History Main / TheCaretaker

* Jenny, the sister to blind Virgil in ''Film/AtFirstSight''. She was incredibly overprotective, but got to justify her reactions as years of disappointment of quack doctors, as well as receiving a PromotionToParent for her brother at a young age. Though she was called out on her faults, she got a chance to see them and mend her ways while her brother was temporarily cured of his blindness.

** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E6LikeAngelsPutInHellByGod Like Angels Put in Hell by God]]": Claudia cares for her older vampire brother Louis (she no longer wants to be treated as his adoptive daughter, and they are siblings in vampire terms) after he's [[DomesticAbuse thrashed to a pulp]] by his boyfriend Lestat de Lioncourt. She even develops a vampire form of physical therapy to help Louis regain his mobility.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{Serenity}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simonandriver_4630.jpg]]]]

** General 'Uncle' Iroh voluntarily follows his nephew Zuko in exile, and cares for him as a son. Unfortunately, he only gets yelled at, insulted, abandoned, betrayed and imprisoned in return. It's not that Zuko doesn't care about his uncle, because he ''does''; he's just way too obsessed with [[WellDoneSonGuy proving himself to]] his EvilOverlord [[AbusiveParents father]], Fire Lord Ozai, to have eye for the more important things in life.

* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'': Reigen is a mixed bag of this for Mob. It's obvious that he cares a lot about Mob and has no problem rushing into dangerous situations to save him, chewing people out for "stressing out" his [[DiagnosedByTheAudience "mentally weak"]] student. Unfortunately, he can also be a possessive and selfish jerk who tries to manipulate Mob and keep him from hanging out with friends. He eventually gets his comeuppance when [[spoiler: he takes things too far and Mob leaves him, and he's humiliated on national television]]. It's only after this that he realizes he's become more reliant on Mob than helpful to him and that he's lost sight of his own goals and on what's really important (namely, Mob's happiness, and [[spoiler: trust in him]]). He gets better and becomes more of a BenevolentBoss and friend -- although he still runs into dangerous situations, and occasionally lies in order to spare Mob's feelings.

* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'': Reigen is a mixed bag of this for Mob. It's obvious that he cares a lot about Mob and has no problem rushing into dangerous situations to save him, chewing people out for "stressing out" his [[AmbiguousDisorder "mentally weak"]] student. Unfortunately, he can also be a possessive and selfish jerk who tries to manipulate Mob and keep him from hanging out with friends. He eventually gets his comeuppance when [[spoiler: he takes things too far and Mob leaves him, and he's humiliated on national television]]. It's only after this that he realizes he's become more reliant on Mob than helpful to him and that he's lost sight of his own goals and on what's really important (namely, Mob's happiness, and [[spoiler: trust in him]]). He gets better, and becomes more of a BenevolentBoss and friend -- although he still runs into dangerous situations, and occasionally lies in order to spare Mob's feelings.

* Shannon and Raquel are both caretaker and protector to their sister [[spoiler:not really]] Pacifica in ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess''. Though Pacifica isn't actually ill, she is hunted by agents of the state and religious authorities.

Most of the time they're defined more by their ward than as a character themselves. Since most stories center on their ill relative, they're often relegated to being the [[OverprotectiveDad overprotective]] guardian who actively [[FantasyForbiddingFather discourages their loved one from any and all self realization]], love, and risky activity in general. And that's if they're attentive; a negligent or resentful Caretaker will put the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Dursleys]]' cruelty to shame. Only rarely is there middle ground for a "dynamic" caretaker who encourages their ward while not completely losing the ability to have a life of their own.

The Caretaker is a parent, spouse, [[PromotionToParent sibling]] or [[TheDutifulSon child]] of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, DelicateAndSickly, [[TheOphelia Ophelia]], or SquishyWizard who takes care of them. They put their lives on hold to make sure their loved one is well taken care of and hopefully happy, often when the rest of the family actively passes the ball or abandons their relative entirely.

* Axel fulfills this role toward Roxas in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' after he is assigned to mentor the younger Nobody who recently joined Organization XIII. After Roxas befriends Xion and starts hanging out with her, Axel also becomes her caretaker as well. Axel eventually turns into a PoisonousFriend when obsessed with keeping Roxas and Xion as his friends, he lies to them, does questionable stuff behind their backs, and if they try to leave the Organization of their own free will, he attempts to bring them back by force. [[spoiler:Following Xion's death, Axel is the only member of the Organization to miss Roxas when the latter defects. And in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Axel's [[RedemptionEqualsDeath dying wish]] was to see Roxas again.]]