#manipulate fate
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Hey Tumblr! I'm crowdfunding a romance game (please help!)
Did you like the plot line about the yellow umbrella in How I Met Your Mother (even if you could give or take pretty much everything in-between those bits)? I'm making a game for that and it's crowdfunding on... wait for it... (I couldn't help myself) February 29th 2024.
(A game about missed connections and defying fate to meet the love of your life? February 29th was the perfect date!)
Not Yet uses dice matching as its core mechanic: you can only meet your partner if you both roll the same number on your Fate Dice. Use your Determination Tag (akin to a character class) and Token (a symbolic object, similar to a certain yellow umbrella) to manipulate the odds. Playable in 1-2 hours, Not Yet allows you and your partner to write your own romantic drama or comedy in the same amount of time as watching a movie (but with infinitely more control over the plot!)
If this sounds interesting to you at all, please sign up to my Kickstarter pre-launch page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/taylornavarro/not-yet-a-romantic-ttrpg-duet
#ttrpg industry#ttrpg design#indie ttrpg#ttrpgs#ttrpg community#romance ttrpg#cosy ttrpg#himym#how i met your mother#romance#flirt with your friends#write your own romance#manipulate fate#links#Kickstarter#February 29th#crowdfunding#crowdfunding game
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
i love you royal trio (minus akechi)
#i was listening to the world we knew by frank sinatra while drawing this to inflict maximum emotional damage 😔#royal actually shot me fifty times in the chest and slaughtered my entire family#i’m actually inconsolable over the ending what the fuck do you mean akechi chooses to die of his own volition rather than be manipulated#god it’s just. his character actually makes me violent and insane. they’re going to drag me kicking and screaming to the psych ward#he never had an ounce of control over his life. not even once. he was CONSTANTLY being yanked around like a marionette#until he was disposed of as another pawn in shido’s plan#and then out of some cruel irony he was resurrected even though he did not want to be alive#for once in death he would have found peace—only for that to be taken from him too.#and bc he thinks he’s worthless and his life is so easily gambled away he doesn’t view it as a major dealbreaker when maruki brings it up#“do you really think something as trivial as my life should stand in the way of your decision?” yes you fucking asshole#what do you mean he’s literally fated to die in every timeline? definition of doomed by the narrative#there’s not a single version of his story that doesn’t end with him being slaughtered#GODDDDD he makes me violently ill i hate goro akechi so much he’s so fucking selfish HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT THIS DEAL IS TEARING ME APART#i was so tempted to get the bad ending just so that he was alive ☹️#he looked so happy. he was surrounded by people who loved and treasured him.no shido. control over his life. the ability to choose his futu#TEARS IN MY EYES MARUKI WAS THE ONLY VILLAIN WHO WAS LOWKEY MAKING SENSE 😭😭😭😭😭#my toxic trait is that i think maruki was right all along 😔#ALSO SUMIRE AAUUGGHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭#the survivors guilt literally eating her alive until the point where she gaslighted herself into thinking she was her sister. insane.#royal was so good bro i’m so glad i endured 200 hours of hell just to play it#terrible terrible ending with everyone going their separate ways and ren ending up in juvie for months#akechi actually being dead in the good ending is so fucked up 😭😭 i thought there was some way maruki could bring him back regardless#not ren hallucinating him in the last cutscene too 😭😭😭😭 “i still see your shadows in my room” ahh ending#persona 5 royal#persona 5#ren amamiya#akira kurusu#sumire yoshizawa#goro akechi#lotus draws
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Have an early wavewave gift ♡
Merry Christmas and Noche Buena! 🎄🌹
@chamm0y @kiyuu-draws @splashscreenofficial @mr-playlist @kyamo18 @wavewavethoughtsonly @bumblecow @radiatwave @robomusical
#transformers#soundwave#shockwave#wavewave#soundshock#pz#Transformers Manipulated Fates#TMF#my designs#OG#my au art
328 notes
·
View notes
Text
something interesting i realized while on the vessel-making screen in the deltarune introduction is that it's physically impossible to make kris: there is no hair that perfectly matches theirs (none have the cowlick or the right jagged shape on the bottom), and there is no sweater that perfectly matches theirs (none have a single stripe). this is fascinating, as it perhaps suggest that, if we (the player) had a choice, we *wouldn't* make kris. they aren't something we want, or are even capable of wanting, rather something we're stuck with.
and i suppose the fact that they can't be *created* as a vessel is telling, because we didn't create kris -- they weren't made for us, they're not a player avatar. they're a pre-existing person we just happen to gain possession of.
we weren't made for each other; they don't want us, and we don't seem to want them either (if the inability to choose to create someone like them says anything); funny, then, that in a way we're "soulmates"...
(both pictures are from the deltarune wiki!)
#melonposting#deltarune#deltarune kris#kris dreemurr#deltarune analysis#deltarune theory#kris is such a fascinating person. i want to study them under a microscope#we make them do things they otherwise wouldn't: wonderful things. horrible things.#at the end of the day who will kris be if their actions have been almost entirely us?#what responsibility will they hold for the manipulation and violence we've made them perform?#or what connection will they truly have to the friends we've directed them to make and the good times we've forced them to have?#this is just a random kid at a hard point in their life suddenly directed by an omniscient god with an indecipherable moral compass#kris and the player meant nothing to each other before - but now we hold kris' fate in our hands. we mean everything to them in a sense#and now as we play this game and are compelled by its story - including the things we have kris do - does kris not hold our fate as well?#do they not mean everything to us? (they mean everything to me anyway)#god this game kills me a little bit. god i love it so much
234 notes
·
View notes
Text
my current read on yoshidas ch is that hes the equivalent of a high schooler being made manager of a mcdonald’s bc all of his adult coworkers quit which leads him to believe that the fate of the world now depends on his ability to keep the drive thru times below 90 seconds
#chainsaw man#csm#i doubt this is the reality bc of themes of everyone being irrelevant pawns in the horseman/primal fears grand plans but it would be v funny#if whoever’s in charge of public safety rn meets up w yoshida and is like wdym you didn’t convince denji to stop being csm 😐 u were out only#hope ig were fucked now 😔 while yoshidas moments away from setting the building on fire thinking abt his calc 1 exam tmmrw#sometimes the fate of the world depends upon ur fry person and sometimes it depends upon manipulating the host of a primordial being w lame#ass threats related to his similarly immoratal thru a cycle of reincarnation baby sister/former boss#.txt
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
The best part about the bingqiu epic-misunderstandings-era during the jin lan city arc is that it works so well BECAUSE luo binghe is genuinely scary and unnerving at times. I think he should have been SCARIER actually. The dreadful feeling of inevitability that justice will be enacted upon you by the protagonist and his presumably world warping powers and persuasion should be utilized MORE!
#“b-but he's too scary! having a moment of doubt the love interest would actually hurt the main character is toxic!”#BUT THATS WHAT MAKES IT SO GOODDDDD#hes returned from hell 3 years earlier. manipulates and charms his way into gongyi xiao's position in about a YEAR!#keeps such a tight ship of the whole huan hua sect that it isnt leaked to other sects that hes been alive this whole time for a whole YEAR!!#and now hes BACK and hes CHARMING and everyone LOVES HIM and it makes no SENSE.#it doesnt make sense to be this influential in a short amount of time but it absolutely does because hes the PROTAGONIST!!!!#the world's logic is his!! he is fate and fate loves him!!! the inevibility of the protagonist!!! fate!! aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!#and hes so gentle and smiling the whole time. what a wonderful and upstanding young man. what beauty and grace💖💖💖#sorry i just have a lot of feelings#throwaway post#svsss#scum villains self saving system#luo binghe
198 notes
·
View notes
Text
"I was gonna say you're like a son to me.. but you're more than that."
"It ain't that complicated!"
How quickly that shoulder pat of comfort turned into a condescending one.
#he makes me feel so emo#this life was never meant for you but your fate was forced#the way dutch (and hosea) talks to arthur like he's stupid will never sit right with me#like they've been by his side over 20 years they KNOW he isn't stupid because if he was he would have been gone a long time ago#not only is arthur incredibly emotionally smart but he's a trained conman vault breaker gunslinger horse rider you name it#the fact that his own adoptive parents break him down like that hurts#it's a manipulation tactic on dutch's end - break your victims self esteem to make them chase your praise and approval#hosea I believe has just gone along with that kind of attitude but in a different way he just likes to jest lightheartedly#arthur doesn't see the difference though and it's understandable but he takes it to heart#the worst part is that hosea sees through his tough guy act and has called arthur out on it#his act is a defence mechanism to protect himself from being too vulnerable - in arthur's mind#and it isn't a sudden thing it's very likely something that has built over the years given the life he has lived#and hosea notices he knows this#but they still jab at arthur#oh it hurts#is he your son dutch? or is he your guard dog? your personal workhorse?#playing through the second time is opening my eyes more and more#rdr2#red dead redemption 2#mick squeaks#mick rants#mick gifs#arthur morgan#dutch van der linde#liveblogging#you guys gotta understand - arthur seeks and longs for dutch's approval he'll never say it but it's the key motive behind his loyalty#and arthur *rejects* dutch's comfort#he doesn't *want* dutch to pat him on the shoulder because he knows dutch is digging them an even deeper hole#he doesn't want that touch he craves#it's so insanely monumental for such a small scene because it shows us how arthur feels without telling us
276 notes
·
View notes
Text
sometimes I think people will never join cults like how they were in the 70s and then I see how people reacted to dani being manipulated into a cult in midsommar, and I think yup nevermind people 1000% would
#stop calling her a girl boss#she was literally emotionally manipulated into joining a cult#plus not to mention her boyfriend did not deserve that fate ok he was definitely a douche bag but not that#and his friends certainly didn’t deserve it either#horror#horror movies#midsommar
97 notes
·
View notes
Text
Did I cook
54 notes
·
View notes
Text
Shinoa doodle from class and a forever wip :3
#mostly drew this because this one pinterest acc dedicated to hating shinoa (but glazing mahiru and mikayuu??) was getting on my nerves#like shinoa is literally a broken traumatized teenager who was manipulated her entire life!!! Yuu was the first person to show her geniune#friendship!! she didn't know how to properly process it so it turned into romantic feelings!!! plus mahiru literally drilled into her that#she's bound to fall in love one day!! but kagami also did not do her any favours in ch 118/119 (idk anymore)!!#from shinoa's perspective yuu decided to chose mika over humanity and then ran away with no explanation whatsoever!! of course her inital#reaction would be to blame mika for influencing yu!!#and now she realized that her immediate friends are more important and now she's focusing on them!! she didn't just absorb shikama#to get to yuu she did it to stop his influence on everyone's fates!! god shinoa haters enrage me#you can critize her for disrespecting boundaries and not enjoy her personality but don't water her down to a bitchy yandere who despises mi#shinoa my glorious queen they could never make me hate you <3#owari no seraph#seraph of the end#fanart#shinoa hiiragi
68 notes
·
View notes
Text
I've been watching Hazbin Hotel in prime. Just watched episode 5 and I gotta ask
Why, oh, WHY DON'T I SEE MORE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT "MORE THAN ANYTHING" WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE HAZBIN HOTEL MUSIC???
Like I get it, the song before it "Hell's Greatest Dad" Is a bop reminiscent of other music from the era its parodying. I loved it.
BUT why are you only putting clips of that song when this MASTERPIECE comes a few minutes after
I honestly don't even know where to begin with this song. The visuals are beautiful, especially when we get moments like this where you can just see the absolute LOVE this man has for her daughter is so sweet and Heartwarming I just-
The voices are fenomenal but what else can you expect from the broadway talents of Erika Henningsen and Jeremy Jordan.
There is also the whole Symbolism with passing the baton to the next generation and stuff. I- I can't even get into the specifics right now Im too emotional.
But above all else THE LYRICS
ESPECIALLY THAT LAST ONE
"I'M GRATEFUL YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER/FATHER MORE THAN ANYTHING"
DO YOU WANT ME TO CRY?? CAUSE I AM. I AM BAWLING MY EYES OUT RIGHT NOW.
It's just so fucking beautiful man. Probably the best song I will hear all year. Obviously my favorite from Hazbin.
#Call me Sir Pentious cause Im crying like a baby over here.#WHY HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THIS GEM FROM ME. THIS ABSOLUTE DIAMOND#I didnt even mention lyrics like “I've been dying to find out who you are. looks like the apple doesnt fall far.”#“You are a part of who I am” “you are the only thing worth fighting for” that just BREAK ME#but oh well#BTW of course I was gonna watch and become obsessed with Hazbin Hotel. I am a theater kid that loves animation. It was like meant for me#could do with a little less obsenities but thats alright its a staple of the show#On another note I almost went insane when I found out lucifer was Jeremy Jordan.#Like its insane how that man always ends up in my obsessions. Newsies. Tangled the series. The Death Note Musical#(Im team L btw in death note but GOD Jeremy's singing made me reconsider for a milisecond in Where's the justice he is just THAT GOOD)#Erika I knew from the mean girls musical which I also deeply enjoy#its Insane the Talent this show brought in. my theater kid heart is ELATED#Last thing is I gotta say I LOVED Lucifer#Like I thought I was gonna hate him because everyone was talking about charlie's daddy issues#I thought he was gonna be neglectful and manipulative#BUT NO. He is a silly (little) father who just loves his daughter but doesnt know how to show it#And had DREAMS and AMBITION and fate in humanity. And he is just such a fun character to follow I had such a riot with this episode#Hazbin Hotel#charlie morningstar#lucifer morningstar#charlotte morningstar
156 notes
·
View notes
Text
its not that they're terrible for eachother just they are terrible for the people around them. remember when they combined and tried to destroy everything. yeah <33
#toxic gays but they're toxic 4 the environment#onslaught doesn't want “anything more” bc he already believes they are everything#blast off needs reassurance and confirmation that ons overlooks#thats why he manipulated ons memories </3#the woes of poor communication#still insane about them sorry#also ons has a cold exterior to everyone except in priv with blast off#then hes a clingy mf#ons doesn't believe in fate#he believes he chose blast off of his own free will#blast off is more of a romantic#transformers#merc mumbling#on/off#onsoff#onoff#onslaught#blast off
32 notes
·
View notes
Text
Radio is the sparkling that's coming
Ravage is the eldest
Rumble and Frenzy are second
Lazerbeak and Buzzsaw are currently the youngest
@chamm0y @splashscreenofficial @kiyuu-draws @mr-playlist @kyamo18 @wavewavethoughtsonly @robomusical @radiatwave @lmadsadness @pk-tf0 @pardodb
#transformers#soundwave#shockwave#wavewave#soundshock#pz#Transformers Manipulated Fates#TMF#my designs
167 notes
·
View notes
Text
Me after watching Elucien/Gwynriel’s shit on the elriel theory of wrong mates given by the cauldron while having this same theory for Nessian bc neris🥺!
#I don’t take you serious as a Elucien/gwynriel if you’re shitting on the already established mates#hating elriels then acting exactly like them is a new level of clowning#once again ppl only being fated mate stans when it’s a mating bond you can stomach and a man you wanna suck off#it’s literally confirmed THE MOTHER chooses the bonds#yknow which acotar couple has had fucking conversations with the mother??#nessian#nessian are the only ones who have spoke with the mother#they also have the same bargain tat even though we’ve seen those can be different#I didn’t even used to hate Neris#like it’s a crackship it’s supposed to be fun for whoever#but the literal base of it is bc you hate cassian and want her with another man#the man who tried to buy her from Rhys who you also hate#and the stans have acted insane towards me and manipulate new people in the fandom#acosf#nesta archeron#cassian#nesta x cassian#pro nessian
25 notes
·
View notes
Note
i’ve found someone who writes for tachi?? omg?? you’re writing is so amazing i love it! can i req an x reader where she’s like chuuya’s subordinate in the pm so she’s higher ranking than tachihara but takes an interest in him bc, hello?? who wouldn’t? so she starts to play specific moves that draw them closer together (ngl im thinking mastermind by taylor swift if yk the song) and when they’re finally dating he confesses that he knew what she was doing the whole time? aka intelligent slightly manipulative reader thinking she’s being slick abt it. thank youu!
<welcome to the corner of tumblr where we worship tachi and have no shame about it !!!!!!!!!!! OH FUCK YEAH I love this ask I love the idea and I love you, i've never heard that song before but woah it got my brain juices flowing, sorry it took centuries but here you go luv ♡>
"mastermind"
⫭◦⨝◦⫬
tachihara michizou x fem! chuuya's subordinate! reader
warnings: mention of drugs/alcohol and drink spiking (dont try this at home kids) ; a little bit of gore/torture but it's one sentence ; for some reason there are some elements of kind of sort of yandere!reader that just manifested themselves grgrgr but barely i promiseee ; fluff + plot ; cursing n intended lowercase
it was the middle of the night, and your phone wouldn't stop ringing. you tried snoozing it, turning it on silent but it would keep vibrating on the night table aggressively. against your better judgement, you picked it up and took a look at the caller id.
"boss man 🤏🧍"
well, you couldn't ignore that.
"what the fuck do you want you short little shit, it's 2 in the fucking morning," you grumbled, then cleared your throat before actually pressing the green icon to pick up the line. "hello, boss. is there anything I can-"
"cut the bull, where the hell are you?"
"um, at home? sleeping?" you raised a brow that he couldn't see. "am I supposed to be somewhere?"
"you- forget about it. just get here, now."
now, he was really getting on your nerves. "get where? I can't read your mind, boss, what-"
he hung up.
you didn't have a problem with chuuya in general; he was a decent guy, sometimes. you got assigned to work under him in the fallout of his partner, the famed demon prodigy, disappearing. of course, he didn't want anything to do with you at first, and you would've felt the same if mori wasn't breathing down your neck to keep on it. so, you kept showing up on his missions a few minutes before he arrived, the information already extracted or people already beat to a pulp.
he still wouldn't budge, so you had enough of working so hard just to be his subordinate and exploded at him one day. he could barely get a word in as you yelled loudly and ranted about his inability to accept help. while he was speechless in the aftermath, you just sighed tiredly, handed him your phone number and said that you weren't going away anytime soon and you'd appreciate it if he would just let you work for him already. time passed and eventually you got his trust.
what you didn't get, however, was an explanation for why you were rushing to slide into clothing fit for the outside world and making your way to the port mafia headquarters. it was the only place he could mean, so you ran over there with guns strapped to your thighs and safety off. you had to plan for whatever the hell might've been going on, but all you saw was a nearly empty lobby.
you cursed under your breath, irritated that you busted your ass for no reason. from the corner of your eye, you found a familiar face and approached him.
"hirotsu," you walked over with a pissed expression, "do you know where chuuya is?"
"oh, chuuya isn't here. he told me he'd be sending someone to deal with it," he said following a polite nod of the head. "he needed the black lizard to perform a mission, but he's unavailable tonight. so, he said that he'd send you."
"he's unavailable?" your eyes nearly bulged straight out of your skull, but you caught the slight squint in his face. "oh. he's drunk out of his mind, isn't he?"
hirotsu nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. mori only gave him this assignment tonight, and he was already intoxicated when he got the call. I was with him when it happened, so I suggested he call you."
"oh, he so owes me one after tonight," you chuckled, less angry now that you realized he was probably just collapsed on his couch at home and will have the worst hangover the next morning, which you could easily mock him for. well, at least that brightened your mood a little, aside from seeing the black lizard in action. you'd heard of them, ordered massacres through hirotsu but never been there to witness it. that would definitely be fun. "sooo, what exactly do I need to do? just be there or something? yell out 'fire!' like some kind of medieval war commander? 'cause I've always wanted to do that."
the old man was slightly amused by all of your excitement regarding the concept. he said that he just needed someone to be there in case, and you were technically of a higher ranking than he was. you told him that he was such a stickler for hierarchy; he retorted that you sounded like some guy he worked with named tachihara. who that was, you hadn't a clue, but you were assured he'd be there alongside another leader of the battalion.
the rest was a lot less interesting than you thought it would be. you strolled into an abandoned warehouse where the enemy was based with a small army behind you, and you stood there while they lined themselves at your side and waited for your word. you went against your inner child and ordered them to fire in a normal voice rather than a stupidly dramatic one, then you just watched the bodies fall. you glanced at the side to see hirotsu, who was intently scanning his surroundings to make sure there were no tricks. by his side, you saw a masked person and another man who was half-asleep, leaning against the wall.
you fell hard to the sound of gunshots.
maybe it was the way his entire body leaned onto the worn concrete, the way his foot was flattened against the wall and his hips slumped lopsidedly, the way his v-neck plunged down his chest from under his coat, the way his jaw sat tight and clenched despite his slender neck bending backwards to rest the weight of his head behind him. you pulled your gaze off of him since you were afraid of staring, but everyone was already dead and hirotsu was commanding the nameless suits back to hq. the man opened one eye - fuck, they were a glossy amber, some of the prettiest you'd ever seen - and scoffed while he followed them out. he walked like a textbook delinquent, hands in his pockets with awful posture, and you just watched him.
shit, what just happened? you exchanged some brief words with hirotsu as he thanked you for showing up, but all went over your head. you blurted out the question before you could think twice.
"which one of them was tachihara? out of the two who came with us. since, y'know, you were mentioning him earlier..." since, y'know, you couldn't get the picture of your mystery man out of your head and you needed to know his name.
following the affirmation that it was indeed the man with the bandage on his face, you at least had a name as you flopped back into bed at 5 in the morning. you didn't sleep, and you sure as hell couldn't get your heart to stop beating so fast.
something had unhinged inside of you, and all you knew was that you were going to have him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"boss, what'd'ya want me to do to 'em?" you yawned, half-asleep as you sat next to the hungover mafioso who was holding some kind of mystery drink in his hand while the other shielded his eyes from the light of day. you came over to his apartment - something which you knew he hated but was in no position to protest right now - and were simultaneously nursing him back to health and being a pain in his ass. "if word gets out that we annihilated the organization but two of their executives are still alive, our rep would take a hit."
"can you shut the fuck up," he groaned, body slumping further onto his fancy kitchen counter while you continued to laugh internally at him and his slightly pathetic situation.
"look, boss, I'll tell you what," you leaned down to his crouched over height and placed a cautious hand on his shoulder, "I'll take care of it. the whole thing. I just need your permission to grab the black lizard if I need 'em for support, but I can make sure it all goes away. and you can just sit today out and spend all day in bed if that's what you want. how does that sound, boss?"
he grumbled and passed out again; you took that as a yes.
you smiled to yourself as you picked up the unconscious body bridal-style, walked over to his bedroom and set him down. he complained loudly in undefined slurring, but you just shushed him and tucked him in under the covers. he was still trying to argue with you when you removed his hat, placed it at his bedside and then gently kissed his forehead and wished him a good nap. it was a little ironic just how much your boss felt like an uncontrollable younger sibling, but you would never say it to his face as you enjoyed the use of your unfractured limbs.
you tiptoed your way out of the apartment and the building, despite being fairly certain that not even an earthquake could disturb his slumber, with parts and pieces of your plan coming together. what you said was true, you did need to take care of those surviving executives. but you didn't really need the black lizard.
you only needed him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
tachihara heard a gentle cocking of the gun as you glanced in his direction, waiting confirmation that he was indeed ready to storm the facility. you had managed to track down the runaways and corner them in their hideout, and decided you'd call for "backup"; you asked hirotsu for someone who was good with guns and mid-range fighting, since you knew that if you didn't specify, you might end up with the other commander of the black lizard. you didn't like leaving things to chance.
you tilted your head to the side, giving the signal for him to go ahead and sneak down the next hallway. he was eerily good on his feet, light steps as if he were made to be a spy. you did a lot of infiltration work on chuuya's behalf (his face - rather, his short frame - were too easily recognizable on the streets), and every second got you thinking of ways to subtly suggest to him that he provide backup once more on any one of your numerous infiltration missions.
for his part, tachihara didn't seem to be noticing all the coincidences lately. he didn't appear particularly deft or clueless, just indifferent as if he truly couldn't care less. instead of a faint pang in the backrooms of your heart, you felt a sense of challenge, like it was your mission to get him to fall for you because the good things in life are worth fighting for. besides, where's the fun in it if he wasn't playing hard to get?
the mission went by in a blur. you mimicked his mannerisms, ensuring that your movements were perfectly synced with his so that your gunshots felt more like a dance, synchronized bullet ballet. when all was done and the bodies were dropped, you shot him a faint smile.
he raised a brow, perplexed at your joy among the sea of blood, but you began clutching at your chest like he'd shot you with his glare and he chuckled a little bit. you could've sworn you fell in love with him all over again.
"say, I was wondering..." you thought out loud as you crouched down to the body of the target, pulling out a knife from your calf, "are you new? in the port mafia, I mean. I've been here ages and I don't think I would've forgotten someone who shoots like you do."
leaning on the wall while he watched you carve out their skin, peeling off a specific section that had their organization's signature tattoo, tachihara scoffed. "what's it to you?"
"just makin' small talk, don't get your panties in a twist sweetheart," you snickered, albeit screaming a little internally; you didn't expect him to be so resistant. you bagged the proof you needed to show your boss that you got the job done, then rose back to your feet. "alright, we're done here. thanks for the backup."
"wasn't like it was my choice," he rolled his eyes, although you didn't sense any true irritation in his voice. good, this is good, you can work with that.
"wasn't your choice, huh?" you repeated to yourself out loud. "how 'bout this, then: I'm gonna go grab a drink, so it'd be your choice if ya wanted to tag along, no?"
he murmured something about being busy and you tried not to let him see you frown as you walked out.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
this was your fifth "coincidence".
coincidentally, tachihara ended up needing to hand-deliver a message to chuuya, but you coincidentally bumped into him and promised to pass it on. he looked at you a bit suspiciously, but didn't say anything.
coincidentally, you were out drinking with hirotsu on the same day he was going to join the old man. you wouldn't go so far as to say that you played a part in the veteran's sudden diarrhea that left you two alone, but then again it was quite odd that you slipped some sort of substance in his drink right before. not that anyone saw, of course.
coincidentally, weeks of coincidences paid off. every time you'd run into him, need the black lizard or the other way around, he was starting to loosen up. you had a number of inside jokes and he spoke a little more on missions.
this time, you had to go negotiate with a foreign organization from which you imported an important number of your firearms. chuuya was available to go, but you pleaded with him to let you do this on your own, making up some lie about how sending an underling instead of an executive would show them that they are not the ones in control. he seemed skeptical but let you go.
soon afterwards, you whipped out your phone to dial his number.
"it's so unfair!" you complained to tachihara, groaning loudly as you combed through your closet for the right outfit for the occasion. "like I get it, he's busy and all, but dumping a mission on me last minute? sheesh, that's a cheap move, especially from chuuya. I've got 2 hours to figure out what the fuck I'm going to say to these people."
you left the phone on speaker while you pressed dresses against your figure, glancing in the mirror to see if it was the right one. "and it's a big organization, too! I have no idea what I'm going to do if things go south except get my brains blown out."
lies. if things went south, you would easily be able to make your way out unscathed. you were the right hand woman to a port mafia executive, not a scared little girl, but he didn't need to know that right now.
"would'ya like me to tag along? if they see one person, it might look like you were sent as a sacrifice, but if we're two, they'll know we mean business," he offered, as planned. you pumped your fists in the air and contained a squeal.
"hm? oh, you don't need to do that, tachi," you said softly, sliding out of your clothes and into your form-fitting outfit, making sure to check out your ass and reaffirm that you looked stunning. "wait! I'm just kidding," you giggled playfully, "it would mean a lot if you did. thanks."
he chuckled the faintest amount, and you made plans for when and where to meet. you told him that it was a high-end restaurant, so he'd need to wear something fancy enough to blend in, but of course the high-end restaurant was your idea. you'd planned it all in advance, setting up a corner in the back of a place that the mafia had under their thumb and inviting the organization there.
a date, it was a date, and it didn't matter if he didn't know it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"you look stunning, dear." he grabbed your hand and kissed the back of it, looking up with soft eyes you'd never have expected. he pulled out a seat for you and called the waiter to get you a cold glass of water.
unfortunately, "he" was the executive from the other organization, not tachihara.
awkwardly, your plus one stood in the corner with the rest of the guards, shooting you occasional glares that basically screamed, "why did I volunteer to do this, again?" you just laughed internally and told yourself that you'd take him out again as a way to make up for it, which was your goal all along. you adored it when all the pieces fell into place.
the negotiations were flawless. the man across the table from you seemed to be very willing to cooperate, and you figured his slight cracks at flirting might've been a part of it. the other part was that he looked positively jet lagged and you might've put a little something in his wine to mellow him out. you were sure he would've reached the same conclusion if he was sober, this was just a harmless little nudge in the right direction.
"10% increase on the price for a 20% increase on the quantity of firearms imported, then," you reiterated, smiling sweetly at him while he agreed to double what someone in their right mind would ask for. "lovely doing business with you, sir. I'm glad this didn't have to escalate."
he smiled softly, offering you his hand to help you up then nodding his head towards the exit so his goons would follow him out. you looked at the piece of paper he'd slid into your palm, a phone number etched into it, then watched him looking back at you with a wink. for a moment, you could've sworn you'd almost forgotten about tachihara.
"that was boring as fuck," he strolled over to you, clicking his tongue as he complained about his feet hurting from standing there for so long, saying that he wouldn't have worn a goddamn suit and tagged along if he knew all he would be doing is watching you flirt with some guy."
"that," you stressed, pocketing the number but trying not to think about it, "was not flirting. if I was whoring myself out for the mafia, believe me I'd put myself down with my own hand."
"oh yeah? brave words for a woman with a dress that tight on her ass," he scoffed, crossing his arms before he realized what he'd just said.
"tachi, you lookin' at my ass?"
he seemed at a loss for words, huffing angrily as he walked out and you laughed to yourself. he was so cute when he got angry.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
tachihara michizou was not an idiot.
he, however, did not know what to make of your behaviour towards him.
all these run-ins, all your conveniently-timed missions where you were down one person, every text you seemed to send at the perfect time. he knew your gaze lingered on him and he knew that you wore that dress for him, but he couldn't be sure about it.
confirmation came when he was casually chatting with chuuya over drinks.
"my damn subordinate has been so fucking weird lately," the executive slurred, gesturing for another glass while he toyed with the empty one. "reminds me of that fucking dazai... always plotting some kind of shit..."
"she sounded kind of pissed with you 'cause of that last gig with the firearms dealers," he retorted before downing his shot and slamming his fist on the counter out of adrenaline. "since you dumped it on her."
"huh?! the fuck you mean, dump it on her? she was practically beggin' me for that job, said she didn't want any backup either. I'm telling you, tachi, that chick's gone mad."
so it was a lie, when you called him, complaining. he wondered what else was a lie, but then he wondered why you would lie about that.
as if on cue, a message popped up on his phone with your name on it.
"are you free tonight?"
so he wasn't imagining things. for some reason, it got his heart beating, thinking about the fact that someone would do that for him. but, before he could respond, another ping:
"I got shot sorry lol I have no idea why I made it sound like I was asking you out. could you bring a first aid kit or something? thanks a ton!!"
he concluded on the fact that you were confusing, and that he wouldn't say anything about it, especially since you probably think you're incredibly slick about it. instead, tachihara excused himself from a very drunk chuuya and said he had to go.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"ow, ow, ow! fuck, why don't you just pour the whole damn bottle on there, while you're at i- fuck!"
the whining was hard. you had to do it manually, making sure you actually sounded like you were in pain when really, your "fever" was from all the heat of feeling tachihara's hands on you as he dabbed the wound.
ironically enough, this wasn't planned. you genuinely did fuck up, the man you never called seemed to want revenge because he sent a few people to kidnap you. you only got grazed while you took care of all the henchmen, but it still hurt like a little bitch.
he was the first place your mind went to, as always. you managed to get yourself home but you couldn't reach the spot on the bottom of your ribcage where it sliced open without feeling a lot of pain.
and so, you just turned it into an opportunity to get him in your house, sitting on your couch, his hands on your skin that was barely covered by your shirt. the alcohol he was pouring onto the wound hurt but you couldn't feel anything except pure ecstacy.
"say, you're not bad at this," you fake winced as he pinched the skin together and just put a bunch of superglue on it. "you got... gah, you got experience as a medic or somethin'?"
"how exactly did this happen?" he ignored your question and instead helped you up slightly so he could wrap the bandages around your torso.
"remember the guy from the other night? well, he gave me his number and I never called, so he got butthurt and sent some goons to fuckin' kidnap me. or kill me, I'm not sure. I didn't really pause to ask 'em."
he looked as if he almost didn't believe you, pulling down your shirt and gently tapping on the spot he bandaged. "there, you're all set."
"thanks again," you smiled at him, groaning a bit as you sat upright. "I know it's late and you were probably doing some other shit."
then a slight pause. "if you want to crash on my couch instead of walkin' home, I don't mind."
the walk wasn't long, and he didn't feel tired at all, but he didn't tell you that. he just helped you walk over to your bed then got himself comfortable on your sofa.
you'd never been happier to get shot. maybe the universe was finally on your side, in its own weird way.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
the wound was fully healed and tachihara was yours.
it was the perfect excuse to him check on you, to have him come over and stay over as "protection in case someone tries to kill you again". both of you knew your excuse was bullshit, your plotting to get him by your side so painfully obvious now that he was getting closer and closer to you. by the time he was making visits on his own and smiling at you in the hallways at the port mafia, you didn't need to do anything anymore.
it was a wordless confession; both of you walking in the streets at night, going nowhere and not saying much. it was cold and you could see both of your breaths swirling in the air. you blinked and suddenly your faces were close, too close, and your body was leaning in on its own. his lips tasted like something your mind could've never guessed.
nevertheless, you were still addicted.
something about the kiss felt effortless, too. like you didn't need to do anything, say anything to get him to wrap his hands around your hips and pull you in close. this was the way it should be, easy and effortless. like you could wait patiently and he'd fall in love with you all on his own.
"have you seen my holster?" he called out weeks later as you laid down on your couch, reading a book as he looked around for the item.
"it's over here!" you called out, the holster expertly hidden in between the cushions because you wanted him to come over to you and find it. as he walked over to you, watching you wave it while dangling on your finger, a teasing look on your features.
"you're a conniving little shit, you know that?" he sighed with a soft smile, glancing at your hands as you set down the book by your side then sitting by your side. "if you wanna talk to me, you can ask like a regular person, y'know?"
his wide smirk as he looked at you pout, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as you fake-sobbed into his chest. "you're so mean, thinking I'm lying!"
he grabbed your chin, gaze directly settling onto you with a look that said not to bullshit him. "you think I don't notice? when you kept bumping into me, us getting paired up on missions, even that time you said chuuya 'dumped' that job on you? yeah, you're cute but you're not a great liar."
you furrowed your brows. "if you knew, why didn't you say anything?"
"'cause I wanted you to tell me yourself."
"asshole," you pouted, laughing as you leaned towards him and kissed the tip of his nose. "I just didn't think... never mind, it worked, didn't it?"
he rolled over, laying you down on the couch and settling himself on top of you, making sure you were trapped. "being all cryptic now, aren't we?"
"maybe," you muttered between kisses, wrapping your legs around his hips and pulling him deeper. "... maybe... maybe you were just... I dunno, so pretty, and I thought 'fuck, he'd never go for me' and... I don't know, it's not important..."
"aw, look at you, gettin' all soft 'n mushy," he chuckled into your neck, smiling at your words while his teeth graze the tip of your earlobe. "keep talking 'bout how out of your league that I am."
"oh, shut up," you whispered, grabbing a handful of his hair and bringing his lips back onto yours so he would stop talking. "I'm tryin to open up here, you smug dipshit."
he grinned as his hand went down in between your thighs, parting them and opening up your legs. "I like the sound of that."
you squealed playfully and rolled him over, but the couch wasn't wide enough and you both fell onto the floor with a dull thud and a frenzy of laughter.
"seriously, though," he brushed your hair out of your face and pulled your hips so you were snug on him while you caught your breath and lowered yourself to kiss him again, "you're talkin' nonsense, baby."
"mmn, if you say so," rolled right onto his tongue. you believed his words, or maybe you didn't, but it barely mattered. he was here now, in your arms and telling you everything you wanted to hear. he said that he knew of your antics, yet the truth was that he couldn't do a damn thing about it if he wanted to.
all because you're a mastermind.
#this stayed in my drafts so long I was so flabbergasted by how sweetly you asked that I was (and still am) terrified of not doing it justice#I LOVE THIS CONCEPT SM U DONT COMPREHEND#manipulating a man into giving u a chance bc u didn't think it would happen on its own and sometimes fate needs a push ???#urgh I love it (story of my love life fr 😩)#tachihara michizou#bsd tachihara#tachihara x reader#bungo stray dogs tachihara#tachihara michizou x reader#bsd x reader#bungou stray dogs#bsd#bungo stray dogs x reader#tachi fics#im unwell for them
118 notes
·
View notes
Text
"the only reason Harley's called Harley Quinn and not Harleen Quinzel or some other moniker is because the Joker manipulated her into thinking the similarity in her name and the name of a specific type of clown meant they were destined to be together and that means she's intrinsically tied to him forever and can't exist as a character on her own because her origin is tied to him" ass take has gotta be the worst one I've seen as of late,,, like really can't lie it's stuck in my head lol 😭
i wish i could go about life misunderstanding characters this much and thinking that one who's been a canonical domestic abuse victim since her og origin episode / comic, who is partly (story wise) inspired by a real life dv victim who survived
In the afterword, artist Bruce Timm shares that their Harley was based in part on a real-life friend who was stuck in an abusive relationship: “I’m happy to report that the ‘real-life Harley’ did finally break away from her ‘Joker’ and has been happily married to another man for several years now.”
[Source]
is a character who's "girlbossified" when she's allowed to grow past and outside of her abuser himself,, and that that means idk writing her without him dilutes her character and takes away everything interesting and flawed about her? that she should never be written without him / without her world revolving around him, due to him being the catalyst in her origin?
The Joker's part of her origin because he was the root cause of her fall, the villain, the bad guy, the abuser. that doesn't mean she's required to be forever tied to him?
This isn't even a problem in the actual comics or anything. It's just absolutely 100% not.
No one even pretends Joker isn't intrinsically tied to her story, or more specifically her trauma. No one in real life and no one in their universe.
Tim Drake literally mentioned The Joker in like the last chapter of her (2021 - ) comic ffs!!! 😭
"Did the Joker make you want to do that? Do you wanna unpack that, Harley? Do you wanna talk about The Joker?!"
Harley Quinn (2021-) #42
But it's almost like people grow and heal and evolve. Her codependency and shit are flaws that are not permanent and are things she (can) and is working on.
She's riddled with flaws and they've gone nowhere! she's just trying her best to stay afloat and better herself bit by bit because she isn't Dr. Harleen Quinzel anymore, she can never walk into a medical building and apply and expect them to not know who she is upon a singular search in the system.
She's just Harley Quinzel now, she still has the skills and experience and schooling, but she also has a long serious criminal record, severe mental health issues and is living in a city that rightfully does not trust her. She can't go back, she can't get her old life back, and she can't go back to being Her, The OG "New & Improved" Harley Quinn who's world revolved around 1 person and him alone, because she would die.
He'd kill her, maybe not immediately, but he would be the death of her.
And she knows that. It's a lose lose.
The only real option she has is to lay down and die or to survive. To float and swim bit by bit until she finds stable ground.
Until she finds a way to live with herself again.
Harley's "obliviousness" is a coping mechanism that we literally see her dealing with since BTAS.
A warped world view that does in fact make her actions more complex,, and makes the aftermath / come down all the harder for her as she has to grapple with the internal traumatic response to Everything with Joker while also dealing with the world she's waking up to and realizing the real reality of her actions and the actual pain it left behind. It's literally been in her character plain as day since her First Personal Comic from 2000!
It's something taken seriously and something she knows, regardless if she even remembers the crime, that she has a responsibility to take accountability for. She almost lets Clown Hunter execute her because she was involved in his parents death, even though she doesn't remember the night, she trusts Batman enough that if he says she was there, she was. And she's going to own up to being there. She starts a therapy group for ex clowns post Joker War, she's become a (court ordered) professor and during all of these arcs Joker and his influence on her and her life are mentioned and acknowledged and present.
He's not been removed as an intrinsic aspect of her story, but he is no longer the center of her world and that is a good thing.
It's almost like character growth after 30 goddamn years is something that happens.
And! you know who else is intrinsically tied to Harley Quinn's character just as much as The Joker?
Poison Ivy and Batman.
Her three primary connections since the Beginning, since the original series that everyone wants to pretend was so so different about her than it ever was, was Joker, Batman and Ivy.
And a primary goal (Harley wise) for 2/3 people she's been connected to since Batman The Animated Series has literally been to get her away from the 3rd. They've just successfully helped save her in most universes now, even when she's the one who pulls the trigger in the end.
It's been over 4 years since I made this blog and I still cannot wrap my head around this fandom's deep seeded hatred and disdain for actual character development.
"Sorry", but that's just such a disgusting take built on misinformed foundations and idk a personal rage for bad guy characters not being bland, predictable one note entertainment for the rest of their miserable existence in comics until they're shelved for being fucking boring one note d-list characters?
#harley quinn#harleen quinzel#dc comics#tw clown boy#tw abuse mention#sorry its stuck in my head the more i think about it#and ive been standing idly at the stove cooking for like 3 hours i have nothing but time to brood#and also no ... he said the name similarities ''could put a smile on his face'' not that they were written in the stars .... but okay.#i dont think ive even seen that printed. the name thing. even on Harley's side i cannot think of a single time when she's#talked about how their names are some destined to be together sign#and none of the rogues go by their real name why would she go by harleen quinzel#And then he says it makes him feel like there's someone he can relate to when she starts walking away.#That's the manipulation but that's not making her think they're fated or some shit it's making her think there's a chance he'd trust her#Enough for her to help him...cause that's what she wanted to do..help people........#sorry sorry sorry i wasn't gonna say anything but its buzzing around my head like a bee#♢ metas rants & analysis ♢
31 notes
·
View notes