Enemies to Lovers scenario with Astarion;
The two are close enough to be friends, Tav accidentally calls him starlight, you decide how Astarion reacts to their little slip up.
ours are untidy souls
pairing: astarion/tav
wordcount: 1,126
content warnings: no fighting but the aftermath, minor mentions of injuries but no-indepth descriptions
other tags:canon compliant, canon-typical violence, introspection, character study, hurt/comfort, whump, pre-relationship, gender neutral tav, human!tav
archiveofourown: here.
tag list: @azrielshadows1nger, @pandimoostuff, @faevi, @microskies, @foreverthemaraudersera, @queenofthespacesquids, @claryvoyantfray, @6doodlaang14, @anne-isnotokay, @itshimbotime, @yeeteth-the-raven, @sessils,@8-opossums, @worryknotdear, @abirdaboxandachippedcup,
be added to the taglist here
summary:
‘It is bitter,’ he says.
‘It will heal,’ you tell him.
‘It might hold a grudge,’ he says.
‘It will survive,’ you insist.
The Grymforge Guardian falls with little regard to its creator. Steam billows from the cool metal, and the Forge has broken pieces off of it that may never be repaired. You sag against the lever for but a moment to catch your breath. You wait for the ground to cool and the red-hot metal to return to a more natural color before tentatively touching your the toe of your boot to it. You decide it's cooled enough.
You race over to the second lever. Shadowheart is quick to make it to the center to check on Karlach who is lying next to the Guardian in a bundled heap, but you race to Astarion’s side and kneel next to him on the smoking platform. He’s resting against the other lever, head forward, and everywhere you touch is bruised and sweaty. You push his curls back from his forehead and cup his jaw so that he’s forced to look at you, and although the flickering of his eyelashes makes your stomach ache, he’s breathing and that’s good enough for you for now.
You push your hand against his shoulder and feel the heat leave his body to meld into yours. Astarion’s lungs fill with air in relief, and when he opens his eyes, he meets your gaze unevenly.
‘Don’t rush, starlight,’ you say cautiously. ‘Take it easy until Shadowheart can come to you.’
Astarion’s eyes soften and he closes them quickly to hide the betrayal. All around him lay the bodies of the imps he fought. Honestly, the team you put together handled it pretty well with little to no practice, navigating as one despite the strange levers and a gargantuan thing swinging at them. You thank the gods for giving you Karlach, because the thought of you potentially having to go head to head with the Guardian by yourself almost makes you wish the worm would finish eating your memories.
You take in all of Astarion’s wounds. Little bites and nail scratches, a bruise on his cheekbone, but mostly, the heat has made him malleable and exhausted in your hands. You take it upon yourself to heal some of the more minor injuries he has. He doesn’t seem to breathe as you pour a drop of your potion into a bite on his shoulder or a nasty burn on his thigh, but he does stop you before you can take a better look at his cheek.
‘I’m fine,’ he says shortly.
‘Are you sure you don’t want me to tend to this?’ you ask.
You do touch his bruise then, and Astarion hisses at you like a wild beast. Before, you might have flinched away from his scary display but after these last few weeks, you know better. He’s scared of your kindness. He doesn’t know what to expect even though your hand is delicate. You press your thumb against a tender purple knot, and you can tell that it takes all of Astarion’s willpower to not snap at you.
‘Maybe I will let Shadowheart take care of this one,’ you say nervously. ‘It seems tender.’
Astarion’s jaw clenches. He thinks.
‘No,’ he says with finality. ‘I think — I think I would prefer it if you did it.’
You watch the pretty curve of his neck bobble when he swallows. He turns his chin towards you and refuses to look at you. He’s being brave. He’s being willing. Slowly, you touch the bruise again with shaking fingers.
In a move that reminds you all too much of Scratch and the Owlbear, Astarion leans his head into your touch. You’re captivated by the tremble in his eyelashes, the slope of his eyebrows as he fights a scowl, and the sad way he frowns. You feel his cheek for any sign of the unordinary, but there’s nothing but a bruise.
‘I don’t think a potion will help with this one, unfortunately,’ you whisper. ‘There’s nothing — There’s nothing wrong with it.’
‘It is bitter,’ he says.
‘It will heal,’ you tell him.
‘It might hold a grudge,’ he says.
‘It will survive,’ you insist.
Astarion says nothing. If the bruise is hurting him, he doesn’t acknowledge it. All he does is rest in your hands as if lifting his head on his own is too much effort. You allow him this touch. It’s the first time he’s allowed you to initiate anything even remotely affectionate. It makes your eyes water a little to think about it. You decide to say nothing lest it embarrasses him. You cherish this moment and slowly, you ease him into your arms more so that he’s leaning against your upper body, his ear at your heart.
Quietly, Astarion says, ‘Say it again.’
At first, you aren’t sure what it is that he wants. You want to tell him that he will heal, that he will survive, that he may not forgive or forget, but that he will overcome. Instead, you pet his hair as carefully as you can to avoid jostling him and press a tentative kiss to the top of his head. He burrows deeper into your arms and sighs like a weight has been lifted off his chest. In some ways, you think it has. You hold him as gently as you can.
‘You’re going to be fine, starlight,’ you say — and you’re partially shocked at how easily it rolls off the tip of your tongue. You’re almost certain that Astarion huffs at it, but he isn’t upset. No, it’s something entirely else.
You’re holding something delicate in your hands. Astarion would not be like this with anyone else but you. He trusts you, and honestly, the thought terrifies you. It’s not that you have to be careful. It’s not that you have to be cognizant. It’s that there is something so genuine about the bond he is offering you on his own terms. He is choosing to be vulnerable with you. It makes your throat close up.
You would cry if you weren’t so worried about everyone. Astarion eventually pulls away from the safety of your arms and appraises you himself. He smudges smoky residue away from underneath one of your eyes and takes a look at a nasty cut you received to your scalp, but all it takes is a little drop of the potion shared between you to get it to where it doesn’t need stitches. You two sit facing one another, your hands meekly in your lap, Astarion sagging forward as though his only desire is to find a bed. Eventually, he looks up at you and with faint exhaustion clouding the openness of his features, and chews on his bottom lip.
‘You can say it again,’ he says.
You smile for the first time in hours. ‘Alright, starlight.’
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Party Like a Spellcaster/Tome of Terror
This set contains eight pose accessories made from Realm of Magic assets: a potion bottle (in two versions), a closed tome, and all five broomsticks. It also contains two pose packs that utilize these accessories. The poses were made for my story, so they're very specific, but maybe they'll be useful to someone. Blender previews of all poses are below the cut, but you can also see them in action here, here, and here (though they've all been improved since). My real hope is that others are inspired to make their own poses using these accessories! They're imperfect, but they might help fill a gap. Click below for more information and download links!
Poses:
Sofa poses made using Violetta's Loyal Sofa from Paranormal Stuff (not tested with other sofas); place two teleporters in middle of sofa
For all other multi-Sim poses, teleport Sims to same location
Broomstick poses made with specific accessories shown (not tested for interchangeability)
Female Sim holds tome accessory in all poses but last
Both pose packs include thumbnails and detailed descriptions
All poses originally made for specific Sims; some clipping is inevitable depending on hair/clothing/body type
Pose Player and Teleport Any Sim (or another teleportation method) required
I'm still a beginner! Please excuse any slight anatomical oddities!
Accessories:
Categorized as bracelets
Assigned to stigmata joint
Potion has right and left hand versions; tome and broomsticks are in right hand
Swatches include all EA variations
Compatible with male and female frames
Disabled for random
Custom CAS icons
Potions conflict with glasses; everything else conflicts with hats
Because of transparency, most broomsticks won't play nicely with MXAO and DOF if you're a Re/Gshade user and some editing trickery will be required
Broomstick quality is iffy, especially the more ornate ones; I'm sorry, I don't know how to make them look better :(
In the spirit of full disclosure, here are some screenshots of the brooms in game with no Reshade or editing. As you can see, the Crystal Zoomer suffers the most.
Everything has been tested in game, but please let me know if you encounter any major issues. You can modify/alter with credit, but please don't claim as your own or put anything behind a paywall. Feel free to tag me if you use them!
DOWNLOAD: Simfileshare / Google Drive (all-in-one zip or separated package files)
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