Quentin chuckled a little at that, but damn if the doe eyes didn't work on him as well as anything else. "Um, a lot of the time it's realignment. That's not always, like, horrendous, but it can suck. Basically realignment is you getting paired up with a sub -- usually whoever your contract is with, if you have one -- and then you have to do, like, dom/sub shit in front of a camera to prove you understand your role. It can be easy stuff, sometimes. Me and Eliot had to do sort of this demonstration that was mostly like, him holding a leash and telling me to, you know. Kneel, sit, stand, go get me that item, whatever. Another time I had to sit still for a guy to braid my hair.

"But, um, it can also be...you know. The harder shit. Having to hurt someone in a way they don't like, maybe," Quentin said. He'd never been subjected to that type of realignment, but the threat of it hung over him. Not even for himself -- there were things he didn't like, but he was sure he could take most of them if he knew the issue was being forced. Eliot would not be able to take having to do them, though.