(Jeremy Franco continued from This Scene is About a Hat)
There was a very, very important question to ask in the aftermath of Jeremy's encounter with Dumbass Chick. The sort of question that was gonna burn away at him, weigh down on him, drive into him until he answered it. Basically, the sort of question that was gonna commit a lot of unpleasant metaphors against Jeremy. Ugh. Jeremy fucking hated metaphors. They were just these ridiculous little piece of shit that were basically just lying, that were basically just moral cowardice. So he needed them to fuck off, so he needed to answer the following:
During the course of Jeremy Franco's encounter with Dumbass Chick, did he or did he not turn a profit?
This was a bit of a doozy. On the one hand, he'd lost his cool. As a businessman, you neeeeeeeeever do that, like never never never, like Jesus Christ you might as well just make a sales pitch composed exclusively of metaphors. But he'd totally flipped his shit at her, hadn't he. Group of Ameriprise executives sitting around a TV screen right now, all shaking their heads, all murmuring And we thought that boy had such potential.
That was the bad stuff! But the first thing a businessman learns how to do is explain away (or even better: entirely ignore!) the bad stuff and focus on the good. So let's just fucking shelve that off to the side right now and talk a little bit about a badass fucking fedora, holy shit. See, haberdashers across the world had been trying for millennia to create the most badass hat possible, and the fedora was the product of their labor. It was long thought that the fedora was simply the pinnacle of snazzy headgear, that nothing could be done to improve on the design, and then BOOM, bloodstain. There was a bloodstain on his fedora and that made it even. Fucking. Cooler.
Sell fedoras that come with bloodstains already on them, much in the style of pre-faded jeans. Make millions within a month. Today, I am a genius.
So the answer is yes, if you hadn't figured it out yet. Yes, Jeremy had turned a profit. There was that stuff sitting on the shelf over there, true, but that could be safely ignored. What matter was that Jeremy had his unbelievably badass hat. And he felt great, he was pumped, he was psyched, he felt like, right now, he could punch a Tyrannosaur in the heart so hard that it would die. And he'd even managed to get a good night's sleep, and now he was all well-rested and ready to take down some notes.
Notes, you ask? Yes, notes. Jeremy had had such great results when it came to deceiving Dumbass Chick about having seen Kris, and all the info had come from the first set of announcements (except the part about knowing that Kris skateboarded, that came from paying attention). And this was all just from memory! All from the top of Jeremy's head! Imagine what a master manipulator Jeremy would be when he had notes to consult and memorize for every kill on the island. That would just make it too easy, wouldn't it? Hahahaha psyche, there is no such thing as too easy, Jeremy fucking loved when shit was easy for him.
So that all happened. And then a big long trek across most of the island happened, east to west with a few minutes worth of wondering if he should hit up the Flowerheads at their cell tower fortress. The answer turned out to be no, since he didn't really have anything to offer them right now. Oh well. Jot that down for later, maybe.
Eventually, Jeremy found a clearing in some woods (always these fucking woods!) where he could sit down and rest for a little while. Grab a bit to eat, start memorizing his notes, start prepping for his next business transaction. Once he was done, he's set off in search of the next person that needed the esteemed services of J. Franco and Associates. Or maybe they'd come to him! Maybe the next customer would find him here, like this was his storefront where he was selling his services. Haha, fuck yeah, that'd be great. And oh man, it'd be even better if he could get, like, a little cardboard sign for his store that said J. FRANCO & ASSOCIATES so everyone knew just who the were dealing with. That'd be fuckin' clutch, that'd be fuckin' ace, that'd be fuckin' slice.
"Slice" is not actually a slang term for "good". But nobody was about to correct Jeremy on that front.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Private Thread, Afternoon of Day 3
How to Win Friends and Influence People
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((Rosa Fiametta continued from Calculations))
Rosa finally decided that it was about time she slowed down and stopped running, having been moving at a gentle jog for the past couple of hours, just to make sure she was putting the appropriate distance between her and any potential pursuit. Rosa stopped moving, leaned back against a tree and heaved a couple of deep breaths, feeling exceptionally grateful for the fact she was in good shape. She was tired as it stood, she dreaded to think of what would have happened if she'd tried that kind of run, say, eight months ago.
As Rosa settled back, a few thoughts were going through her head, some of them mere concern for her siblings (they still hadn't been on the announcement, thank god), some of them just grumbles about various aches and pains. Some, however, were more distinct, sharper.
Point for the agenda number one: not keeping her bra on had been a REALLY fucking stupid idea. It was yet another of those long line of things that had seemed like a good idea at the time but had turned out to be pretty fucktarded, and probably would've shown themselves up as such if Rosa had actually been paying more than superficial attention to them. To put it bluntly, when Rosa had bailed on the killer Madelaine and the others in that mad dash, an unconstrained bust had NOT helped matters.
Point for the agenda number two: no more implicitely trusting anyone! What the fuck had that been!? Rosa had gotten changed like, five freaking feet away from a killer! Madelaine had been armed with a gun for crying out loud - she could've popped Rosa then and there if she'd been so inclined. ...That also made Rosa think that Madelaine maybe wasn't a cold blooded killer as she'd first assumed, but there had been no sense taking chances. After all, she could have been waiting for an opportunity.
Point for the agenda number three: where the fuck was she anyway? Rosa hadn't paid much attention to direction whilst running away - for pretty damn good reason so far as she was concerned. She must have come quite a way though, Rosa could've sworn that at the edge of her hearing, there was the sound of waves... Either way, she needed to figure that out sooner rather than later. No good trying to search if you didn't know where the hell you were, right?
Before starting to look for Ily and Frankie again though, Rosa really needed to find somewhere to change. Middle of the woods hadn't gone too well last time around. Too exposed - and she was stilll pretty goddamn sure that one or the other of Harun and Rashid had seen her getting dressed, because not meeting her eyes like that sure as hell meant something.
So the Fiametta set off, steadily getting her breathing back under control, wincing as she looked at how sweat soaked her tank top was. The damn thing was plastered to her... it was going to reek when that dried off. After a second, Rosa chuckled and shook her head. That really wasn't the kind of thing she should be worrying about. Hygiene could take a backseat to the more pressing issue of not getting her brains blown out.
A few more minutes of walking and... a clearing. An occupied clearing. Rosa swore under her breath, but didn't immediately back away. Whoever was there (a guy it looked like, but Rosa was behind them so she couldn't identify him) was both quite slender and without a visible weapon. Maybe she could try and get her search back on track. Asking people would sure help Rosa, maybe give her a location to base things off. This guy didn't look armed so... worth a shot.
Staying back in the treeline, visible but not in the clearing so that she could take off if necessary, Rosa called out.
"Hey! It's Rosa! Don't freak out, alright? I'm not hurting anyone."
Rosa finally decided that it was about time she slowed down and stopped running, having been moving at a gentle jog for the past couple of hours, just to make sure she was putting the appropriate distance between her and any potential pursuit. Rosa stopped moving, leaned back against a tree and heaved a couple of deep breaths, feeling exceptionally grateful for the fact she was in good shape. She was tired as it stood, she dreaded to think of what would have happened if she'd tried that kind of run, say, eight months ago.
As Rosa settled back, a few thoughts were going through her head, some of them mere concern for her siblings (they still hadn't been on the announcement, thank god), some of them just grumbles about various aches and pains. Some, however, were more distinct, sharper.
Point for the agenda number one: not keeping her bra on had been a REALLY fucking stupid idea. It was yet another of those long line of things that had seemed like a good idea at the time but had turned out to be pretty fucktarded, and probably would've shown themselves up as such if Rosa had actually been paying more than superficial attention to them. To put it bluntly, when Rosa had bailed on the killer Madelaine and the others in that mad dash, an unconstrained bust had NOT helped matters.
Point for the agenda number two: no more implicitely trusting anyone! What the fuck had that been!? Rosa had gotten changed like, five freaking feet away from a killer! Madelaine had been armed with a gun for crying out loud - she could've popped Rosa then and there if she'd been so inclined. ...That also made Rosa think that Madelaine maybe wasn't a cold blooded killer as she'd first assumed, but there had been no sense taking chances. After all, she could have been waiting for an opportunity.
Point for the agenda number three: where the fuck was she anyway? Rosa hadn't paid much attention to direction whilst running away - for pretty damn good reason so far as she was concerned. She must have come quite a way though, Rosa could've sworn that at the edge of her hearing, there was the sound of waves... Either way, she needed to figure that out sooner rather than later. No good trying to search if you didn't know where the hell you were, right?
Before starting to look for Ily and Frankie again though, Rosa really needed to find somewhere to change. Middle of the woods hadn't gone too well last time around. Too exposed - and she was stilll pretty goddamn sure that one or the other of Harun and Rashid had seen her getting dressed, because not meeting her eyes like that sure as hell meant something.
So the Fiametta set off, steadily getting her breathing back under control, wincing as she looked at how sweat soaked her tank top was. The damn thing was plastered to her... it was going to reek when that dried off. After a second, Rosa chuckled and shook her head. That really wasn't the kind of thing she should be worrying about. Hygiene could take a backseat to the more pressing issue of not getting her brains blown out.
A few more minutes of walking and... a clearing. An occupied clearing. Rosa swore under her breath, but didn't immediately back away. Whoever was there (a guy it looked like, but Rosa was behind them so she couldn't identify him) was both quite slender and without a visible weapon. Maybe she could try and get her search back on track. Asking people would sure help Rosa, maybe give her a location to base things off. This guy didn't look armed so... worth a shot.
Staying back in the treeline, visible but not in the clearing so that she could take off if necessary, Rosa called out.
"Hey! It's Rosa! Don't freak out, alright? I'm not hurting anyone."
God daaaaaammit. This was- well, actually this was a good thing to be getting a potential customer already, sure, but Jeremy wasn't ready, he hadn't even studied his notes all the way, and most importantly of all this chick didn't even have an appointment. There were some very basic rules to commerce, and one of those was that you couldn't just go up and make someone an offer anytime anyplace. What, would you break into Jeremy's house in the middle of the night just because you had a mutual fund you wanted to talk to him about? No? Then you don't approach him while he's very clearly going over his notes. It's just not done. But then again, another of the rules of commerce was that you always had to be ready to make a deal anytime anyplace, you always had to seize whatever opportunity knocked at your door, so... yeah. The rules kinda didn't make sense sometimes when you tried to look at all of them.
"I'll be with you in one second, ma'am! You'll have to forgive my delay, I'm just making sure my client ledger is all in order..." Hahahaha, client ledger. That was awesome, Jeremy was awesome. Now this chick would think that he'd already done a lot of volume on this island, since his client ledger was so fucking big and took so fucking long to review. Alright, just study the last few details so you can get to this stupid bitch with her stupid whiny bitch voice and her stupid needless reassurance like how the fuck could you even hurt someone who was wearing a bloodstained fedora? How the fuck did that make sense? Probably fugly too, but Jeremy was still gonna maintain eye contact the whole time, because that's just how dedicated to closing deals he was. Alright. Let's get this over with.
Holy shit.
2) Ally with hot chicks
2) Ally with hot chicks
2) Ally with hot chicks
Jeremy had been wrong all along! And it was the best feeling, wasn't it? Since holy shit, she was hooooot, like- oh shit! And she'd introduced herself as Rosa, hadn't she? Rosa! Rosa Fiametta! Right! Rosa was the slut! The slut who did sex acts all the time! Sex acts were awesome! Jeremy briefly chastised himself for not paying attention to when she'd already introduced herself, but then reverted to his stoic badass businessman game face. This was no time for getting distracted, he had a deal to close.
Because this girl, right, this beautiful sweethearted girl who was scared and vulnerable but also friendly and trusting and she meant nobody harm, she wouldn't hurt a fly- she was asking for Jeremy Franco's help! He wasn't sure what kind of help she needed yet, but she was talking to Jeremy in her sweet lovely voice and she said she didn't want to hurt him! This was very kind of her, that kind of reassurance was always good to have. So Jeremy put on a big helpful friendly smile and:
"Hey, you got it! I'm not hurting anybody either. I'm really more of a help-people-out kinda guy anyway. Just ask the folks in my ledger!" Wave it around, flash an open page briefly to confirm that there's a bunch of text in there. "How about you, Rosa? Any way I can help you out?"
He was excited for this. No, not because he was expecting her to put out or anything (God, who would be that crass?), but because he genuinely liked her. He really really did. There was a whole stuff worth liking about Rosa, and nothing worth disliking, and plus she was really hot. And this was gonna turn out great, wasn't it? Since the last time, well, the last time had fallen apart because Dumbass Chick had fundamentally misrepresented the sitaution. She'd pretended she was a badass, when she was not. But Rosa? Rosa was great! And she was, above all else, honest. So whatever was about to happen, it'd turn out well.
But maybe that was being too cocky? Maybe.
"I'll be with you in one second, ma'am! You'll have to forgive my delay, I'm just making sure my client ledger is all in order..." Hahahaha, client ledger. That was awesome, Jeremy was awesome. Now this chick would think that he'd already done a lot of volume on this island, since his client ledger was so fucking big and took so fucking long to review. Alright, just study the last few details so you can get to this stupid bitch with her stupid whiny bitch voice and her stupid needless reassurance like how the fuck could you even hurt someone who was wearing a bloodstained fedora? How the fuck did that make sense? Probably fugly too, but Jeremy was still gonna maintain eye contact the whole time, because that's just how dedicated to closing deals he was. Alright. Let's get this over with.
Holy shit.
2) Ally with hot chicks
2) Ally with hot chicks
2) Ally with hot chicks
Jeremy had been wrong all along! And it was the best feeling, wasn't it? Since holy shit, she was hooooot, like- oh shit! And she'd introduced herself as Rosa, hadn't she? Rosa! Rosa Fiametta! Right! Rosa was the slut! The slut who did sex acts all the time! Sex acts were awesome! Jeremy briefly chastised himself for not paying attention to when she'd already introduced herself, but then reverted to his stoic badass businessman game face. This was no time for getting distracted, he had a deal to close.
Because this girl, right, this beautiful sweethearted girl who was scared and vulnerable but also friendly and trusting and she meant nobody harm, she wouldn't hurt a fly- she was asking for Jeremy Franco's help! He wasn't sure what kind of help she needed yet, but she was talking to Jeremy in her sweet lovely voice and she said she didn't want to hurt him! This was very kind of her, that kind of reassurance was always good to have. So Jeremy put on a big helpful friendly smile and:
"Hey, you got it! I'm not hurting anybody either. I'm really more of a help-people-out kinda guy anyway. Just ask the folks in my ledger!" Wave it around, flash an open page briefly to confirm that there's a bunch of text in there. "How about you, Rosa? Any way I can help you out?"
He was excited for this. No, not because he was expecting her to put out or anything (God, who would be that crass?), but because he genuinely liked her. He really really did. There was a whole stuff worth liking about Rosa, and nothing worth disliking, and plus she was really hot. And this was gonna turn out great, wasn't it? Since the last time, well, the last time had fallen apart because Dumbass Chick had fundamentally misrepresented the sitaution. She'd pretended she was a badass, when she was not. But Rosa? Rosa was great! And she was, above all else, honest. So whatever was about to happen, it'd turn out well.
But maybe that was being too cocky? Maybe.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Jonny. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
The gamble seemed a lot less worthwhile once the guy Rosa called out to actually replied. Setting aside the bizarre and pompous nature of the response (Ma'am? Client ledger? What the fuck), the speaker immediately identified himself with his voice where looks had failed. Jeremy freaking Franco. Whilst not the type of guy that Rosa would be worried would say... run around shooting people, but he'd surely sell them out if he thought it would save his own skin. The Fiametta had crossed paths with Jeremy back at Bayview more than once, and it had rarely been a good thing.
Even apart from the couple of specific incidents involving Jeremy and herself, the guy was just annoying. He was always telling tasteless jokes (one or two had gone around about Rosa's promiscuity that had his hallmarks on them), he was always bragging about how he'd made so much money, or was about to make so much money, or had plans to make so much money, etc, etc. Hypocritically, ego annoyed Rosa, and Jeremy had bundles of it.
And now here he was screwing around with some kind of ledger? That was so Franco and given the situation, so completely fucked up. He couldn't seriously be thinking about making money or turning some kind of profit at a time like this? Could he? ... With anybody else, the answer to that would have been a stonewall certainty. With Jeremy, Rosa's surety dropped dramatically.
But for all her distaste, Jeremy could be useful, to an extent. Not as an ally – god not as an ally, the dude was slime – but as a source of information. Rosa would have put a pretty safe bet on Jeremy having been memorising most of what he was seeing on the off chance it would benefit him. He always seemed to be getting hold of information, some of it more private than the rest (although once Jeremy had said info, it usually got to the standard of 'common knowledge' in record time). If anybody was going to know the whereabouts of either of her siblings, Jeremy was a better guess than most.
If that meant – fuck's sake – Rosa was going to have to make nice with him for a bit, then so be it. Until then, the Fiametta hadn't really considered it, but... how far would she go to make sure Frankie and Ily were both safe? Differences or no, the thought of either of them being... being killed. It set Rosa's heart racing, chest constricting. There were far bigger lengths to go to than being friendly to somebody she didn't like, if he potentially had information.
How much would I do? Is there a limit for those guys? Just... just what would I do to make sure that the pothead and the worrywart will be okay? I don't know where I'd draw the line. Fuck, I don't know. It... doesn't matter how far I have to go, not with Ily. Not with Frankie. They might be a stiff and a stoner but... they're all I've got.
As Jeremy reeled off his offer, seemingly eager to please indeed, Rosa forced a smile. Except, really, just a couple of people would have been able to distinguish it from the genuine article. It was practiced, it was easy. Rosa had spent years faking that smile, the little grin that for all the world looked filled with sincerity and warmth, that even to some extent reached her eyes. Rosa had a wealth of experience with that particular falsehood, too much.
But for all that, Rosa smiled at Jeremy Franco, not flirtatious or seductive in the slightest (though that too was something Rosa had considerable experience with) and when she spoke, she sounded genuinely pleased, happy. This... this wasn't the Rosa of the past couple of months, the wild Rosa, the devil may care Rosa who dyed her hair and acted with reckless abandon. This was the Rosa that, not too long ago, would have comfortably picked out this mini skirt and tight tank top (which she was still uncomfortably aware was sticking to her), and would have gone out to fall into bed with the first boy or girl willing to accommodate her.
"Oh Jeremy! I can't say how glad I am to hear that. There's so many nutjobs running around. I'm glad at least one guy has his head on straight," Right... let's not lay it on too thick. Now... interested, but not too eager, okay? "You say you're trying to help people? That's so kind of you, especially at a time like this. What uh... what kind of help are you talking about?"
Slipping back into this old... persona? Mindset? It came far too easily.
Even apart from the couple of specific incidents involving Jeremy and herself, the guy was just annoying. He was always telling tasteless jokes (one or two had gone around about Rosa's promiscuity that had his hallmarks on them), he was always bragging about how he'd made so much money, or was about to make so much money, or had plans to make so much money, etc, etc. Hypocritically, ego annoyed Rosa, and Jeremy had bundles of it.
And now here he was screwing around with some kind of ledger? That was so Franco and given the situation, so completely fucked up. He couldn't seriously be thinking about making money or turning some kind of profit at a time like this? Could he? ... With anybody else, the answer to that would have been a stonewall certainty. With Jeremy, Rosa's surety dropped dramatically.
But for all her distaste, Jeremy could be useful, to an extent. Not as an ally – god not as an ally, the dude was slime – but as a source of information. Rosa would have put a pretty safe bet on Jeremy having been memorising most of what he was seeing on the off chance it would benefit him. He always seemed to be getting hold of information, some of it more private than the rest (although once Jeremy had said info, it usually got to the standard of 'common knowledge' in record time). If anybody was going to know the whereabouts of either of her siblings, Jeremy was a better guess than most.
If that meant – fuck's sake – Rosa was going to have to make nice with him for a bit, then so be it. Until then, the Fiametta hadn't really considered it, but... how far would she go to make sure Frankie and Ily were both safe? Differences or no, the thought of either of them being... being killed. It set Rosa's heart racing, chest constricting. There were far bigger lengths to go to than being friendly to somebody she didn't like, if he potentially had information.
How much would I do? Is there a limit for those guys? Just... just what would I do to make sure that the pothead and the worrywart will be okay? I don't know where I'd draw the line. Fuck, I don't know. It... doesn't matter how far I have to go, not with Ily. Not with Frankie. They might be a stiff and a stoner but... they're all I've got.
As Jeremy reeled off his offer, seemingly eager to please indeed, Rosa forced a smile. Except, really, just a couple of people would have been able to distinguish it from the genuine article. It was practiced, it was easy. Rosa had spent years faking that smile, the little grin that for all the world looked filled with sincerity and warmth, that even to some extent reached her eyes. Rosa had a wealth of experience with that particular falsehood, too much.
But for all that, Rosa smiled at Jeremy Franco, not flirtatious or seductive in the slightest (though that too was something Rosa had considerable experience with) and when she spoke, she sounded genuinely pleased, happy. This... this wasn't the Rosa of the past couple of months, the wild Rosa, the devil may care Rosa who dyed her hair and acted with reckless abandon. This was the Rosa that, not too long ago, would have comfortably picked out this mini skirt and tight tank top (which she was still uncomfortably aware was sticking to her), and would have gone out to fall into bed with the first boy or girl willing to accommodate her.
"Oh Jeremy! I can't say how glad I am to hear that. There's so many nutjobs running around. I'm glad at least one guy has his head on straight," Right... let's not lay it on too thick. Now... interested, but not too eager, okay? "You say you're trying to help people? That's so kind of you, especially at a time like this. What uh... what kind of help are you talking about?"
Slipping back into this old... persona? Mindset? It came far too easily.
Something didn't... didn't... add up. It wasn't like Jeremy was expecting to fail or anything? No, no, it wasn't that at all. Jeremy was awesome and he was fully aware of being awesome so it was perfectly within reason to expect that he'd close a deal with Rosa (and if you're walking into a deal and not expecting to close it, why the fuck did you even show up). But it wasn't supposed to be this easy. Or this painless. She was supposed to call him a rat and a loser and a virgin (that last one wasn't even true, haha!) before she grudgingly admitted that yes she was most definitely buying what he was selling. Come on, I work up this superhuman tolerance to insults and you're not even gonna let me make use of it?
But she was being nice to him! Again, not something that Jeremy was entirely unused to. He wasn't about to break down and cry and see the error of his ways like this was the first time someone had ever said a kind word to him. It was just the circumstances. Clients in general didn't have the highest opinion of Jeremy, and Rosa had no real reason to be any different. In fact, she probably had more reason than average to hate him, since Jeremy may or may not have told a few awesome jokes about her promiscuity in his time (quick, what's the difference between Rosa Fiametta and a wind tunnel? You can puzzle that one out for yourself). And the island didn't seem like the kind of place to draw people closer together or reveal their hidden good natures, so... so what the fuck? Why was she being so friendly? What was so different now that it sparked this wave of kindness?
Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. The hat.
Alright, made sense. Case closed, time to move on.
"Well," Jeremy cleared his throat, "J. Franco and Associates provides a variety of services. Lemme give you an example, if you're low on food or water, then I've managed to procure a bit of an extra supply, so I could hook you up on that end." No look of excitement, so she probably wasn't interested. That's fine, go ahead and move on to the next rackets. "Or if you're looking for someone on the island, I might be able to help you out? I've been canvassing the island for clients these last few days, and by now I got myself a pretty good impression of where most people are."
"It's funny, you'd expect for people to move around a lot, same way I've been moving around, but for the most part everyone just stays put. It's like I'll show up somewhere at noon and see three people there, then I'll loop back around to that same spot maybe around sunset and the same three guys are there. It's sorta..." Maybe it was acceptable to use a metaphor here? Jeremy had a really, really good one, so it'd be a shame to let it go to waste. "Sorta like that game, Memory, with the cards that you flip over and you try to remember where all of them are and get yourself matching pairs." Jeremy punished at that game. No joke! "Once you figure out where a given person is on this island, it's usually pretty easy to go back and lead a client to them."
"So yeah, if that sounds interesting to you, maybe we can work something out? Like, if you got a friend you wanna meet up with, or if someone fucked with you and you're out for revenge, or I dunno if you and bro and sis have caught up yet, but I mean, like, that sound like something you're maybe interested in?"
This kicked ass, she was gonna say yes and she was gonna thank Jeremy so much for helping her out. And since he had his fucking awesome hat, she'd even be sincere when she did it!
But she was being nice to him! Again, not something that Jeremy was entirely unused to. He wasn't about to break down and cry and see the error of his ways like this was the first time someone had ever said a kind word to him. It was just the circumstances. Clients in general didn't have the highest opinion of Jeremy, and Rosa had no real reason to be any different. In fact, she probably had more reason than average to hate him, since Jeremy may or may not have told a few awesome jokes about her promiscuity in his time (quick, what's the difference between Rosa Fiametta and a wind tunnel? You can puzzle that one out for yourself). And the island didn't seem like the kind of place to draw people closer together or reveal their hidden good natures, so... so what the fuck? Why was she being so friendly? What was so different now that it sparked this wave of kindness?
Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. The hat.
Alright, made sense. Case closed, time to move on.
"Well," Jeremy cleared his throat, "J. Franco and Associates provides a variety of services. Lemme give you an example, if you're low on food or water, then I've managed to procure a bit of an extra supply, so I could hook you up on that end." No look of excitement, so she probably wasn't interested. That's fine, go ahead and move on to the next rackets. "Or if you're looking for someone on the island, I might be able to help you out? I've been canvassing the island for clients these last few days, and by now I got myself a pretty good impression of where most people are."
"It's funny, you'd expect for people to move around a lot, same way I've been moving around, but for the most part everyone just stays put. It's like I'll show up somewhere at noon and see three people there, then I'll loop back around to that same spot maybe around sunset and the same three guys are there. It's sorta..." Maybe it was acceptable to use a metaphor here? Jeremy had a really, really good one, so it'd be a shame to let it go to waste. "Sorta like that game, Memory, with the cards that you flip over and you try to remember where all of them are and get yourself matching pairs." Jeremy punished at that game. No joke! "Once you figure out where a given person is on this island, it's usually pretty easy to go back and lead a client to them."
"So yeah, if that sounds interesting to you, maybe we can work something out? Like, if you got a friend you wanna meet up with, or if someone fucked with you and you're out for revenge, or I dunno if you and bro and sis have caught up yet, but I mean, like, that sound like something you're maybe interested in?"
This kicked ass, she was gonna say yes and she was gonna thank Jeremy so much for helping her out. And since he had his fucking awesome hat, she'd even be sincere when she did it!
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Jonny. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
J. Franco and Associates. Are. You. Shitting. Me? I just can't believe how full of it this guy is. Earth to Franco? This is an island where somebody might be trying to kill you at any second, not hawking fucking potato chips out of your locker. Start taking this shit seriously for christ's sake ...And that hat is fucking stupid too. You look like a moron.
All of that went through Rosa's head, but naturally went unsaid. Instead, that false, endearing smile remained firmly in place, taking only a small effort to maintain in spite of her annoyance. She didn't even really need to think about it to do so. A few months back, the Fiametta would've whipped this expression out at a moment's notice. Rosa almost resented how little trouble she had with slapping the smile back on. Went to show that it took a lot more than bleached hair to change a person...
But now wasn't such a good time to be dwelling on those kinds of things. Rosa didn't need to think about the histories or the ease of being able to smile, just her reasons for doing it. Keeping Franco sweet in case he knew something. Sugar bought a whole lot more favours than twisting the arm. Next to everyone liked being buttered up and Jeremy didn't seem to be an exception to that rule. So much so that he didn't even act surprised about how friendly Rosa was being with him. Either he had a real short memory, or he thought she was an airhead that was too dumb to hold a grudge.
For some reason, a lot of guys thought that about pretty girls. Rosa had no idea if Jeremy was one of those types, but she wouldn't have been surprised to find it out.
Anyway, here came the pitch. It was time to find out whether Rosa could get anything of worth from the guy or if this had been a wasted conversation. The Fiametta listened... and she anticipated. Food and water was of no interest to Rosa at that moment. Insomuch as she could judge it, she wasn't in immediate danger of running out of either and nor were they what she was concerned about. Then, Franco, seemingly sensing her lack of enthusiasm, changed tack. And then hit the button.
Rosa didn't know if Jeremy was bullshitting about people not moving around much, but much as she didn't like him, she sincerely hoped that he wasn't. If he'd seen Ily or Frankie or (my god) both, then his help would be immediately invaluable. She took a couple of steps towards the guy, trying to mask her fervant interest. Part of her wanted to seize Jeremy and demand he tell her where to find her siblings, but... she had to keep her eyes on the prize. No good finding out that he could help her after all only to blow it by dropping the nice act.
The Fiametta leaned forward a little, locking eyes with Jeremy. A couple of guys, perhaps with more than a superficial interest in her, had told her in the past that her eyes were one of her best features. Rosa was used to flattery... compliments usually came from the guys who wanted to score (they usually did), but... maybe those couple had been true. She tried to emphasise it with the look into the other's eyes.
"You could help find Ily and Frankie? You'd do that for me? Wow Jeremy... you're a saint."
All of that went through Rosa's head, but naturally went unsaid. Instead, that false, endearing smile remained firmly in place, taking only a small effort to maintain in spite of her annoyance. She didn't even really need to think about it to do so. A few months back, the Fiametta would've whipped this expression out at a moment's notice. Rosa almost resented how little trouble she had with slapping the smile back on. Went to show that it took a lot more than bleached hair to change a person...
But now wasn't such a good time to be dwelling on those kinds of things. Rosa didn't need to think about the histories or the ease of being able to smile, just her reasons for doing it. Keeping Franco sweet in case he knew something. Sugar bought a whole lot more favours than twisting the arm. Next to everyone liked being buttered up and Jeremy didn't seem to be an exception to that rule. So much so that he didn't even act surprised about how friendly Rosa was being with him. Either he had a real short memory, or he thought she was an airhead that was too dumb to hold a grudge.
For some reason, a lot of guys thought that about pretty girls. Rosa had no idea if Jeremy was one of those types, but she wouldn't have been surprised to find it out.
Anyway, here came the pitch. It was time to find out whether Rosa could get anything of worth from the guy or if this had been a wasted conversation. The Fiametta listened... and she anticipated. Food and water was of no interest to Rosa at that moment. Insomuch as she could judge it, she wasn't in immediate danger of running out of either and nor were they what she was concerned about. Then, Franco, seemingly sensing her lack of enthusiasm, changed tack. And then hit the button.
Rosa didn't know if Jeremy was bullshitting about people not moving around much, but much as she didn't like him, she sincerely hoped that he wasn't. If he'd seen Ily or Frankie or (my god) both, then his help would be immediately invaluable. She took a couple of steps towards the guy, trying to mask her fervant interest. Part of her wanted to seize Jeremy and demand he tell her where to find her siblings, but... she had to keep her eyes on the prize. No good finding out that he could help her after all only to blow it by dropping the nice act.
The Fiametta leaned forward a little, locking eyes with Jeremy. A couple of guys, perhaps with more than a superficial interest in her, had told her in the past that her eyes were one of her best features. Rosa was used to flattery... compliments usually came from the guys who wanted to score (they usually did), but... maybe those couple had been true. She tried to emphasise it with the look into the other's eyes.
"You could help find Ily and Frankie? You'd do that for me? Wow Jeremy... you're a saint."
Aww, shucks, Jeremy wasn't a saint! At least... he didn't think of himself as one? It was... maybe an idea worth investigating? But something told Jeremy he'd come up empty-handed if he thought about that too hard. Probably some clause somewhere saying you're disqualified from sainthood if you've ripped a bunch of people off trading baseball cards- even if they had it coming because they didn't even have the common sense to know the estimated values of their own cards.
But still. It was nice of her to say.
"Listen, Rosa, don't mention it. It's like, I mean, what else am I gonna do on this island besides help out, besides I mean doing what I'm always doing which has always been providing services to the community? Like there's no way I'm gonna go kill someone, and to be a hundred percent honest I don't really have any really tight buddies of my own to go off searching for..." Nervous little laugh. Sympathize with Jeremy, please. "So this is what I can do. And... yeah. Hopefully we can come to whatever deal and agreement and I'll help you out."
Jeremy held up one finger and started carefully perusing the J. Franco & Associates Client Ledger. Flipping through pages, giving Rosa the impression that he'd done this plenty of times already, that he had plenty of happy customers, that he was a respectable businessman whom she could count on. Earning a little more of her trust every time his eyes darted back and forth across the page.
"Frankie... is... not in here. I'm sorry. If I've seen her at all, it wasn't a good enough look to record her location. That's... the bad news." Delivering bad news sucked. It was just the worst. "Good news is that Ilario is well and accounted for. Now, last time I saw him was quite a while ago, so there's no guarantee that he's still in the same place, but I think we can at the very least narrow it down to a likely range. And if we work this out I'll be at your side helping you track Ilario down, so we shouldn't really act like that's gonna be too big of an issue or anything."
Now the tricky part.
"Thing is, I... well, I already mentioned working out a deal and, yeah, here's that part of it. Thing is that running the kind of business I've been running on this island, you sorta accumulate your operating costs and you take a lot of risks, stick your neck out and all that. I mean like I said, nobody's really moving around too much- and that's smart of them on account of moving around is getting exposed and putting yourself in danger- but I'm doing that pretty much every waking moment. So... some kind of... I guess what I mean to say is I just need some sort of compensation."
What kind? Not a hat. He already had a hat. Maybe just put the ball in her court.
"Doesn't have to be anything big or anything. Just, I mean, if you're interested, go ahead and make me an offer and I guess we'll see if we can work it out?"
But still. It was nice of her to say.
"Listen, Rosa, don't mention it. It's like, I mean, what else am I gonna do on this island besides help out, besides I mean doing what I'm always doing which has always been providing services to the community? Like there's no way I'm gonna go kill someone, and to be a hundred percent honest I don't really have any really tight buddies of my own to go off searching for..." Nervous little laugh. Sympathize with Jeremy, please. "So this is what I can do. And... yeah. Hopefully we can come to whatever deal and agreement and I'll help you out."
Jeremy held up one finger and started carefully perusing the J. Franco & Associates Client Ledger. Flipping through pages, giving Rosa the impression that he'd done this plenty of times already, that he had plenty of happy customers, that he was a respectable businessman whom she could count on. Earning a little more of her trust every time his eyes darted back and forth across the page.
"Frankie... is... not in here. I'm sorry. If I've seen her at all, it wasn't a good enough look to record her location. That's... the bad news." Delivering bad news sucked. It was just the worst. "Good news is that Ilario is well and accounted for. Now, last time I saw him was quite a while ago, so there's no guarantee that he's still in the same place, but I think we can at the very least narrow it down to a likely range. And if we work this out I'll be at your side helping you track Ilario down, so we shouldn't really act like that's gonna be too big of an issue or anything."
Now the tricky part.
"Thing is, I... well, I already mentioned working out a deal and, yeah, here's that part of it. Thing is that running the kind of business I've been running on this island, you sorta accumulate your operating costs and you take a lot of risks, stick your neck out and all that. I mean like I said, nobody's really moving around too much- and that's smart of them on account of moving around is getting exposed and putting yourself in danger- but I'm doing that pretty much every waking moment. So... some kind of... I guess what I mean to say is I just need some sort of compensation."
What kind? Not a hat. He already had a hat. Maybe just put the ball in her court.
"Doesn't have to be anything big or anything. Just, I mean, if you're interested, go ahead and make me an offer and I guess we'll see if we can work it out?"
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And... the catch. Always a catch. Rosa had been expecting it, because hell this was Jeremy Franco they were talking and what he did was make deals. But... hearing it put straight up like that made her realise something pretty damn important. Namely, that she didn't actually have anything to really offer him. Fuck. The ratbastard actually fucking knew something, but he wouldn't tell Rosa unless she... what? Goddammit, he was holding all the cards and she didn't even have an ace in the hole.
Rosa did a quick mental run down of the inventory. Walkie talkies. Right, because those would be a great bargaining chip. A draw that wasn't even a weapon and was barely useful. Supplies? No, Jeremy had already mentioned having surplus, he wouldn't care about getting more. The rest of the stuff in her bag? Nothing that Jeremy would be interested in. Just clothes and a couple of snacks, and Rosa doubted that Franco had any designs on crossdressing.
Oh fuck. He fucking knew but she couldn't offer anything to him and she was about to blow a gasket because of his stupid faux-apologetic face and he'd seen Ilario and Rosa had to keep her temper but it was fucking difficult and this goddamn SHIRT wouldn't stop sticking to he-...
Oh.
It hit her like a freight train. No, like a fucking oil tanker.
She had everything to offer to him, Everything she'd been offering for most of her teenage years.
But... no! No! I can't just- that's totally... Fuck! How else can I get him to talk? But... I ... that's not even just screwing somebody. That's fucking prostitution! I... my fucking god. I... What were you just thinking, Rosa? ...Ilario's out there somewhere. Franco knows where. I don't have time to wheedle it out of him... I don't even know if I could. It's in my power, it has to be, that's the kind of guy Franco is. ...I can do it. For them both, right? I've... I've done it for less.
Well. This'll certainly be a highlight of your life.
Rosa, quite deliberately, bit her lip, shifted her feet a little bit. Acting demurely. But it was just that, an act. She didn't know why she even bothered with it. Perhaps a front of reluctance made things... a little better. Except that it didn't. It really, really didn't. It changed nothing. She was going to give herself up... just for information.
Ilario had better fucking appreciate this.
Then she stepped toward him with purpose, closing the distance quickly. With practiced ease, Rosa slipped an arm around Jeremy's waist and pulled herself up against him. Tightly. Her breasts, under only a single layer of fabric, were squashed into Jeremy's chest, whilst her other hand slid down to his crotch. She gripped him through his pants, gently of course, but applying enough pressure to make sure he'd most definitely know about it.
Working her head into the crook of his neck, Rosa breathed softly against his ear for a couple of seconds, then murmured to him. 'How's this offer sounding to you so far?"
Whore. Whore. You fucking WHORE.
Jeremy laughed, sounding pretty damn nervous, then answered. "Well that's, uh, that's not really what I had in mind or- what I mean to say is that I mean, of course you're beautiful and everything so don't get me and wrong, but I'd just never take advantage of you or anything or try to force you to do something like that against your will or- but basically if you want to then yeah, yeah, that sounds great and I love it!"
So much babble. He'd said yes, just as she'd expected. Hoped? Well, perhaps. Rosa couldn't help but feel that she'd have been less than upset if Jeremy had turned her down. Still, he was excited (and she was pretty sure she could tell that in more ways than just his voice), maybe she could 'negotiate' a little. It'd feel... less dirty. Shifting herself around so that she could both hold onto Jeremy with both hands and press her lower body against him too, Rosa moved in again.
And kissed him. Fully. One could almost call it passionately, certainly, Rosa's turmoil wasn't showing in the way that she was willing to practically force her tongue down Jeremy's throat. They played tonsil hockey for a couple of seconds, then Rosa broke off, breathing a little heavier. Alright, this was the only chance she'd have to salvage a semblance of dignity.
"Alright Jeremy... here's the deal. Tell me your info about Ilario. And then you..." Rosa lowered her voice a little in what would probably be mistaken for seductive but was actually down to not wanting the embarrassment of announcing it for the world to hear on camera, "You can have me. Any way you want, whatever gets you going, I'll do it... Anything Jeremy."
She accentuated that with what could only be described as a grind against him. "And then... once you take me to him, you can have, uh... seconds," Rosa paused, then decided to remphasise the selling point. "Whatever you want, anything you can think of. All those things you fantasised about but were too scared to actually try," Rosa leaned again, at a whisper. "I'm yours to do them."
Rosa did a quick mental run down of the inventory. Walkie talkies. Right, because those would be a great bargaining chip. A draw that wasn't even a weapon and was barely useful. Supplies? No, Jeremy had already mentioned having surplus, he wouldn't care about getting more. The rest of the stuff in her bag? Nothing that Jeremy would be interested in. Just clothes and a couple of snacks, and Rosa doubted that Franco had any designs on crossdressing.
Oh fuck. He fucking knew but she couldn't offer anything to him and she was about to blow a gasket because of his stupid faux-apologetic face and he'd seen Ilario and Rosa had to keep her temper but it was fucking difficult and this goddamn SHIRT wouldn't stop sticking to he-...
Oh.
It hit her like a freight train. No, like a fucking oil tanker.
She had everything to offer to him, Everything she'd been offering for most of her teenage years.
But... no! No! I can't just- that's totally... Fuck! How else can I get him to talk? But... I ... that's not even just screwing somebody. That's fucking prostitution! I... my fucking god. I... What were you just thinking, Rosa? ...Ilario's out there somewhere. Franco knows where. I don't have time to wheedle it out of him... I don't even know if I could. It's in my power, it has to be, that's the kind of guy Franco is. ...I can do it. For them both, right? I've... I've done it for less.
Well. This'll certainly be a highlight of your life.
Rosa, quite deliberately, bit her lip, shifted her feet a little bit. Acting demurely. But it was just that, an act. She didn't know why she even bothered with it. Perhaps a front of reluctance made things... a little better. Except that it didn't. It really, really didn't. It changed nothing. She was going to give herself up... just for information.
Ilario had better fucking appreciate this.
Then she stepped toward him with purpose, closing the distance quickly. With practiced ease, Rosa slipped an arm around Jeremy's waist and pulled herself up against him. Tightly. Her breasts, under only a single layer of fabric, were squashed into Jeremy's chest, whilst her other hand slid down to his crotch. She gripped him through his pants, gently of course, but applying enough pressure to make sure he'd most definitely know about it.
Working her head into the crook of his neck, Rosa breathed softly against his ear for a couple of seconds, then murmured to him. 'How's this offer sounding to you so far?"
Whore. Whore. You fucking WHORE.
Jeremy laughed, sounding pretty damn nervous, then answered. "Well that's, uh, that's not really what I had in mind or- what I mean to say is that I mean, of course you're beautiful and everything so don't get me and wrong, but I'd just never take advantage of you or anything or try to force you to do something like that against your will or- but basically if you want to then yeah, yeah, that sounds great and I love it!"
So much babble. He'd said yes, just as she'd expected. Hoped? Well, perhaps. Rosa couldn't help but feel that she'd have been less than upset if Jeremy had turned her down. Still, he was excited (and she was pretty sure she could tell that in more ways than just his voice), maybe she could 'negotiate' a little. It'd feel... less dirty. Shifting herself around so that she could both hold onto Jeremy with both hands and press her lower body against him too, Rosa moved in again.
And kissed him. Fully. One could almost call it passionately, certainly, Rosa's turmoil wasn't showing in the way that she was willing to practically force her tongue down Jeremy's throat. They played tonsil hockey for a couple of seconds, then Rosa broke off, breathing a little heavier. Alright, this was the only chance she'd have to salvage a semblance of dignity.
"Alright Jeremy... here's the deal. Tell me your info about Ilario. And then you..." Rosa lowered her voice a little in what would probably be mistaken for seductive but was actually down to not wanting the embarrassment of announcing it for the world to hear on camera, "You can have me. Any way you want, whatever gets you going, I'll do it... Anything Jeremy."
She accentuated that with what could only be described as a grind against him. "And then... once you take me to him, you can have, uh... seconds," Rosa paused, then decided to remphasise the selling point. "Whatever you want, anything you can think of. All those things you fantasised about but were too scared to actually try," Rosa leaned again, at a whisper. "I'm yours to do them."
A ha. A hahahahahahaha. Ha ha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YES. Good lord good fucking Christ holy shit this was the best. This- unbelievable. There was this section of Jeremy's mind, all fenced in and a sign with big red letters labeling it WILDEST DREAMS, and Jeremy was knocking the gates down and bursting in and then shooting right beyond the whole place. While riding a burning robot dinosaur. That's how awesome his situation was.
But this was no time for Jeremy to be resting on his laurels. Oh no no no. There was still a lot of work to be done here, because- can you fucking believe it?- Rosa said she wasn't done. He just had to tell her where Ilario was, and then his day was about to get ten times more awesome. Easy. And then once they found him, they'd do it all again. Not so easy. And it'd kinda be awkward what with Ilario being around- was he gonna watch? Was he into that sorta thing? Fuck it, Ilario could do whatever he wanted. Jeremy was gonna have another shot at heaven with Rosa and everything would be totally worth it.
Jeremy wondered for a second if he was maybe pressing his luck a little.
And then he remembered, haha, of course he wasn't, because he had a fucking lucky hat.
"I... wow, Rosa, I never expected I... you're a really amazing girl, you know that? I mean, of course I'll help you find your brother now, it's- deal's done, deal's made, boom, sold, no haggling necessary!" Nervous laugh. Why the fuck couldn't he stop doing that? "Okay, okay. I saw Ilario at the- oh God, what do you call it-" whirled his finger in the pattern of a circle, clearly indicating a ferris wheel but Rosa didn't seem to have any guesses so she wasn't helping- "Fun Fair! Right, Jesus, sorry about that, the name just got away from me for a sec is all but yeah, that's where I saw him and if we're lucky that's where he's still hanging out."
Jeremy shifted his weight around a little. That wasn't enough details. He needed more, or else she wouldn't believe him. Or else she'd just tell him that she wasn't buying it because if he couldn't paint her a picture that meant he obviously hadn't seen Ilario so he could just go fuck himself which was not the kind of fucking Jeremy was interested in. So he had to win her over with details. That's what had worked with dumbass chick. That's how you make a sale. With the details.
"See, the guy was sorta rattled, he was sorta freaking out and I think the island was sorta getting to him because that's what it does to you, y'know? That's just the sorta game this place plays. Anyway, I think he's probably fine right now cause I did my best to calm him down and help him out-" details that make you look good are the best details- "and then I told him he should stay put. So unless some kinda dangerous character showed up and scared him off- which I mean, I hope that didn't happen since I like the guy too- then he's probably still at the Fun Fair and we should head on over there!"
Perfect.
"Looks like we can maybe hit the place before sundown if we- if we... hey, Rosa, something wrong? You, uh, alright?"
Her facial expression was indicating quite clearly that yes, there was something wrong, and no, she was not alright.
Fuck.
But this was no time for Jeremy to be resting on his laurels. Oh no no no. There was still a lot of work to be done here, because- can you fucking believe it?- Rosa said she wasn't done. He just had to tell her where Ilario was, and then his day was about to get ten times more awesome. Easy. And then once they found him, they'd do it all again. Not so easy. And it'd kinda be awkward what with Ilario being around- was he gonna watch? Was he into that sorta thing? Fuck it, Ilario could do whatever he wanted. Jeremy was gonna have another shot at heaven with Rosa and everything would be totally worth it.
Jeremy wondered for a second if he was maybe pressing his luck a little.
And then he remembered, haha, of course he wasn't, because he had a fucking lucky hat.
"I... wow, Rosa, I never expected I... you're a really amazing girl, you know that? I mean, of course I'll help you find your brother now, it's- deal's done, deal's made, boom, sold, no haggling necessary!" Nervous laugh. Why the fuck couldn't he stop doing that? "Okay, okay. I saw Ilario at the- oh God, what do you call it-" whirled his finger in the pattern of a circle, clearly indicating a ferris wheel but Rosa didn't seem to have any guesses so she wasn't helping- "Fun Fair! Right, Jesus, sorry about that, the name just got away from me for a sec is all but yeah, that's where I saw him and if we're lucky that's where he's still hanging out."
Jeremy shifted his weight around a little. That wasn't enough details. He needed more, or else she wouldn't believe him. Or else she'd just tell him that she wasn't buying it because if he couldn't paint her a picture that meant he obviously hadn't seen Ilario so he could just go fuck himself which was not the kind of fucking Jeremy was interested in. So he had to win her over with details. That's what had worked with dumbass chick. That's how you make a sale. With the details.
"See, the guy was sorta rattled, he was sorta freaking out and I think the island was sorta getting to him because that's what it does to you, y'know? That's just the sorta game this place plays. Anyway, I think he's probably fine right now cause I did my best to calm him down and help him out-" details that make you look good are the best details- "and then I told him he should stay put. So unless some kinda dangerous character showed up and scared him off- which I mean, I hope that didn't happen since I like the guy too- then he's probably still at the Fun Fair and we should head on over there!"
Perfect.
"Looks like we can maybe hit the place before sundown if we- if we... hey, Rosa, something wrong? You, uh, alright?"
Her facial expression was indicating quite clearly that yes, there was something wrong, and no, she was not alright.
Fuck.
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Mentally, Rosa began to psyche herself up for what was to come (oh goddammit). Jeremy really, really wasn't making it any easier on her with the terminology he insisted on using. Referring to this as a deal made it sound like... well it made it sound like exactly what it was - that she was going to fuck somebody for a fee. Oh sure, it wasn't literally for money, but it was good as. Jesus Christ. Rosa was really going to do this, wasn't she?
No backing out now...
Shut up with the stupid FUCKING compliments and get to the FUCKING point you prick. Rosa thought, but did not say, since she'd already tossed the scraps of her self-respect out of the window in making the offer in the first place.
Rosa tried not to think about what was going to happen and the twisting knots in her stomach in favour of attempting to pare the babble out of Jeremy's story into the parts which were actually relevant, committing them to memory as best as she damn well could.
That little fact was probably why, when Jeremy continued to speak, that Rosa's expression changed quite as much as it did. Normally, she had a pretty good poker face, but to hear something that struck her as so fundamentally wrong took her off guard so much that her mask slipped. The fake smile vanished from Rosa's face and her eyes narrowed.
Ilario. Freaking out. Ilario, being calmed down by Jeremy goddamn Franco? No, no fucking way. Ily was a worrywart and he got damn worked up over things, but when had he ever well and truly lost his cool? Never. Ilario never lost his composure, he ALWAYS maintained his air of calm and confidence. Maybe he didn't have the balls to tick her off, but nor did he ever lose his temper at her or Frankie. That would have been odd (suspicious?) enough in of itself to Rosa, but the second part tipped it over the edge. If anything had rattled Ilario that badly, of all the people to get his head back on straight... Jeremy Franco was not one that Rosa would pick.
Which meant Jeremy Franco was lying.
"You know, Jeremy, this 'deal' of ours kind've relies on you... oh I don't know, telling me the fucking truth. Just thought I'd throw that out there. This is my brother, Jeremy, I know my brother, so don't you even fucking DARE to bullshit me. If you know and you want me to fulfil my side of the bargain, then say, if you don't..." Rosa's glare intensified. "This is not me pissed, Jeremy. Where's Ily?" Inspiration. "How was he dressed? See his weapon?"
If you're lying, you piece of shit...
No backing out now...
Shut up with the stupid FUCKING compliments and get to the FUCKING point you prick. Rosa thought, but did not say, since she'd already tossed the scraps of her self-respect out of the window in making the offer in the first place.
Rosa tried not to think about what was going to happen and the twisting knots in her stomach in favour of attempting to pare the babble out of Jeremy's story into the parts which were actually relevant, committing them to memory as best as she damn well could.
That little fact was probably why, when Jeremy continued to speak, that Rosa's expression changed quite as much as it did. Normally, she had a pretty good poker face, but to hear something that struck her as so fundamentally wrong took her off guard so much that her mask slipped. The fake smile vanished from Rosa's face and her eyes narrowed.
Ilario. Freaking out. Ilario, being calmed down by Jeremy goddamn Franco? No, no fucking way. Ily was a worrywart and he got damn worked up over things, but when had he ever well and truly lost his cool? Never. Ilario never lost his composure, he ALWAYS maintained his air of calm and confidence. Maybe he didn't have the balls to tick her off, but nor did he ever lose his temper at her or Frankie. That would have been odd (suspicious?) enough in of itself to Rosa, but the second part tipped it over the edge. If anything had rattled Ilario that badly, of all the people to get his head back on straight... Jeremy Franco was not one that Rosa would pick.
Which meant Jeremy Franco was lying.
"You know, Jeremy, this 'deal' of ours kind've relies on you... oh I don't know, telling me the fucking truth. Just thought I'd throw that out there. This is my brother, Jeremy, I know my brother, so don't you even fucking DARE to bullshit me. If you know and you want me to fulfil my side of the bargain, then say, if you don't..." Rosa's glare intensified. "This is not me pissed, Jeremy. Where's Ily?" Inspiration. "How was he dressed? See his weapon?"
If you're lying, you piece of shit...
This is not over this is not over this is not a fuckup you can fix this. A lesser businessman wouldn't be able to fix this! They would fuck up here, they would back down like maybe they'd admit to everything and say they were sorry. Back down? That would be cowardice. Backing down when you haven't exhausted all your options is cowardice. It's giving up when you don't need to, it's fucking pathetic. Wasn't gonna happen. Wasn't gonna happen. If Jeremy was gonna say he was sorry, it was only gonna be after he'd gone through every other possible option.
At which point saying sorry would be totally okay and he'd be completely alright with it and nobody could make him feel bad about it.
But first. "Okay, whoa whoa whoa! I- alright, first off! Fun Fair, like I said, that's where I saw him last, that's where he's still gonna be unless he- maybe, I dunno, maybe he decided he wasn't gonna wait around for me to find you or your sister and he just took off on his own? But I told him he ought to say put and he said he would so Fun Fair, that's where we're going, I mean it!"
That's not what she was really asking, though. She wants proof. So give her proof, and do it fast. Try not to say a bunch of useless bullshit words you don't need to say, alright?
"Now, uh, more important. Far as weapons go, he had a- Christ, those little toy guns that shoot foam stuff at- nerf guns? Is that it? Yeah, I think that's what they're called, he had one of those. Obviously wasn't pointing it at anyone, or- uh, right."
Yeah, that was a start. It seemed honest, right? Like he was struggling to remember the name of something he'd definitely absolutely seen, not struggling to come up with a lie? It was- yeah, no, it was good. She would believe it. She had no reason to doubt it, unless- wait shit, maybe she'd already seen someone with a nerf gun and she'd get suspicious of the idea that someone else had them? But how the fuck was Jeremy supposed to know that? Acceptable risk.
"Next question was... clothes? Like what was he wearing?" What the fuck? How was Jeremy supposed to know that, even if he had seen Ilario? "I mean I don't- look, Rosa, I've met up with a couple dozen people here already, I can't really remember what every one of them is wearing and like- a nice shirt, does that sound right?- besides, our conversation, me and him, it sorta took place at a bit of a distance like I didn't really ever get up to right next to him so I don't really remember all the... details, I mean, yeah."
This felt uncomfortable, a bit. She probably wasn't entirely sold yet.
"Look, Rosa, can I just say one thing? I mean, no doubt you know your brother way way better than I ever will, but like, think about it this way, neither of us have ever seen him before, like, when he's on an island and he's on SotF. So I think maybe if it sounds weird that he freaked out, I think- he was probably just, y'know, not really used to the whole thing and it all just comes at once, like- I mean, I freaked out too! I just, haha, probably I got lucky by waking up earlier than he did, you know? Yeah?"
It was all so reasonable! It all made so much sense. There was pretty much no way she could call bullshit on any of that, no way she could react with anything other than a grudging Alright Jeremy, go ahead and take me to him, unless
At which point saying sorry would be totally okay and he'd be completely alright with it and nobody could make him feel bad about it.
But first. "Okay, whoa whoa whoa! I- alright, first off! Fun Fair, like I said, that's where I saw him last, that's where he's still gonna be unless he- maybe, I dunno, maybe he decided he wasn't gonna wait around for me to find you or your sister and he just took off on his own? But I told him he ought to say put and he said he would so Fun Fair, that's where we're going, I mean it!"
That's not what she was really asking, though. She wants proof. So give her proof, and do it fast. Try not to say a bunch of useless bullshit words you don't need to say, alright?
"Now, uh, more important. Far as weapons go, he had a- Christ, those little toy guns that shoot foam stuff at- nerf guns? Is that it? Yeah, I think that's what they're called, he had one of those. Obviously wasn't pointing it at anyone, or- uh, right."
Yeah, that was a start. It seemed honest, right? Like he was struggling to remember the name of something he'd definitely absolutely seen, not struggling to come up with a lie? It was- yeah, no, it was good. She would believe it. She had no reason to doubt it, unless- wait shit, maybe she'd already seen someone with a nerf gun and she'd get suspicious of the idea that someone else had them? But how the fuck was Jeremy supposed to know that? Acceptable risk.
"Next question was... clothes? Like what was he wearing?" What the fuck? How was Jeremy supposed to know that, even if he had seen Ilario? "I mean I don't- look, Rosa, I've met up with a couple dozen people here already, I can't really remember what every one of them is wearing and like- a nice shirt, does that sound right?- besides, our conversation, me and him, it sorta took place at a bit of a distance like I didn't really ever get up to right next to him so I don't really remember all the... details, I mean, yeah."
This felt uncomfortable, a bit. She probably wasn't entirely sold yet.
"Look, Rosa, can I just say one thing? I mean, no doubt you know your brother way way better than I ever will, but like, think about it this way, neither of us have ever seen him before, like, when he's on an island and he's on SotF. So I think maybe if it sounds weird that he freaked out, I think- he was probably just, y'know, not really used to the whole thing and it all just comes at once, like- I mean, I freaked out too! I just, haha, probably I got lucky by waking up earlier than he did, you know? Yeah?"
It was all so reasonable! It all made so much sense. There was pretty much no way she could call bullshit on any of that, no way she could react with anything other than a grudging Alright Jeremy, go ahead and take me to him, unless
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Jonny. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
He was scrambling, he was trying to find a lie, he had to be. It was just too familiar for it to be anything else. Rosa had been there - a detail not quite being right, getting picking up on and holes being punched in the story. She'd dealt with it from this side before too, a couple of boyfriends that weren't exactly loyal, getting snarled up in their own lies. Their expressions... they'd been near identical to the look that Jeremy had on his face now. The pauses for remembering... they were just the kind of shifty tactic somebody would pull when they were groping. And he was groping, hard.
Maybe the bright side was that he wouldn't get to grope in another fashion.
Every word out of Jeremy's mouth dug him a deeper hole, built up Rosa's rage. She let him keep talking though, perhaps for too long... because in it all, she had a hope. A little, tiny glimmer, but a hope nontheless. That her paranoia was wrong and Jeremy really was just getting things muddled because he didn't expect to be second guessed, not because he was making it up on the spot. Because, whatever the nature of all of this and how downright dirty the 'deal' was... Rosa wanted to see Ilario. She wanted to see Frankie. She wanted to tell them both that, well, she really did care about them, that for all the shit they put each other through (especially the two girls to Ily), they were her siblings and she loved them a lot. Damn sight more than any of the rest of her family, anyway. Fuck Junior, it was her brother and sister that really mattered to her, in a weird, half-hating kind of way. It wasn't Ilario Fiametta III's fault that Ilario Fiametta Jr didn't give a fuck about his daughters, played favourites... they weren't the same guy.
But Jeremy continued to speak, and his story tied itself in so many knots that even that faint ember was snuffed out. Contradictions, twists and turns, correcting himself in the middle of the next sentence, as if he was taking a complete stab in the dark - what kind of answer was 'a nice shirt'? - no shit Ily would be dressed well. Not to mention apparently being able to calm him down whilst having a conversation at a distance. Right.
Time to show Jeremy some of that notorious Fiametta temper.
Rosa screamed a string of Italian curses into Jeremy's face, practically unitelligible even to anybody who spoke her first language and then drove her knee as hard as she could into his groin. Not happy with that, as Jeremy folded up, Rosa wound up then punched him straight in the face, the impact sending a jolt through her body and hurting her knuckles to boot. She swore at him one last time and then... well, then she ran like hell.
Rosa wasn't a lunatic, nor did she want to beat the shit out of Jeremy... just hurt him. The suckerpunch got her point across.
But now it was back to square one.
((Rosa Fiammetta continued in Fell Tidings)
Maybe the bright side was that he wouldn't get to grope in another fashion.
Every word out of Jeremy's mouth dug him a deeper hole, built up Rosa's rage. She let him keep talking though, perhaps for too long... because in it all, she had a hope. A little, tiny glimmer, but a hope nontheless. That her paranoia was wrong and Jeremy really was just getting things muddled because he didn't expect to be second guessed, not because he was making it up on the spot. Because, whatever the nature of all of this and how downright dirty the 'deal' was... Rosa wanted to see Ilario. She wanted to see Frankie. She wanted to tell them both that, well, she really did care about them, that for all the shit they put each other through (especially the two girls to Ily), they were her siblings and she loved them a lot. Damn sight more than any of the rest of her family, anyway. Fuck Junior, it was her brother and sister that really mattered to her, in a weird, half-hating kind of way. It wasn't Ilario Fiametta III's fault that Ilario Fiametta Jr didn't give a fuck about his daughters, played favourites... they weren't the same guy.
But Jeremy continued to speak, and his story tied itself in so many knots that even that faint ember was snuffed out. Contradictions, twists and turns, correcting himself in the middle of the next sentence, as if he was taking a complete stab in the dark - what kind of answer was 'a nice shirt'? - no shit Ily would be dressed well. Not to mention apparently being able to calm him down whilst having a conversation at a distance. Right.
Time to show Jeremy some of that notorious Fiametta temper.
Rosa screamed a string of Italian curses into Jeremy's face, practically unitelligible even to anybody who spoke her first language and then drove her knee as hard as she could into his groin. Not happy with that, as Jeremy folded up, Rosa wound up then punched him straight in the face, the impact sending a jolt through her body and hurting her knuckles to boot. She swore at him one last time and then... well, then she ran like hell.
Rosa wasn't a lunatic, nor did she want to beat the shit out of Jeremy... just hurt him. The suckerpunch got her point across.
But now it was back to square one.
((Rosa Fiammetta continued in Fell Tidings)
Man's reach exceeds his grasp.
Someone wise and famous had said that once. It was probably, uh, Shakespeare seemed like a good bet, unless it was one of those things where you think it was Shakespeare but really it was just some douchebag who wrote a play in the 1920's and now nobody even remembers anything about them except one quote they made. Well, no, Jeremy couldn't really go around calling that guy a douchebag, since he'd said some quote that applied pretty well to Jeremy's current situation and that had to be worth something, or whatever. Because, like, Jeremy had tried to reach for having lots of sex with Rosa, but that ended up exceeding his grasp, which was sorta what the quote was about and so it really got him on a personal level.
Question: Why the fuck was Jeremy Franco even thinking about this right now?
Answer: Anything, absolutely anything, to take his mind off the searing pain in his balls.
Didn't work too well. An unedited version of the above thoughts would have likely contained one or two interruptions every sentence, one or two instances of Oh Jesus Christ my balls, the pain, the pain. Not a good place to be. The worst place to be. Just a bunch of spasms and maybe he was also crying a little (but maybe not so don't necessarily act like he is, that would be unfair to the guy!) and maybe he was sorta grabbing onto some clumps of dirt with his hands and clenching and tugging and tearing and trying to just fucking do something right now. Furiously grabbing a patch of dirt didn't mean shit, but it was something. It was accomplishing something. It was succeeding at something.
Basically, it was the opposite of everything he'd just done for the last however long his conversation with Rosa had lasted. Three minutes? Five? How long had it taken him to fuck everything up so royally?
Or, uh, or maybe not? Maybe... not... too royally? It was like... yes, on one hand, you can go ahead and call it pathetic delusion for Jeremy to try to spin this all into a positive. But on the other, he does not even slightly give a shit about that and he's gonna do it anyway. Here goes, don't laugh: he actually came out ahead when you averaged what just happened to him. Yeah, there was a lot of pain right now, that was unavoidable. Oh well, he could fucking deal with it. It'd fade after a while and he'd be up on his feet again and he'd deal with it like a fucking man. But, like, look at this way, how many guys could say they'd gotten that far with Rosa?
Wait, no. Wrong way to look at it.
Rosa was really hot. There we go, that was a better way to look at it. Rosa had just done sex acts to him and Rosa was really hot. Make whatever cracks you want about her being a slut (no seriously, go ahead, Jeremy will probably join in), but she was still fucking hot so getting to make out with her meant something. It meant a LOT. It meant that all this pain- even now, fading, getting more manageable- had been worth it. It meant that Jeremy had, despite his failure to reap the biggest reward of all, still come out of the situation doing pretty well for himself.
It meant Jeremy had turned a profit.
Okay. That's probably an exaggeration. More like broke even.
But regardless. He did the only thing he could, now that the pain was subsiding enough for him to move properly again. He got up, he dusted himself off, and he set off in search of some more profit to turn.
(Jeremy Franco continued in The Beggar King)
Someone wise and famous had said that once. It was probably, uh, Shakespeare seemed like a good bet, unless it was one of those things where you think it was Shakespeare but really it was just some douchebag who wrote a play in the 1920's and now nobody even remembers anything about them except one quote they made. Well, no, Jeremy couldn't really go around calling that guy a douchebag, since he'd said some quote that applied pretty well to Jeremy's current situation and that had to be worth something, or whatever. Because, like, Jeremy had tried to reach for having lots of sex with Rosa, but that ended up exceeding his grasp, which was sorta what the quote was about and so it really got him on a personal level.
Question: Why the fuck was Jeremy Franco even thinking about this right now?
Answer: Anything, absolutely anything, to take his mind off the searing pain in his balls.
Didn't work too well. An unedited version of the above thoughts would have likely contained one or two interruptions every sentence, one or two instances of Oh Jesus Christ my balls, the pain, the pain. Not a good place to be. The worst place to be. Just a bunch of spasms and maybe he was also crying a little (but maybe not so don't necessarily act like he is, that would be unfair to the guy!) and maybe he was sorta grabbing onto some clumps of dirt with his hands and clenching and tugging and tearing and trying to just fucking do something right now. Furiously grabbing a patch of dirt didn't mean shit, but it was something. It was accomplishing something. It was succeeding at something.
Basically, it was the opposite of everything he'd just done for the last however long his conversation with Rosa had lasted. Three minutes? Five? How long had it taken him to fuck everything up so royally?
Or, uh, or maybe not? Maybe... not... too royally? It was like... yes, on one hand, you can go ahead and call it pathetic delusion for Jeremy to try to spin this all into a positive. But on the other, he does not even slightly give a shit about that and he's gonna do it anyway. Here goes, don't laugh: he actually came out ahead when you averaged what just happened to him. Yeah, there was a lot of pain right now, that was unavoidable. Oh well, he could fucking deal with it. It'd fade after a while and he'd be up on his feet again and he'd deal with it like a fucking man. But, like, look at this way, how many guys could say they'd gotten that far with Rosa?
Wait, no. Wrong way to look at it.
Rosa was really hot. There we go, that was a better way to look at it. Rosa had just done sex acts to him and Rosa was really hot. Make whatever cracks you want about her being a slut (no seriously, go ahead, Jeremy will probably join in), but she was still fucking hot so getting to make out with her meant something. It meant a LOT. It meant that all this pain- even now, fading, getting more manageable- had been worth it. It meant that Jeremy had, despite his failure to reap the biggest reward of all, still come out of the situation doing pretty well for himself.
It meant Jeremy had turned a profit.
Okay. That's probably an exaggeration. More like broke even.
But regardless. He did the only thing he could, now that the pain was subsiding enough for him to move properly again. He got up, he dusted himself off, and he set off in search of some more profit to turn.
(Jeremy Franco continued in The Beggar King)
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Jonny. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.