Bonding

**Bonding** is a ritual first mentioned in the fanfiction *Mystic Blood.* It is a ritual first done by Vera to turn Andrea into her bride and her servant.

## Bonding Process

It is implied that the victim is drained of at least 50% of their blood before the process can begin. Once that's done, a ring is placed on their finger by the vampire they are to be bonded to; the ring then injects the victim with bonding serum, which prompts a physical transformation, mainly within the teeth. This solidifies their status as a vampire.

The current final step is for the master of the duo to drink half of a goblet of blood before having their love and/or servant finish the last half. This prompts a mental and emotional transformation; their memories are rewritten and they begin to feel devotion to and/or affection for the master Vampire who they are bonded to.

In *Nocte Raptum,* Matt, who had recently been converted, states that he usually has a superior watching over, implying that new vampires are often trained in the process of bonding.

In *Double Mystic Bond,* it's implied that when a vampire's bonder is killed, the victim falls into an intense state of desperation and searches for a victim of their own. This is likely the case, as Andrea had previously been bonded to Vera, who had died trying to protect Andrea from vampire hunters.

## Types of Bonding

### Devotional

This is the most common type of bonding that vampires use. Andrea is the first instance of this to become Vera's lover.

### Familial

This type of bonding is utilized by Matt in *Nocte Raptum.* He performed his bonding in order to turn Ro into his vampire sister. It seems to have very few distinct characteristics, except that, the bonder places some of their hair in the goblet and, instead of placing the ring on the finger, they cut open the gem with a knife and have their victim swallow the liquid contents of it.

### Devotional: Innocent Romance

This is a subtype of devotional bonding, first used on ETNMystic in *Double Mystic Bond: Blood of the Creative.* It's used to enhance the more innocent parts of a relationship and make their victim an innocent sweetheart as opposed to a passionate lover. The distinct feature in this subtype of bonding is that the bonder mixes in unicorn blood before drinking their half and feeding it to their victim, as unicorns are generally seen as symbolic of innocence and purity.

## Bonding Victims and Superiors/Bonders

The following contains a list of those who have been bonded and/or have performed a bonding ritual at some point:

* Andrea Russett was the first one known to be bonded, with her superior/bonder being Vera. This utilized the most common type of bonding, which is devotional.
* Rosanna Pansino was the second, with her familial bonder being Matpat.
* ETNMystic became the third, with her superior/bonder being Andrea Russett, who had lost Vera by that point. However her bonding was described as inducing a more innocent romance.
* Justine Ezarik was fourth, with her superior/bonder being Tana Mongeau.
* Sybille, also known as WitchyTwitchy, became the fifth, with her superior/bonder being the Sorceress. This is the first instance where the bondee consented to the process.