Ravel grunted as she forced open a cardboard box that was sitting next to her bed. She grinned as the tape broke with a pop. She didn’t want to grab a knife from the kitchen to open the box with, and was satisfied that her laziness worked out. She sat the open box on her bed, which was now more lit than it had ever been. Three circular photography lights were sitting around her bed, just out of a potential frame that her phone’s camera would soon be making. In the box she just opened was the tri-pod for her phone. She sat the pieces on her bed and puzzled over how they all were supposed to work.

“If you need any help getting your lighting right, I’m sure I can find something for you.” Ravel had forgotten that she was having a conversation with Theo for a second. Theo had called her a little after the boxes of supplies had arrived, right when Ravel was in the middle of setting everything up.

“Oh, sorry. I totally forgot about you,” Ravel admitted with an embarrassed smile. “I’m still trying to figure everything out in my head.”

“It’s ok, I had a great view over here,” Theo joked. It took a minute for Ravel to figure out what the joke was. Then she got it. From her phone’s position on her dresser Theo likely got a full view of her diapered bottom while she was bent over trying to open that last box. Ravel chuckled nervously as she got the slightly unprofessional joke.

“I think I can get everything right though. I am a streamer you know. I’m not a stranger to lighting,” Ravel had moved to one of the lights and fiddled with a button on it. “Where’s the rgb setting on these by the way?”

“There isn’t one,” Theo answered plainly.

“That’s kinda lame,” Ravel was disappointed.

“Functional though,” Theo reminded. Ravel’s reaction showed that she thought that was a lame answer, but she was turned away from Theo at that moment so she couldn’t see it. “Anyway, I was hoping to scope out your space to see what else we can get you.” This piqued Ravel’s interest and she picked up her phone from her dresser.

“Well, I ain’t workin with much,” Ravel did a pan around her apartment. Her studio apartment was divided pretty evenly between her sleeping area, kitchenette, and her streaming area. It was all in one room though and every section was taking up as much room as it could. Part of Ravel’s planning earlier was how the lights were going to show up on stream, and another part was finding the outlet space for everything.

“We could probably get you a high chair, maybe a bouncer, or a play gym,” Theo spoke as she talked.

“I gotta have room to live here too Theo. I’m already cutting into that space a lot with the streaming rig. I just don’t have the room for anything else. Not that I wouldn’t love a bouncer or a high chair.”

“Things are surprisingly foldable these days.”

“Theo, I promise you I have optimized every bit of space here. Unless it can fold into a pocket dimension I don’t have the space.”

“Well shoot,” Theo sighed in defeat. “You really are cramped in there.”

“Yeah, I’m realizing more and more how little room I have.”

“have you put any more thought into moving?”

“All the time,” Ravel said wistfully. “I’m not making enough for that though.”

“You’re about to making a whole lot more,” Theo pointed out. “I’ve given you the numbers you can expect from Cosmic Fans. It’s a slow start, but you can expect a seventy to eighty percent increase if you do it right. Of course, I will be here to make sure you do it right.”

“Does doing it right mean I need a crib and a high chair?” Ravel frowned. “Seems like I’m stuck in a catch twenty-two. Need more room to shoot good stuff, but need to shoot good stuff to get the money for more room.”

“Believe it or not I’ve been there,” Theo said knowingly. “Well not in this spot exactly, but in similar positions. You can make a big dent in that with what you got.”

“You think?” Ravel said hopefully.

“For sure, and I’m confident I can get you a great deal on a new place. Closer to the other girls too.”

“You guys have a finger in everything it seems,” Ravel chuckled.

“It’s easier to do that than it seems,” Theo waved off the concern. “Money can get things moving.”

“If you say so,” Ravel was still not convinced.

“I have put together some things you can use even with limited space,” Theo said in a more robotic tone. “I got some baby decorations, cute little art pieces and stuff, some toys for the background. I also got you a collar and cuff set, a chest harness …”

“Woah woah lets chill out a bit,” Ravel stopped Theo from listing off more. “I don’t really know about all that s&m stuff.”

“Really?” Theo sounded shocked. The silence was Ravel’s response. “I’m sorry I just … Well, you’re a first there. I mean have you tried it?”

“No,” Ravel was suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“I feel like you’d like it if you tried it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ravel was a little put off by this conversation.

“Statistically speaking, most age players are into some form of general bdsm as well. Age play is a subset of bdsm you know. Have you really never thought about it?”

“Not exactly,” Ravel thought back to some of the fantasies she’s had. There wasn't any of the black and red leather that she associated with bondage sex clubs, but when she thought about it, maybe Theo was right. It was missing that typical aesthetic, but wasn’t a car seat just a form of bondage? Same with a bouncer or baby reins. Really a crib was just a big cage, especially any that would be big enough for Ravel to sleep comfortably in. In addition, if she was being honest with herself, the typical black leather style she was thinking of had entered her mind more than once.

“I’ll remind you that the statistic works in more ways than one,” Theo continued. “Most age players are into some form of bondage as well. Your Comic Fans audience will be mostly age players. So …” Theo let Ravel connect those dots herself. “I don’t have the number off the top of my head, but I’m sure just wearing a collar during some Cosmic Fans content will boost your numbers by a noticeable amount.” Ravel groaned unsure. “This is part of that ‘doing it right’ I was saying earlier. Gotta hedge your bets.”

“Even if I’m not into it?” Ravel asked.

“I’m not telling you to fake it, I’m asking you to give it a try,” Theo clarified. “Though if you do want to fake it for the extra money, I wouldn’t blame you.” Ravel held her chin in thought. “Look I’ll send some starter stuff your way. Give it a try see how it feels for you then we’ll go from there. Do be safe though.”

“I’m not gonna be trying anything crazy,” Ravel responded unsurely.

“Still, it bears repeating,” Theo spoke like a school teacher. “Before I go, I wanted to let you know that we do have everything set up for your Cosmic Fans. It’s going to work kind of like your streams do now. We’ll handle money coming in and divvy out your cut. You just focus on taking cute pics. I’ll send you a revised schedule that has Cosmic Fans content factored in.”

“Thanks Theo,” Ravel said breathing a sigh of relief at just how much she didn’t have to do for this new endeavor.

“No problem. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Theo ended the call to let Bandsy get back to setting up her Cosmic Fans set. With one call done she immediately started another. She started a voice call with a particular employee that had been recommended to her.

“Yes ma’am?” A professionally dressed office worker appeared on Theo’s screen. A dutiful worker that had taken time out of her day to pay attention to Theo. Theo demanded respect, but part of the reason she demanded that respect was that she respected her workers time in turn. She could tell that this particular worker’s time was pressed so she spoke briefly.

“I need you to set up a payment plan for me. I believe you’ve been informed of the Bandsy case?” Theo spoke the statement as a question.

“I’ve been informed that it is taking priority from my other duties.” The double speak there was clear, but she remained professional with Theo so Theo chose to ignore it.

“It is a priority I assure you. I can make arrangements to offload some of your other work so you can focus on this.” The workers eyebrows rose noticeably and her demeanor shifted. She was now willing to pay more attention to what Theo wanted. “Have you had a chance to work on the projections?”

“A rudimentary projection yes,” she said pushing her glasses up. “I will be able to add more nuance to it now that I have the time.”

“Well, I have a complication for you,” Theo said with a smiling grimace. “I’m going to need you to inject a little of our money into your projection. We are aiming for Bandsy to have a certain level of disposable income that she probably won't reach on her own.”

“Just to be clear, you are asking us to give Bandsy more money than she’s making? We would be losing money.”

“For now,” Theo said calming the accountant. “Once her earnings match our monthly goals for her, we’ll stop injecting our money into the equation, but for now we need her to reach our goals. That is priority.”

“Oooooooook,” the accountant drawled her speech as she typed away on a spreadsheet. “Did you get approval for …” the account started to say but stopped seeing Theo’s confident smile. “Never mind. I can get started on it as soon as possible. What is our goal?”

“We want her to be able to move to a Chicago apartment by the end of next month.”

“Do you have a specific number for that?”

“No, I don’t,” Theo admitted still smiling. “You’ll need to figure out what amount that should be, but also be sure that the amount isn’t so large that it’s suspicious. We want her to think that she's making this money on her own.” The accountant looked at Theo, a silent “are you serious” was written on her face. “Who do you report to? I’ll see that your schedule is cleared until this is done.” Theo looked at the accountant expectantly.

“Marcus ma’am.”

“Good good,” Theo quickly typed an e-mail and sent it. “I will handle the rest, please get to this as soon as possible.”

“Yes ma’am,” The accountant said dutifully.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Theo ended the call quickly to let the accountant get to work. It was a big ask, but with nothing else to do that day it should hopefully be done soon.

The advantages of having all their streamer’s income fully in their control was a very effective tool in getting things going the right way. Theo couldn’t help but feel like a puppet master, scheming away with not just Bandsy, but with the rest of the girls as well. Using various tactics to pull them all to the same destination. It felt a little weird to be feeling proud at mass manipulation, but Theo couldn’t help it. As if on que another opportunity flashed across Theo’s screen.

CryBabyCereal: Hey Theo, what all do you need from me to get Bandsy a free trip up here for a visit.

Theo cracked a large smile.

Theo: Filming some content with her?

CryBabyCereal: Thought I should teach her the ropes.

Theo: Not a bad idea. I think we can make this trip happen.

CryBabyCereal: Any catch?

Theo: No catch. I just have some ideas I’d like to see done if you both are up for it.

Theo laughed giddily as she thought of the best scenario to get both CryBabyCereal and Bandsy more bought in to the Stuffies system.

AUTHORS NOTE: Here's the next chapter everyone. Theo's running Ravel's Cosmic Fans and you know she's using that to her advantage. Exciting things are coming up too. You can see some of those exciting things early over on my ream https://reamstories.com/bigred0603 and subscribe star https://subscribestar.adult/bigred0603 pages. Hope you all enjoy.