meme; summoner & familiar

[metropolising]

   i call you to my side

Through mythology and into fantasy, the thought of calling on supernatural beings to do our bidding and extend our power awes and delights. In works where summoned spirits have thoughts and wills and personalities of their own, the bond between summoner and familiar can be like no other...

One character is a being of magic, and the other holds their reins. Loyalty or resentment, trust or caution...there's so many ways to keep a spirit, and so many ways to regard a master.

HOW TO PLAY:

- Comment with character. State your preferences - summoner, familiar, or both, shipping permissions, and any pertinent information or premise ideas.
- Comment to others. Play whatever first comes to mind, mix and match prompts to build a scenario, or RNG it.
- Have fun and play nice!

PROMPTS:

SUMMONER - Why was a familiar summoned?

1. Personal servant. In this world, it's normal to summon supernatural creatures to help you manage the responsibilities of everyday life. Some people have a bit more responsibility on their plate - a familiar could keep an apartment or garden clean, or they could be charged with keeping a wealthy heiress' personal books and screening her appointments - but whatever the arrangement, it's just a part of normal, everyday life.

2. Self-defense. There's trouble brewing, and the world is dangerous for someone in your line of work, whatever that may be. Can you trust a human bodyguard? Even if you can, a familiar is sure to be much more efficient at keeping you alive and unharmed.

3. A good offense. You're not one for sitting around and waiting - there's a mission to be done and a battle to be won, and your familiar is with you for combat purposes first and foremost. Maybe it colors your relationship - is this spirit just a weapon, or could you grow to be fond of each other?

4. Technical applications. When one's work involves a lot of fiddly magic, it's only common sense to have a magical being on hand to keep it running more smoothly. A familiar that can store and channel magic is an essential component in many spells, and sometimes, a spirit is just plain better at certain spells than a human assistant would ever be. Whether you're in a lab, a doctor's office, a factory, or just in a home workshop, it's important to be on the cutting edge of magitechnology.

5. In over your head. This summoning wasn't intentional. You found this book, see, and tried out a spell for kicks, and now you're facing a lease violation for making the building smell like brimstone...

6. A temporary arrangement. This summoning was intentional, but you didn't really have any long-term plans. It was a flight of fancy, or just an opportunity to study the process, and now you need to consider how to send it back, or else what you're going to do with it.

7. Status symbol. This isn't about what the spirit can do - not directly, at least. No, having a familiar is all about the looks for you, because there's someone you need to impress. Maybe a lot of someones. Maybe it wasn't even your idea, and you're just folding to societal expectations. But your reputation is hanging on having this familiar, so you'd better make it work.

8. Like white on rice. Your familiar isn't for anything in particular; the two of you have just been together for too long to ever consider parting. Circumstance or fondness made you lifelong partners. But as much as you're sure that you could never see the other as a tool, the facts of being summoner and familiar are clear, and sooner or later you'll have to turn your personal relationship into a working one - or else the trouble you're facing will eat you alive. Summoners and familiars give, but they also must take...

9. Secondhand spirits. Someone else summoned this familiar, but now it's in your hands. Did their first master die before their time? Was this a rescue operation of sorts? Or are you just a dirty thief? Whatever the situation, familiars are notoriously picky about their masters. Taking in one that's already bonded to another summoner is sure to be an interesting experience.


FAMILIAR - What is the nature of a familiar?

1. From another world. Working with some familiars can be a lot like working with a regular person; they had lives of their own before you called them to this world, though the details of those lives may seem alien to you. It's recommended to treat these spirits these spirits well, like you would treat an employee, or a friend. Just remember, they are still magical beings.

2. Animal companion. Pyewacket, Greedigut, Vinegar Tom...everyone knows the best familiars are the ones you can find just outside your back door. Once bound to its master, a familiar can gain all kinds of fantastic powers, from shapeshifting to prophecy and more. And if you live in a world where the local wildlife is twelve feet long and breathes fire on top of that, well, good for you!

3. Demons. Summoning is a tricky business when you're dealing with sinister forces. Familiars from the netherworld are known to overwhelm unprepared summoners, or betray their trust even years into a working relationship. They who would be a demon's master, pay close attention to the balance of power...

4. Guardians. Some spirits are unquestionably good, or at least unquestionably devoted to their master's well-being; some arrive from the heavens, and some have been sworn to protect a place or bloodline since they first came into being. The difficulty with these is mostly acquiring them in the first place, but sometimes an overprotective guardian spirit can cause more trouble than you bargained for.

5. One being as two. Where better to acquire a loyal spirit than from your own head? Or heart, or something. A familiar created from its summoner's own soul is sure to be more faithful and understanding than any other, capable of telepathy and bound to its master wherever they go. The downside? The well-being of these familiars is linked directly to their summoners' health, and vice-versa. Pieces of soul don't make good meatshields.

6. Homunculus. Blood and mud and who knows what else. A familiar can be created whole-cloth from raw materials, born into the world without any prior memory, to serve its master and creator. Is this a happy relationship, or is rebellion on the horizon?