[ Winning Love by Daylight ]

[overextend]

Who: Subaki (overextend), Corrin (dragonspawn), Niles (locktouches)
When: 08/12
Where: Three men, one NPC, and a porn shop.
What: Escort Mission ala Job Post.
Rating: N for Niles.



[ These jobs are starting to become more trouble than they're worth. Four hundred colle isn't enough to compensate for the amount of times they had to stop and run errands with the young lady they happened to be guarding for the evening. While Subaki is more than happy to perform his duties accordingly and without complaint, he can't help but feel like they're all being taken advantage of when she makes her seventh stop in the market. How many errands could she possibly need to run at this hour?

As if to make matters more troubling, he's had the honor of sharing breathing space with Niles for far more hours than he cares to. It's only because Corrin is there that he's trying his best to endure because he also intends to keep his word on looking after the prince and still doesn't entirely trust the Nohrian contingency of their army. Though they haven't done anything necessarily bad to them in a while, he's not about to let his guard down.

Coupled with a killer on the loose and bandits around every corner, Subaki feels more than a bit on edge, and perhaps, exhaustion is starting to get to him more than he cares to admit because he's a little close to ruining his own flawless composure and telling the young lady to march herself to her room and go to bed. No more of these pointless stops.

Except... this store is one he has yet to venture into. What kind of storefront is that? ]

...Does this seem at all recognizable to either of you?

[ What's this foreboding sensation welling up inside of him? Please tell him it's gas. No wait, don't tell him that. ]

Comments

[locktouches]

There is a distinct difference between learning about something as part of your studies...

[While Corrin is distracted, focusing on Subaki and whatever meltdown he appears to be having over the books and their images being used in them, Niles slips behind him and leans forward just enough that his breath ends up ghosting across the shell of Corrin's ear when he talks.]

... and learning more physically. [He leans back just enough to stop breathing over Corrin's anatomy, looking just a little amused.] As with fighting, there's no substitute for real life experience.

[Then he tunes into Subaki's ranting, pausing only to crane around to look at his hips as they are in real life, and then to look at how off proportion they look in the comic.]

Artistic license?

[dragonspawn]

[ It is a funny meltdown, though, even if he feels more bad for Subaki, and his perfectionist attitude probably making things worse for him, than what the content of the books is. He can disassociate enough with it, seeing as he never has been involved in anything of the sort and... doesn't plan to. It just wouldn't feel right indulging when there's so much else to worry about here.

He's only mildly paying attention to what Niles is saying, when—

"learning more physically."

Corrin is frozen in place for a moment, having felt that all too palpable whisper and the realization that Niles has a surprisingly deep voice and... height over him. It's a strange thing to become aware of, but he doesn't know how to reply to it. Finally realizing he should say something, he absently moves a hand to the side of his head over the ear and looking at the book in Subaki's hand.

The imagery is... vulgar, yes, though Subaki like that... they'll be able to see Corrin's gaze flicking from him to the book to compare, and he finally shakes his head. ]

You're a lot prettier in reality, Subaki. Don't let this book get you down. Just because you're drawn that way doesn't mean it's really you. Though Niles is really tall there and here too, isn't he...

[overextend]

[ Luckily for them, Subaki is too busy throwing books into a pile to notice what they're up to it. He'll sort it out neatly later. Right now, he's just trying to separate all the hideous ones he needs to destroy. It'll cost him quite a bit of colle to purchase this many, but he's already amassed quite a nice sum from all the jobs he'd taken since arrival.

He has to find a way to safely burn them all without making a mess, but the details can be handled later. ]

Continue to keep an eye on our charge. I'd rather not lose her in this place. There could be strange people about.

[ Stranger than Niles even! Though he doesn't know who would fit that description. That's a high bar set right there.

Once he's satisfied knowing he's gotten all the horrible ones of himself and the Hoshidan royal family, he starts to usher the pile towards the cashier with clear distress in his face. He doesn't care how much effort it takes, he can't let anyone else see any more of these. ]

Perhaps, I can replace these with something more tasteful later. I have sketched Lady Sakura on many occasions. I can draw something more fitting for her.

[locktouches]

If you're so troubled, perhaps you should be focused on the job and not what offends your delicate sensibilities.

[She's fine; she's still cooing over some of the smuttier books in the corner. All is well.

It doesn't take him long to go back to looking at Subaki's attempts to filter out what he must deem the "truly" offensive ones fro the store and starts carrying them up to the counter.]

They'll just get more in. If there's a market for it, they'll keep selling it. [And then don't sell them if there's no market for them, so. He reaches over and plucks two copies from the pile - one that looks like it might have Takumi as a focus, and another that has Corrin as a focus.]

These ones'll probably be back on the shelves before you know it. There's probably even more out back.

[dragonspawn]

[ Perhaps it's his Nohrian upbringing, but outside of the initial embarrassment, he isn't seeing anything particularly traumatizing about all of this. Especially when he thinks about it in terms of disassociating their true natures from it all- though what Niles says suddenly strikes him as something that makes a lot of sense, and would certainly put all of Subaki's efforts to waste. ]

Niles is right, Subaki!!

[ He quickly rushes forward, stopping Subaki in his path and looking up worriedly at him. ]

You might just end up encouraging them to bring more in if you spend that much! I don't think you should... just imagine if they think they're popular and other people come in to buy them. I don't think you should risk that.

[ And then, in a voice hushed enough for only Niles and Subaki to hear, he adds– ]

Why not hide them in a part of the store no one will look to buy them, or see them...? That way, they won't sell, and the owner might even stop getting more in.

[ Better than Subaki wasting his hard-earned money... ]

[overextend]

[ That's a far better idea! Yes, good thinking, Corrin. No wonder he's their amazing strategist. He immediately perks up especially since he won't have to explain later to Lady Sakura why most of his funds went to buying lewd reading materials. ]

Yes, I will hide them behind more innocuous literature. That way, everyone will be discouraged from looking and buying them.

[ He grabs handfuls of doujinshi and starts to slide them behind some of the dull and uninteresting titles with plain covers, making sure to painstakingly tuck every last one away. He doesn't want a single one to slip past his notice. He doesn't care how long he has to do this.

By the time he's finished, he looks more than a little put-out, but thankfully, their charge is still innocently browsing through the other side of the store. That's one relief. Failing a mission and being bombarded with all those horrible images of himself and his comrades here would have been too much. He's still concerned that no one has even come close to matching his true visage in any of those books. ]

Do let me know if you see any more. I'm certain I retrieved them all, but-

[ His eyes narrow as he snatches the ones from Corrin's hands before holding them out of reach. ]

What would your sister say if she found you with these?

[locktouches]

[Oh Subaki. You naive flower child.]

Although, if they're looking for them, they'll go to any length I'm sure. Hidden or not.

[Still, it's enjoyable to watch Subaki fret like a mother hen, hiding dirty books in what he thinks are clever nooks and crannies - Niles is fairly sure that a very determined collector will find them no matter where they are, but now he's digressing.

Idly, he flips open one of his own finds, reading one of the more innocent pages with little reaction to Subaki's flapping at Corrin.]

I'm assuming you mean his youngest Hoshidan sibling, rather than Lady Elise. Not that she'd have much room to talk. [Given what he'd caught her reading a month or so ago. But that's their little~ secret~ after~ all~]

[dragonspawn]

[ Niles has a point too. But he thinks he's made his peace with the situation- they've done what they can to hide it. Or Subaki has, rather. He sighs with a light little huff, and smiles. ]

They'd want to be looking for content specifically featuring us if they did. I'm sure we're not that interesting to anyone in that sense, Niles.

[ Though he blinks at Subaki's words... and then at Niles'... something about what he's said... ]

Well... she's a grown lady, Subaki... [ Sakura would probably fluster to death at something like this, he'd assume. ] If she wanted to look at such things, that's her prerogative, isn't it? My older sister Camilla would consider it important for us to know what we should, so we aren't taken advantage of. I'd think the same for Sakura.

[ Then again, as embarrassing as this is, it isn't so much of a big deal to him... he does glance towards their charge though. ]

Do you suppose she's done? We shouldn't stay out much longer...

[overextend]

[ Ugh. No. These books aren't good for learning about intimacy or self-defense from unwanted intimacy. What is he talking about? ]

Don't tell me you learned that from reading?! Some things can't be taught through pictures or words.

[ Not that he wants to think about that sort of hands-on training for any of the royal contingency. That's not exactly part of his duty nor his business.

He tucks away the last of the books irritably before spotting their charge at the register. Hopefully, that means they can end this excursion and go their separate ways to forget this evening ever happened. ]

That's enough talk for now. Let us finish the job and return to our dorms. I think we've all seen enough.

[ There's not enough soap in this land to scrub his mind free of everything he's seen. He'll just have to make a mental note to ban Sakura from ever coming near this part of town ever. ]