Avatar of BrokenPromise

Status

Recent Statuses

1 mo ago
Current Your bones are wet.
1 like
3 mos ago
I think to sell someone on an interest check, it's really important to seem enthusiastic about your own idea. That means writing more than a single sentence to attract potential players.
14 likes
2 yrs ago
The virgin "My post was so bad it killed the RP!" VS the chad "My post was so good it concluded the RP."
16 likes

Bio


W I T H R I G H T E O U S H A N D S





Did you know that Dante's inferno is called a divine comedy because things work out for the protagonist? Back in the day, the only two genres were comedy and drama. The only difference was that in a comedy, the protagonist is better off at the end, and a drama is the opposite. So that's why a story about going through hell can still be considered a comedy, even if it's not funny.

Name:
Broken Promise, BP, Boss

Age:
Old enough to know better, too young to care. (that is to say 30's)

Preferred RPs:
I Prefer to make my own, but will occasionally join something if it looks interesting. I'll join just about anything so long as it isn’t overly edgy/sweet, though it's rare for me to do. I don't do 1x1s too often either.

Preferred Roles:
I tend to play adorable characters everyone wants to befriend or proper assholes everyone wants to stay away from. I try not to play moral paragons or prime evils.

RP Conquests:
I've completed quite a few RP's off site, but most of them are on private forums or have simply been lost to the ravages of server crashes. As for stuff here, I'm sure everyone who sees me post in the off topic sections has seen me find an excuse to talk about Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage. It's a project that took over 4 years to complete and I feel pride not only for myself but all the wonderful people who helped make it enjoyable during its run. Re: Zero: The High Council Is technically my first, but it was just something I kind of took over and ended up ending the story after just six months. It finished, but eh...

Last RP I finished was Symphony of Espers which turned out pretty good.

RP's in progress:
For some reason I can't seem to stay away from Ari's magical girl RP, even if I'm not sure why I'm still in it.

As for my own projects, I'm doing Symphony on High to continue the gigachad adventures of the espers in Pax Septimus.

RP Graveyard:
I've been pretty fortunate on this forum. I think I joined one when I first came on the site that didn't really do anything, and there are a few 1x1 things that didn't go anywhere. It's disappointing when an RP ends before it can be finished, but I've come to look at them as learning experiences.

And then there's that london magical girl RP, and that dark magical girl RP. I think I'm done joining magical girl RPs for a while.

Other interests:
Videos
I watch a lot of educational videos on youtube. Usually as research for something I’m writing or purely because a topic interests me. I like channels like Tier Zoo and Daryl Talks Games, and I’ll also watch things like Critical Drinker or Literature Devil to deepen my understanding of story telling. Though I also like memes and jokes, to which I’ll find myself watching stuff like Sseth, but usually find myself surfing through meme videos. I gotta work on that.

Games
I have a rather long history of playing virtually every platformer to come into existence during the indie boom, as well as quite a few other indie games. I’ve played Meatboy, Binding of Issac, Gunvolt, Cuphead, Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt, Classic Metroid, Warcraft 3, Final Fantasy 7,8, and 14, Left 4 Dead, Shantae, Celeste, Danganronpa, God Eater, the list goes on. What I’ve played is kind of all over the place. I don’t play many games these days, I tend to pick things that look interesting and go on a decent steam sale.

Painting Minis
I do this in moderation. Otherwise, it's a pretty expensive hobby to start...

Music
I listen to everything, save most country/rap songs. I have too many favorites to name.

Personality:
Not one to take life or the internet too seriously. Is only serious about writing well and having a good time.

People to Insult:
Dalton is a Dingus.

Most Recent Posts

@Villamvihar Yup! looks like a million bucks now.

Now I'll have to find time to read it Been hustlin' to get stuff out.


”Something hard, play hard!"

— Isra Mahmud


Something that any well to do traveler will try once in their life is staying at a hotel. Nothing really beats sleeping in a clean bed, especially when the hosts keep the place tidy. Though such establishments are far from economic, and they let you know it any way they can. Red carpets, raised ceilings, and seats with uniquely shaped cushions that beg you to comment on how fancy they are. Those are just some of the cosmetic designs for the main lobby. Others will go a step above and provide art pieces, ornate chandeliers, nothing was too pretentious. There was a certain allure to being the most luxurious hotel in a city, and the competition was fierce in a place like New York. The Big Apple had everything provided you had the cash.

Isra Mahmud decided to check in at the recently constructed “New York Ambrosia.” The Ambrosia wasn’t any more luxurious than any of the other super luxury hotels. It offered a great view of the city, top tier room service, and was expensive enough to keep all but the elite from entering its glass doors. Those were all nice features, but what sold Isra on it was its proximity to other places of interest. There was a bus station nearby that regularly made routes to Cherry Grove Beach, and also made bar hopping while enjoying New York’s nightlife a lot easier. The Ambrosia also had an indoor swimming pool, and the hotel’s exclusivity meant that it was never crowded. With any luck, she’d be able to party like she did when she visited Cancun.

Well, maybe not quite that hard.

But that was for later. For now, Isra was still recovering from her trip. She was reclining in a Jacuzzi with the water jets turned up to full. In addition to this, she had dropped no less than four bath bombs into the water with her. They tumbled through the water, rolling from jet to jet as they hissed and filled the tub with bubbles. Different colored soaps mixed underwater while their fragrances mixed in the air. Strawberry, Banana, Lime, Evergreen. Maybe that last one should have stayed out, but she still thought it smelled fine.

But Isra wasn’t here to just enjoy herself. This was very much a business trip, and her boss was never too far away.

Ira’s eyes wandered over to her make up mirror, which was vibrating just a few inches away from her head. She knew better than to keep her boss waiting. She reached for the make up mirror and flipped it open. Sure enough, there on the mirror’s reflective surface was a tiny scientist, and not just because they were appearing on a three inch round mirror.

”Doctor."

“Bath time’s over, Isra,” Doctor Nykannis, Queen of the Mad Scientists, told the bathing beauty with a maniacal smirk. “Another monster has just appeared in Central Park, and as usual, I want you to retrieve its Heart Crystal before any other magical girls show up and make a nuisance of themselves. Remember, the acquisition of those crystals is your top priority,” the Monarch of Mad Science noted with a raised finger. “But as long as it doesn’t compromise that objective, feel free to flaunt your reality plenum-shattering, Challenger-grade, super-scientific abilities to your heart’s content, preferably by making a certain pink princess of dreams bawl her pathetic little eyes out. Anyways, that’s all for now. As always, I’ll be watching your performance, so make sure not to disappoint me.”

With that, the image of the diminutive doctor winked out.

”Huh."

This was how most “conversations” with the wise scientist seemed to go. She would appear, make a specific, if verbose request, and then hang up without waiting for a reply. She chose to ignore all the red flags in her message, like how she knew she was taking a bath or the involvement of multiple other magical girls. Isra had to wonder if she had become the star of a reality TV show and just didn’t know it yet. Maybe things would make more sense after she encountered the “pink princess of dreams.” But that was unlikely. If anything, things had been making less sense as she went along. But she got to live like a princess every day so it was hard to care.

It did seem like her bath would have to wait. That was fine. The room would be waiting for her when she got back, and the fun of bath bombs watching them dissolve anyway. But now it was time to transform. She stood up, and the bubbles clinged to her body in such a way as to not get this RP locked by the mod staff. She then started to dance. Her hips shifted left, then right, Her arms were locked and she waved her fists up and down in front of herself, like she was shining someone’s boot. And then…

Her body burst into a hundred metal scarabs and raced into the ventilation system. The bath bombs finished dissolving, but the Jacuzzi’s jets continued to run.
@Villamvihar Your header is broken.

By the way, discord did a thing now where anything hyperlinked from it will eventually expire. If it still shows up for you it might just be that it's in your cache. So you'll need to host your images elsewhere if you want them to last more than a few days.


"I’m glad I’m here all by myself and- OH HEY TSUBOMI! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

— Suki Oyama


While it wasn’t possible to see Oros’s face from behind, Acid Drop didn’t need to. She could tell her partner was seething. It wasn’t an emotion that she displayed often. Suki? Maybe, but not Oros. The last time she was this pissed was after she “defeated” Earthshaker for the right to make everyone dinner. But Earthshaker was absent from this scene, and Misoka didn’t look like she wanted to go to eat anywhere. She was perfectly content flying her kites in the middle of the empty field.

The wind shifted directions. She turned her body to orientate herself behind the kites. The expression on her face said she was focusing, but Acid Drop could sense otherwise. She was in anticipation, like a child waiting for dessert to arrive. The wind picked up, and Misoka let the kite fly even higher into the air. She still looked stern, but Tsubomi could feel the joy welling up in her chest. If it was difficult to feel, it was only because of Oros’s growing contempt for what was happening in front of her.

Oros brought up her hand and chopped through the air in front of her. A tendril of blood reached forth and thinned its tip down until it looked like a blade. Then, with a swift swing, sliced through all the kite strings. Misoka gasped when she saw her kites fly away from her. The dragons tumbled through the air, getting further away from Misoka despite her attempts to catch up. But the kites were not stable. They could only stay in the air for so long before diving straight into the ground. Even with the wind, it was possible to hear the carbon fiber frames break as they smashed into the earth.

At last, Oros turned to look at Tsubomi. She wore her brightest smile, not that it could mask her feelings from Acid Drop. "You were saying?” When Acid Drop repeated herself, Oros grinned. "So she is real!” She folded her arms over her chest. "I guess they confused her with Misoka when I was rumor hunting. Heh! Weird how that works. I guess Bedshaker and Violet are talking to her right now.” She looked into Acid Drop’s eyes and hesitated. "So uh, Rainbow, do you miss not having emotions?”






"You need to be careful how you phrase your demands.”

— ?????????


While it was true that magical girls were invisible to normal humans, that was only true if they didn’t use their magic. The frequent “spirit sightings” in Hibusa Town were instances where magical girls got a bit carried away in a public space. Anyone who didn’t believe in spirits was quick to dismiss such a phenomenon through various means. Nyxia’s laser was a trick of the setting sun on raindrops. The fire hydrant’s redirected water was the result of an odd viewing angle. The old lady staggered backwards. It wasn’t clear what the flower shop owner thought, only that she couldn’t understand it.

The dragon girl raised an eyebrow at her two adversaries. One had decided to shoot a fire hydrant, and the other was redirecting the water at the building. "I’m over here though.” It wasn’t long after that Nyxia commanded her to get off the roof, and Earthshaker wanted her to apologize. The corner of her mouth curled into a vicious smirk as the laser drew closer. "If you insist…”

She hopped into the air. The dragons on her shoulders raised their heads skyward. They roared with brimstone, belching giant flames into the sky. The flames left the dragon’s mouths with such speed it created thrust, and plunged the magical girl inside the flower shop.

Every open hole in the building erupted with fire. The bright white flames would cause anyone to wince if they tried to stare at it, but it was followed by rolling black smoke. The tiny building couldn’t take it anymore, and slowly caved in on itself. Even the walls showed signs of being shifted off of their foundation. Even where the walls still stood, the mortar had been broken off between some of the bricks. The fire had been so hot that it boiled the moisture out of the stone, causing many of the bricks to explode.

The metal door fell aside as the red haired girl stepped out of the smoke. She had soot on her cheeks, but seemed otherwise unharmed by the ordeal. "I got off the roof! And I apologize for burning the flower shop, I razed it to compensate. Speaking of etiquette…” She placed a hand on her chest. "I’m Ash Bringer. No need to tell me your names. I’m not interested in light girls.” She winked at the duo.


@Ponn@Majoraa@ERode

Perhaps it was inevitable that the two biker gangs would get into a tussle. But what happened next would be on the Gemini agents.

The Knight of Tomorrow sent a crackling blast of green energy towards a group of cowboys. The burst knocked a few cowboys on their ass. One fell backwards onto a table, only for it to tip over and drop him on his head. Their outfits had been lightly scorched, and the hair on their arms had been burned off where it was exposed to the emerald energy beam.

”Wut n’ tarnation?” One of the cowboys said as she stood back up. Though far less impressed were the dryads that witnessed the attack.

”Esperssssss…” The humanity left their voice as they hissed the word. The once lively drinking fae creatures started to grow out vines and extra fingers.

Dante just seethed as things grew more chaotic. Estelle jumped right past him and knocked over a few drinks on her way to the teenagers. It seemed Ashley’s attempt to clear out a path hadn’t been entirely necessary. Once Estelle arrived, she tried to convince the girls to leave. It didn’t seem like she was going to get any complaints. However…

”B-but there’s no way out!” Estelle might have been able to nimbly jump the length of the room, but these were just highschool girls. Something Estelle could confirm with her ability to sense things of a chaotic nature. ”They’re everywhere!” Despite their protests, most of the girls were getting ready to leave their seats.

Most, because one was standing next to the jukebox with her arms folded. ”I’m not leaving without seeing Amanda.” She pouted. ”That’s like, the only reason we came here.”

Estelle’s presence may have given the teenagers some relief, but a nearby dryad was not as pleased. She hissed when they noticed the insignia on Estelle’s uniform. ”Gemini!”

The word caused the dryads to convulse. The bark on their bodies snapped and crackled as new forms tried to emerge. Their faces split open to reveal they were only masks. What lay behind was woodland-like creatures. Fae with the faces of bunnies, weasels, a skunk, all piloting trees that tried to imitate humans.

The duel between the Cowboy Gang and Dryad Gang would go on, but now they had bigger fish to fry.

The dryad that spotted Estelle stomped on the ground. The weak tile floor gave way under her foot roots enveloped her foot. Sensing a potential easy target, many of the cowboys rushed Estelle with chairs and beer steins in hand. One of them decided to take a swing and hit the girl by the jukebox. To both their surprise, the attack had no effect on her. She swiftly countered by driving her foot into the man’s crotch, which dropped him immediately.

”Debbi!” He wined before rolling over.

Back at the front of the diner, things weren’t looking any less frantic. The dryads and cowboys near Ashley and Finn had pretty much witnessed everything they did. Even in their drunken state, they knew who the biggest threat was. The nearby druids called roots up to ensnare Ashley while the nearby cowboys rushed her. Most of them were armed with beer bottles or a stein, but one towards the back had pulled a swag light off the ceiling to use as a flail. He spun it like a lasso while yelling ”Yeeeeeeeehawwwwwwww!”

And as all this happened around Dante, he kept his eyes fixed on the source of it all. The boy that was first to enter, the first to transform, and the one giving out orders. The one that caused all of this to start in the first place.



”Tell me, Finn.“ Dante reached inside his chest and took hold of something inside his body. With a tug, his shirt started to tear as a long steel handle was pulled out of his stomach. Not only did his shirt fall off, but the massive gut he had started to grow smaller. Where there was once heaps of lard was now rippling muscle. With one final tug, a warhammer sprung free. ”Do you try to fuck things up this bad, or does it come naturally to you?“

Finn’s eyes widened in fear once he realized Dante was pulling out a weapon of his own, and instinctively began to step backwards, away from the sandman. Though the question struck a different nerve than the inevitability of a fight. How many times did something like this happen, to the point where the boy was growing further jaded by his streak of bad luck? How many times was he the one painted at fault for what he couldn’t help, and demonized as a result of his actions?

A monster in his own right?

”Even if I said it’s just shitty luck, my answer won’t make a difference, right!? The Witch Hunter was busy protecting the highschoolers on one end, and Orion was swarmed on the other. He was stuck facing Dante himself. His grip on Atropos tightened with a dry laugh. ”Everything I try to do to be a good person backfires on me and it’s never going to stop, is it!?”

”It’s those attempts to better yourself that endeared me to you, boy.“ Dante bared his teeth. ”But now you’ve made it personal, and you’re so much more dangerous than you are interesting.“

In a flash, Dante’s form turned to sand, and he sifted straight through the counter to appear before Finn. His hammer was already raised high above his head, and it came down without a moment’s notice.

So be it.

The hammer collided with the roaring teeth of the Timekeeper’s chainsaw, the smaller boy pushing back against it to keep himself from getting struck.

Then Fritzi’s voice poured into everyone’s earpiece. ”Good news everyone! I got some last minute backup if you need it.” Just by her tone of voice, everyone could tell she was tickled by this. ”We had a dream shaping esper named Violet help with a test program a while back. She won’t be of much use if a fight breaks out, but if Finn starts to doze off, she should be able to jump into his dreams if a succubus tries to mess with him. Or any of you, really. He just seems the most likely to fall asleep on the job. So! Did you find anything yet?”






@Vertigo

There were a lot of things that made dealing with monsters difficult. They didn’t think like humans, they didn’t want what humans wanted, and their abilities were often more varied than an esper’s. It made it difficult to predict how a new monster would behave in a given situation, or even what that behavior ment.

Other times, it was pretty cut and dry.

Not a lot was known about the golden dragon, other than he was very flighty and could transform into a full dragon. Ciri would need to be careful if she wanted to avoid spooking it. And she was. She made sure to call her summon in a shadow where it would be the least visible. She even did the hard thing and indirectly cast her melody to reduce the chance of the dragon noticing anything.

Yet he did.

The dragon man was looking straight at where the gorilla minion had been summoned. Perhaps his ability to work with alchemy allowed him to detect the presence of magic? No one could say. He didn’t move a muscle. One might mistaken him for a dress mannequin rather than a living breathing creature. But he was only still until Ciri revealed her location. He spun around and ducked as if Ciri’s voice sent shrapnel flying over his head. And then he froze. Again. He gave the purple oni girl a long hard stare.

”Imp Scare!” The words came out of his mouth in a hushed whisper.

The dragon man turned around to run. That was when the freaky featureless gorilla stepped out of the shadow to block his way. They were in a narrow back ally and had him surrounded. The space above the dragon was open, but there was no way he could transform in such a narrow space. If one were to think about it logically, the dragon only had three options.

#1: Confront Ciri, who just gave a line that could oddly serve as an intimidating greeting or a really bad pick up line.

#2: Try to force his way past a shadow creature.

#3: scale the walls to reach the roof or climb above the ones that had surrounded him.

Those were the logical choices. The problem was that they were dealing with a monster. A scared monster at that. They weren’t logical creatures on their best day.

The dragon man charged into one of the walls,crashing through the brick and mortar wall like the kool aid man. That was the issue with trying to trap monsters. Physical structures were more like a suggestion to a monster, and short of the sturdiest materials on earth or something of suitable thickness, they could just brute force their way through it.

The dragon tumbled through the debris and landed in a hallway. It was nothing fancy, just a shortcut to let the hotel staff move between rooms without disturbing guests. One end led to the lobby, and the other went to a staircase, which was where the dragon was heading to.

Ciri could feel her partner’s presence stir at her side, waiting for orders.
For some time now, I've been interested in creating and managing a roleplay of my own on a forum, but I wanted to know if there were any helpful tips for someone like me who wants to make this into a small group size of 3-4 players, including myself?


Yes.

Is there anything I should know beforehand about holding a roleplay this size?


yes.

Is it more challenging?


Compared to a group? I'd say the challenge is different. We'll get into that a bit later.

Does it put more pressure on the players to post more frequently?


Hah! I wish. Roleplayers will always put their own schedules and desires ahead of your passion project, as they should. You pressure players into posting by crafting an RP that people want to be a part of and being a gracious host. Offer to help struggling players, stick to your posting schedule, stick to the vision you outlined in your interest check, etc. They will post if they want to play.

Anything important that I should know?


Yes. (okay, I'll stop now.)

Additionally, what can I do to gain the trust of potential players who aren't familiar with my writing style and personality? Will a simple introduction and writing sample do?


You strike me as a 1x1 RPer. Anyway, a discerning player will be able to pick up on your quality of writing by reading your interest check. Group roleplayers will be interacting with you as well as the other players and won't solely be reading your posts. Who you are as a person isn't nearly as important as what your RP is about, who else is joining, etc. When I join an RP, it's usually because the concept seems interesting and/or part of my squad is participating. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. If you need help making a good IC, just look at others and make mental notes about what you liked, didn't like, etc.

The reason I want to make a group roleplay of this size some day is because of my lack of experience and I feel like it might be easier to maintain due to IRL business and work.


It's actually harder in that regard. Yes, you technically need to write less, however, it doesn't always work out like that. On the other hand, if three people leave a large group you can still run things and slowly recruit new players. If you have a small group of three players and three of them leave. Uhhh...

It is easier to cater to an individual player's needs when you have fewer of them, but the real cheat code for an enjoyable small group RP is to have a gigachad buddy or two that have stuck with you through thick and thin, posts regularly, etc. They'll have your back and can give you great feedback on stuff when you need it.

I also have been reading some articles from here, and I do have ideas for stories, I'm just curious to see if anyone on here has some good advice to share.


"There's a difference between knowing the path and walking it."

Thanks for your help in advance. ♥️


Not a problem Alix, just helping out!
Guess I can't refer to him a shit head anymore.

It's certainly good to have an admin on hand again. I'd be more excited if you could code, but if you think you can bring in more users, that would be a neat trick.


@The World@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPants

Maybe it was her tone of voice, maybe they were too occupied with each other, but no one engaged Mika when she asked what everyone wanted to do. Save for Himiko, who walked up to her and started teasing her like an old friend.

"Soh-vern is your name!" Mika growled before shaking out of Himiko’s embrace. "I can’t help that you chose something that’s hard to say!" Mika didn’t bother saying anything else. Even when Himiko went on to play dress up with her, she simply contained her thinly veiled frustration as Himiko continued to blab.

"Oh wow! That hat looks cute on you, Nails!" Angel giggled.

But they wouldn’t be able to screw around for long.While no one came to greet the freelancers at the front door, someone had heard them knock and they were already on the move.

One of the side doors in the entryway swung open with violent force. It was as if someone had kicked it, but there was no one to be seen. Not with everyone out of the room at least. Then a tail of gray smoke flew out of the doorway and crashed into the ground.

*Woof*

The entryway was filled with rolling smoke. It was thick and dense, and smelled like a well used ashtray.

The boarded up windows burst open. Pieces of finely sliced timber rained down on the freelancer’s below. What stood in front of the open windows was eight men armed with military grade machine guns.They were dressed like blue collar workers. Overalls, fluorescent jackets, jeans, hardhats. They were construction workers. But there was something off about the glasses they were wearing. They were long and tubular, but didn’t seem like they’d offer an edge in combat. Yet at the same time, this felt familiar to Marrie. Has she seen something like this before? It didn’t matter. They were leveling their guns at the freelancers.

But there was someone else among their numbers. There was a girl dressed up as a nun with bunny ears. And while that would have been enough to clearly mark her as an esper, she was also smoking a cigar and dual wielding a flamethrower and mace.

"How’s this for a fiery entrance, bitch?!"

The nun started to spray napalm as the gunman took turns shooting. Fire and brass rained above the freelancers, and cover was limited.



"Mom! Estelle! … Ashley… Angelie…"

— Mika Fang


Himiko, Angelie, and Mika were on the other side of the smoke wall. While they couldn’t see what was happening, they could hear it.

"Okay Mika!" Angelie pointed her gun into the smoke. ”Just stay here, I’ve got a-."

I a flash of black light, Angelie had been replaced by a familiar figure. At least, one that the Gemini agents had been told about.

"Lenore…"

"The Sister of Sacrilege." The one-eyed nun finished with a grin. She twirled her blade before pointing it at Himiko. "So I understand Oros wanted you to bring this little bird all the way here." She shrugged her shoulders. "Seems to me like you did your job. She’s here in one piece." She tipped her head. "Since you’re done with that, how would you like to help me out? I assure you, my employer can pay far better than they can." As if to demonstrate this, Lenore pulled a stack of hundred dollar bills out of her cleavage for Himiko to see. "All you need to do is help me capture Cerberus."

Mika’s eyes turned towards the wall of smoke, as something had tumbled out of it. It was roughly the size of a basketball, but it was covered in smoke. The cat girl jumped backwards out of instinct. It could very easily be a melody. But as the smoke rose off the object, it turned out to be something far worse than a melody.

"...Angel?"

It was her decapitated head, with fresh smoke rising out of her neck. Her eyes darted between Lenore and Himiko.
@5341Ace My condolences, I'm glad you have more time now.

Unfortunately, I showed interest about three weeks ago and have since signed up to other projects. I wish you luck with this, but I will not be joining.


@Ponn@Majoraa@ERode

Dante’s ireful “welcome” wouldn’t go unnoticed. At least he wasn’t moving to get rid of them yet. It’d be poor for the business if patrons had to watch him murder the three of them, Finn guessed. The boy reeled himself back and opened his mouth to say something until he felt Ashley firmly grip his shoulders. No doubt she was holding him back from doing anything reckless. He glanced over his shoulder to look at her incredulously. Would a fib like that really work here? Dante already knew why they were there, why he was there. But if they’re gonna keep things cordial, might as well.

And then Estelle said something about them leaving. Hell. No. Not that Finn didn’t trust where she was going with that idea, but nothing would stop the diner owner from being more prepared to fuck their shit up if they left and came back later. The other two agents may not understand his reasoning but to hell with it, it’s better to get this over with now before this gets any worse!

Finn shrugged out of Ashley’s grip and approached the counter.

”Hell-o again.”

Dante looked at each of the agents in turn. Ashley’s lie was obvious, but she had been able to pick up on the fact that Dante was not making any aggressive movements. Furthermore, he had a group of teenage girls at the back of the diner. Clearly he wasn’t turning them away because of their age. This was a covert conversation where both parties were required to extract truth from the lies they were telling each other.

This made Estelle’s remark somewhat troublesome. She had mentioned coming back later, but also that she wouldn’t want to disrupt his business at peak hours. Was Dante supposed to interpret this as a threat from some monster murdering agents? Would his business get disrupted if he didn’t comply?

And then there was Finn…

”Didn’t you hear me?” Dante stepped up to the counter until his fat stomach seeped over the edge. ”We’ve already made arrangements to speak later, why have you come here now?”

Aha. Finn shot him a knowing smile, before he glanced aside and lowered his voice enough for Dante to still hear. ”Unfortunately I’m supposed to be here on business. Keeping the fact I’ve been cordial with you guys hidden from the other agents hasn’t stopped them from coming here to investigate the source of my curse. I don’t really want things to end up in a bloodbath so, if you’re alright with me just asking a few questions, that’d be appreciated.”

”And I suppose you did everything in your power to prevent them from finding out?” He growled. Unlike Finn, Dante wasn’t being so quiet anymore. ”I told you that we would get this taken care of. What else do you need to know?”

”Whatever kee-”

”Eyyyyyyy!” A cowboy by the counter pointed at Finn. ”This li’l bronco here given’ ya troubleeeeeeee?” He slurred his words.

”Everything is under control.” Dante gave the drunk a sideways glance. ”Enjoy your drink and butt out of this!”

”Yeaaaaaaa, but I can woop ‘em good if ya need me to, I can give em an ol-”” And then he swung his arm and splashed the Dryads sitting beside him.

”Gah!” One of the dryads, not looking too sober herself, swung the back of her hand at the cowboy’s head. With a crack, he stumbled backwards into a table seated by more cowboys, and spilled their beer all over the floor.

”I see how it is.” The cowboys started to stand up one at a time and cracked their knuckles. ”The Dryad Biker gang thinks it can tussle with the Cowboy Biker gang, huh?”

”Any day of the week, ‘greenhorn.’”

”...The hell did you call me?!”

And just like that, a bar fight ensued.

The cowboy gang might have greatly outnumbered everyone else, but they had also done most of the drinking and had a hard time differentiating between the dryads and everyone else. Fighting erupted all over the diner, and no one was safe. Even the schoolgirls who were minding their own business found themselves cornered by some of the cowboy thugs. And if they’d stoop so low as to attack some defenseless girls, they would certainly attack a babysitter and the two children she was looking after. The gemini agents were set upon on all sides, and Dante’s shouts of annoyance couldn’t rise above the sound.

And neither could Finn’s tired sigh.

”Fucking knew it…” He mumbled, ducking down soon as all hell broke loose. He rummaged through his pockets for his grimoire to quickly transform.

”Someone get those girls out of here before they get hurt!” He called out to his fellow agents, pointing over to the corner they were in. ”Minimize injuries if you can, but don’t let them overwhelm you!!” The Timekeeper snapped his head back towards Dante, silently giving him an apologetic look.
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