Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Difference between revisions

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[[Cloudcuckoolander|Bob is a bit off.]] He might be a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|helpful]] member of the [[True Companions]], but his habit of breaking into song and dance for no reason, or his obsession with rulers, or insisting that he carry a carrot of no less than 6.12 millimeters (and no longer) in length at all times, or saluting whenever the air temperature drops below... well, you get the idea. Put quite simply, he's hard for anyone to understand, talk to, or otherwise work with. Everyone except his ([[Vitriolic Best Buds|long suffering, but inexplicably loyal]]) childhood friend Alice, that is.

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* In [[Bleach]] [[Badass Bureaucrat|Ise Nanao]] is in charge of a) getting the [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|stupidly powerful]] Captain Kyouraku off his ass, because otherwise he'd be completely drunk ''all'' instead of just ''most'' of the time, and b) keeping her division from falling into (more) chaos.

** {{spoiler|It's more of [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] as Kyouraku is among the most observant and keen minded characters in the series. He's still quite lazy, though, so he really does need Nanao around.}}

* In ''[[~~Azumanga Daioh (Manga)|~~Azumanga Daioh]]'' Chiyo-chan is one of these to [[Cloudcuckoolander|Osaka]]. Particularly amusing since the former is much younger than the latter.

* In ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'' Chiyo-chan is one of these to [[Cloudcuckoolander|Osaka]]. Particularly amusing since the former is much younger than the latter.

* Aoi to Hayana in ''[[~~Twinkle Saber Nova (Manga)|~~Twinkle Saber Nova]]''.

* Aoi to Hayana in ''[[Twinkle Saber Nova]]''.

* In ''[[GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class]]'' Mizubuchi is this to the art club president; Awara. She even lampshaded it once, noting that she has a friend who she always needs to take care of.

* In ''[[~~Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|~~Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' Sharna Alamgir was, according to the mangaka, created to play the [[Straight Man]] to Fumi Hibino's goofball character and basically exists to provide [[Deadpan Snarker|snappy comebacks]]. It must be a bit hard for her, since she is a foreign exchange student herself.

* In ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' Sharna Alamgir was, according to the mangaka, created to play the [[Straight Man]] to Fumi Hibino's goofball character and basically exists to provide [[Deadpan Snarker|snappy comebacks]]. It must be a bit hard for her, since she is a foreign exchange student herself.

* Even if ''[[~~Haruhi Suzumiya (Light Novel)|~~Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' hadn't been a [[Reality Warper]] Kyon's life would have been a lot easier if he hadn't met the titular character to begin with. But instead he allowed himself to be forced into her self created club to search for aliens, time travelers, ESPers etc. and keep her entertained.

* Even if ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' hadn't been a [[Reality Warper]] Kyon's life would have been a lot easier if he hadn't met the titular character to begin with. But instead he allowed himself to be forced into her self created club to search for aliens, time travelers, ESPers etc. and keep her entertained.

* Cecile Croomy, the [[Beleaguered Assistant]] to [[Mad Scientist|Lloyd Asplund]] in ''[[Code Geass]]'', also serves as his minder in all things professional and social, since he has [[Cloudcuckoolander|no interest in doing so himself, preferring his]] [[Humongous Mecha]].

* At least part of Kenren's job in ''[[Saiyuki]] Gaiden'' is to make sure Tenpou can function in the real world and not get buried under mess, though it is a voluntary aspect of it.

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* [[Tortall Universe|Tamora Pierce]] seems fond of this trope. Daine needs to watch Numair, (despite his being the most powerful mage in Tortall), Nawat needs Aly to explain the inexplicable to him, and Qiom, who needs Fadal{{spoiler|a}} to do the same, what with his being a former tree. It's even worse with Qiom, as some of the instinctive things an animal would do don't come naturally to him. His Minder needs to make sure he doesn't burn himself eating food too soon, or getting hauled up at the local temple for something equally (but obviously more disastrously) stupid.

* The whole premise of ''[[Of Mice and Men]]'' revolves around Lennie and George as (mentally handicapped) [[Cloudcuckoolander]] and minder, respectively. While Lennie's quirks land them both in hot water and drive long-suffering George up the wall, George cares deeply about Lennie and ends up {{spoiler|[[Shoot the Dog|shooting him dead rather than let him die at the hands of a lynch mob]]}}.

* [[The Jeeves|Jeeves]] to [[Upperclass Twit|Bertie]] in ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (~~Literature~~)|Jeeves and Wooster]]''. His mission in life is to make sure that the young master stays unmarried and out of trouble and doesn't leave the house wearing anything ''too'' ridiculous. For all his oddities, however, Bertie is fond of "[[Idle Rich|the quiet life]]", and if anyone's the king of [[Zany Scheme|Zany Schemes]], [[Not So Above It All|it's Jeeves]]. Bertie also sometimes plays this role for his crazier friends, Bingo Little in particular.

* [[The Jeeves|Jeeves]] to [[Upperclass Twit|Bertie]] in ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]''. His mission in life is to make sure that the young master stays unmarried and out of trouble and doesn't leave the house wearing anything ''too'' ridiculous. For all his oddities, however, Bertie is fond of "[[Idle Rich|the quiet life]]", and if anyone's the king of [[Zany Scheme|Zany Schemes]], [[Not So Above It All|it's Jeeves]]. Bertie also sometimes plays this role for his crazier friends, Bingo Little in particular.

* In [[Harry Potter]], Ginny sometimes ends up as this for Luna - notably during Luna's first appearance, where Ginny convinces everyone that Luna's okay, just rather odd.

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== Live Action Television ==

* In ''[[Fringe]]'' Peter, Olivia, and Astrid are this to Walter.

* As befits their status as [[Expy|expies]] to [[Sherlock Holmes|Watson and Holmes]], Dr. Wilson generally serves as this to Dr. [[House (TV)|House]]. Dr. Cuddy also served as one of these until leaving the show for the final season.

* As befits their status as [[Expy|expies]] to [[Sherlock Holmes|Watson and Holmes]], Dr. Wilson generally serves as this to Dr. [[House (TV series)|House]]. Dr. Cuddy also served as one of these until leaving the show for the final season.

* Sometimes, on ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the companions are dragged into taking care of the Doctor! Generally restricted to Four and Eleven though.

** In the [[Made for TV Movie]] in which Eight appeared, his companion actually tried to dispense with all this rubbish and have him put in the psych ward (mostly because he [[Cassandra Truth|tried to tell her]] about the imminent [[The End of the World As We Know It]], although acting like a lunatic probably didn't help his credibility any). She also explained away his odd behavior to strangers as a result of his being British.

** In the [[Made for TV Movie]] in which Eight appeared, his companion actually tried to dispense with all this rubbish and have him put in the psych ward (mostly because he [[Cassandra Truth|tried to tell her]] about the imminent [[The End of the World as We Know It]], although acting like a lunatic probably didn't help his credibility any). She also explained away his odd behavior to strangers as a result of his being British.

* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' Penny and Leonard often are this to [[Man Child|Sheldon]] [[Insufferable Genius|Cooper]].

* The title character of the TV show ''[[Monk]]'', who suffers from OCD, employs a helpful companion (Sharona in early seasons, then Natalie). She hands out sanitizing wipes, does all manner of dirty work, explains his odd mannerisms to others, and generally runs interference between him and the world.

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* The whole gang is this to Barney Stinson on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', especially Ted.

* John to Sherlock on ''[[Sherlock]]'', even more so than the original Watson. He spends a lot of time apologizing for Sherlock or translating his behavior.

* Every main character in ''[[~~Its~~ Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'' has taken this role towards another main character and vice versa, with resident full-time [[Cloudcuckoolander]] Charlie being the most common recipient.

* Every main character in ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'' has taken this role towards another main character and vice versa, with resident full-time [[Cloudcuckoolander]] Charlie being the most common recipient.

* ''Community'' plays with this a lot, generally surrounding Abed. The group often has to help him, notable examples being [[Community ~~(TV)~~/Recap/S1 E21 Contemporary American Poultry|Jeff promising to help him understand people]], [[Community ~~(TV)~~/Recap/S3 E16 Virtual Systems Analysis|Annie explaining empathy]], and Troy helping him function day to day, as explored in "[[Community ~~(TV)~~/Recap/S3 E12 Contemporary Impressionists|Contemporary Impressionists]]." But seeing as Abed is [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] and they are in a tv show, often the group needs him to explain or fix things for them.

* ''Community'' plays with this a lot, generally surrounding Abed. The group often has to help him, notable examples being [[Community/Recap/S1 E21 Contemporary American Poultry|Jeff promising to help him understand people]], [[Community/Recap/S3 E16 Virtual Systems Analysis|Annie explaining empathy]], and Troy helping him function day to day, as explored in "[[Community/Recap/S3 E12 Contemporary Impressionists|Contemporary Impressionists]]." But seeing as Abed is [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] and they are in a tv show, often the group needs him to explain or fix things for them.

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Warhammer ~~40 K~~]]'' has Ork Weirdboyz, the psychically receptive members of the Orkoid species whose barely-understood innate psychic powers make them, as the name suggests, a bit weird. By Orkish standards anyway, since they usually prefer to run away from the heavy fighting that makes their brain hurt rather than towards it as a sane ork would. As such they are usually accompanied at all times by two or more "minderz", unimaginative, no-nonsense ork thugs whose job it is to keep the weirdboy from doing anything too outrageous or running away when his mind blasts are needed in battle. This was the case on the tabletop up until the 3rd edition of the game, where the minders were represented with models and effectively fired the weirdboy like a living weapon. In the current rules the weirdboy has been safely escorted to the battlefield already, and the build-up of psychic energy has sent him crazy enough that he has given his minderz the slip and started to bounce around unpredictably on his own.

* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' has Ork Weirdboyz, the psychically receptive members of the Orkoid species whose barely-understood innate psychic powers make them, as the name suggests, a bit weird. By Orkish standards anyway, since they usually prefer to run away from the heavy fighting that makes their brain hurt rather than towards it as a sane ork would. As such they are usually accompanied at all times by two or more "minderz", unimaginative, no-nonsense ork thugs whose job it is to keep the weirdboy from doing anything too outrageous or running away when his mind blasts are needed in battle. This was the case on the tabletop up until the 3rd edition of the game, where the minders were represented with models and effectively fired the weirdboy like a living weapon. In the current rules the weirdboy has been safely escorted to the battlefield already, and the build-up of psychic energy has sent him crazy enough that he has given his minderz the slip and started to bounce around unpredictably on his own.

** There is also the Necron commander Nemessor Zandrekh, and his long-suffering aide-de-camp and enforcer Vargard Obyron. Zandrekh is a consummate tactical genius who was instrumental in promoting his dynasty's fortunes during the ancient Necron civil wars. Unfortunately his cognitive processing circuits were damaged during his long hibernation into modern times, and while his genius is undimmed he can't tell the difference between the present and the past anymore, believing he's still fighting the civil wars against rival dynasties whatever new enemy he comes up against. Obyron, on the other hand, is perfectly aware of the situation, but as an indentured subordinate he was programmed for absolute loyalty to Zandrekh and so has to make the best of things and sort out any anomalies caused by Zandrekh's delusions. Usually this involves making sure that "honoured prisoners" kept alive by Zandrekh according to ancient rules of engagement are conveniently disposed of via "little accidents" or "while they were trying to escape".

== Video Games ==

* The main characters in the ''[[~~Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|~~Ace Attorney]]'' series tend to be this to their sidekicks (at the very least they occasionally manage to prevent them from doing something stupid).

* The main characters in the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series tend to be this to their sidekicks (at the very least they occasionally manage to prevent them from doing something stupid).

* A more serious version appears in ''[[The Suffering]]'' where there's an [[Escort Mission]] (optional, but you'll need to complete it to get the best ending) that involves guiding around a drugged up, traumatised teenager who's so out of it he thinks you're his father.

* In ''[[Fallout 3]]'' you essentially serve as this to Moira Brown when you're doing her (exceptionally long) quest chain to gather data for writing a survival guide. You can even talk her out of pursuing said dream (but only [[Break the Cutie|if you're feeling cruel]]).

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* Herren from ''[[Dragon Age|Dragon Age: Origins]]'' is one to his boyfriend Wade.

* In ''[[Dragon Age 2]]'', Varric serves this role for his older brother Bartrand, who lacks social skills. Later on, he also serves this role for Merrill as she tries to adapt to life in the city.

* In the beginning of ''[[~~Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|~~Tales of Symphonia]]'', Genis serves as this for Lloyd. Raine also takes this roll with regard to Collette, to a degree.

* In the beginning of ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'', Genis serves as this for Lloyd. Raine also takes this roll with regard to Collette, to a degree.

* In ''[[~~Portal 2 (Video Game)|~~Portal 2]]'', this is [[My Master, Right or Wrong|Caroline]]'s relation to [[Mad Scientist|Cave]] [[Large Ham|Johnson]].

* In ''[[Portal 2]]'', this is [[My Master, Right or Wrong|Caroline]]'s relation to [[Mad Scientist|Cave]] [[Large Ham|Johnson]].

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== Webcomics ==

* Louise of ''[[~~Miscellaneous Error (Webcomic)|~~Miscellaneous Error]]'' spends most of her time trying to keep her brother, Jack, from killing himself or anybody else.

* Louise of ''[[Miscellaneous Error]]'' spends most of her time trying to keep her brother, Jack, from killing himself or anybody else.

* Lucas and Lilah in ''[[Ctrl Alt Del ~~(Webcomic)~~|Ctrl Alt Del]]'' both fill this role for Ethan.

* Lucas and Lilah in ''[[Ctrl+Alt+Del|Ctrl Alt Del]]'' both fill this role for Ethan.

* In [[Grey Is ~~(Webcomic)~~|Grey Is]] White is very much this to Black, especially in the flashbacks to 2 years ago {{spoiler|where we see a depressed anorexic Black who is only really happy when White is there to distract him}}. Even in the present time it is up to White to help keep Black from freaking out when he loses focus and can't remember things or when his boss starts nagging him.

* In [[Grey Is...|Grey Is]] White is very much this to Black, especially in the flashbacks to 2 years ago {{spoiler|where we see a depressed anorexic Black who is only really happy when White is there to distract him}}. Even in the present time it is up to White to help keep Black from freaking out when he loses focus and can't remember things or when his boss starts nagging him.

* Copernicus winds up being this to Fletcher on occasion in Antics. Sometimes.

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* [[Megatokyo]]: Piro is this to Largo, translating his l33t sp34k when necessary and trying to rein him in from trouble. Lately, however, Erika has been taking over the job--when she's not just running with the madness.

* Church could be seen as this to Caboose in [[Red vs. Blue]]. He's entered Caboose's mind a few times, and also seems to be the only one who knows how to get results from Caboose, either through manipulation or genuinely getting through to him.

* Being the only person who gives him any change, [[~~The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|~~The Nostalgia Critic]] has basically put himself in charge in [[Bum Reviews ~~(Web Video)~~|Chester]]. Seeing as how Critic [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny|isn't]] [[Strange Girl|all]] [[Genius Ditz|there]] [[Cute but Psycho|either]], this can cause problems.

* Being the only person who gives him any change, [[The Nostalgia Critic]] has basically put himself in charge in [[Bum Reviews|Chester]]. Seeing as how Critic [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny|isn't]] [[Strange Girl|all]] [[Genius Ditz|there]] [[Cute but Psycho|either]], this can cause problems.

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* ''[[The Looney Tunes Show]]'': Bugs is this to Daffy, and potentially to Lola too.

* ''[[Regular Show]]'': Especially earlier on, Benson acts as this for Pops, translating his flowery language and reminding him that you pay for things with money, not lollipops.

* ''[[Ed, Edd n Eddy]]'': Edd is this to both Ed and Eddy. Well, at least he ''tries.''

* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'': Edd is this to both Ed and Eddy. Well, at least he ''tries.''

* Sharon Marsh is pretty straightforward when it comes to her husband Randy's [[Cloudcuckoolander|Cloud Cuckoolandings]] in ''[[South Park]]'', with Stan often sharing this role.