Tropers / Seven Winged Angel

• The Atoner - I was a serious asshole once upon a time. I lost a lot of people I really cared about, including the person I was engaged to, as a result of everything I did. I can't fix things with those people. But I can try to make sure those things never happen again.
• Brutal Honesty - I practice this usually. Straightforward honesty beats the hell out of Passive-Aggressive Kombat or waiting for someone to get the message. It also just saves time.
  • The thing I'm most honest about? Myself. I am not a good person. But I'm trying to be. I am very, very bad at it, but practice makes perfect hopefully.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer - I'm usually very good at whatever job I happen to receive - my effectiveness at said job comes with some oddities.
• Good is Not Nice - On my best days, I usually level out here. I try to be a benevolent force - trying to level out some of the bad I'm responsible for - but being a benevolent force doesn't require me to have any tolerance for bullshit. Or to be nice when pointing out said bullshit.
  Me: (speaking to a group of friends) "I finally understand what you keep me around for. I'm the person you go to when something needs to be said, but nobody else wants to say it. I'm that guy."
• Hollywood Atheist - People have leveled this accusation at me before. Truth be told, I'm not an atheist - I'm a misotheist, but frankly I live in a red state in the U.S. so nobody around me really gets the distinction.
• Jerkass Has a Point - I can be depended on to say what needs be said when nobody else wants to handle it. Whether or not it's unpleasant to the listener in question is insignificant.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business - I am usually very sarcastic. Ridiculously so, and anything and everything is fair game - some see it as a safety mechanism. So if there's something that I absolutely refuse to snark at, even a little bit, either the situation really is that bad or the subject matter is of utmost importance to me.
• Pet the Dog - During my days of being an asshole, before those days started, or after I became The Atoner, I was never mean or bitter to kids.
  • I am very good at giving encouragement to those in need of it. Someone did that for me once, so I'm just returning the favor.
  • I was homeless once, and I know what that's like, so I usually go out of my way to help people who are down on their luck and having trouble. Also, don't diss the homeless around me. Ever. I promise that won't end well for you.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech - I have a talent for this, but I almost never use it. This only happens when someone truly crosses a line and the metaphorical fangs come out.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed - The fact that I'm trying to be a better person (and making good progress, I'm told?) does not mean I have to be nice or play well with people who bother me. I certainly don't have to be soft either.
• Servile Snarker - I work at a restaurant, under a quirky boss with mildly quirkier co-workers, and I'm functionally the Only Sane Man; this is how I deal with that. It's good-natured snark, though - no reason to be mean with it.