Ravel waited anxiously in her room for eight o' clock to finally roll around and for her important call with the Stuffies rep to commence. Ravel’s room was in its usual state, which was mildly disheveled. Since she started streaming, she spent a lot of her time in her room, and it had the random pieces of trash to show that. She made an effort to pick up every few weeks, and she was a few days behind at the moment. She wouldn’t be getting to it tonight though, her anxiety about the coming meeting would keep her from doing anything productive. In times past she would take her mind off her anxiety by playing a game, but these days playing a game without using it for content seemed like a waste for her. So, she had been spending the few hours since she had gotten home anxiously pacing an open spot in her room, clicking some buttons, and messing around with some gadgets on a large fidget toy.

The hour had finally come, and Ravel waited anxiously at her computer with Chaos open. It was a common messaging app for online groups, and the vehicle for her meeting with Theo, the spokesperson for Stuffies. It was only a few seconds after 8 that Theo sent a message to Ravel.

Theo: Ready for the call?

Ravel was a little quick to respond.

Bandsy: whenever you are

The musical tone of Chaos’ call featured erupted into Ravel’s silent room. Ravel quickly plugged in her headphones, taking only a moment to collect herself before answering the call.

“Bandsy?” Theo’s professional voice came through Ravel’s headset.

“Yep,” Ravel answered quickly. “Hello.”

“It’s good to meet you,” Theo said with much more confidence than Ravel. “Well, as close to meeting as this is,” Theo chuckled a bit. Ravel nervously followed her lead with her own small chuckle. “Don’t be so nervous,” Theo immediately detected Ravel’s mood.

“Sorry,” Ravel laughed nervously. “I don’t really get a lot of these calls.”

“It’s ok. I don’t bite. Unless you ask me to.” Theo laughed at her own joke. “I just wanted to briefly go over the stipulations again and just start a dialogue with you because we’re interested in becoming a more dedicated sponsor for you.”

“Oh really?” Ravel asked in surprise. She was surprised when she was offered a second sponsorship, and was even more surprised now as it seemed like Stuffies was interested in a long running deal. Ravel let Theo continue.

“Just like before we’re going to send you a little product description script to read out. For this next one we’ll actually send you a package of the pull ups for you to show too,” Theo explained. “And just as a reminder to use your official recommendation from CryBabyCeral if you do need a recommendation. Is all that ok with you?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Ravel was still caught up in the surprise of it all that she didn’t really pay attention to the details, she assumed it would be the same and for the most part she was right.

“Something on your mind?” Theo pressed sensing some hesitation from Ravel.

“I’m just a little shocked to be honest,” Ravel admitted. “I wasn’t expecting you to call me back after the first read, much less that you would want to be a dedicated sponsor.”

“What do you mean?” Theo asked innocently.

“Well just like …” Ravel paused trying to phrase things delicately. “I know the conversation after the ad probably wasn’t the best for your brand.”

“Sweetie, I’ve done a lot of ad opportunities,” Theo cut Ravel short a little. “That reaction was pretty tame as far as first time reads go, and I’m not blind to the awkward position it puts you in as the presenter. I totally understand your own hesitations. I have found that over time, as the sponsorship gets more well known, those kinds of things calm down, and so do the questions directed at you.”

“Right,” Ravel said in thought. “I guess that makes sense. I don’t know that it’ll be much better the second time.”

“I’m not worried about the second time or even the third,” Theo said easily. “It’s a long-term game.”

“Ok ok,” Ravel nodded as she spoke.

“I sense something is still amiss,” Theo more asked than stated. “If there’s anything I can clear up don’t hesitate.” There was a small silence as Ravel thought about what to say in response to this. The voice of Donna Sue rang in her head as her conscience. Despite how lucrative the deal was, Ravel found herself uneasy about taking it because she wasn’t really the kind of person that should be selling adult diapers. At least she didn’t think she was.

“It’s just …” Ravel paused again, having some difficulty with her words. “I don’t want to come off as rude or ungrateful for this opportunity. I’m very grateful and I would love to take it.” There was another pause.

“But?” Theo encouraged Ravel to continue.

“But I’m just wondering if I’m really the right pick for you,” Ravel blurted out. With the initial thought out in the open she had an easier time cntinuing. “I mean I don’t really wear diapers. I don’t think I really give off that vibe that your company gives off you know.”

“Bandsy, I assure you that we have weighed our options carefully when choosing you as our partner,” Theo said confidently. A pause meant that Ravel might not have been entirely convinced. Theo took the silence as permission to expound. “As you may know, we have branding relationships with not only CryBabyCereal, but also SmolSally and Bunny. These are some of the most popular diapered streamers on the platform. So, we have the cutesy adult baby market covered. Those customers are already buying from us. We are looking to get new customers. Hence why we are looking for someone who is outside of that sphere.”

“That makes sense,” Ravel said. It really did make sense to her, and it was an angle she hadn’t considered. “Do you really think that my audience has customers for you though. I mean it’s mostly guys in their 20’s and 30’s.”

“Our biggest demographic, believe it or not,” Theo responded.

“Really? It always seemed like more of a girl thing,” Ravel’s interest was piqued.

“Publicly,” Theo admitted. “Privately, however, it is mostly 20–30-year-old men. You know how guys can be about things that are considered girly. Those customers are very private about it, and we’ve had difficulty finding a someone willing to speak up and be the face for that part of the community.”

“That’s very interesting,” Ravel said honestly.

“Further,” Theo continued. “We’ve also found your female audience has a shocking 70% chance to purchase one of our items, and that 90% of them have in the past. You yourself fall into that later category if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Ravel blushed.

“Now, of course, we could reach out to a more popular, well-established creator, but we think that bringing up a small-scale streamer like yourself is better. Being your first lifeline and source of income leads to a stronger relationship.”

“I mean I definitely appreciate it,” Ravel answered honestly.

“I’m glad, and we appreciate you too. Have I assuaged all your concerns?” Theo asked professionally.

“Yeah, I think so,” Ravel said with uncertainty. “I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped.”

“No, you’re perfectly fine,” Theo assured. “I think it’s very important for you and me both that you can recommend Stuffies with confidence. It leads to a more lucrative ad and associating with companies you believe in leads to more viewers for you. Being transparent with you is a win-win for both of us.” Ravel made some small noises in agreement. “As always you can reach out to me if you have further questions, but on to the big question. Do you find this agreeable? Can we count on you for another ad read?” Theo’s hopeful smile came through in her voice.

“Yeah,” Ravel said with confidence. “I think I can do another one.”

“Fantastic!” Theo said happily. “I’ll be sure to send you over a full contract, but don’t worry it’s only about a page long. We aren’t out to get you stuck in some loophole it’s a very simple agreement.” A tone bleeped over chaos as a file was sent over. Followed by another with the script. “Be sure to send me your address so we can send you your demo pack as well.”

“Sure thing,” Ravel typed the information into the text box and sent it over.

“Perfect! Thank you!” Theo said as she filed away the information. “Before we go though, I do have one other thing to add,” Theo deliberately held onto her next words for the next few moments to subtly build anticipation. “If you try the product yourself and give your own recommendation, we are willing to give you a bonus.”

“What?” Ravel said instinctively. She stammered and blushed at the thought of what she was about to say. “Are you wanting me to wear these pull-ups on stream?” Ravel stammered her question.

“What you do on your stream is up to you,” Theo didn’t deny Ravel the opportunity. “But that’s not what I meant. Doesn’t have to be on stream, but if you use them yourself and give a personal recommendation on stream after using them, we will give you a bonus on top of the usual agreement.”

“Use them?” Ravel asked though she knew well the answer.

“Wet them of course,” Theo said without the hesitation that Ravel had.

“I don’t know about that,” Ravel said with some obvious uncomfortableness.

“It’s just an offer dear,” Theo walked back a bit. “We will still pay the agreed amount even if you don’t want to try them yourself, and I totally understand if you don’t. We are aware at the reputation diaper streamers have. I can understand that you probably don’t want to have those associations at this point in your career, and I know that it just isn’t for some people. I was just extending an additional offer no pressure either way.”

“Yeah, it’s just really not for me and I don’t really want to be lumped in with diapered streamer crowd," Ravel winced. “No offense.”

“None taken, I totally understand,” Theo said. “Though obviously I hope you can take us up on it later. We can move on either way.” Theo quickly moved to ending the conversation. “I don’t want to keep you. I look forward to seeing your next stream, or at least the next stream after the pull-ups arrive,” Theo said lightly.

“Yeah yeah,” Ravel gave a professional small laugh. “I’m definitely looking forward to it and I’m glad you guys want to stay on.”

“Don’t mention it,” Theo said generously. “We’re glad to have you, and I’m glad we’ve opened up this more dedicated dialogue. Talk to you soon.”

The call ended, though Ravel still held a tense position for a moment before finally releasing the tension and going limp in her chair giving a long exhale. She didn’t expect all this. Not only a second sponsorship, but also a dedicated long-term partnership. A steady source of income. Even if it was in a weird industry like adult diapers, the steady income in streaming was something Ravel could hardly say no to. Theo seemed not to mind the negative comments as well. They wanted Ravel as she was, it wasn’t some mistake it was a genuine opportunity for growth.

Ravel couldn’t be happier, she felt like she was finally getting somewhere with her streaming, that it was finally becoming a viable source of secondary income. In a weird moment of self-reflection Ravel felt excited for the coming pack of pull-ups to arrive.

*****

As Theo closed Chaos she looked to a small window on her second monitor, where her boss Rachel had been listening to the conversation. Rachel gave a small nod of approval.

“You think it might have been a bit too soon to bring up wetting?” Rachel asked.

“I’m trying to push our time table,” Theo explained. “I feel like we could have moved faster when converting SmolSally, and I’m eager to round out our cast of diaper streamers.”

“Careful not to be too eager,” Rachel warned.

“Of course, Miss,” Theo assured. “We’re still taking every precaution. At this point we have our process thoroughly optimized.”

“Good to hear,” Rachel said with pride. “Keep up the good work. I expect a report on her next ad read,” Rachel said quickly before ending the video call.