Sentinels and Guides;

[inborn]

 

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]

That joke? That joke is terrible. Gladio groans and it has nothing to do with the hands on his cock, though the breath afterward is more of a laugh than a moan too. Still, he doesn't mind it, either. He's used to the teasing and the puns and the fun of being around his three friends, and it just ties John in tighter already than he is.

Coming on command, not without it being forced by some of John's power, isn't going to quite happen but he does put his mind back on the actual focus of the moment, his head dipped so he can be by John's ear as he pants, moving his body to meet each movement from John. "Even if I don't get to do it again... I want my mouth on your Mark when you come. I wanna taste your scent and remember all of it." It is a bit much for him, normally, but the Sentinel in him is pushing exactly what he wants right now and it shows so clearly in those words.

[jumpthegun]

"God, yes!" It's a struggle not to come off then and there like some teenage kid. Gladio's words are pure fire to the veins that pour through John and head straight for his groin. His scent grows stronger, and Gladio will feel a pull through the Bond, a silent demand for him to sink his teeth into the mark now, right this very second. Now. John isn't even fully conscious of it, the Guide instinct working on its own level now that he's losing control.

He stretches his neck out obligingly for his Sentinel to facilitate the desired bite. John will think about how wanton a few words and a bite could turn him once they're settled, and suffer the embarrassment then. Not that Gladio seems to mind terribly much, but it's the principle of the thing and John's ego, not the Sentinel's.

His hands continue to work them together, moving in time with Gladio, pulling himself to the brink, but trying to hold off for that bite.

[iwillshieldhim]

That cry of desire is nearly enough to send Gladio over the edge, but it's all he needs. John's scent is so strong in his nose it's like a physical pull, drawing him straight to that beautiful bond mark. He gave a whole body shudder, showing just how close he was, before he did as they both desired. His teeth found the mark like it was a target and bites hard - not so hard as to break the skin but if anywhere else it would be a bruise. His tongue laps over it immediately, the taste of it fill his mouth like a perfume, and that's the last his body will take.

He all but burns as he releases, over John's hands, his stomach and chest, his jaw flexing slightly with each pump of his body, his fingers tight in the sheets on either side of John's head.

[jumpthegun]

John's coming even before Gladio, as soon as his teeth set into the Bond mark, and while that's a bit of a blow to the competitive spirit, John can't be fussed to care all that much in the moment. His own release spills and just makes more of a mess across his own belly than the Sentinel above him. The Guide cries out, nothing coherent, but louder than might be appropriate if he were worried about alerting Gladio's fellows as to what sort of Bonding they're getting up to.

Regardless, the doctor keeps pumping them between his hands, breathing harsh and heavy until the touch gets to be too much as they soften. He lets his hands fall away and just rests for a moment, before reaching his hand up to touch his chest. "Bloody hell, you do make a mess." It's really not a criticism, but he does feel a little bad about them mucking up the sheets. Only a little. It's a fancy hotel, after all, and John seems to have caught most of it, for better or worse.

[iwillshieldhim]

Of all the things.. Gladio can't help his breathless laugh against John's skin, pulling his head back to look with glassy eyes to his Guide. "Big guy, big mess," he offers before shifting back slowly to sit up on the bed. There's no hiding his long look over his Guide with crimson around his Mark, covered in their shared release. That's a damn good look in his opinion.

He leans over until he can snag the tissues nearby, then goes about slowly cleaning it all off. At least the worst of it. A shower will take care of the rest. The rest of them know all about the Bonding, even if Ignis himself has no stake in it, so if John had been heard... everyone is going to just pretend they hadn't.

[jumpthegun]

Yeah, all right, it's a terrible porn cliche, but John's feeling more than a little ridiculous at the moment, not to mention warm and safe. He stretches himself out beneath Gladio, raising his arms above his head and putting on his best well-sexed pout and mock-indignant voice as the Sentinel cleans him up. "Could stand to be a little smaller. Give the rest of us a fighting chance, yeah? Hmm..." There's a pause as if he's considering something. "S'pose it's just more of a challenge." His expression breaks into a grin. "Always up for one of those."

When the other man is mostly finished, John stretches again, this time properly, before saying, "Lie down next to me." There's more of his pheromones and command as a Guide behind that than he really intends. "We should probably... talk." What a dreaded word. Talking and then showering, though, because even still coming down from his high, John's mind is picturing pushing Gladio up against the shower wall and having a bit of his way with the other man.

[iwillshieldhim]

"Hmm... I'd rather be a challenge for you." The smirk on his lips shows that he's definitely relaxed after all of that, but the tone of his next words shows he's even more than that. "Yeah, yeah..." Gladio's content enough he doesn't even really realize the additional push, stretching himself out along side of John comfortably.

Talk. Gladio huffs quietly, his eyes closing, but with a hand tucked behind his head, he does tilt his head in John's direction. "...where do you want to start?" Because there's a lot of it. There's a thousand and one things that both of them have swimming through their head, some overlapping, some important, some not.

[jumpthegun]

"We could compare star signs," John says wryly, wiping his sticky hand on his shirt--that's going to need washing, anyway, at this point--and then using it to prop his head up as he faces the Sentinel. "See if we're compatible." He licks his lips. "But if we're past that point... how about who are you? Where did you grow up? When did you find out you were a Sentinel? How'd you get involved in all of this? What d'you like? What don't you like? We sort of skipped the 'getting to know you' stage of things."

He shrugs his shoulder. "I haven't been with many blokes. And you're the first Sentinel." Obviously. "So, if I, uh... if there's anything you don't particularly like, you're gonna need to tell me."

[iwillshieldhim]

Gladio ends up just snorting loudly at the end of the first bit, cracking open his eyes and looking over at John with a dry expression before he laughed. "I'm an Aries, just so you know," playing along with it, but he is comfortable enough laying as he is. His lips briefly thin, thinking over all those questions, before rolling a shoulder.

"You were fine to me. You've got a cock, know how to use it." He does, however, wink. "Need me to teach you?" Definitely a tease, and he ends up turning onto his side, one cut hip thrust up. "I'll let you know, long as you do the same for me."

But the rest... he scratched his jaw, thinking. "Grew up in New York, pretty much right along side the Caelums. My father is Noct's father's personal body guard, so you can say I grew up in the business. Everyone pretty much guessed I was a Sentinel from the time I was six." He smirks, gesturing down himself. "Let's just say I was big for my age and always have been. I was eleven when I hit my first real Rage. It... ended badly." There's a faint nervous gesture as Gladio shifts himself to run a hand back through his hair.

[jumpthegun]

Two Aries. That's clearly going to be a problem. Clearly. But John leaves off that teasing for now. He also waves away Gladio's teaching comment with a roll of his eyes and prodding the man's large bicep with one of his sticky fingers.

The rest of the information is more interesting, particularly the part at the end. "Most Rages do without a Guide around. Want to tell me what happened?"

It's an honest question. For as intimate as they've been and as strong a connection to Gladio that John feels, there are still some things he might hold back on with the man... like the therapy session. Those should be coming to an end soon, anyway. He just needs to prove to Ella that he doesn't have the limp or the tremor anymore, and that should have it sorted. Maybe. Probably not. But he's going to tell her he won't be coming back, at least.

[iwillshieldhim]

There is already plenty that John doesn't, and won't, know. There are secrets of the state that he has locked away in his mind that he would not tell even under torture, but if John is allowed to come into that knowledge... he might speak on them. It's going to be a lot of give and take on the secrets between them.

"...not particularly. It wasn't good." Gladio's eyes close with a slow sigh leaving his lips. "What about you? When did you realize you were a Guide?" There is something somehow less in his voice, just on the memory of whatever had happened.

[jumpthegun]

"All right." John shifts a little closer, nuzzling against Gladio's neck briefly as a comfort. The action comes instinctual. His Sentinel is unhappy and hurting, and that means offering support, guidance, a steady presence to latch onto. He just breathes in Gladio's scent for a few seconds before pulling back, but John places his free hand on the other man's waist. Sticky or not, he hopes it'll be some kind of comfort. They're both going to need a shower and a wash for their clothes after this, anyway.

"I was nine. My sister, Harry, she came out gay young. Younger than it was probably safe to given where we were living. It's not, like... bad or anything, but Chelmsford isn't..." He shrugs. It's not rural, but it's not a progressive bastion, either. "She's just a year ahead of me, but two grades with the way our birthdays lined up. There was a kid in her class, a boy named Robbie Grant. He figured out he was a Sentinel the same day I figured out I was a Guide. Harry was coming over to meet me so we could walk home, and he cornered her. Heard them scuffling and went to go check. He was trying to get her to kiss him, and there was just... I dunno. I could smell him. I wanted him to get off of her, I wanted to make him get off of her. He stopped and I noticed him sniffing around, looking confused. Really not sure how I just figured it out the first time, but I ended up zoning him out completely. Grabbed Harry, and we both took a swing at the bastard before hopping it.

"She thought it was great, kept hoping she'd turn out to be a Sentinel, too, but I made her promise no to tell anyone. Robbie stayed away from her after that, anyway, at least until they dragged him off to some special school for Sentinels." There's another small shrug. "I couldn't really be fussed to find out where it actually was, but that is what they usually do around here. If you're a Sentinel or a Guide, you get snapped up. Didn't really want that to happen to me." Harry still needed him, for all the good it had done her in the end when he went off to Afghanistan, anyway.

[iwillshieldhim]

The nuzzle to his neck does as John hopes, to some degree. Gladio rumbles quietly and rubs his head to John, his eyes closing briefly at the tender moment between them. There's a gentler urge than before to be touching, be touched by, his Guide, and the touch to his waist helps some of that feeling. Eventually he'll be more concerned about the fact they need a wash but... not now. There's far more important things going on.

"Hell," Gladio says after a few seconds of silence, frowning slightly, "you've been that powerful you're whole life. I haven't heard of a lot of Guides like that outside of the Crownsguard." Pause, a snort, and he confides, "before you ask, it's the name of us. The idiots who guard the Caelums. Because of the logo." The Caelum's business empire has a blade topped by a crown as their logo, though it doesn't match the more official one the King himself wore.

He stretches out a leg, thinking about what John told him. "Don't blame you for your choices. I... got lucky, I guess. I've known my whole life what I'd be, where I'd be, always knew I'd be a Sentinel. It wasn't even a question. I've heard of those schools... Prompto got threatened pretty badly with one but given that he'd ended up Bonded by Noct meant things got a little skewed." His eye focuses on John, briefly amused. "Think Harry's going to approve to me or do I have to worry about getting my ass by a beta?"

[jumpthegun]

"Crownsguard. Sounds fancy." Sounds medieval, is what it sounds, like being Knights of the Round Table. Not that John would mind all that much if he's pulled into that circle. Probably will be pulled into that circle if he can impress Noct with his combat prowess. That means he really does need to do some serious training. Prompto would probably be easier on his body and ego, or maybe even Ignis, but Gladio's going to be able to prepare him in shorter order for harsh combat by the look and size of him.

John moves to hook one of his own legs around Gladio's when the other man stretches out. The need to be close is still intense, although the raw sexual energy has abated somewhat. "Sorry to hear about Prompto, but Harry." He groans in mock-exasperation. "She's never gonna let me live you down. Told her if I ever did find a Sentinel, it'd be a woman prettier than her ex-wife. I really don't think you qualify for the pretty part. Not with that mullet." He wrinkles his nose at Gladio for effect.

ROOD JOHN

[iwillshieldhim]

"I think it started as a joke, but the joke's stuck. It's a lot of damn good people. Sentinels, Guides, and nots. Not sure how many you'll get to meet but you might over time. We tend to meet up to spar and talk and go drinking if we've got the time." There's a little smirk there and clearly some stories as well.

Only to get insulted. Gladio's eyes go wide and he runs a protective hand over his hair. "Hey, I like this look. So do a lot of other people." He's not above giving a flash of teeth and a look of pride. If John's gonna go for his glorious hair, he'll bite back. It's all teasing, though, and his laugh after matches that. "Probably not prettier than a woman, but maybe sexier will have to do."

Gladio walked into it, man...

[jumpthegun]

John huffs at Gladio's laugh, but can't help cracking a smile through his mock-indignation. "I think you'll do just fine with her if you meet." He grows a little more serious as he realizes what he's actually offering here. "You don't have to meet her. We're not really close anymore, don't talk much, and she's got... problems." There's a mild strand of tension that will likely come through the Bond for Gladio. "Don't mention drinking around her if we do happen to meet up with her. It's not a good topic." Sometimes she's a recovering alcoholic, sometimes not. Either way, John doesn't want to encourage her in that direction.

He clears his throat, rubbing his thumb across Gladio's side, more for the comfort to himself than the other man. There are potential minefields for each of them to stumble into with knowing so little about one another. "D'you have any questions you've been dying to ask, then?"

Gladio walks into a bar. The bar bends.

[iwillshieldhim]

"You're my Guide. If she's important to you... I'd like to meet her, eventually." They both knew that this is it. Somehow or another, they would be a part of each other's lives for some time to come. Gladio's heard of Bonds who fall out of love with one another, even out of friendship, and in all honesty, it sounds horrific. The pain of separation often makes one or the other or both go mad.

"Drinker. Got it." Forming a very odd picture of this older sister of John's - lesbian, drinker, a Not. Still, he frowned slightly as he thought about John's question before raising a brow. "...hobbies? If you've been fighting until now... what kind of hobbies do you have outside of working?" Everyone had something, or so he hopes.

/snort

[jumpthegun]

He'll keep that in mind about Harry. Setting her up to meet with Gladio means setting up to meet with her, himself, as well.

John can't help laughing softly at Gladio's question. It's so... mundane. But it's an important one, he supposes. "I like cooking when I can. Nothing special, just something that isn't prepackaged. Reading. Spy novels and thrillers, mostly, but I like a good nonfiction on politics or the war or theories about daemons. Sudoku's fun, too. God, I sound like a nerd. Traveling. I like traveling, walking. Part of going into the Army was that. It was a chance to get out and see the world." In all its wonders and horrors.

"Played rugby when I was in college. Don't mind running around for that." It'll be easier now without the limp. "There're some lads I meet up with every so often for a pint. Watch that or some football at one of the pubs.

"How about you?"

thank you, thank you, tip your waitress

[iwillshieldhim]

Hey, he asked if there was anything Gladio wanted to know, so he asked what he wanted to know! Gladio listens intently, the corner of his mouth lifting at John's choice of starter but a real smile appears at the mention of reading and it stays through the rest. Perhaps despite their ages they aren't as different as he might have feared originally.

"Ignis wouldn't mind someone else who can cook - he's Noct's private chef, and frankly for the rest of us, most of the time. Prom and I can't cook to save our lives and everything Noct's bothered with burns." There's clearly a memory there from the affectionate snort. "Bit of a book guy myself. Mystery, fantasy, history... try to stay away from politics, I deal with it enough as it is. Don't mind traveling; get to do enough of it with Noct, but if I have my choice? I'll go camping."

[jumpthegun]

Never judge a book by it's cover, as the saying goes. John definitely wouldn't have pegged Gladio as the sort to enjoy reading. He does grin at the mention of everyone apart from Ignis being wretched cooks. "I hope you lot are grateful to Ignis, then. And you're the ones doing the washing up since he's doing the cooking." It's a fair rule and something he'd generally ordered his men on when they were out on missions off-base.

"I loved camping over in Afghanistan, though." He relaxes once more. There's too much light here. Even out into the hills you get London drowning out the sky." His gaze goes distant for a moment, but there's a soft smile on his lips. "We were infiltrating a Taliban weapons storage facility up in the mountains on one of our missions. Had to stay the night, and I would've taken the entire night watch, if I could. I'd never seen so many stars, the galaxy... It takes your breath away, y'know?

"Is America like that? You said it was wilder."

[iwillshieldhim]

"Promise, we take care of Iggy," Gladio says with a bit of a laugh, though there is something in his tone that's hard to describe. Almost-- no. That would be looking into it too hard. "Even Noct does." He reaches up, his fingertips brushing along John's jaw, following it down but avoiding the Bond mark though his fingers stop near it.

"It's wilder. We've got to use Havens to keep safe out in most of the wild area, it's that bad. But it goes on for miles and miles and miles... you can get lost in it. Don't get a lot of time off but I'll take you out there. I know a place where there's nothing for a hundred miles other than you, your blade, and some daemons."

[jumpthegun]

John's eyes flutter closed briefly at the touch, and it's a very sudden and very visceral urge that he wants to be inside of this man. He gives his libido a mental kick or two to calm it down. He's not ready for another round, and that's not a subject he's going to broach with Gladio so immediately. They can build up to something like that. Quickly, maybe, but there needs to be some build up. It's especially in appropriate when the man's talking about taking him off to fight daemons in the middle of nowhere.

"Sounds like a romantic getaway." John opens his eyes, smirking at the other man. "I'd like that, though. Reckon we'll need to see what my schedule ends up being, as well. I did mean what I told Noctis and the others. I'm fully prepared to fulfill whatever duties I'm assigned here, if he does take me on as the hired help."

He offers a small shrug. "Guess I should let you know that can be one of my worse qualities. Bit hard-headed. When I say I'm gonna do something, it'll take a hell of a lot to stop me doing it." John glances down toward the scar on his shoulder.

[iwillshieldhim]

It still sort of mystifies him that John's even here. For twelve years now he hasn't had a Guide but a series of partials and a lot of Ignis, and then Prompto and Ignis combined had been mostly capable of keeping him in line.

"You don't seem like the romantic getaway type," Gladio says deadpan, raising a brow playfully before he relaxed back, though his eyes keep going back to the bond mark. "We'll see how things work out. It's not exactly like we're going to be able to be too far apart." Which, in of itself, is possibly not the best thing but it is what it is.

The last part though brings a laugh out of Gladio. "John, I've known you for, what, three hours so far? Trust me... even in that amount of time, I've figured that out. We've got the same problem." Though his fingers reach out to run across the scar, and now that he has the opening... "How did this happen?"

[jumpthegun]

"I could be," John teases back. "I'll tell you now, I like long baths, essential oils, candles, the works. Not often, but they're nice." It doesn't matter if it's a cliche. God knows you have to treat yourself somehow, and John hasn't actually had a bath like that in months. "Might be nicer with two sometimes."

He leaves that thought there, though, not entirely sure how he feels about the reverence Gladio's shown over his scar. It's not unwelcome, it's just... a little peculiar. The doctors at the hospital had joked with him that 'chicks dig scars' to try to cheer him up about it whenever they changed the bandages. But it's something he associates with failure, an inability to complete the mission.

"A story for a story. I'd like to know how you got that one over your eye." He closes his eyes again for a moment, gathering himself. "It was a little village in the Shorabak District. We'd gotten word one of the higher ups in the Taliban leadership had been spotted in the area. My team and I were sent in." He takes a deep breath, the sound of gunfire starting up in his head. He can taste the dust and smoke on his tongue, the sun pounding down. "It was an ambush. They'd packed one of the houses with explosives and set it off when a group of my men were moving by.

"Opened fire as soon as that went. Managed to pull a couple of the boys they got into one of the other huts and we set up a barricade in there. Went out for another lad and got it in the back while they were firing on us. I dunno what kind of bullets they were using--someone told me after they think there was some sort of magic infused in them. Whatever they got me with, it wasn't responding to magical healing. My mate Bill, the nurse in our unit, wound up dragging me out of there. Alex grabbed the other lad I'd been pulling. I'd ordered them to radio for back-up as soon as we'd set up the barricade, and command sent in a couple of choppers.

"Everything that happened after that sort of blurred together. Lost a lot of blood. I just remember Bill yelling at me to get down. Woke up back at base with half my body on fire, it felt like. An infection had got in. Went in and out for a couple of days while they got me stabilized enough to fly back to London. Lost a couple of my men... Graham Paxton, Danny Matthews." John takes another deep. "I dunno what I could've done differently. We ran the mission to a T. I'm proud of my men. We could've lost a lot more of them. Still. Y'know?" He'd been in command. He feels responsible for what happened.

[iwillshieldhim]

[ooc: the thought occurs to me that we could really follow some of the events of the game... an attack back in NYC kills Regis, Clarus, etc.]

"Problem is finding a tub big enough," Gladio says dryly, giving a slide of his hand over his ribs and down over his hip before smirking. 6'6" guys tend not to fit well into most normal tubs. "Remind me to give you a massage sometime. After that, I'll be able to bargain with them." And the smirk grows. With big warm hands like those, with the strength they hold, maybe it's not such a surprise that he can give one damn good massage.

But he goes quiet through the rest of it, listening closely. He could almost see it in his head, taste sand and grit in his teeth. War... he could have easily been sent to war, given his status, if he had been brought up differently. He's seen his fair share of combat, but against daemons, animals. The idea of cutting down people settles sour in his stomach, but he also knows he would do nothing less if someone threatened Noct or one of his group. He knew his father had killed in the name of defense of Regis.

"..." Gladio is silent at the end of the tale, then reaches up with a hand to cradle the back of John's head and bring their foreheads together. Sympathy. He can feel it, the pain that still lingers in John's heart, as their bond cries with it. He doesn't bother with niceties, a 'you did everything you could', just closes his eyes and breathes in time with his Guide, offering something of his own instead silently.