Department of Character Protective Services

The Department of Character Protective Services was created as something of an offshoot of the PPC, with shared technology but limited interaction. It has since merged fully with the PPC and adopted its methodology.

It is headed by the Asphodel and made up of both full-time caseworkers as well as moonlighting agents from other departments, all of whom work to help and protect a specific character or characters. Its flash patch is a golden shield.

Description
The DCPS proper is located in a series of large rooms full of cubicles. It is also known to have a first-aid room containing goodfic as an antidote to the pain caused by gross and unbearable character abuse.

The original incarnation of the department did not interact directly with badfic or provide caseworkers with RCs or other standard equipment. Instead, each caseworker was assigned to a desk in a cubicle which quickly became highly personalized, the content and appearance (i.e. beanbag chairs) focused on putting visiting characters at ease. Typically one senior agent oversaw the activity of the room at large, accepting reports and informing the other agents when their work was needed. In larger continua, such as Lord of the Rings, an entire room or section of cubicles was dedicated to the service of that particular fandom, but those of lesser need were likewise clustered with others of similar situation, or even assigned multiple per agent, dependent on need.

In the modern DCPS, caseworkers are assigned to a response center, just like any other Action agent. They may still be given a desk within the department, though.

Methods
In both the original and modern incarnations of the DCPS, its agents have been tasked with defending specific canon characters from the effects of badfic. As such, a DCPS caseworker might get involved if their charge is particularly abused, slandered, mischaracterized, etc., even in the absence of other charges. In the old days, they were allowed to bring the characters back to HQ for counseling, but this practice was dropped in the modern incarnation. Since the department was remodeled, they must compile a charge list and deal with the rest of the fic, including any assassinations or exorcisms that might be necessary. To help them, they are assigned a temporary partner according to the genre of the mission, "because no Flower is stupid enough to trust a fanatic to handle things on their own."

Special Equipment
In addition to the standard PPC gear, DCPS agents may have occasion to use the following:


 * Crash Dummy, for taking the place of the POV character in first-person fics;
 * Embryo Extraction Kit, for resolving Mpreg situations;
 * Simulation Generator, for taking the place of a character during excessively violent missions or for recruitment purposes.

History
The DCPS was the "most recent" department as of mid-January 2004. It was originally considered an offshoot of the PPC that shared the same technology, but little else. Its agents dealt with badfic by removing the canon from the story's influence, not the other way around. The DCPS merged with the PPC c. 2005 due to one or two things: 1) The invention of the Simulation Generator, and/or 2) The Flowers getting fed up with caseworkers abusing their power and removing their favorite characters from any situation that so much as inconvenienced them.

In August 2008, Agent Veridian Green talked the Asphodel into allowing the creation of a Real Person Fic Section, specifically for the male actors of the Narnia films, despite the irregularity of protecting real people instead of characters. The section lasted at least eight months, but would have been discontinued about the same time the PPC stopped handling RPF altogether.

The Department for Elf Protection was merged with the DCPS at some point, most likely between 2005 and 2007.

Known Caseworkers
This is not a complete list of attested caseworkers. These agents have particularly distinguished themselves by their service, whether to the DCPS or their other department.


 * Tweed was Denethor's caseworker, not to mention the founder of the department.
 * Nin Brandt may have been the first member of the Silm Section, and she was certainly the first agent to join the modern DCPS.
 * Kaitlyn Jackson shared protection of Merry and Pippin with Chelsea Miller until Chelsea went insane and ended up in FicPsych. Kaitlyn may be the most senior caseworker at this time, having served in the DCPS for over ten years. As of late 2014, she also works with Selene Windflower in Floaters.
 * Veridian Green and Stevius worked in the Real Person Fic Section of the modern DCPS, protecting actors from the Narnia films.
 * Elanor and Megan were agents in the Department for Elf Protection, which was merged with the modern DCPS.
 * Car'rok and Tia Giltine were the founding members of the Creepy Bloodstained Victorians Protection Society, which, while not officially a division of the DCPS, certainly falls under its purview. They also served in the DMS, LotR Division.
 * BriRi was Éowyn and Éomer's caseworker. She also worked in the DBS, Harry Potter Division, with Melissa.
 * Eohric was a prominent member of the Peredhil Section, mostly protecting Elrond, but also Celebrían and their sons.
 * Erin Mirestone was a member of the Peredhil Section, protecting Elladan and Elrohir. She also worked in the DMS with Maralys Deeppockets.
 * Lambda, best known for her work in the Special Interdepartmental Elven Languages Unit, was involved with the Elf Foster Home.
 * Quen, best known as the secretary for the Department of Personnel, is Glorfindel's caseworker.
 * Teena was a member of the DCPS's Anime Section as well as the Anime Division of the DMS.
 * Thalia Weaver was Samwise Gamgee's caseworker. She also worked with Shada in the DMS.

Department Records
Missions from this department are listed on the Complete List of PPC Fiction, Department of Character Protective Services.

Unfortunately, dcps_lotr, the LiveJournal community that hosted the original DCPS LotR offices, is now deleted and purged.