Last night’s video between Jaune and Velvet turned out to be a huge hit – to the point that it’s still getting new comments come morning, and it even made it onto the front page of the porn site for a couple of hours.
It’s a good moment, and one that has you patting yourself on the back for making it happen, but that doesn’t mean you can afford to slow down. You’ve finally started making a profit you can actually feel, and the worst thing you can do is sit on your laurels and let that impetus fade away.
That’s why you called Velvet and asked her to meet you and Emerald outside a small photo studio downtown. You’ve been there for about five minutes when she finally turns up, walking around the corner while reading on her scroll. When she sees you, she waves and jogs up.
“Hi Joker. Hi Emerald.”
Emerald shrugs. “Hey.”
“Morning Velvet,” you say, happy to speak for the both of you. Velvet was probably lost in the video comments, which have all been heavily praising her performance. Jaune’s, too. It’d be annoying to have everyone talking about how better he is than you in the videos if it wasn’t for the lien he made you. “Have you got time this morning? I wanted to run an idea past you.”
“Sure. I told Coco I was taking today off. What’s the idea?”
You explain to her the porn expo taking place this Sunday and the offer from the sex shop. Velvet’s expression is conflicted. It’s obvious she’d like to go and show off, but, at the same time, she doesn’t feel ready for it. When you mention you plan to take Emerald and Saphron, a new hire she hasn’t met yet, she looks incredibly relieved.
“But even if you’re not there, you’re still a huge part of the studio,” you say, “And I thought you might want to have a presence there. Hence, this.” You gesture to the building. “It’s a photo studio that makes promotional material. I thought you and Emerald could do a photoshoot, maybe have some posters printed, and then we could sell them at the expo. I’d keep your name secret, obviously.”
“You could just call me Bun-Bun,” she says. “That’s what I’ve gone with. Not very original, I know.”
“It’s better than half the stupid porn names out there. Anyway, you’ll get a cut of whatever sells.” You can’t not offer her that. “They might even sell better if you signed them.”
Velvet’s eyes light up. “Like an autograph?”
“Yeah. You have a lot of fans who I’m sure would love to have some limited-edition signed photos of you. I mean, they’d love it more to see you in person, but you shouldn’t push that if you’re not comfortable.”
“Not yet,” she agrees, but there’s a determination to her smile. “But next time. Next time, I’ll try and be ready to face them head on. I know it’s silly when they see my face on the videos, but it’d be different in real life.”
It is, and you can’t blame her. Being complimented in real life can be embarrassing enough, but having some random man come up and tell you he wants to “breed you” is a totally different kettle of fish. Velvet would need to be confident enough to look them in the eye, giggle, and thank them for the words, all without losing her cool. It’s been less than a week since she starred in her first video.
It's impressive enough how much she’s changed but expecting that much is unreasonable.
You called ahead to book an appointment and reserve the studio’s time for the one-hour slot you paid for. It costs 200 lien on its own, which is a little painful, but you know you can make that back and more with some good merchandise to sell.
In the future, you might consider making more – lots more – but this will be your first visit to the expo, and you’re not entirely sure how much you can make, how many people will be there, or even what the best prices to sell stuff at would be. Luckily, since you’re going essentially for free, there’s not much to worry about when it comes to losing out.
For the studio, you’re offered a small room and a camera – and told to photograph things yourself. You’re not sure what you expected for the low price of 200 lien. Maybe this is all you get. At least they’ll be able to print out some decent material for you after.
“How are we doing this?” asks Velvet. “Are these going to be risqué photos, or flat-out explicit pornography?”
That’s a good question. The expo stand you’ll be working on is literally selling sex toys, but that doesn’t mean explicit content. Most photos advertising those that have women do so with girls in lingerie, or men in boxers. Similarly, you don’t know if there will be some kind of rule against it. Probably not, but it isn’t like people will be walking around naked or fucking in the toilets.
A lot of brands will probably be doing things that border on risqué and suggestive but skirt the rules. Lingerie shots, hands or arms covering the important bits. That kind of thing.
It might be safest to do the same.
You’ll have to sell it at a lower price than explicit porn, but there’ll be no risk of it being taken off you. If you try to sell explicit content then the expo staff may be unhappy if they find out, and they confiscate the goods – meaning a total loss!
Sadly, a quick search of the event website doesn’t make it clear, and they obviously don’t have naked people on the homepage either, because kids could see the page. All the photos are tasteful. Sexy, but tasteful. Girls in swimwear, tight tops, and the like.
Even so, you see plenty of photos from last month’s event, and there’s an obvious lack of explicit tits. The girls working there are typically wearing tight shirts that barely cover their breasts and expose their bellies. If that’s what’s typical, then trying to sell outright porn could get you in trouble.
But only if you’re caught…
>PLAY IT SAFE: You decide to play it safe for your first ever time here and focus on risqué and suggestive photos.
>RISK IT: You decide to take a risk with full-pornographic content.
It’s tempting to go full hog with nudity and everything, but this is your first time, and you don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. It’s not like you have to make back your entry fee either, since you’ll be attending at no cost.
“We’ll take some suggestive shots if that’s all right with you two.”
Emerald nods, but Velvet is much more excited, even going so far as to come up with some poses. The screen behind them lets you alternate between backgrounds too, simulating some more interesting scenery.
You take photos for a good half an hour, alternating between Emerald and Velvet. They’re awkward at first, but quickly get into it when it starts to feel a little different from the videos. Easier, in fact.
Velvet loves the camera.
And you think the camera loves her, too.
https://x.com/Imagebank34/status/2092270414198345930?s=20
She poses for you, looks you dead in the eye, bats her eyelashes, turns herself about to let you see more, and never shies away from its attention. Her obsession with being noticed is turning into one for being the centre of attention, but that’s not a problem when you’re making money off it. If anything, it makes her far better to work with.
https://x.com/Imagebank34/status/2092270434876293448?s=20
Emerald is less sure, and also less interested. She does as you ask and takes every pose you tell her to, but it’s obvious she’s just following instructions. There’s no passion for it, and you can’t really demand she invent it out of nowhere.
That’s fine, though. A lot of guys will only care for her looks.
You manage to settle on a good set of pictures each before your time runs out, and the girls seem happy with the picks. Or, rather, Velvet is happy and Emerald shrugs and tells you it’s fine. She’s probably more looking forward to lunch at this point.
Talking to the people who run the place, they offer to make decent-quality printouts of the photos but ask you how many you want. Anything you buy now, you’ll have to try and sell, and anything you don’t sell is going to be discarded as a loss.
The company tells you they’ll print at 2 lien per picture, but only in multiples of 10. It’s up to you to decide how many that means you should take. It’s tempting to go high to rake in more profit, but going low will mean a safe profit and no loss, even if you end up not having enough to meet demand. There’s no punishment for running out, whereas there is for not selling enough.
It's also harsh to admit, but you have a feeling Velvet's will sell better than Emerald's, so you'd better keep that in mind as well.
You set the goods to be printed out - 150 copies for Velvet, and 100 copies for Emerald - then hand the stack to Velvet so she can autograph them in her own time. It’d take too long now, and she’ll probably want to spread the work out. She promises to have them back to you before Sunday, however.
All in all, the pictures look pretty good. They’re modest in size, but classy and clean, with good detail from a camera much more professional than your own. Even if you don’t make a killing off them, the important thing is knowing what the expo is like and whether it can be profitable later.
But, for now, you’re working with a small team of actresses, and Velvet is your best – and she isn’t even mentally ready to attend this event. Your profits will probably be a lot higher when you have more people you can bring along, but, since you’re not paying the exhibition costs anyway, it’s not much of a problem.
The exposure ought to be worth it alone.
“Hey.” You wave Velvet down before she can leave. “I just wanted to mention something. Your videos have been doing really well recently—”
“I know! It’s great!”
“It really is,” you say, pleased that she’s so happy. “But I was thinking about the future of them. A big part of why you’re doing so well now is that you’re new and exciting, but you’ve got to be able to keep that up by doing different things.”
“Haven’t I already been doing that? I did the femdom like you asked.”
“And that was good – huge, even. Our best video.” Her smile returns at your words. “I’m just thinking of the next thing that might be as big, but it might take a little prep work on your part to get ready.” You hold out a small bag, which she takes and peeks into.
Her face burns pink. “Is this—?”
“It’s a loan. They’re good for… well, training your ass.” There’s no way to really lessen the impact, so you just say it. “Emerald said she didn’t have any problems with it. You start with the lube and the vibrator, then move up to the plug for an hour or two a day when you feel ready. It’s your choice,” you add, not wanting to scare her. “And you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I think it could be exciting for your fans.”
“Y—Yes. A few of them… well, they’ve already mentioned my ass.”
“Usually with compliments, I take it?”
“A—Almost always but… hah.” Velvet takes the bag, still red. “I guess I could even show some pictures of my… um… my training, couldn’t I? Give them a teaser. God, this is embarrassing.”
“Don’t think of it like that. Almost everyone tries this at least once. I’m just loaning you the tools to make it a painless experience. Most idiots just try it dry in the bedroom. At least I’m not suggesting that on a video.”
Velvet giggles. “Yeah. Um. I guess I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I can ask.”
You know she’ll do it. The idea of teasing her fans, and the excitement from their comments will be reason enough, but the real thing to score it will be that if Emerald does an anal video, and the comments like that, Velvet will feel pressured to match her.
A little competition is never a bad thing.
https://x.com/Imagebank34/status/2092270491952431163?s=20
You head back to the hotel for lunch, and spend the time while Emerald is eating getting some work done on your scroll. A little maintenance never hurts. Like you have with every actress before her, you take the time to hype up the arrival of a new actress – blonde, this time – and you’re sure the fans will be curious.
That ought to ensure Saphron’s debut is a promising one, though you’ll have to deliver on that video sometime within the next 3 days. You also send Saphron a quick text telling her to meet you at the hotel tonight, and that you have one of the “triple-rate videos” ready to be made. A chance for her to earn a crisp 90 lien. You figure you can also tell her about the Sunday job at 180 lien, which she’ll no doubt be thrilled about. It might even make her more willing to put up with what will happen tonight.
You’re also curious about Saphron’s partner, her girlfriend, but with only a name to go on, there isn’t much you can do about that. You recall Saphron mentioning she worked at the CCT once or twice, but that’s a good distance away, and you’ll need a good excuse to head there. Even then, there’s a good chance she works behind the scenes as an engineer or something similar.
It might be best to find out about her girlfriend by interacting with Saphron, though you suppose you could also spend 500 lien to get a dossier from the Malachite twins. That’s a little expensive for now, but you have their contact details, and you can order one on your scroll if you ever think it’s worthwhile.
Maybe you’ll run into Saphron’s girlfriend if you spend more time with her outside of work, or if she gets curious about Saphron’s work and comes to see you. Until then, you can’t hope to find one woman in an entire city based off nothing but a first name.
Finally, you decide to look up some of the more popular social media presences online, mostly to get an idea on whether you can help Velvet bring in any more videos. Sadly, there isn’t much more that can be done. Velvet has set it up well, probably using some tutorials online, and the only thing left is for her to manage it as she sees fit.
You’re not going to be able to magically improve her social media presence for her, and you shouldn’t expect any more rewards coming from it. Even if she does get successful, it’ll be her who receives the sponsorship deals. Not you.
You planned to spend a little time with Saphron in the afternoon, but when you invite her out, she makes the excuse of having to “prepare” for tonight. You’re not sure if that means physically, mentally, or emotionally, but it may also be that she doesn’t trust you enough to hang out yet.
You’re still essentially complete strangers even if you offered her a job, and she hasn’t even performed that job yet at all. You might have more luck once she’s at least done a bit of work. With that plan ruined before it could even begin, you instead find yourself spending the afternoon with Emerald.
She isn’t hungry (for once) so you spend most of it just walking around Vale, sitting down on benches and exploring the small part of the city around your hotel. It’s relaxing, and you can’t help but think Emerald probably needs that after two days of being sold out to random men. She hasn’t once complained, at least not seriously, and she’s been a great help to you.
In all of the harshness that is reality, her “usefulness” could be said to be coming to an end. There’s no denying Velvet and Jaune are better actors, last night’s video being a perfectly good example of that. As you get more girls on your roster that are of a higher rating, Emerald will be sidelined even more.
Still, you promised to keep her off the streets, and as much as a bastard as you most certainly are, you know better than to break promises like that. No one will trust you otherwise. Besides, even when Emerald ceases to be profitable for videos, you’re sure you can find other work for her – or keep her on as someone uniquely loyal to you, whom you can trust to have more than lien in mind.
That said, Emerald has seen others being paid now. You don’t think she’ll complain or ask for anything, since Jaune and Velvet’s salaries still don’t match the cost of a hotel room, but the point remains that once she starts seeing other people raking in money, she might start to expect some herself.
You could give her that, true, but the easier way might be to keep an eye on how much she earns and “reward” her a reasonable amount. You did so recently with the comic annual and the sweets, but it could be argued that you made 1,750 lien off the back of those, and you only rewarded her 100 lien in total.
That’s not going to set her off yet, but it could in the future, especially if she continues to build up confidence. It’s something to keep in mind, though you’re sure Emerald would never just run away without reason. At worst, she’ll probably give you an ultimatum of some kind. Make it clear she wants something, and then watch your reaction closely to see if you give her it or not.
Almost childlike in a way, but the important thing to remember is that she isn’t a child, and she isn’t a drain on your resources. Emerald makes you money, so, unlike with an unruly child, it might not be a good idea to keep shooting her down.
A little kindness goes a long way after all.
“How are you finding things so far?” you ask.
“Hm?” Emerald looks over at you, having been content to sit on the park bench not so far from where you fucked her against a tree. No one recognises you. “What do you mean?”
“Are you happ—” You pause. There’s next to no chance someone could be called happy with being whored out in exchange for food, and she isn’t Saphron. Emerald knows exactly what it is you’re doing to her. “Are you content with how things are? Do you feel like I’m keeping my promise to you?”
Emerald hums and looks back ahead of herself.
“I’m off the streets,” she eventually says. “There’s not much more to say, is there? You told me I’d have a roof over my head and food to eat. You’ve given me that. Nothing else really matters.”
>MORE THAN FAMILY: Tell Emerald that you see her as more than just a servant, and that she holds a special place that few others do.
>FAMILIAL: Tell Emerald that you’re pleased she sees things that way, but that you’re fine with her expressing herself and her desires a little along the way.
>SERVILE: If Emerald is fine accepting her place in your business, then you’re happy to accept it. You’re someone she should “serve” at all times.
You’ve heard the old arguments about whether it’s better to be loved or feared, but all the philosophers ignored the most obvious choice.
It’s better to be obeyed.
If Emerald doesn’t think she should expect anything, then you’re not about to tell her otherwise. She might wish life was different, and that she had a family, but families come with their own problems. You know that better than anyone.
And love?
Love is fleeting, painful, and fickle.
You can give her something better than that.
You can give her stability.
Surety.
Certainty.
And, for a girl who was left on the streets cold and alone, isn’t that the best gift of all?
“You’re right,” you tell her. “Nothing else matters. I promised you a life of food, warmth, and shelter, and I’ll keep giving you all that, Emerald. I’ll give you it so long as you keep giving me something in return. You.”
“I already do what you say.”
“That’s not what I mean.” You feel her eyes on you and meet them. “I want more than just you doing what I say. I want you to belong to me. Mind, body, and soul. You will be mine.”
“Like a slave…?”
“No. Even a slave isn’t really loyal, Emerald. They’re doing what you say to get the money they’ll earn at the end. They’re only your slave because they signed up for it, and because you paid for them. Come the end of their term, they’ll leave, and gladly.” You watch her mull that, and nod. “I expect you to stay with me, Emerald. Stay with me forever. Serve me forever. Be my loyal shadow and do whatever I say. Be mine to use however I wish, and whenever I might wish it.”
No one would accept that. No one would be happy about that.
But Emerald looks up at you with her big, red eyes, and says, “And you’ll look after me…?”
“Yes,” you say, sealing your pledge. Your word might not mean much, with the family name tarnished, but you mean what you tell her. “Serve me, and I shall make sure you never go hungry again. Even when you’re an old maid, you’ll always have a place with me – so long as you give me everything that you are.”
Emerald takes a deep, steadying breath.
“T—Then yes. I… I’m yours.” Her eyes close. “Look after me, please. I’ll serve you until the day I die so… please look after me.”
You lay a hand on her shoulder. “Always.”
Author's Note:
Original Quest: https://fiction.live/stories/Running-the-Red-Light/z3DQkYE5X8YBXovZ8/home
Visual Novel: https://andoravn.itch.io/running-the-red-light