Central City // The Red Diner (Vacant)

Need some greasy, smelly, grimy, food to get through the day? Well, apparently prisoners do to. The Red Diner is serving up all the classics you want from burgers to chicken parm, they got you covered. Also got the best pie around.
(Note: Meat is questionable. Could be human flesh, not only when it's wednesday and it's mystery meat day)

Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ

i`m a solder through and through
i am anything but weak
the thunder trembles when i speak 
[ ♔ ♚ ♔ ]

______________________________________________________________________________________

Jo was pretty much the worst driver to ever exist ever. On the way here (with Jack`s excellent instructions!), she`d probably run over a good five people. Not only did she sort of swerve all over the place uncontrollably, but, she went fast as all hell too---so, when they approached the diner, it pretty much looked like Jo was ready to ram them straight into the place--- until she suddenly slammed her foot directly onto the breaks, with enough force to send everyone in the vehicle jolting forward. Jo, however, seemed unphased. "Sweet." She stepped out of the car next after Jack, taking a moment to smoothen out her precious trench coat and dust it off before approaching the diner smoothly. At Jack`s comment, she turned to him with a wide, proud grin, "`Course, man! This thing`s important to me!"

Now, unlike Jack who entered like a normal human being---Jo approached the glass window that made up the wall of the diner, pulled her revolver out, and shot it. The glass shattered loudly, before crumbling onto the ground below. The blaring noise seemed to surprise Thugalicious, whom only stirred slightly from it`s sleeping position on Jo`s shoulder. After a moment of observation, Jo tilted the barrel of her revolver to her lips, gave it a quick blow, and not-so-cautiously stepped over the window still into the diner. "... Huh." The smell of death sort of smacked her in the face, and after a short grimace, she approached the counter nonchalantly, her hands shoved deeply into her coat`s pockets. She hopped up onto a bar stool as soon as Jack asked his question, which deemed a short laugh from the bluenette. "Alcohol! Just raid all of it!"    

______________________________________________________________________________________
♔ Jo`s theme - I Want to See The Starlight ♔

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

This was probably the most hellish car ride Ryder had ever been on. His entire time in the backseat, he'd had an iron-cast grip on the sides of the seat, his knuckles white, and his face just as pale as he watched pedestrians bounce off the windshield every now and then.
"holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit--" was the mantra he was repeating quietly under his breath the entire time that they were driving--going mostly unnoticed by the two up front. And then, suddenly, they were driving towards a diner. And not really stopping. Or slowing down. At all. "tHISISN'TAJAMESBONDMOVIEWHATAREYOUDOING--"
As the car went through the wall and Jo slammed on the breaks, Ryder had been busy ducking for cover--and the force of the stop sent him sprawling head first into the area between the seats, his feet flailing in the air. He struggled to right himself for a moment or so, only to be assaulted by the sound of gunshots as he began to get up, startling him enough for him to fall right back in there again.
After finally managing to get up, shaking just slightly and with his hair sticking out at odd angles, he just barely poked his head over the tops of the seats, as if checking for any other sudden surprises he should be aware of. But nope--it seemed that the others had already entered the building--
He stood up, brushing himself off, smoothing down his hair, and trying to look all nonchalant as he stood up, using the door on the side of the car to exit, closing the door again once he was out, then literally walking around to the front door of the diner and entering the building through there before going to the bar stool next to Jo's and sitting down on it. "Uh--yeah--what she said--"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ

i`m a solder through and through
i am anything but weak
the thunder trembles when i speak 
[ ♔ ♚ ♔ ]

______________________________________________________________________________________

Jo had been patting a very incoherent beat onto the counter top before her with her fingers as Jack agreed to get alcohol, whatever that meant. She turned her head toward Ryder as he took a seat next to her, giving him a tiny grin as greeting before going back to focusing on whatever it was she was trying to achieve with the counter top. Her features brightened as Jack placed two beers in front of them---Jo immediately snatched one, busting the cap off the edge of the counter to open it then lifting it to her lips. She was like that for a few seconds, before she hurriedly placed it down again, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "Grooooss..." She mumbled, instead opting for scratching off the beer label with her nails. Because why not. She glanced up at Jack, her head still facing downward toward the beer. "...I`m kinda sure Ryder`s closer to underage than Ivy is. Plus, doesn`t drunk Ivy sound kinda hilarious?" Best mother figure ever.

Her attention was pulled off as the greennette in question scuttled along, apparently outraged that Jack didn`t want her drinking. "...Bufo toads?" She echoed, raising an eyebrow. "You have bufo toads? Where?" Jo seemed awfully knowledgeable on the topic.  

______________________________________________________________________________________
♔ Jo`s theme - I Want to See The Starlight ♔

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

As soon as the mayonnaise was brought up, Ryder turned a faint shade of red in embarrassment--he still wasn't entirely sure exactly what he'd said that one time back in Highend so long ago--but from the little verbal glimpses he'd received from Jo before she'd gone missing--he kind of didn't want a repeat--
"N-Never mind...I'll just have some water I gue--" But suddenly beer. He picked up his bottle uncertainly, watching Jo pop the cap off hers using the counter top, and trying to imitate her--and failing at it fantastically before giving up and putting the still closed bottle of beer back onto the counter. "...YeahokayI'lljusthavesomewater--"
Ryder glanced over at Jo and Ivy as he heard Jo ask Ivy where she was keeping her toads--and honestly, Ryder was kind of surprised. Ivy was pretty good at pulling things out of nowhere--he was moreso used to just not questioning the greenette on where she pulled things out from--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ

i`m a solder through and through
i am anything but weak
the thunder trembles when i speak 
[ ♔ ♚ ♔ ]

______________________________________________________________________________________

As interested as Jo was in finding out where Ivy was keeping all these Bufo Toads, Ryder`s sudden disinterest in the alcohol called her attention back. She jutted her bottom lip out in a pout, turning back to him and Jack momentarily, "Yeah! I really like drunk Ryder!" She protested, picking up Ryder`s bottle from where Jack had pushed it back in front of him, and lightly tapping it against the counter to make the cap pop off. She placed it back in front of the redhead, giving him a toothy grin. "There you go!"  

______________________________________________________________________________________
♔ Jo`s theme - I Want to See the Starlight ♔

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder raised an eyebrow as Jack and Jo explained that they actually really liked drunk Ryder better--and he wasn't really sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult--
"Fine, fine, hang on..." After Jo had opened his bottle, Ryder picked it up, looking at it for a moment before taking a big swig, then putting the bottle back down onto the counter and making a bit of a face. "Well--that tasted kinda horrible--"
And then, Ivy offered him a toad--and he was pretty sure that, despite Ivy's suggestion to lick it, that licking the croaking amphibian wasn't the best idea. He opted for simply taking the toad, then setting it down onto the counter and kind of staring at it for a moment before looking back to the others, hearing Ivy's call for battery acid and peanuts. "Huh...yeah, I could go for some peanuts, I think...do they have any food behind the counter there...? If not, I guess I could try to cook something..."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ

i`m a solder through and through
i am anything but weak
the thunder trembles when i speak 
[ ♔ ♚ ♔ ]

______________________________________________________________________________________

Oh. So That`s where she was keeping the Bufo Toads. Were they okay? As Ivy handed one over to Jo and Ryder, the bluenette kept it in two hands, studying it momentarily. "...Nah. I don`t put my tongue on things I can`t trust. This thing is giving me funny looks, man." She gently placed her toad beside Ryder`s, going as far as to give her toad a little nudge to shove it closer to his. She smiled at the end result. "Toad buddies..." But then Ivy kinda threw Ryder`s so no more toad buddies--
Ryder`s response to the beer elicited a bit of a frown from Jo---not that she could blame him, since even she thought this stuff was kind of rank. Though, that was coming from someone who`d been drinking for years, she didn`t really expect Ryder to be as... picky. Hrm. She glanced down at her own bottle, momentarily swirling it`s contents, before peering back over to Ryder. "...I`ll finish mine if you finish yours?"
Drunk Ryder had to be achieved---she was taking one for the team---
But then food was brought up---and Jo was momentarily baffled at Ivy`s usage of the word 'Gumby'. Was it profanity now? Had it changed in the past two months? How many other things had changed? ...That was a really weird thought--Jo briefly came to the sudden conclusion that she may have been getting a bit overwhelmed by all these things happening at once after doing nothing for a whole two months---but then food. Jo stretched upward a bit, trying to get a look at the cabinets Jack was burrowing through. "But do they have Mayonnaise? And Pickles? And---and---what else...?" She was pretty sure there were other condiments involved in that allegory--   

______________________________________________________________________________________
♔ Jo`s theme - I Want to See the Starlight ♔

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder looked at Jo as she suggested that if he drank his beer, then she'd drink hers. It sounded like a fair proposition...
But then she brought up the pickles and mayonnaise again. That wasn't helping in summoning Drunk Ryder at all--in fact, it was probably deterring it--
"N-Nah...I'm good...I think it's probably better if I didn't drink this time around--it didn't end so well last time--" He pushed his beer bottle away a bit, frowning slightly. He paused, listening to Ivy speak--and nodding. "Yeah--guys--let's talk about bacon pools, okay--" Subject change--subject change, good--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ

i`m a solder through and through
i am anything but weak
the thunder trembles when i speak 
[ ♔ ♚ ♔ ]

______________________________________________________________________________________

Jo watched Ivy and Jack with some interest. Man, those two got along pretty well. It was almost a bit uncanny. Or unsettling. She wasn`t sure. Her attention was dragged off by Ryder`s next statement---which caused Jo to tense for a moment, her shoulders drooping and her face suddenly becoming a tad crestfallen. She turned to him, looking at least a little bit hurt. "...I...I thought it ended well...?" She said, her voice coming out a bit quieter than she thought it would. Of course---Jo wasn`t referring to that one night at Highend this time. She was referring to her birthday. Aside from the part about Ryder getting kidnapped directly afterwards and Jo watching her best friend explode right in her face, she had thought they had mutual feelings on that whole ordeal...
Even as Jack begun to shake her around, she was pretty unresponsive, just sort of flimsily flopping all over the place as he moved her. This continued---Jo only made one very half-hearted attempt to wiggle out of his grasp, to no avail. Even as he kept doing that, she spoke, "...Th-that`s fine... you don`t have to drink it... if you don`t want too, I guess..." Her voice reduced itself to a nearly monotone mutter, her previously energetic mood fading rather quickly.
Was she trying to guilt him into drinking it---maybe---probably--haha what---  

______________________________________________________________________________________
♔ Jo`s theme - I Want to See the Starlight ♔

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder looked at Jo in surprise as her mood fell--what--why--
He went over what had just happened in the conversation in his head--what had he said--? That time in Highend really hadn't ended very well, honestly--right--? He had just gotten black-out drunk and ranted about how sex worked with pickles and condiments--right--? So the last time that he'd gotten drunk had--
Oh. Oh. Wait. OH. WAIT. SHIT.
He'd--forgotten. That wasn't the last time he'd gotten drunk at all. It was Jo's birthday. Jo's birthday when at the end of the evening they'd--
OHGODWHATDIDHEJUSTSAY--
"N-No, hang on--I didn't mean--I--I meant the time back in Highend--I didn't mean--the--other--" Ryder fumbled over his words, internally punching himself in the jaw over his obvious blunder. "I--I'm sorry--I didn't--h-here, look, I'll drink it, okay--?" Ryder reached forward, quickly taking the bottle of beer--so quickly that he nearly knocked it off the table by accident instead of picking it up-- "J-Just don't be sad, alright--? Don't--be sad--Jo--" Unsure of what to say next--Ryder proceeded to kind of chug down the entire bottle. All at once. And then coughed up a storm afterwards, kind of hunching over a bit--bad idea, probably--but maybe Jo would be happy now--that'd be nice--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues

Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ

i`m a solder through and through
i am anything but weak
the thunder trembles when i speak 
[ ♔ ♚ ♔ ]

______________________________________________________________________________________

"It gave me funny looks, okay--" Jo quipped quickly to Ivy, looking a little more disappointed when the greennette removed the toad from the counter top. She frowned a little at Ivy`s response to her sudden mood drop--it probably wasn`t the right time for all this sadness, but it wasn`t really something she could shrug off so easily... it was sort of important to her, as petty as it was...
Even when Jack released her, Jo still seemed a bit apathetic, only peering over her shoulder at Ryder as he stammered. Her face drained in color a bit--- he didn`t even... remember that one night? ...That`s how it was? She slowly lowered herself, descending until her chin reached the counter top, then folded her arms under herself as a pillow. "N-Nah... that`s alright... I`m not sad---I`m fine, really..." She muttered into the crook of her elbow, "I... won`t force you to do anything any--...." Oh---he was already drinking. She paused, looking at him with slightly widened eyes for a moment, before lifting her head from the counter top, her features immediately brightening with a big smile. Well---that worked! A laugh bubbled out of her, almost involuntarily, as she attempted to rub some soothing circles into Ryder`s back when he coughed. She looked over at Jack, caught a bit off guard by the way he was sorta just rolling through all the corpses laying around, but---it wasn`t her place to question it, really---

"Awesome! Jack---stop throwing rocks and shit and get us more beers!" She called back to the blonde, but then he asked a thing. Jo froze momentarily, looking at Jack---then briefly to Ryder and Ivy, then back to him. He`d been... missing for nearly six months. This wasn`t something she could just explain to him in a diner---especially not in their current company. "`Ey, don`t worry about it yet, alright? I`ll explain some things later---just focus on Gumby and toads or whatever right now, dude." She said coolly, plucking her beer off the counter and taking a sip from it`s contents, only to make a bit of a face immediately after. This stuff was gross---but, she sorta made Ryder drink his---so now she was obligated-- 

______________________________________________________________________________________
♔ Jo`s theme - I Want to See the Starlight ♔

Ryder Mercy
The Enforcer
-------------------------------------
"I guess it's true what they say...you never know how strong you are...until being strong is the only choice you've got."
-------------------------------------

Ryder finished gulping down his beer, putting the bottle down on the counter and brightening up a bit as he heard Jo give a small laugh--but then suddenly, hello forehead, meet rock--
Ryder lurched slightly when the rock smacked him square in the forehead, and was practically seeing stars thanks to that--he kind of slumped down and let his head rest on the cool countertop, trying to soothe the battlewound slightly--and then Jack asked his thing. But before he could say anything, Jo kind of brushed the man off--and quite honestly, Ryder would prefer not to talk about what had all happened, anyway. They'd lost too many people--and all it would do would be to get him depressed again. And Jo and Jack had literally just risen from the dead--or at least Jack had, seemingly--now wasn't the time to be sad! ...Come to think of it, he was now sitting in a bar full of people who'd supposedly died and come back to life wow--there's a first for everything--
But wow--ow--that rock had hurt--
"I--I think I'll take another beer--I need something to numb the concussion--" he gave a half-hearted laugh, trying to ignore the now pulsing pain in the middle of his forehead--that was going to make a huge dumb-looking bruise, he just knew it--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryder's Theme - The Real Folk Blues