and resting your hand on his arm, giving it a light squeeze. “You can ask questions, I rather you ask than be confused,” you continued when he didn’t answer. He looked at where your arm was rested on his arm.

“What does asexual mean to you? Levi told me that it’s a spectrum…” He finally looked up at you.

“Well, asexual is a spectrum. For me, I don’t experience sexual attraction nor a sex drive. I have romantic and emotional attraction, just nothing sexual.” You gave him a soft smile, feeling some relief as he seemed focused on your words, trying to understand.

“Are you romantical attractive to me?” He asked shyly.

You felt your face heat up, “Yes,” you whispered. Beelz smiled at you, seeming pleased with this information.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, face dropping a bit.

“I didn’t know how you would react. I was insecure, I have past relationships that didn’t end well because of it. I didn’t want to risk losing you. You mean so much to me,” your voice dropped and was filled with sorrow as you continued to ramble.

“I don’t want to lose you either,” Beelz started looking thoughtful as he tried to find his next words, “I’ll be honest, in some ways I still don’t fully understand but I am willing to learn more. Especially if it means I can be with you.” You couldn’t help but feel touched by his words, this was the first time someone wasn’t trying to fix you and was so accepting of you, willing to learn more to make you comfortable and happy.

“I don’t think sex is needed for a relationship to be happy and healthy,” Beelz continued looking at you, gauging your reaction. You gave him a bright smile, your heart fluttered at his kind words.

“Are you okay if I touch you? Can we cuddle?” Beelz asked seeming shy and hoping to not overstep boundaries. Your eyes were soft, and you were filled with love.

“Of course,” once Beelz had your approval he collected you in his arms and moved until both of you were laying down on your bed. You were laying on his chest, you could hear how his heart seemed to be fluttering. Beelz pressed a soft kiss to your forehead and whispered reassurance to you that everything is alright, it would work out, and he loves you regardless.

You were glowing and basking in all the love that was being showered with. You smiled, “Maybe this will be different than all the other relationships,” you thought to yourself. You tightened your hold on Beelz’ shirt until you both drifted off to sleep.