Sentinels and Guides - My other HALF

[postingmemes]

 

Sentinels and Guides Shipping Meme
A Sentinel!AU Meme

 

There are special people in the world: Sentinels--whose five senses are incredibly enhanced, sometimes to the point of overwhelming and who can easily lose themselves in fugue states--and Guides, the empaths with the ability to ground a Sentinel and focus them. Meant to be the protectors of the Guides, for every Sentinel there exists a guide that is their perfect match. In some universes, when matches are made, a Sentinel and Guide form a soulbond to fill the feeling of emptiness.

How easy was it for you to find yours? How are Sentinels and Guides treated in your universe? Or maybe you're one of the normal, unremarkable people. Do you fear Sentinels and Guides? Despise them?

 

Rules
1) Post with your character/canon in the subject header.
2a) Choose whether your character is a Sentinel or a Guide
or
2b) If you don't know or don't care, just leave it blank!
3) Information about Sentinels and Guides can be found here and here. Information on 'The Sentinel' which this meme comes from can be found here.

 

4) All the tagging! Have fun 8D

Prompts
oo1. The Meeting: 
How did you meet? Was it at an event organized specifically for finding your other half? By accident? Did you follow a mystical calling to them? Some other way?

oo2. The Bonding: 
Do Sentinels and Guides in your universe soulbond? How does it go down? Is there a ceremony or do you just retreat to the bedroom?

oo3. Rejection: 
Sometimes Sentinels or Guides propose a match but it's just not perfect. You don't feel the pull or maybe you think there is someone better or maybe you're already claimed. Maybe you were claimed and someone better came along?

oo4. Protection: 
Sentinels are meant to protect Guides, any Guides, but it's even worse when they feel their Guide is in danger. They go feral; blind to anything but stopping and killing whoever threatened their Guide or the bond. Maybe someone attacked your Guide or you haven't bonded yet and you feel threatened or maybe you're the one doing the threatening. Whatever the reason, Sentinels in a feral state are dangerous and only their Guides can stop them.

oo5. Lost: 
Sentinels often lose themselves in their senses. Either you're a Sentinel who has lost themselves or a Guide that has stumbled on one or a friend trying to draw them out. Unbonded Sentinels will find it hard to escape without a Guide. Or maybe you're bonded already which means you just need yours to come home.

006. Persecution: 
Sometimes normal people or the government fear the power of Guides and Sentinels. Guides are empaths, feeling the emotions and sometimes passing thoughts of others and it can make people feel violated. Sentinels often have enhanced strength, which can make them dangerous. So they scorn them, hurt them or in the case of governments, regulate them.

oo7. Death: 
Unbonded Sentinels and Guides eventually lose themselves to the empty cavern inside them. Torn apart from the inside by the feeling of something missing. Breaking the soulbond of a Sentinel and Guide is agonizing and horrifying, leading quickly to death for the remaining partner. 

oo8. Old-School: 
Guides used to be treated on the same level as slaves. Unable to work unless their Sentinel said. Not allowed out on their own. They used to wear collars and couldn't own land or inherit money. Maybe the old ways haven't completely fallen out of style. 

oo9. Unbonded: 
Nothing is worse than being an unbonded Guide or Sentinel. Always looking for your other half to fill that empty feeling but you probably have friends that aren't your match or who are trying to set you up with someone. Maybe you're skeptical about the whole love at first sight thing and haven't been looking.

o10. Wildcard: Some mish-mash of the above or anything else you can come up with!

Image from weheartit / original meme by imadeamistake 

Comments

[iwillshieldhim]

Gladio immediately was there to offer a surprisingly gentle hand, hovering just near Ignis' ribs, ready to slide at his back if the other needed support. They had done so much work to save Ignis' life, to heal him up, yet... fuck, he was dreading the conversation that would eventually come.

But this first. Ignis was always thinking of others first, usually Noct, so maybe he should have expected it before anything else. Before he could even answer, though, he blinked at the suddenly extended hand in his direction. It took him a second to respond but he assumed it was more because of Ignis' sudden inability than what it was actually about-

When his fingers curl around Ignis', so broad compared to Ignis' slimmer, it felt like a lurch in his chest. Something brilliant and bright behind his eyes, taking away his breath and making him work to suck in a new one. What- what the hell?! He stared at Ignis with wide eyes, wondering what the other had done. He'd heard stories about what it was to gain a Guide, like the whole world would become stable in a way that had never been so before.

"The fuck?" The heavier curse slipped without thought, shocked.

[blindmark]

So much for that status report, perhaps he should have waited like he had planned. Ignis was never one for sudden surprises like that, but he knew he needed to quell the emotions running rampant. It'd been instinct, despite his brain buzzing in worried curiosity for Noctis and Prompto.

For Ignis, he felt a sudden electrifying sensation of sorts and his fingers tightened instinctively around Gladio's hand until he felt the emotions calm themselves somewhat. But now it had been confirmed. He was Gladiolus' Guide. Which, of course, begged the question. Why now? Why not when they'd first met? Is that not how it usually goes? He sighed softly, but he didn't let go.

"My sentiments exactly," He replied. "But please, tell me what is going on? Noctis and Prompto?"

[iwillshieldhim]

A Guide. He had a Guide. Ignis Scientia was his Guide. How was that even possible? It was supposed to happen when they meet, not years and years later. Another blow to his world, coming on the heels of so many, yet even as his thoughts tried to go in more directions than he could handle in that moment, something was pulling them together and calming the storm.

He couldn't have released that hand if he tried. If this was his anchor right now, he needed it as much as he knew Iggy was going to need one in return.

The questions got him to focus on that instead, giving a small shake of his head to clear it before he responded. "Both in the next room. Prompto's fine. Shaken up, but fine. Noct..." His eyes flickered to the door, going back over this conversation he'd had with himself a dozen times now about how to explain it but he was never good with words.

"...He's in a coma," he finally said, not bothering to even try. "Physically they healed up everything wrong but his mind's checked out. No one's sure what happened but the rumors..." Here he paused, frowning hard. "There's a lot of rumors about people seeing him fighting Leviathan but they don't make a lot of sense."

[blindmark]

Ignis was silent for several moments. A coma. He fought Leviathan? Why? His brows furrowed and he grimaced as the throb in his head made itself known once more. But, after a few calming breaths, he said, "I see."

It was simply a waiting game now. However... "And... Lady Lunafreya?"

She had been the one to summon the Hydrean. But how did it come to a battle? Just what happened? This was not at all how this was supposed to go down. Granted, he was sure part of the reason were the negotiations with the first secretary. He never quite liked the plan, but he wasn't going to interfere as well. Not that he planned Noctis' negotiation skills as the woman had driven a hard bargain as well.

[iwillshieldhim]

Gladio wouldn't even think twice about the small pang he felt between his eyes, his free hand coming up to rub over his left brow unconsciously before it dropped again. I see. Such a calm response to the situation but really, what more was there to say? They had done everything they could and it hadn't been enough. Not nearly enough. The rumors spreading around about what people had glimpsed all seemed... impossibly. Completely impossible. About a figure with light encircling him blinking in and out of existence hundreds of feet in the air fighting Leviathan with fire and light.

He sighed at that new question, something in his chest tightening along with his hand on Ignis'. "...we don't have anything confirmed," he said softly, respectfully, "but... we're pretty sure she's dead." Those two last words hurt and damn it he had no idea how they were going to tell them to Noct.

"She did her duty, though. ...He's got the ring." But his words felt, sounded, hollow.

[blindmark]

He sighed another breath through his nose, hand holding Gladio's lowering to the bed, although he still didn't let go. It was all hitting them at once, it seemed. Their journey had culminated to this? He didn't see it coming, not in the least. But now that everyone was accounted for, he supposed he needed to ask just one more question.

"How bad is it?" He asked softly. "Will the bandages be removed soon?"

And was there damage to his eyes? It was the only explanation to why he was bandaged like this. Unable to see out of both eyes, one covered far more than the other. His headache felt like a sinus headache, right behind the eyes.

[iwillshieldhim]

Fuck. Gladio had tried to go over this a thousand times but every time he'd failed to not sound harsh, or cruel, or pitying, so all he could do was try. It still felt like taking a knife to Ignis himself but it was better him than Prompto or leaving it like a coward to a doctor. This was something he had to do himself.

"The bandages.. they'll probably be coming off soon," he started, fighting through the urge of his throat to close off against the words trying to come, yet he knew they had to. In this, he wouldn't fail. ...He'd failed so many damn times recently.

"It's... bad. Iggy, they're not sure- the damage-" His hand tightened on Ignis', then after a breath, he said it. "They're not sure they can do anything more for your sight. Your left eye at least is a total loss." And there it was, sliding the proverbial knife in by his own hand even if the injuring blast hadn't come from him.

[blindmark]

He'd mentally prepared himself for the worst and yet hearing that he may have very well lost his sight still felt like a blow to his chest. It reminded him of a conversation in the car once upon a time, when Prompto asked why he wore glasses despite his passable vision. Where he once wanted crystal clarity now he simply wanted to see, horrible eyesight be damned. Corrective lenses would help, just like they had before but now...

He more than likely lost it all. He would be unable to defend Noctis, he would be a burden. He would not even be able to cook a damned meal for them all. Had his eyes been opened, he would have closed them as he lowered his head. He swallowed and shook his head in the most minute way.

"Then," He finally said. "It appears I have some work to do."

Ignis had to push through this, then. He couldn't give up, he couldn't let this set him back. Not with so much on the line now that Noctis had the ring.

[iwillshieldhim]

Gladio couldn't have been more torn and it came across unconsciously, not ready or realizing the depth of the bond that had surged to life between them. Torn between the fact that they had to do everything now to get Noct to the crystal, to get him the power he needed to stop this chaos that had started (if their King even woke the hell up, Gods this was messed up) and they couldn't hold back anything at this point... and the fact that this was Ignis. One of his best friends, one of Noct's, who had given up so much to get them this far. How could they go on without him? How could they go on with him?

Right now... Gladio saw those small signs of pain, his expression tight as he tried to figure out something he could say, could do, to ease it, but he wasn't sure there was anything. He'd killed the bastards who'd done the deed but it hadn't mattered in the end. He'd live the rest of his life with the image of Ignis' face covered in blood, the flesh torn and burned, and the fact that he had no idea how long Ignis was conscious to experience it.

"You're gonna make it through this," Gladio hated how rough his voice sounded in that moment but the words were more important than his pride. "One step at a time, Iggy."