#the concept itself and just that eternal companionship still with the preservation of humanity

[obscure-sentimentalist]

i'm just saying, immortal vampire and their mortal best friend with extended lifespan, sharing together in comfort and pleasure and looking after each other's wants and needs for the good of them both, vampires with familiars are more human themselves for having that slender thread of connection with humanity and life, it makes vampires better and enriches their long lives and it keeps humans safe from over-predation and most cruelty. [peer-reviewing the original tags for even more emotion]

this post from @imwiremother got me imagining vampires who take humans as familiars, but not in a renfield way.

the familiar is a blood donor, sure, and gains things like extended life, somewhat enhanced healing, maybe a little increased stength or slightly faster speed, etc, but the sweetest part of the deal for both is a different exchange entirely.

the vampire and familiar share a connection which, when the familiar opens themselves to it, allows the vampire to share certain experiences and sensations. such as the taste of a strawberry, or the warmth of sunlight on the skin, the decadence of chocolate. but it has to be the choice of the familiar to share their experience. they can unilaterally shut down the sharing connection, as a sort of failsafe against abuse.

it's a positive symbiosis which encourages the vampire to provide comfort, safety, health, pleasure, and joy for their familiar, ensuring through self interest if nothing else that the familiar is well cared for and given the best life has to offer so that the vampire may experience the echoes and edges of it, which without a familiar is denied them and eventually lost to them.

quite literally the vampire living vicariously through their familiar. and the familiar gets the better end of the bargain to balance out being on the lower end of the power balance between them.