celestialspawn

[celestialspawn]

“There you are. I've been waiting. Waiting since the moment I set eyes on you. Waiting... to have you.” “You don't have me yet.” “Don't I? You're here. And... I don't think you want to talk. I think... you want to be known. To be tasted.”

Thanks @fivefoxtails for this beautiful shot ✨

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Astarion Approves

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Aaah this is so beautiful, I think his heart is melting 😭

The Scarred

(Commission by @.香米米 on Mihuashi)

[celestialspawn]

Do Vampires Sleep?

This question has been bothering me for a while – both for the sake of my headcanons and the stories I imagine for my OC Roanael and Astarion.

On Tumblr, I’ve seen people mention both reverie and sleep when talking about Astarion. And honestly, I think both are fair since we can see in the game that Astarion’s long rest animation shows reverie. At the same time, we know he has dreams – a least one dream in his Origin story, about Cazador, and the ones with the Dream Visitor. But of course, it could be a temporary exception due to the tadpole influence.

What do we know about reverie?

Definition: Reverie, or trance, is the elven state of meditation, which had certain sleep-like effects.

Realm of Adventure Wiki states that:

When elves enter this state, they vividly relive past memories, those both pleasant and painful.

According to Forgotten Realms Wiki, most elves prefer reverie, but they can also choose to sleep.

I’ve also seen a theory that Astarion could prefer sleep to reverie, since it would provide him an escape while the state of trance would only make him relive all the painful and terrifying memories once again. That makes so much sense to me.

But let’s not forget: Astarion is not quite an elf anymore – he’s a vampire spawn.

So what does that mean, in terms of rest?

The first thought that comes to mind is that he is undead, so logically, he shouldn’t need any sleep.

Indeed, vampires and vampire spawns do have a trait called Undead Nature. However, while for most other undead creatures it states they “do not need to eat, drink, or breathe,” for vampires and their spawns it is only “do not need air.”

Undead Nature. Neither a vampire nor a vampire spawn requires air.

(according to the information I found on 5e tools bestiary)

So I think it’s safe to say that the answer is – yes, vampires (and vampire spawns) do sleep.

Then why is Astarion shown trancing in the game?

Well, if you look at his character sheet, it still lists his race as High Elf, even after his true nature is revealed.

I believe from a development standpoint, it was probably easier to keep him categorized that way – otherwise, they'd have to build a whole custom Vampire Spawn race with new animations, just for Astarion. So it could just be a race-based animation quirk.

From the story perspective, it also would make sense for him at least to pretend he enters reverie at night in the beginning of their journey, when Tav/Durge and other companions still don’t know about his vampirism.

Another possibility is that, due to his unusual condition, being protected from some of the vampiric traits, it became possible for him to experience reverie again.

It also aligns with another aspect of vampiric sleep lore that I want to mention:

Chained to the Grave. Every vampire remains bound to its coffin, crypt, or grave site, where it must rest by day. If a vampire didn't receive a formal burial, it must lie beneath a foot of earth at the place of its transition to undeath. A vampire can move its place of burial by transporting its coffin or a significant amount of grave dirt to another location. Some vampires set up multiple resting places this way.

(5e tools bestiary again)

Yes, it mentions “vampires,” but it is written on the page dedicated to vampire spawns. Besides, it wouldn’t make sense that true vampires would be confined like that while their spawns would be able to sleep wherever they wanted.

It means that normally, Astarion would need to sleep in a special resting place. Thanks to the illithid protection, he doesn’t have to do that during their journey.

But if he chooses to reject the ascension ritual, after defeating Netherbrain, he is back to all the vampiric limitations. Not only is he unable to walk under the sun again, cross a river or come into a house uninvited, but he also needs to come up with a way to sleep during his travels as an adventurer (assuming he doesn't stay in Baldur's Gate).

It also makes me wonder about those 7006 vampire spawns that were freed and moved to the Underdark. If my memory doesn't fail me, I think we could see some of Astarion's siblings' coffins when exploring the castle. I don't remember seeing any in the dungeons, but I don't think Cazador would be bothered by this fact – they were already greatly mistreated by him. As I understand the lore, a vampire doesn't die if they don't rest, but it places certain penalties on them.

Did they also have to take care of this when escaping to the Underdark? We can only wonder.

But while it all doesn't make Astarion's undead life easy, that doesn’t mean he’s doomed or miserable. Let us not be too sad about his restrictions, or use this as an argument that his rejecting the ascension ritual was a wrong choice.

I believe that our beloved vampire spawn, radiant with newfound hope, can handle it all just fine. Especially in a magical and chaotic world like Forgotten Realms, where surely there are many creative tricks and curious artifacts that can make a difference.

[celestialspawn]

[celestialspawn]

This is so amazing, I love it! He is even wearing stars 🤩

Perhaps this photograph was taken when he became a judge because he looks like a proud bean 🧑🏼‍⚖️

A really old drawing I did, I imagine this as his first photograph!

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This smirk will be the death of me.

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The leg thing!

🫠

If a night of passion is on offer, I could be persuaded.

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He loves the sun.

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blooms

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Are you the method in my madness? Are you the glory in my wrath?

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The nautiloid colors are just too good.

*no altering or reposting to other sites*

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Based on a beautiful VP by Astarionposting and the gorgeous Nightwalker set by RenMods 🦇

[celestialspawn]

I'd let the world burn Let the world burn for you [some of my post-canon scenes]

[celestialspawn]