Slow down

[priderock]

little steps No matter how much they care for the other person and want to be with them, some people simply can't dive head first into relationships. Little things that form intimacy and romance, little acts we take for granted - being close, holding hands, kissing, showing affection in public - they won't or can't do...at least not right off the bat. Something in their past, their experiences, their trauma, or even their personality holds them back. For both them and the person they're "dating," as it were, this can lead to a frustrating experience. Still, steps can be taken towards letting the walls fall down. Little, tiny steps, but those can mean the world all the same. The People One With the help of a partner, one person warms up. Two Both sides of this couple are learning how to be in a relationship and to be open. The Actions Talking → A relationship can't exist if there's not some communication, so either learn to use your words or become so close you can speak without them. Spending Time → Even such mundane occurrences as watching TV or cooking together is new ground. Touching → You might just find you enjoy reaching out and touching them. Kissing → Another kind of touch, when you think about it. Cuddling → ...at least they're warm and, hopefully, soft. Sleeping → You're at your absolute weakest when you're asleep. It shows trust to doze off around this person. Public Display → It's one thing to be in love in private, but showing you care in public is a different story. Kind Words → Three little words (more or less) are all it takes. Why, then, are they so hard to get out? Sex The ultimate stumbling block to some. To be laid blissfully bare is to truly let your guard down.

Comments

[justaspawn]

(oooooh, i'm decidedly intrigued! especially the duality of astarion always desperately vying for some sort of control and alivian seemingly having too much of it??)

[alivian]

[Yeah. Sadly, a core memory for him is accidentally using his ability in his eyes (a Glare) on his childhood friend/betrothed and several other friends at the same time. His whole deal is feeling terrified from having so much control over others when he doesn't mean to, nor want to.

[At the same time, there's a feeling of helplessness with not being able to control it except through outside means and watching his tone of voice. (The latter of which is something he does easily, at least.) If he ever uses that power, I slap some bold font on that. :) However, it's entirely up to you on a whim how much or little any of his powers affect Astarion goes. Since the main power he willingly uses is his voice, it stands to reason that even if it's targeted at someone specific, it's not foolproof.

[In contrast, assuming they get on well enough, Astarion would have someone on his side who would defend him no matter what it took, and no matter how scared of himself he is.

[I'm happy to start us off if you'd like? A quiet moment at camp, idle banter wandering the wilds/hunting for food?]

[justaspawn]

(please do! we can take this in any and all possible directions because i honestly think so will be such an interesting dynamic to watch unfold, especially when it comes to building up to some sort of level of trust between them :D i tend to play tadpoled!astarion more for convenience and as an excuse to handwave canon (since there's some many directions for it to go in, holy shit) but also because i love the angst of possibly ever returning to cazador being dangled over his head.

alivian will have fun with that, i'm sure XD)

Love all of that. Let me know if I ever need to tweak anything - either this starter or future tags.

[alivian]

[If anyone had asked Alivian where he thought he would be last week, the answer would have been "at work, eyes deep in paperwork." Instead, his week was decidedly far from the normal. Confronted with the possibility of losing the whole of his being to some tapeworm of the mind, he decides that this is absolutely the worst way to possibly go.

[He'd expected it to have to be a journey alone, but the flow of events was both kind and cruel. With Astarion for recent company, the lone wolf finds himself entirely unprepared to have to deal with people in such close proximity to himself in nearly a decade.

[It's a pisser, he's entirely out of his element, and he has to sleep sometime.

[And all he has are some meager bow-and-arrow hunting skills from his childhood, which feels like centuries ago thanks to his sub-par health, and he nets them nothing. But a sharp stick works just as well for spearfishing, which he more easily accomplishes.

[Unfortunately, while the fish cooks over the campfire, Alivian internally sulks. They're both doomed unless they can remove these tadpole things. But where to even look for something to do that...?]

Sorry, that I'm not very good at much more than fishing.

[As usual, his voice is a low, somewhat growling thing, careful though his tone is. His ears remain slightly low, his tail tucked tightly to his body to stay out of the way, as well as in an attempt to make his towering frame smaller.]

I haven't hunted with a bow in years. I lived close enough to a market that I never had to.