Talking to the vampire spawn without Astarion after you kill Cazador gives you dialogue! Some of them even have small conversations with you (as seen with Leon). Yousen will talk to you too, but he won’t really say much (and there’s no sound associated with him). My analysis of it is:

Violet- Doesn’t have much to say, except that she’ll live beyond what Cazador did to her and she can “finally bloom”

Petras- a bit more confused, seems to want you to answer for him? If you say you’ll spare him if he spares innocents he’ll be like. Yeah I can make do.

Leon- kind of the same as Petra’s, but he seems more coherent/polite and willing to have a conversation with you.

Yousen- bugged, no sound. Pretty much just asks if they’re free to go.

Aurelia- Begs for a chance at survival, attests that they aren’t a threat. This is where you can say they’re victims too.

Dalyria- you can talk to her too, she’ll thank you repeatedly for their freedom and attest that you’re giving them another chance.

Super fascinating stuff, more crumbs for the vampire spawn fans.

Astarion's time in the tomb

And whilst I am at it, here is a more serious short drabble about Astarion's time in the tomb and the day he finally got out. It was probably not as euphoric as one would expect

Inspired by a post about Astarion and the effects of solitary confinement that I can't find anymore.

It's safe for work and not too graphic, but shows the mental damage quite drastically so continue if you feel safe with that. (Ha, I finally figured out how to make cuts)

Light fell onto the fragments of his consciousness. His mind was a disjointed swirl of thoughts and images that no longer made sense and hadn't found connection for a long time. A scraping of stone on stone accompanied the light and with it came voices. Astarion had heard them too many times. They were never real. Nothing was real. Not the faces in the darkness, not the voices, not the blood dripping from the walls - the blood he dreamt would moisten his tongue, but only drowned him in the end. None of it was real. Yet, the visions were better than hunger and silence. Deafness and blindness. Of course, he wasn't really blind. His eyes could pierce through the darkness. But when everything you saw was gray, you might as well be blind. Astarion had seen them all. Everyone who could possibly open this tomb. From his parents to unknown heroes to Cazador. And every time his fingers reached out with longing they only met rough stone. He knew that the images his brain conjured were not real. He didn't react to them anymore. What could he possibly do even if they were real? He had no voice anymore. Had lost it long ago, somewhere in the dusty darkness to his feet. It had rolled down, and since he couldn't turn around, he couldn't find it again. Of course he had screamed. The memory of himself crying his lungs out was still strangely fresh, like an open wound. He had given up quickly. Just a few months later. There was a pale spot of sunlight that wandered along the edge of his prison at regular intervals. Astarion guessed it happened once a day. Not bright enough to burn himself. (He had tried.) He scratched into the stone that locked him, marking how many times the spot appeared since he had been sealed in here. He made 249 strokes. Then he gave up counting. Gave it up like he had given up everything. The screaming, the scratching, the praying. It was endless. Astarion was dust and ash. Astarion was

Skeleton. A skeleton. Armor rattling, jaw gnawing. Godey... "Come on, get out of there!" Out? He didn't understand the meaning of these words. Didn't understand the feeling of bony fingers pulling at his body. Not … Cazador. Not real. Not - "Are you sucking on your own arm? Pathetic. Come now, boy. I don't have all day." A crypt in twilight. Dusty curtains, body parts too weak to bear his weight. Breaking. Collapsing. Dead rat! Blood - Blood - Blood Forgotten. Forgotten how it tastes. Old. Rancid. Wonderful. The first breath. Unnecessary. Freeing.

Seeing, thinking. Astarion looked down on himself. He was naked. The bite wounds on his arms began to close after he’d drunk the rat’s blood. Flesh and skin closed over the bare bones of his fingertips. "Dress up." It was his old shirt and pants. The clothes he always wore. The clothes that Astarion, the spawn, wore. Maybe he was still in there somewhere. Between the threadbare layers of fabric, embroidered into a line of poetry, as if Astarion had known he would need to store himself somewhere.

Godey pushed him forward, and he followed obediently. Back into the palace. Lamps, floors, paintings. His head began to spin, unable to process all the impressions after such a long time with nothing. "Come on, boy." He stumbled on until they reached a familiar room. Bunk beds and peeling wallpaper. Aurelia was there. When they entered, she gave them a glance. His sister wanted to say something, but the sight of Godey kept her silent. Better that way. Even after all the years Aurelia had been here she still feared the kennels.

"Clean him up." Godey pushed Astarion into the room, where he fell to his knees, unable to balance the shove. He sat there as the skeleton left and closed the door. Aurelia approached cautiously. "So, it's true. He let you come back." Silence. "Astarion?" He wanted to answer. He had to try at least. But his voice seemed to still be left in the tomb. Aurelia sighed, then grabbed him under the arms and pulled him up. "I really don't feel like it, but you heard Godey. I have to wash you." Astarion tried to speak again as he sat in the wooden tub that the spawn used for this purpose, and Aurelia poured water over his hair. He flinched away from her touch, trying to do as much as possible himself. "How long?" "Hm?" They probably were both surprised that he could speak. "How long was I gone?" Aurelia set the bucket aside. "A year." Astarion said nothing, only nodded. "I saw faces. And blood, dripping from the walls. It drowned me." Aurelia exhaled. "You were hallucinating. Pull yourself together, Astarion." He stared at her with wide eyes. "I don't mean it cruelly. But you have to pull yourself together. Cazador expects you to bring him a mark today." Astarion continued to stare at her, but the tiefling woman only handed him the soap. "Here, I think you can do this yourself." Then she rushed out of the room.

The gods truly showed no mercy to him.

Cazador: My (512M) spawn (239M, 367M, 349M, 402M, 371 F, 302 F, 363 F) have unionized

The Dollmaker

Got hit with more thoughts about spawns and Cazador...

...and naturally, I'm posting it here because I'm no longer a functional human being.

I remember the lingering question that Astarion seemingly being only one of the spawns using seduction to lure victims in. At least, there is no menition of other’s doing so, except for Petras. So, why is that? Why Astarion was the only one?

In my opinion, it stems from Cazador’s very particular choice of victims. In all these years, he acquired only seven spawns (except for the thousands of Turned nobody knew about), and almost all of them used to be accomplished or talented people:

- Violet, a beloved and talented songbird from Reithwin;

- Dalyria, a respected doctor working in the Parliament;

- Leon, a sorcerer (a spell modifiaction he came up with shows how good he is at his magic);

- Astarion, a magistrate with a promising future, centuries of life ahead of him, and a beauty worthy of a thousand paintings.

Following this tendency, we can assume that Yousen, Aurelia, and Petras also were similarly talented or good at something enough to attract Cazador’s attention and make him envious.

The bastard thinks very highly of himself. He calls himself the most intelligent and beautiful creature out there, and spends hours writing letters to other vampire lords, trying to convince them of his grandeur. He attempts to inflate his ego, making it finally big enough to overcompensate for his miserable inferiority complex, in any way he can: so, whenever he spies someone with a talent or potential, someone who might be better than him at anything, he snuffs them away, adds to his collection, and then breaks them over and over, making them believe that they’re nothing. He is the father who gives them purpose; they are his spawn who owe him everything; and everything they have belongs to him.

And maybe, aside from tortures, and humiliation, and gaslighting, and forcing “siblings” to hurt each other, he came up with one more way to break them - when he forces them to hunt, he forces them to use everything that made them special, loved, respected, and admired for the most gruesome things.

- Violet, previously a talented singer whose voice was fondly remembered up to Reithwin’s fall, using her voice to catch attention; using her image and charm to lure people into the palace to their death.

- Dalyria, picking her victims around apothecaries and temples that responded to the people's suffering by closing doors in their faces, seeking out refugees and ailing citizens low on coin, offering to help them, kindly inviting them to “her place” (if we take Karlach’s family as an example, finding a healer who would agree to help a less-than-wealthy family is quite a problem at the city).

- Leon, using his talents and magic to nab people from the street, to drag them to Cazador without a fight while knowing that he will never be able to use the same power against the bastard himself.

- Astarion, a previously sophisticated, proud, and beautiful elf, stripped of his dignity and pride, using his body to either seduce poor young and inexperienced souls (fulfilling their image of an ethereal and caring lover) or let himself be pawed at by drunkards and brothel-goers.

I don’t think any of Cazador’s choices were accidental. I don't think he had to roam the streets at night, looking for potential candidates; that he ever Turned any of them by chance.  

They all caught his eye at some point, became an object of his obsession, and then fell victim to a scenario where they were confronted by a promise of salvation - and each time, it made Cazador giddy with excitement and a sense of self-importance. He took them away from the world because he could. He will twist and shape them to his whim because he can. And then, he will take everything from them, reducing them to miserable wretches because this is who they should be, compared to him.

They will belong under his heel, scared, helpless, and obedient, worshipping him and fearing him. Forever.

Cazador’s spawn…i just think they’re neat …

Chains.

Day № 21 of Inktober. A4 notebook, ink

Littlest Tyrant

Don't take it too seriously tho, i just like these two put into an arranged marriage and well, *shakes hands* adventures ensue. His name is smth smth A.N.Gortash

Sometimes i also think about how Gortie being a human is probably gonna wither and d*e pretty fast compared to these two so there's that as well.

Aurelia Dawnwright — the Vermilion Refrain.

Closeups of some of the (lesser known) vampire spawn Xx.

Game night

(Reblogs ok & appreciated!!!!)

"Coven means 'Family'. And Family means I am disappointed in all of you." ~ Cazador Szarr, probably, at some point

I feel very out of practice drawing so I'm not sweating this anymore.

I love vampire nonsense and I love how ridiculously big Astarion's family is (not even counting the ones Cazador People Under The Stairs'd), they are all awful, I want to adopt them. I played a little fast and loose with costumes and whatnot, highlights including Cazador gets a flowy coat bc I couldn't help myself and Leon is being forced to wear a shirt. They are in the order I vaguely headcanon from oldest to youngest excluding Godey of course, headcanons subject to change at a whim.

Also I think Sceleritas Fel and Godey should hang out, there it is that's my crackship. they trade torture tips and gush over their bloodthirsty masters

Sorry not sorry XD Drama queen Astarion

This is something I've thought about off and on for a while now.

How do y'all think Astarion's spawn siblings would react upon finding out he actually has a real, genuine lover? I know we have very little to go off of, so answers are definitely going to vary, but I wanna hear 'em regardless.

Idk why but I feel like half would go, "Wait, he actually pulled a partner?? How?" bc they just know him as that smart-mouthed asshole they share a room with. They're just surprised that the guy they know to be a real jerk somehow got someone even when not hiding his true colors.

And the other half who know him better would be like, "Oh, that's great! I'm glad Astarion found someone."

Edit: Adding some more specifics.

I think Petras and Yousen would be in the 'WTF" camp. Petras bc it's clear he and Astarion don't get along and even Astarion says he could've been better to Petras. I imagine he all but screamed, "You managed to pull that?!" while pointing at Tav. Yousen bc he's a dwarf and we know how Astarion treats Dwarves. Edit Edit: I mixed up gnomes and dwarves. I still think he treated Yousen like shit bc he still reminded him of a gnome.

Dalyria and Aurelia I feel like would be happy for him. Dal bc she does seem to care for Astarion to some extent (and likely for her other spawn siblings, too). Aurelia I have little justification for other than I like to think of her as the oldest, so seeing him find someone even after all the pain and torture gives her hope for herself. She's also glad to see him happy bc she's likely witnesses some of his worst moments (while experiencing them herself, too).

Violet and Leon are the oddballs I'm unsure of. Violet gives me mischievous younger sibling vibes, tho, so perhaps she's happy but absolutely not above exaggerating her surprise to get under his skin. Leon I feel hasn't spent a lot of time with him or the other spawn, so maybe he's just kinda like "cool idc". It sounds like he only spent maybe a year in the spawn bunks before going back to the favored room. Or perhaps him only getting a brief taste led to him having a negative opinion bc he never got to know Astarion.

Anyway, those are my thoughts and reasons.

Cazador: Remember

Cazador: You do not just live to serve me

*Cazador puts on chef coat*

Cazador: You also live to serve tables 2, 3 and 5

Astarion, Violet, Pale Petras & Aurelia: What?

*Cazador puts on chef hat*

Cazador: 3 rare ribeyes, 6 rare filets

Aurelia: What is happening?

*Astarion shrugs*

*Cazador rings bell*

Cazador: Order up, bitches!