Your bodyguard...or your lover?

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PROTECTOR/PROTECTED shipping meme

There’s no real push to your actions; you do them as if they were second nature. Perhaps, initially, you were assigned this role, as protector and guardian of this person. Maybe you took it on because there was no one else. A natural guardian or not, good or evil, you caught a shining to them and felt…something. Something hard to explain, but you want to keep them safe and happy - or at the very least, content. No one is as dedicated to them as you. You want them to reach their goals; to help them achieve them, you'll do what you must, even if it means being their gofer or their right hand. But most of all, you don't want them to end up like you. They're worth more than that. Yet somehow, along the line, you became more to them, more than just their protector. You protect them anew and you've found a different way to make them happy. It's selfish, too, because you love them in your way and you want them more than anything. You may feel guilty, of course. They don't, though, and that's what matters. Comment with your character, preferences, and what you'd prefer to play: protector or protected. Remember, you don't have to be so rigid. A traditionally weak character can "protect" a traditionally strong one in emotional ways. Reply to others. Promise ✖ You told them you would take care of their lover, no matter what. You intend to follow through with that. Close ✖ What are friends for if not taking care of unfinished business? Debt Owed ✖ Kindness or favor has to be repaid, even if it's an investment in someone else. Atonement ✖ Whether or not you particularly cared for the person who's gone is irrelevant. You just need to make up for past sins. No Good ✖ You're taking care of the one left behind, but not out of good intentions. There may be ulterior motives here - no, there are definitely ulterior motives here. Or maybe this is the one good thing you've done in your life. Guilt ✖ It's your fault that you're here and their significant other isn't. It's a paltry repayment. Bearer of Bad News ✖ You can't blame them for wanting to shoot the messenger. You are telling them their lover is dead. Related ✖ In days past, the living partner would be cared for by their dead partner's family. As a sibling or cousin of the deceased, you want to continue that tradition and take care of "family." Wo/man Up ✖ Actually, their lover isn't dead, they're just dead to you, unable or unwilling to take care of business. You're stepping up. Friends ✖ You were all friends before, so it's only natural for you to want to look out for them now. Derisive ✖ ...this is the person they loved so much? This is who you're supposed to protect? Pathetic. Resentful ✖ You can never forgive them. They're the reason your lover is dead, no matter how they treat you. What They Saw in You ✖ You're beginning to see why someone would love them, how they'd want to give up their old ways and change. It's almost...nice. Warming Up ✖ If you didn't get along at first, the claws are being put away now. It's better to at least be civil, isn't it? Still in Danger ✖ Whatever killed one half of the pair is still out there, and the other half is in danger themselves. Other Complications ✖ Not only did your mutual acquaintance leave behind a lover, but also children. You find yourself getting closer and closer to them, too, even if they aren't yours. Compromised ✖ You can't look after them with a level head. You love them. Can't Love Again ✖ You've lost before. You can't risk losing again, can you? Out of the Dark ✖ One or both of you find yourselves in a hole. You can barely eat, hardly sleep, and depression has taken hold of you. Together, though, you may find the light and a way out of despair. First Time ✖ Simply what it says. You two have taken your relationship to the next level. Changed ✖ Before, you were bitter. Hard. Jaded. Now, helping someone - specifically, helping this person - has brought a new kind of joy into your life. You could get used to it. Easily and dangerously used to it, to be brutally honest. You shouldn't allow it. Living Together ✖ You can take care of them more throughly if you're in the same place as they are, obviously. Hidden Jealousy ✖ When their lover was alive, you were jealous of everything they had - including the fact that they had the person you're looking after now. Admitting this may make you feel like the most awful person in the world. Secrets Revealed ✖ Eventually, your involvement with the death of their beloved will come out, and they will never be able to look at you the same way. Dependent ✖ Replacing one unhealthy habit with another, you've become utterly dependent on your relationship with your caretaker, your guardian, your lover. Won't Be a Replacement ✖ You can't help but feel as if you're merely serving as a stand in for what they've lost. It's understandable, yet you still can't allow yourself to be that and only that. Not Really Gone ✖ What is dead should stay dead, but what if who you thought was gone isn't really out of the picture? Will they be happy with finding someone else so cozy and in love with their special someone? The Same Mistakes ✖ You're falling into the same patterns that lead to their death. Will you meet the same fate? Who's Helping Who ✖ You think you're taking care of them and helping them through their loss. Is that the case? But who's never been this happy before in their life? Move On ✖ It's time to put ghosts to rest and let old demons go. You can't let your life become a graveyard. Tragedy ✖ The ending is unhappy or even deadly for both of you. Happy Ending ✖ In contrast to the above, you're both able to live as together as happily as you possibly can, whatever can be allowed. WILDCARD

Comments

rapunzel | tangled | ota

[watcheslanterns]

[ probably the one being protected, but I'm happy to flip the script. ]

bucky barnes, mcu.

[foes]

( welp. )

[maskirovka]

[ y/n/m? could go either way, really. ]

Tony Stark | MCU | OTA

[kindacatchy]

((ooc: he could be either))

Buffy Summers | BtVS | OTA

[proactive_with_pep]

[most likely the protector, but cool with whichever. pass on #20, #22 & #23.]

Frank Castle | MCU

[firingsquad]

[subplot]

[Karen will always tell Frank that she can take care of herself. And most of the time, she thinks he believes it. He protects her from harm, sure, but she protects him from emotional fallout. She keeps him anchored and grounded, helps him find his way through the fog of violence that can sometimes consume him. Her position at the paper has her getting in trouble more often these days, thanks to her poking her nose into the business of some of the darker things around Hells Kitchen and the bustling city that surrounds the area. Her current predicament with a dirty politician who has his hands in both money laundering and government conspiracy has her laying low, a mark on her head ensuring that she's a very high profile person with anyone that needs the money.

It's not a surprise when Frank shows up in the middle of the first near death experience and saves her. He shields her body with his own, forcing her to the ground as they wait out several rounds of bullets. They scramble to their feet and he takes her hand and runs, ensuring that he gets her to a safe house. She can't go home, he tells her. She argues and fights tooth and nail. She's not running scared, she refuses to back down and be intimidated. Frank doesn't leave her with much of a choice. It's over his dead body that she's going back to her apartment until he figures out how to keep her alive.

After a few days of a surprisingly domestic routine with Frank, she figures that it's time to talk to him about how he sees this working in the long term. She can't stay here forever, as nice as it's been to escape reality and spend time one on one with him. They've cooked meals, watched some tv, even played cards. It's been a good vacation, but she's going stir crazy. Which he can probably tell by how she's paced the small room for the past ten minutes straight.]

I know you want to keep me safe, Frank, but I can't keep calling out of work. Ellison is asking too many questions.

nazuna nito | ensemble stars!

[pyonpyon]

( more than likely the devoted protector. but he is able to be the begrudgingly protected as well! )

Armand | The Vampire Chronicles | ota

[wizened]

Shinichi Izumi // Parasyte: The Maxim [ota]

[kiseijuu]

[ Voicetesting!
・He's got a heart of gold and a social justice complex, not to mention a parasitic alien arm that can morph into any number of weaponry. So there's that little tidbit. Maybe something like your character literally needs protecting and Shinichi jumps in? For the sake of two strangers getting to know each other?
・Also totally fine with him being the protected, assumed CR, anything really. We're not picky! ]

Rinoa Heartilly | Final Fantasy VIII

[moonwaltz]

( probably protected. ota for gen, f/m for ships. )

Amos Burton | The Expanse | OTA

[shipspitbull]

(Amos is a protector by default but he can be the protected. If you're a good person, he's gonna protect the crap outta you. His moral compass doesn't have a magnet so he uses other people for compasses.)

Loki | MCU | OTA

[mischiefandice]

[He could be either, and will probably be terrible at both.]

Shades | Marvel's Luke Cage

[streetcode]

[The protector.]

Mary Crawley | Downton Abbey | M/F

[thequitecontrary]

[Protected.]

yuuki kuran ( vampire knight )

[flourisher]

(can be either)

Scarecrow | Batman Arkham Knight

[doctor_terror]

[The protected.]

John Hancock | Fallout 4 | M/M

[feralnow]

[Either role.]

natasha romanoff, mcu.

[nyets]

( protector. )

Ryou Bakura|Yugioh|ota

[ringed_fate]

Scott Summers/Cyclops | XMCU | ota

[redblasting]

[either role]

archer • fate/ • m/f

[bladesmith]

( The protector, but absolutely open to women who don't fit into the protected role very well. Extra or Extella because I'm rusty on SN right now. AUs and crosscanon are good too. )

jasmine | disney

[eanid]

( protected. good luck! )

Claudia Valeria • original character (vampire) • ota

[regalbutdeadly]

[ Either. She's presently royalty, but aside from that has made plenty of enemies over her long life, and so plenty of need for a protective element. However, she guarded her sire before she was turned, and she has quite the warrior's history before politics called to her, so she's well equipped to protect someone else. ]

Peter Quill | MCU | OTA

[its_starlord]

[can be either. m/m pref for ships]

Cassandra | X-Men OC | ota

[cassandra_firebreath]

[either role]

John Grimm • Doom • ota

[survivedmars]

[ the protector. ]