Editing Familiar (section)

==Effects==
Practitioner and familiar both can draw on each other's power, either deliberately, automatically if there is an imbalance (slowly)<ref name=":1"/> or if the familiar's mortal form is killed (quickly).

Their selves will intermingle somewhat, which may cause traits to bleed over.<ref name=":0" /> They are considered oneself or one unit for contract purposes; giving freedom of movement to one member of the relationship grants it to the other.<ref>“Do you think we could’ve made the familiars count for the ten?  And he’d have to leave them behind?” Lucy asked.<br><br>“I wish,” Avery said.  “Familiar bond lets you count as one person for the purposes of stuff like that.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/04/06 Excerpt] from [[Wild Abandon 18.1]]</ref>

Binary Others, essentially those that are part of a 'set' though distinct individuals, will get pulled into the ritual.<ref><u>'''Others of a Specific Line'''</u><br>[...] An example of this may be the Komainu, or the ‘stone lion’, a mass-manufactured guardian Other who protects and karmically benefits households.  Most are similar, though they may vary in size and shape, and a male Komainu will have a similar personality to another male Komainu.<br><br>[...]<br><br><u>'''Anti-Establishment Others'''</u><br>[...]<br>The aforementioned Komainu are often created in matched pairs, and one could pick such a pair as their familiar.  In the same way, any set of linked Others that exists as an established trio could be included as three.  Such Others have a tendency to be very ordered, and the more chaotic, matched Others may be too dangerous to bind, taking over the connection to the practitioner easily. - Excerpt from [[Famulus]], quoted in Bonus Material: [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/10/29 Famulus Text]</ref><ref>“Some familiars pair up naturally.  If you get a tweedle dee and a tweedle dum, you’ll get the set, because they’re linked.  Same for a Black Jack and Lily White.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/12/26 Excerpt] from [[Gone Ahead 7.7]]</ref><!--It is unknown if twin practitioners would be effected the same way-->

=== On the Practitioner ===
The Practitioner may gain some skills and abilities from the familiar.<ref name=":2"/> They often find they age more easily, if not necessarily more slowly, and may pick up other Other traits depending on the familiar.<ref name=":1"/>

As a lifelong choice, they can never choose another Familiar,<ref name=":2"/> and some variant Familiars (see below) may close off other options as well.

=== On the Other ===
Most Others will gain an animal form they can transform into, although this is not universal.<ref name=":1">“A bond to an Other.  Lifelong, inviolable.  A connection is drawn between practitioner and familiar.  This can be a controlling connection, picking a weak familiar and dominating it.  For a long time, this was the only way things were done.  It can be another kind of domineering relationship.  Picking a familiar with no true mind of its own.  Often, the familiar will be raised up, rounded out, until it is on a roughly even keel.  An echo or ghost could develop a full personality, instead of being a stuttering replay of events.  A vestige, or a broken shadow of an existence?  It could patch itself up.  What it pulls in is often consciously or unconsciously influenced by the practitioner, who has the power in the relationship.”<br>[...]<br>“Here we have what looks like a balanced relationship.  Now, every type of familiar relationship has its benefits.  A domineering one can turn the familiar into a target.  The familiar can be made to absorb the hurt, harm, or part of a curse that the practitioner has to endure.  They are, when beneficial, one and the same, for purposes of the power they have at their disposal, but the domineering practitioner retains ''control''.”<br>[...]<br>“With the more equal bond, the pairing can exchange power.  Talia could give Effy a bit of her humanity as a boost, or personal power, to help her heal, or dig up that bit of extra strength.  That flow can work the other way.  Effy could give Talia some of her power as a doll, with that emphasis on blood, guts, and dollness.  If Effy gave Talia a lot of her personal power, let’s say half… what happens over the next day, or week?”<br><br>Some people raised hands.<br><br>“Jarvis.”<br><br>“It balances out?”<br><br>“The power finds its balance.  Talia would naturally give Effy some of her power over time, until they were even.  Then they would recover together.  Eating well, sleeping well, and taking care of needs as human or Other help that recovery.  Can Effy become an animal?”<br><br>Talia shook her head.<br><br>“The partnership of master and familiar is often a reprieve for the Other.  Temporary freedom from needs, demands, work, or anything else.  If Effy required a regular supply of blood and oil, as some dolls do-”<br><br>“I don’t.”<br><br>“But if you did, Effy, then you wouldn’t require it while you’re a familiar.  You get your sustenance from your master or partner.  If you had a lifespan, it would be put on pause.  Of course, needier others have a heavier drain on their master.”<br><br>Effy nodded.<br><br>“Humans still age, at roughly the same rate, but they often find they age easier while they have a familiar.  They may also find that they are more Other, in subtle ways.  The edges are rounded off in the need for sleep and food.  Some Others are better at that than others.”<br><br>He hit a button.  The air was filled with monstrous silhouettes and corresponding animals.<br><br>“The animal form is mortality.  For many Others, it’s a strong enticement.  To have a heartbeat.  To have warmth, the ability to taste food, and the ability to engage with the world.  An Other in animal form can, unless especially wild, go without too much remark in civilized society.  A dog can be walked, a mouse or snake kept in a sleeve, and a bird can fly overhead.”<br><br>Avery watched as Jorja’s familiar, which had been the floaty guy with the backwards baseball cap, now a terrier, followed the movement of birds through the air.<br><br>“There is a third type of practitioner-familiar bond.  Not the master, not the partner, but the subservient.  Frankly, if you want to pick a familiar that’s much stronger than you, the Blue Heron Institute can counsel you, but we’ll be doing it with a mind to discouraging you and making sure you’re fully equipped with the necessary information.  We would be dealing with the familiar as an Other, and you as its slave or servant, and we have no interest in doing that.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/09/08 Excerpt] from [[Leaving a Mark 4.7]]</ref> This experience of mortality can be very attractive.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":2"/>
If the Other is incomplete in some way, the Practitioner's Self will help shore them up and fill them out, the Other will be freed from their usual needs, not needing to feed, sleep, or even age/decay in some cases,<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":2"/> much like a [[Hallow]] (in fact the animal body of a familiar can be considered a Hallow.)