#ESG goals
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ESG is driving customer satisfaction as well as employee engagement. And all this is grounded in data to make the right decisions. Companies are now integrating measures to satisfy and fulfill their ESG demands by announcing new initiatives for building sustainability and impacting communities.
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One of those therapy animals that hangs out at libraries and sleeps in the sun beams and people read to them to build confidence and improve literacy but it’s me in one of those cat kigurumi things and I eat goldfish crackers out of your hand.
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With increasing focus on ESG investing and reporting, businesses are becoming more tolerant of their actions to establish transparency and gain stakeholder trust.
#ESG Strategy#corporate strategy#sustainability strategy#business sustainability strategies#corporate and business strategy#long-term business goals#strategic business consulting
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Use of ESG Investing
By considering ESG(Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors alongside financial metrics, investors can gain deeper insights into a company's long-term value, risk management practices. ESG investing can be used to construct investment portfolios that align with an investor's values and sustainability objectives.
#Carbon Removal#Nature Based Solution (NBS)#Carbon Credit#Net Zero#Agro Forestry#Carbon Market#Carbon Trading#Electric Mobility#ESG#carbon footprint calculator#net zero emissions#net zero carbon emissions#carbon trading in India#carbon credit management#sustainable development goals#carbon footprint#carbon offsets#esg investing#carbon emission trading
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Five-point Steps to Create ESG Matrix
An ESG matrix is a tool used to evaluate a company’s performance in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas. It allows organizations to assess their performance across a range of sustainability metrics and identify areas where they can improve their ESG practices. Here are the steps to create an ESG matrix for an organization:
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knock knock (Raphael x F!Player)
Chapter 6, In Which You Try To Look Away (It's Harder Than You Thought)
AO3
by the way, I saw today an art on twitter which is extremely Raul-coded
I am not a murderer, you thought as you ordered the ATM to give you another two hundred euros.
Even if I am, that guy deserved it, you thought as you re-inserted the card to give you two hundred more (damn those limits per withdrawal).
Even if he didn’t (and he did), nobody is going to miss him, and his fiancee will move on to the next lawyer in Oliver Peoples glasses soon enough, and besides, people die in freak accidents all the time.
Even if they don’t, well, if every death wish resulted in an actual death, humanity would be long extinct and that wouldn't be your fault, would it now?
With that comforting thought, you pocketed the last of your ten thousand euro goal, tired from having to repeat the same task for almost an entire hour. Anything can happen, Raphael could cut off access to his account on a whim, but cold hard cash was something you could hold onto even if you fell from his grace.
"Ms. Berger," came a voice on your phone with a strong French accent the moment you picked up. It was Raphael’s banker, Francois-something, who gave you the PIN in the first place. “Would it be easier if we delivered cash directly to you? Your withdrawals keep triggering our petty theft alerts."
"Oh no, thank you," you replied, trying your best not to sound like a petty thief. "I have enough for now... I think."
“As you wish,” came his slow reply.
"But uh... could you help me make two bank transfers?" You asked after a pause. "One to my mother, Franziska Berger… (how much how much how much?) ten thousand euro, I’ll send you the details… and one for the stray cats shelter... (how much how much how much?)… five thousand euro?"
Too much? How do you quantify the cost of accidentally-on-purpose getting some useless yuppie run over by a bus in terms of absolving your sins?
Five thousand felt somewhat stingy.
“The stray cats?” The banker repeated back at you as though questioning whether this was some sort of coded drug deal.
“Yes,” You replied firmly. “They do incredible work. Ah! The kids cancer foundation, too. Five thousand. No, ten".
That seemed about right for the guy’s life.
"Ah, you meant charity. Of course," Francois replied, relief and amusement in his tone. "Lovely, great for the ESG rating. Make sure to get an invoice for the tax refund."
It didn’t quite sit well with you to use stray cats and kids for tax refunds, but you still said yes and stashed the money deep down the rucksack. You got a bit of cash for now (soon you will go for more, because who knows), but it’s still not an income source.
What could be? Should you ask Raphael to buy an apartment in your name, or two? You could rent it. Or a company? Tenebris, for instance. Just imagine their gobsmacked faces - especially after they gave you the boot without even a severance package.
That was a delicious thought.
You let it simmer as you sat down in an tourist-trappy Italian restaurant in the city centre, just about to order an Aperol Spritz when your phone began to ring again. You are in high demand these days.
"Anya!" Your mum gasped on the other end of the line. “I saw you on TV!"
Sure, the accident was all over the news channels. Some blurred out the dead body better than others did. You would bet your last cent that the unedited version got more views.
"Yeah, gruesome," you grimaced.
"Gruesome? Why? Ah, you mean the guy. Well, that happens all the time; they really give driving licences to anyone these days. I do hope the driver rots in prison for what he did to this poor young man. Anyway, no. I called to say, I saw you and Raul on the news”.
She managed to infuse an uncanny amount of innuendo into the last sentence.
“Raul is such a handsome man, Anya”, she sighed wistfully. “Quite the catch you got there, huh?”
There we go again.
“What, way out of my league?”, you joked dryly. “I’ve been told that”.
“Oh, no, what nonsense! You are such a pretty girl!” Your mother protested. “More importantly, a good-hearted girl raised right; I am glad there still are decent men who still appreciate that. Did you meet Raul for a lunch?”
“Oh no,” You replied nonchalantly. "We actually… ah, we actually went to a church. He introduced me to his pastor."
Your mother sucked in an audible gasp like she'd won some kind of maternal lottery.
“His pastor, already? I am so happy for you, sweetie.”, she finally managed to say. “This is like a fairy tale come true”.
Yeah, a Grimm one.
“Sort of”, you chuckled. '“By the way, you will receive a bank transfer soon, ten thousand euro, don’t be afraid. It’s… well, take care of your health, okay? Get a decent dentist this time, a private one”.
“Where do you have the money from? Is it his?”, your mum suddenly sobered up. “Anya, what on earth is he paying you money for? I hope you are not doing anything… anything…”
"No," you cut her off and licked your lips, recalling the last thing that passed between them. “Mom, please! It's not his money, it's my company’s – long story.”
One that you haven't come up with yet.
Besides, if Raphael was giving you ten thousand dollars (thirty-five thousand in total with your other expenses for the day) for one blowjob, then you definitely had a successful career, just not in the field you had planned on.
“Okay,” your mum replied. “But still...you don’t need to...why don’t you buy some nice dresses instead? What on earth was that t-shirt you were wearing to a church?"
“I am hanging up”, You threatened half-heartedly.
You didn’t. You listened in the background to the story of how your mum’s school friend called her to say she saw “her Anya” with a very handsome man on the TV, nonplussed by the fact there was a scattered corpse in the background.
In the meanwhile, you opened Google on your phone.
You didn’t fancy doing that before - annoyed by that fake persona Raphael had created. But since he obviously put that much effort in it, it’s worth looking up what he had been up to and for how long.
Nothing good, for sure.
"…Raul D'Avergni, managing partner of an international law firm, inherited the private equity conglomerate, Avernus Capital. This transition was precipitated by the unexpected and tragic passing of his father..."
"…By December 2024, D'Avergni's high-profile liaison with Isabelle Arnaud, actress and socialite, had unceremoniously ended..."
No. Who? No. You didn’t need any ex-girlfriends.
"…Ms. Arnaud levied abuse accusations against Mr. D'Avergni…”
Oh, no…
“…she retracted her claims within a mere twenty hours and ensued a public apology for any harm inflicted upon D’Avergni’s reputation..."
Hmm.
"…her psychiatrist intervened on her behalf. Evidently, Arnaud was grappling with severe mental health issues that led her to make unfounded allegations..."
Raul likes them crazy, they said? Or makes them crazy?
"…Ms. Arnaud now resides in a high-end medical institution in Monaco, focusing on her mental health issues..."
What did Isabelle look like, you wondered, as your mum finished her talk and wished you a good day. You typed her name into the search bar, holding your breath in anticipation as you half-expected to see Hope's face staring back at you.
The woman clinging to Raphael's arm at some fancy film premiere bore no resemblance.
Your stomach sank as if it had plunged into the depths of hell.
She was exactly the type of woman Raphael should have on his elbow; a timeless beauty, but something more Renaissance like, the kind of faces humankind seemed to have stopped producing. She was in her mid-twenties, as well, but… hell, you could not hold a candle to that. Few could.
Not even the Tavs. She resembled her namesake, Isabelle Adjani, in her youth, maybe even better.
The pictures showed her laughing and looking deeply in love while gazing up at Raphael, while he offered only a very formal smile to the camera. So not Hope then. Nothing like their story. She was in love, he wasn’t.
Good.
Later snaps by paparazzi painted a different picture: a gaunt woman hidden behind oversized sunglasses and swallowed up by her hoodie, clutching to her coffee cup.
With a swift click, you banished Isabelle from your screen and plunged further into Raphael's (Raul’s) life story.
You found a photo of Raphael in his twenties (yes, just like the Tumblr post you hated, and no, you wouldn't have fucked him at that age), caught up in a minor scandal in Sankt Moritz (apparently his fraternity brother had pissed on the Swiss flag), more gossip, his philanthropic affairs for local theatres and art galleries, numerous articles praising his professional achievements, and interviews with Lawyer and WSJ and the like. There was mention of a brief marriage and divorce in his early thirties, but when you tried to Google the woman's name, nothing came up.
The whole thing left a sour taste in your mouth. This was someone's real life story, not a fictional character. Raphael wasn't just some wealthy corporate jerk; he was a half-devil from Avernus, which was infinitely better and more sympathetic.
You were well aware that Raphael wasn't exactly a good guy. But he had his rules; he had to have his rules. As for the whole thing with Hope though... What exactly was she? An idea? A person? The fandom barely discussed her, and what little they did, you didn't like; all horrible takes, every single one.
The whole plot felt half-baked.
Anyway, what seeing Isabelle did motivate you to do was to take a real stroll down the city's most expensive boutique street.
Now, the first thing you bought was not because you wanted or needed anything, but because Raphael expected you to. You were not much of a materialist anyway; you were ideologically opposed to consumerism. These things were overpriced, generally not worth it and, on a larger scale, represented everything that was wrong with society.
You decided to enter a Valentino store out of curiosity, as you had never been inside one before. The saleswoman's disdainful look at your T-shirt motivates you to buy a black dress with a white collar, not necessarily because you liked it, but because you want to prove that you can afford it, despite the price tag of two thousand euros.
Well, you liked it a little. The wool and silk blend was great to touch.
The details of the rest of the shopping trip became a bit hazy. You had your reasons; the consort of an Archdevil Supreme had to look really nice. If you couldn't be as pretty as Isabelle, you could at least dress as well as she did. So you started with some nice blouses and trousers, and a (just one) jacket. With that, you needed shoes. With shoes, of course, you needed a bag. Now that you had a bag (you closed your eyes as the price flashed at the till), you needed some jewellery (you needed to see what all the fuss about Tiffany's was about). And, of course, you needed make-up.
At each shop, the sales assistants smiled wider and wider as you piled more and more bags onto your arms. By the seventh stop, it felt like their smiles were entering uncanny valley territory.
Eventually, the banker would call you, right? But when exactly would that be? You tried to find out, but failed. It had to be over forty thousand.
The thought made you dizzy. In one day you had spent your entire year's salary. Now all you could do was hope that Raphael wouldn't make you work off the debt somehow. Unless it was the kind of work your mother suspected you were already doing for him.
You came out of the last shop with five bags and the feeling that you were a very shitty socialist. Since you couldn't carry any more, the shopping concierge (apparently it's a real job) offered to store the bags until your driver picked you up, and just as you were about to say which bloody driver, whom do you take me for, you remembered that you actually had one.
"Mrs Berger," the receptionist said cheerfully the moment she saw you in the door. "Nice to see you again! How can I help you? Oh, yes. The driver, of course. Yes, of course, let me put you through to Mr D'Avergni's personal assistant".
Oh, it's Mrs Berger and my pleasure? They were wondering if the rumours about you wanting the guy to be run over by a bus were already out there. The personal assistant's name was Camilla, her voice was the embodiment of professionalism, and she was the one who could take you to the driver, who was there in no time.
His name was Yuri and he was more talkative than you would have liked. Gruff, huge, way too big for the car he was driving (any vehicle known to man would be too small for him), with a deep booming voice and the face of someone who had spent half his life behind bars.
"Have you seen that poor bastard? All over the main road," he remarked as he passed the street cleaners. "Probably too busy fiddling with his phone to keep an eye out."
"Mghgm," you offered.
"So, are we stopping by your place first, Miss Berger? Boss said you wanted to get some things first. Are you moving in?"
"Am I?" You ask, surprised by the news yourself, and then think to yourself: "Why not?”
Why the hell not.
****
You didn't waste any time. With a tidy suitcase in tow, you were out the door of your apartment before Yuri could get too bored. You packed the essentials - toothbrush, laptop, documents - and a few other things that suddenly felt crucial to your life.
Out the car window you watched the cityscape change from urban jungle to manicured suburbia and finally to a small gated community. The driver talked politics (he had exactly the kind of convictions you'd expect), then about how amazing Raul was (and how extremely open-minded he was to give an ex-con a job), before returning to politics.
You didn't ask what crime Yuri did his time for.
You knew it was Raphael's house the moment you saw it through the car window. Who else would live in such a place? Not a house, that's too boring a term; a villa, all intricate stonework, marble and terracotta, such a flamboyant display of wealth that it should have been taxed just to exist.
Only a devil or a mafia don would call such grandeur home. So much, too much, theatrical to the point of grotesqueness; no real person could possibly live like this. You couldn't help but wonder if Raphael had been influenced by the films he had seen - perhaps he had developed a taste for modern cinema.
He must have liked The Godfather.
This place. The fountains, the statues (classical, Roman, as if sculpted by the ghost of Michelangelo), the gardens. You wondered how many souls it took to keep this whole thing running.
The gates opened and the car drove you into an underground car park that was already very busy and very Italian: Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis. You counted; eight. Who needed eight cars? Not even one for each day of the week.
The lift took you up; Yuri left your shopping bags and suitcase in the foyer and said goodbye.
You'd never set foot in such a house before; the closest you'd ever come was drooling over Sotheby's property listings.
Why would anyone need all this space? For just one person? It was at least six hundred square metres; and the guest and service house looked like another two hundred. The kitchen and dining area was three times the size of your apartment.
You could play golf here.
For what it's worth, the villa didn't remind you of the House of Hope. Firstly, it was completely empty; the servants, if they were in there, managed to make themselves invisible. Second, it lacked the baroque, replaced by the dolce vita and flair of a Lake Como residence. Thirdly, there were no self-portraits, not even pictures, nothing to suggest that the man who lived here had a face, a history, let alone a family.
The first floor was devoted to entertaining guests: the kitchen, the dining room, the library, the ballroom (you guessed this kind of rooms used to be called ballrooms, he even had a piano in it). The second floor was half-locked, except for the master bedroom (the bed easily could accommodate two orthons and a cambion sandwiched between them) and the dressing room.
There was also a basement - the entrance blocked by a number lock. You considered trying the PIN combination, but decided you didn't want to snoop down there... well, you wanted to snoop very badly, but you didn't want to face the possible consequences. Unless they resembled those in his private club.
So you roamed both floors twice before staking claim to your new sleeping quarters in the master bedroom by putting your suitcase down there. You checked everything else in the room: Raphael's bedside glasses, his choice of books (predictably, Machiavelli, but not The Prince, another book you had never heard of called Mandragola), even his dark silk pyjamas, which lay on the chaise awaiting their owner's return. You open his drawer: hand lotion, velvet sleeping mask, lubricant, two opera tickets (Götterdammerung) from about a month ago...
Then curiosity led you to look under his bed, where he indeed had something stored: a large black storage box.
Oh, you just had to have a look.
Just to get an idea of what’s on the evening programme.
Handcuffs, the real kind, the police kind, metal ones. The thought of all the women (and men) who might have been bound with them, as jealous as it made you feel, was titillating. A whip and a crop. Yes, that works for you. And what's this? Butt plugs? Only if they were still sealed in their original packaging (you were not into that kind of hand-me-downs) and way smaller. A chastity belt? Well, that's... intriguing, but probably not in your first month together. A hook? That can stay where it is.
At least nothing too extreme like needles or enemas or any of the other disgusting things you sometimes saw on weird porn sites.
Underneath all that, toys and accessories, lay another plain black box. Oh, a box in a box. Something was written on it..
GOOD EVENING CURIOUS LITTLE MOUSE
"Good evening," you said as you opened the lid.
Then promptly closed it again.
"No," you said. "No, no, no. It was just a fic I read and liked, I was very horny, but it's not really my thing. No, thank you. Just because I didn't have a father doesn't mean I have daddy issues. I don't care about the guy, he never cared about me, end of story".
You took a deep breath before opening the box again, hoping that the items inside had disappeared.
But to your dismay, they were still there: a velvet collar adorned with "Daddy's Little Mouse" in shimmering gold thread, a headband with mouse ears, red lace cobweb-thin lingerie and a tail-butt plug (thankfully still in its original packaging and on the smaller side). The tail was furry and tipped with white, so you must have been a dormouse.
All of the toys were top quality, handmade, and incredibly vulgar. Well, no surprise, having seen what Haarlep was wearing in his house.
You closed the box shut again.
"I'd rather cook us something to eat," you suggested, getting up. "Some pasta. I bet you like pasta?"
You definitely liked pasta and hoped that Raul (Raphael, Raphael) would not have you hanged on the hooks and tortured for your very non-Italian interpretation. You hoped in vain, because he chimed in and tried to stop you from committing a crime:
"Working late. Don't bother with dinner. Take some time to relax and enjoy yourself. R".
As you descended the stairs, ignoring his text, you wondered - did he ever cook? Or was his kitchen just for show, with the real work done in the servants' quarters (do they still call them quarters?).
You forgot that question the moment you saw what was lying on the marble kitchen counter.
The same box you had left upstairs, still with
GOOD EVENING DISOBEDIENT LITTLE MOUSE
on it.
You blinked and took two large steps back.
The box seemed to crawl forward in response.
You shrieked; this was a bit too much. Raphael's presence, the supernaturality of it, had been subtle before; now it was becoming a bit performative.
"I got your hint," you said, your voice a shaky laugh. "Don't scare me, please. Please."
The box stayed where it was, but it radiated an energy of impatience, as if it might jump at you if you neglected it any longer.
“Fine,” you conceded, coming a bit closer. “A little romance would’ve been nice but…”
"Setting romantic atmosphere," a cheerful female voice said.
who the fuck who the fuck who the fuck
Alexa.
Fucking smart home systems. The lights dimmed to a soft orange glow, the heavy curtains closed with a soft whoosh and a familiar tune echoed off the walls, the ballroom piano playing in the distance:
I put a spell on you
Because you're mine
The melody was familiar and so was the voice behind it - smooth, silky and oh so captivating (the adjectives you would use to describe it could fill many romance novels). A deep, rich baritone. You chuckled - had Raphael discovered blues? It suited him.
You know I cannot stand it
You running around
You loved his interpretation of the song. It felt so intimate, him singing to you, so... very, very special. Your fear vanished in an instant; you poured yourself a glass of wine and took a luxurious sip.
"I'll put these on for you," you laughed, putting all the flirt you ever had in this laugh. "But don't expect me to call you 'Daddy'."
There was no protest; Raphael was too busy singing, pouring his entire soul into it. You made yourself busy too; stripping. You weren't very skilled (any skilled), but the thrill of being watched by him awakened something in you. You caught your reflection in the mirror and damn, you were hot.
Shrugging off your shirt and sliding down your plain black briefs, you swayed your hips at your reflection as the wine worked its magic on your mind. For once in your life, you felt genuinely attractive; he made you feel genuinely attractive. The sexiest you'd ever been.
Slipping into the silky red lace lingerie he had chosen for you (splurged on, because it was a La Perla) - you fastened the collar around your neck. A long golden chain dangled from it, wrapped twice around the hook and cascaded down your back. Then you put the mouse ears - not cartoonish, not Minnie Mouse ones, but real fur and incredibly lifelike - on your head like a headband.
You looked like...well, precisely what your mother suspected you were doing to pay the bills. But at least high-end. Very high-end. The only thing worse than being an escort is being a cheap one.
But there was one more item left in the box.
"Ehh," you said at the sight of the mouse tail, especially the part that was meant to be inserted. "I'm going to need... I'm going to the bedroom."
It had been ages since your last foray into such play; back when you were with that boyfriend who constantly pestered you about anal and found it somehow arousing to "accidentally" (sure, mate) poke you and mumble an insincere "oops, wrong hole".
You didn't stick around much longer after that.
Stretched out on Raphael's sumptuous bed, you slicked up everything - the plug, your pussy, your arse - with copious amounts of lube. First, some warming. So you began to rub yourself, two fingers finding their familiar way to your clit. You couldn't shake the crawling feeling of being watched, every inch of your body scrutinised by unseen eyes.
"Raphael," you called out into the empty room, desperate for some form of interaction or response. "I would love it if you would join me... or say something pleasant”.
Now would be the perfect time to call me a good girl.
But there was no response, just an eerie silence in the room. Feeling too naked and too slutty, you pulled the blanket over you, a makeshift barrier between you and his eyes. Under the fortification, tucking the tail in seemed less daunting.
Before you could get down to business, there was a jerk at the blanket, which fell to the cold floor, leaving you bare again. Then another tug on the chain attached to your collar, pulling you closer to the bedpost.
"I'm sorry," you gasped breathlessly, both hands instinctively reaching for your collar. "I won't hide."
The chain didn’t let go, making a point out of a slight pressure around your neck. Taking a deep breath, you focused on the task at hand, stroking your clit as you guided the plug inside you.
You told yourself to relax and take it slow; just imagine it's Haarlep. How many times had you dreamed of being squeezed and stretched between the two of them? It was always Haarlep who took you from behind; it just seemed more their style.
The plug slid in deeper. It didn't hurt, and the little discomfort it caused added to the excitement.
Damn, this is so dirty.
"It's in," you said as the plug settled inside you. "All the way in. What's next?"
The words were barely out of your mouth when the golden chain, suddenly a snake-like lasso, wrapped tightly around your wrists.
Pulled them towards the bedpost, stretched out and bound tightly to either side. Fear gripped you and you clenched around the plug, pulling your knees tight together.
Tightly. Very tight. A little too tight. You tried to wriggle, the metal biting your skin; you could move your hips a little, but no more.
You couldn't get out yourself, which was not good news when you were alone (well, almost) in a very big house. Your mind immediately thought of that girl in Gerald's Game.
"Raphael?" you asked. “It’s not that kind of game, is it? It’s a nice game? Can we play a nice game?”
He did not answer, but you heard footsteps. Footsteps coming down the long corridor. Confident, quick and very purposeful.
Stay calm, stay calm, it's him, it's him, who else could it be? Haarlep? The orthon? The driver?
The door swung open.
It was Raphael, and he was visibly surprised to see you in this state, which was absolute bullshit considering he was responsible for tying you to this very bed.
"Well, I'll be damned," he said, covering the distance to the bed in two strides. "What a welcome home surprise, piccola."
Raphael gave you a lecherous, wet-lipped smile and knelt on the bed between your legs. There was something boyish about it, an expression you'd never seen in the game, as if he'd just found his first bike under the Christmas tree.
You searched for “piccola” earlier today: “baby” or “little girl” in Italian.
"I'm not going to call you Daddy," you repeated, and Raphael shook his head and laughed, not seeming at all horrified at the thought (and he should be).
"I have some compelling evidence to the contrary, Daddy's little mouse," he teased, his fingers playing with your collar.
"Anything but Daddy," you pleaded. "That's just... demeaning."
Weirdly incestual, too. You haven’t even seen the guy, not a photo, not a… (don’t think of him why the fuck would you think of the old bastard now).
“This is the whole appeal of it, is it not?”, he said. “How would you prefer to address me then?"
Raphael? Something told you that telling him that would make him very angry, and you weren't exactly in a position to want an angry man on top of you. Raul? No, that name just felt completely wrong and made you feel like you were in a Spanish soap opera.
Raphael began to unbutton his shirt one button at a time, revealing a white undershirt, which he then took off.
His physique was impressive for a man of his age; not those bodybuilder abs from bg3 but a well-toned body shaped by workouts and diets, which seemed to be very much at odds with his indulgent ways. Rough brown hair spread across his chest and lower abdomen against honey-tanned skin. Every inch of him seemed so put together, so perfectly groomed.
"Master," you finally decided (there was this one fanfic…) as you spread your legs wider in an invitation.
"Master?" Raphael seemed amused, his fingers tracing the lace of your bra, teasing your hardened nipples through the fabric. "Such flattery. So this makes you my slave girl? Tied up and ready for me to use as I please?"
Reading Raphael say such things was one thing, but hearing him actually say them in real life made you feel embarrassed. It was a bit, ugh...
“You get flustered easily for someone who waited for me dressed like this, little mouse,” Raphael raised an eyebrow at your see-through lace. “Topolina."
He wrinkled his nose and laughed, as if the word was funnier in Italian, and poked the tips of your mouse ears. You wanted him so badly that your lips caught his as he came closer and you pushed your tongue into his mouth. He kissed your back, his hands moving up and down your body.
"How the hell did you manage..." he mused aloud as he studied your bound wrists.
His fingers ventured between your legs, and the moment he stumbled upon your tail, his whole body twitched with excitement, his breath catching in his throat as he traced the soft fur to reach the base of the plug.
The playful gleam in his eyes was replaced by an intense, wild desire.
"Merda," he breathed out. "Look at that. Aren't you a dirty little girl?"
You cringed at how pornographic the line sounded (his suddenly much thicker Italian accent didn't help), but Raphael seemed to find it excruciatingly erotic.
In one swift motion, he lunged forward and forced your legs apart, his hands pulling your knees towards your chest, folding you in until your muscles screamed in protest at the stretch.
Without warning, he thrust deep inside of you. You gasped in surprise; no preliminaries, no foreplay, no taking it slowly, just raging, explosive lust.
Fortunately, your own fingers had done their job earlier, so despite the brutal force of his first thrust, pleasure surged through you, along with a sharp twinge of friction as his cock rubbed against the toy lodged inside you.
He seemed to relish the sensation and so did you.
Your eyes fluttered shut as your body arched beneath him; stretched and pinned by his weight, trapped, surrendering to the relentless pounding that followed - raw and invasive and yet so fulfilling.
You were so looking forward to coming again from his penetration alone. The mere thought made you pull harder on your restraints, craving the delicious pain of being bound. The furry tail must have tickled his balls because he tucked it under you so that it would tease you instead.
"Cross your ankles behind my back," Raphael rasped into your shoulder as he grazed it with his stubbled chin. "Yes, just like that... now tilt your hips."
You responded with your most submissive “yes, master”, making his cock twitch inside you, and then sifted your hips to better accommodate his pleasure. Wrapped your legs tightly around him, pulling him in deeper, pain-pleasure soaring through you. You sniffed his hair.
His cologne (worn leather, cherry liqueur, bitter almonds) smelled so good oh so good.
He slid his arms underneath your arse, lifting you towards him at every thrust.
Raphael said few words after that, grunting and thrusting and thrusting. Something about him was different this time - something very human - from how his sweat-soaked hair stuck to his forehead to his expressions of sheer lust that bordered on comical at times.
One thing remained the same - the pleasure his pounding brought you, the familiar hooks of approaching orgasm - not any orgasm, the orgasm of being with him, his sharp talons - sinking inches deep into your flesh again.
fuck does he feel good
rough or tender it just feels so good
his cock his tongue his breath on your neck
You screamed "fuck me", then once again, louder, not caring how obscene you sounded, and bit his shoulder without a second thought.
The scream that escaped you was higher pitched than you had intended.
do whatever whatever you want whatever you want with me
Raphael's face creased with annoyance as his strong finger pressed into your cheek. "Easy…easy… piccola... I appreciate…. a good performance… not …overacting," he scolded as he went at you harder, pushing you to the point of pain.
hurt me
fuck me fuck me harder
You would have protested at the implication that you were pretending, but you were too busy coming under him, his hand clamped over your mouth before your temporal insanity could drive you to actually call him ‘daddy’.
If he wanted you to why wouldn’t you he is so sweet to you oh so sweet to you
The scream was swallowed by his palm as an orgasm, brutal in its intensity and lightning-fast, ripped through you, whip-snaked it. You greeted your release with a wail, biting into his hand. Raphael paused mid-thrust, apprehensive of how your pussy convulsed around him and your leg spasmed uncontrollably - if this was a performance, you deserved an award.
"You weren't pretending," he panted, awe-struck. "My apologies. You were not".
The realisation frenzied him; he spilled within a minute after, rutting into you with intensity belying his age. Utterly spent, he collapsed on top of you, his breath, cherries and tobacco, warming your throat as his cock softened within you.
"I may have gotten a little carried away," he said, sounding embarrassed and slightly apologetic as he lay down beside you. "But it seems you're more than content."
You eagerly and quickly nodded.
"Are you that... passionate with every man?" He asked as he helped you free your wrists - jealousy creeping into his voice at the mention of that mysterious 'every man'.
You couldn't help but laugh at the question. "No," you replied. "Far from it. You are not just any man. You are anything but."
Raphael let out a sigh of relief and kissed you, making no effort to hide how much your compliment pleased him.
When you parted, you hopped awkwardly off the bed - the odd gait one adopts when they have a plug in them (no way were you going to remove it in his presence, no way) and cum was trickling down your thighs.
Shit, the condom. Now you forgot to ask him to wear it.
Would he have?..
Ah, screw it. Google says Plan B is effective for up to 72 hours after unprotected sex, so you'll take it tomorrow - for tonight and last night. You'd never been this careless before, but hell, you'd never murdered people with a mere thought or slept with an Archdevil of Hell.
Raphael was still lying there, basking in the afterglow, when you returned.
"I have to admit, Anya... I'm seriously thinking of proposing," he murmured with such tenderness as you snuggled against him that you wondered if Raphael really was incapable of love.
"That would be quick," you replied, but made it sound like you wouldn't mind at all.
"Quick?" he scoffed. "A man knows what he wants in a woman the moment he sets eyes on her. Unfortunately, there are very few left in your generation."
You smiled, already dreaming of being the Archduchess of Hell, and half-dreaming in general from sheer exhaustion and satisfaction.
"They lied about you being bad in bed," you murmured as sleep began to take over. "I knew it was all bullshit."
"They?" He asked, his face contorting into a scowl at your sentence. "Who are they? Anya, for God's sake, stop reading those trashy tabloids."
You closed your eyes for a moment. When you half-opened them, you saw him on the balcony outside, in a black silk robe, AirPods in his ears and a cigarette in his mouth. Behind him you could see the smoke and fire of the Avernus mountain ridge, the fireballs cascading down from the sky. Beautiful.
Raphael gestured with his free hand, aggressively, and you listened a little closer; fortunately he was more than loud.
"...we will bleed them dry if they dare to break our agreement..."
"...they knowingly and willingly accepted our terms, they will choke on the consequences..."
"...all must pay their dues, sooner or later..."
"...an army? We have our own army..."
A yawn escaped your lips as you snuggled deeper into the plush pillows of the massive bed. Everything, except the AirPods, fit perfectly into the image of Archdevil Supreme.
You felt so chosen, so alive, so gloriously alive, and your life had just begun.
"Are you coming soon?" you called out as you tried to think of an appropriate nickname for him - something intimate, but not too cheesy. Darling? Baby? Sweetheart? Love? My favourite devil?
But he beat you to it before you could decide.
"Soon, my love. Rest," he blew you a kiss. With a loud click, he shut the glass door and cut you off from hearing the rest of their conversation. You let out a contented sigh and rolled over onto your side, drifting into a peaceful slumber.
"My love," you said in your sleep. "Raphael called me his love”.
****
The urgent need to go to pee woke you. The time was a mystery, but it must have been late enough for Raphael to have gone to bed too.
He was pressed close to you, his hand cupping your breast. You looked over your shoulder; asleep, peaceful, in buttoned pyjamas, and it was the one moment when he did not look threatening at all; vulnerable, if anything. You kissed him on the cheek and he smiled in his sleep and held you close.
When you came back from your short (not really, a good thirty metres to the toilet) trip to the bathroom, you snuggled closer to him, preparing to doze off again, and then you heard something.
You listened closer, thinking you had dreamed it first.
Soft, gentle whimpers. You recognised the voice. You didn't know how, but you did. Something childishly cheerful and slightly mad about it.
Oh, no. No. You were happy, spooning with Raphael, and you didn't need this shit right now, especially when things were finally going so well.
Hope, please, you begged.
You got all your happy endings, so many of them, wonderful endings where Raphael was killed by the player and you got to live and your revenge and whatnot. Can I have one too, please? Without you whining and making me feel guilty for something I didn't even do?
"My love," you asked Raphael softly, your fingers tracing idle patterns on his side. "Can you let her go?"
"Mmm," Raphael murmured in his sleep, "Sure, piccola. Whatever you wish for."
You waited for him to act, but he only tightened his grip on the blanket and shifted slightly.
"You have all the hells and the crown and everything (and me). You don't need her anymore," you tried again.
"Anya, let me sleep," Raphael mumbled into his pillow, away from your voice. You tried to hide from her voice under your pillow as well, but you could still hear the soft, painful moans.
Ugh.
They were very, very far away, but still there.
"She's still wailing," you complained, taking him by the shoulder and shaking him a little. "Raphael? Raphael?"
"Who is wailing?” he groaned in pure frustration, and then made a half-hearted attempt at listening. “Ah, merda, not that bloody bitch again! I swear, I will plug that hole myself!"
You tried to make sense of that sentence and couldn't, but what you did get was that it promised Hope nothing good and sounded vaguely vulgar, which was even worse.
"Don't hurt Hope," you begged, appalled by his threat. "She doesn't deserve it!"
"I don't deserve it either," Raphael retorted before turning away from you. "Please be quiet."
He should direct this request to his prisoner.
What had really happened between them? You didn't think his obsession with Hope was sexual because, well, because, for example, he fucked you and you both enjoyed it, so he was definitely into consent, and Hope was more like a metaphor, a concept, a point to be made, and some shitty fucking rushed Act 3 writing.
"You... you didn't hurt her like that, did you? There was some talk... With that boudoir line... It was misinterpreted... right?"
Right. He may be evil, but he is lawful evil. He believed in consent and seduction, not violence.
"I haven't hurt anyone, what in damnation are you talking about?" he growled through gritted teeth, and you let out a small sigh of relief. "But if I don't get some rest, I might."
He hadn't hurt Hope. He wouldn't lie. He cannot; devils can deceive, but not outright lie. You read it somewhere.
Okay, he's not going to let her go and he's not going to help you and Hope was certainly not going to shut up. You have to go to her. And say what? Say what? Sorry for your predicament and the centuries of torture, Hope, but could you please be a bit quieter, me and Raphael just had sex and are trying to sleep?
Let her go? And lose his favour, his credit card and the place next to him in his bed?
Yes, come on. It would be the right thing to do and you would do it.
Where was she anyway, you wondered as you walked down the stairs. In the cellar? Hanging from the ceiling? You still don't have the key to the cellar. When you reached the ground floor, the kitchen, you realised that the noises were not coming from the cellar - they were coming from outside.
Outside? Did he hang her on a tree on this cold April night?
You put on his trench coat and slipped into your sneakers. This was so unnecessarily evil, you thought, suddenly feeling much less happy about everything, especially as the pained whimpering got closer. Hardly human, you thought, more like a creature trapped and desperately trying to free itself.
Yes, definitely more of a creature.
In fact, it reminded you of a dog. You searched the darkness of the night, determined to find it, and there it was: a dachshund wedged between the ground and a large, weathered fence, whimpering into the still night.
The poor thing must have thought it was quite the burglar, trying to burrow under a hole in the fence to pull through. But it only managed to get itself stuck.
"Oh, poor baby," you said as you approached the dog. "Let's see if we can get you out."
You pulled on the fence to widen the opening and the cub was free.
It licked your hand in gratitude. Dogs love you. All animals do, and it's quite mutual. You had a harder time with people.
There were distant, panicked cries for Steffie somewhere in the distance; the owner was out on a rescue mission. You took the dachshund in your lap and went to meet her.
The woman was in her sixties, dark brown hair, a very aged beauty, and she looked a bit funny in her fur coat and slippers. She had tears in her eyes. Steffie ran to her as soon as she saw her.
"You silly little girl," she scolded the whining, complaining dog in her arms. She had a thick American drawl. "Why do you keep going back to his house? What's so special about him? I told you he was bad news!"
"Is he?" You asked the question when you knew the answer.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she stammered, forcing a smile to her lips. "I didn't mean it like that. You're Raul's new girl, aren't you? Samantha. I live down the road. Sorry about Steffie, she's very... adventurous."
There were exactly three houses on the street, a mile apart each.
"You meant it like that," you said. "If it's about Isabelle, she's apologised and withdrawn her accusations".
There was a pause, and Samantha's perfectly friendly smile cracked a little.
"Well, in that case," she said, before adding with forced cheerfulness, "thank you for looking after Steffie, sweetheart! You take care now."
She tried to walk away, but turned back; she was as curious as her little dog.
"I was walking Steffie when that French girl ran out of his house," she said, unable to resist the urge to gossip. "She was naked and babbling like a lunatic. She had blood on her, too".
"Did she scream something about the devil?" you asked after a pause.
"Devil? No. Not that I speak French," said the woman, making a last attempt to walk away, but failing. "Listen, I have a daughter about your age. And if some guy - ANY guy - tried to put that kind of crap around her neck, I would chop his arms off".
What did she mean?
The collar.
She meant the "Daddy's little mouse" collar you still have around your neck.
Oh, don't kink shame me, you were going to say, but that kind of talk sounds ridiculous in real life. She managed to shame you very badly, so you hid the collar under your trench coat and mumbled, "I put it on myself".
That actually made her look at you again. Steffie looked at you with the same expression.
Everybody's out to guilt trip you - Hope, the dog (the dog you saved!), the neighbour, the guy who got thrown under the bus, and you've done nothing but enjoy some devil sex.
The woman finally decided it was time to go, muttering "You need Jesus, sweetheart" before she left.
That's your God who kept women in collars and on leashes for centuries, not the Devil, you thought bitterly, and unlike the Devil, he didn't even fuck them.
Well, only once.
***
You were back in the en-suite bathroom, washing your face in the marble sink.
Who the fuck was this man, really? What the fuck was happening?
Your hand shot out, yanking open a cabinet door. An array of men's grooming products stared back at you - cologne, razor, facial moisturiser and scrub, deodorant, shaving gel, sleek, expensive bottles. A man took care of his looks.
Another cabinet creaked open under your touch.
Your eyes darted to the label on the bottle - Risperidon. You had no idea what it was, but you memorised it for a future Google search, repeating it under your breath like a mantra.
"Are you rummaging through my belongings, nosy little mouse?”
He was dead asleep last time you checked!
You jerked, closing the cupboard and stumbling back to the bathroom sink, gasping for breath. "No," you stammered, turning to find him standing in the doorway. "I mean... yes. I can't sleep. I thought you might have some pills."
His eyes were canny; he didn't swallow your lie and made no pretence of doing so. He bridged the gap and hugged you from behind - frighteningly strong and wanting every ounce of that power to seep into your bones. His strength made you realise just how much of a level 1 human NPC you were.
"You don't have to violate my privacy when I'm not around, Anya," he whispered against your skin as he began to trail soft kisses down your neck. "If there's anything that's bothering you, just ask me directly. I want us to be honest with each other."
What was in the cellar? What kind of work does he do for you? Did he rape Hope? Or was it Haarlep? Where is Haarlep, by the way? Why does Raphael want to play Raul?
"What happened to Isabelle?" you asked.
"Ah, I see. Is that why you asked me if I had hurt anyone?" he said. "Is that what the tabloids told you?"
You nodded.
"Isabelle had an addiction," he admitted, the crow’s feet showing themselves. "It spiralled out of control. She had… a bout of psychosis, a mental breakdown. Made false accusations to the press. She's now getting the help she needs, poor girl”.
"Why was she covered in blood?" you pressed, looking at his reflection in the mirror as an infernal light danced in his orange eyes.
For all the fire in them, they seemed icy, impossibly cold for a man who had called you my love less than an hour ago. "How did you come by this information? You seem to know more than one would expect of you, Anya. There are things about you that make me... wonder. I have been giving you the benefit of the doubt, perhaps foolishly."
Your breath caught in your throat. “The neighbour”, you said. “Your neighbour told me”.
The truth you’d spilled slaked him, but only a little. He looked at you, jaw hardened.
"Samantha? I’ll have a word with her. Very well, we were making love when Isabelle had a psychotic episode."
Making love? Really? He did not make love to you.
"She lashed out at me," he continued. "It was my blood, Anya. I would never hurt her or any other woman. Without their consent, that is."
But that couldn't be true, because there was Hope - and many others who owed him, and Raphael might have been many things, but not a liar, and yet here he was, lying right to your face.
He did hurt people. Whether they deserved it, whether they brought onto themselves, that was a different matter, but he did hurt them.
"If you need proof, you can take a look at the psychiatrist's report," he offered coldly. "The authorities got involved... unfortunately."
"I believe you," came your shaky reply.
You desperately wanted to.
Raphael’s eyes flickered.
"Trust goes both ways, Anya," he whispered in your ear, running a finger along your collar. "If you do not trust me, then I will be forced to ask some very unpleasant questions myself. Do we understand each other?"
Which questions? He knows everything there is to know about you. He knows your browser history.
“We do”, you said, still looking in the mirror. “Of course we do, my love”.
"Is that so?” he smiled. "I suggest we go to our bed and put that theory to the test."
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Hi friends! I hope you are all doing well! We almost reached 50 followers on Instagram, yaaay! Please tell me what you want to see the most on the instagram account! ❤️
It‘s Sunday, but today is not a revision Sunday but a “I spent the whole day writing this assignment yesterday, so now it’s actually a Saturday”-Sunday hahah.
BUT - I can study ESG topics ALL DAY TODAY!! �� I’m kind of tearing up because I love it so much!
Tell me about your day! ❤️ I’m always interested in your goals and achievements!! 🌸
Love, Sophia
#studyblr#motivation to study#studygram#study notes#study tips#100 days of productivity#studying#study blog#studyinspo#study motivation#exams#university student#university studyblr#university studyspo#law school#university#study#books and libraries#law student#quotes
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It's rare that I get to use skills from my public administration degree, so I love when I can look at a thing and it's everything I would hope for.
Like so many other higher education institutions, the London School of Economics has investment in companies complicit in Israeli apartheid and Palestinian genocide. The students put together a 115 page meticulously researched report that picks apart the school's ESG policy, which governs how it invests its money. It identifies investments that go directly against the stated goals of the school, like minimizing the impact of climate change.
This is the sort of exemplar policy analysis writing I envision as the platonic ideal. It lays out the problem clearly, supports its assertions with research, and ends with a concrete list of actions to correct or mitigate the problem(s).
Ironically, getting my degree in public administration is the thing that made me decide it wasn't something I wanted to do. I suspected the things that make doing good governmental work difficult, but I didn't realize how clearly people knew they were interfering in the process.
So I'm glad to see students who take the skills the school taught them and absolutely fucking destroy it.
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Right-wing dark money activist Leonard Leo launches $1BN crusade to "‘crush" liberal America
Alex Rogers at Financial Times:
The conservative activist who led the crusade to overhaul the US legal system is making a $1bn push to “crush liberal dominance” across corporate America and in the country’s news and entertainment sectors. In a rare interview, Leonard Leo, the architect of the rightward shift on the Supreme Court under Donald Trump, said his non-profit advocacy group, the Marble Freedom Trust, was ready to confront the private sector in addition to the government. “We need to crush liberal dominance where it’s most insidious, so we’ll direct resources to build talent and capital formation pipelines in the areas of news and entertainment, where leftwing extremism is most evident,” Leo told the Financial Times. “Expect us to increase support for organisations that call out companies and financial institutions that bend to the woke mind virus spread by regulators and NGOs, so that they have to pay a price for putting extreme leftwing ideology ahead of consumers,” he said.
Leo has spent more than two decades at the influential Federalist Society, guiding conservative judges into the federal courts and the Supreme Court itself. In 2018, conservative justice Clarence Thomas joked that Leo was the third most important person in the world. Leo’s efforts culminated under Trump’s presidency, when three Federalist Society-backed judges were appointed to give conservatives on the Supreme Court a 6-3 supermajority, and profound influence over US law. The court has since then ruled to overturn the right to an abortion, among other long-sought rightwing causes. In 2020, after Trump lost the election, Leo stepped back from running the daily operations of the Federalist Society, while remaining its co-chair. The following year, Leo founded Marble, with a $1.6bn donation from electronic device manufacturing mogul Barre Seid, to be a counterweight to what he said was “dark money” of the left. He spent about $600mn in its first three years, according to public financial disclosures.
Leo said his goal was to find “very leveraged, impactful ways of reintroducing limited constitutional government and a civil society premised on freedom and personal responsibility and the virtues of western civilisation”. The $1bn money machine is now funding the conservative mission against private institutions, opposing diversity, equity and inclusion policies, climate and social concerns in investing and the “debanking” of politically conservative customers, in addition to taking on the public sector. The non-profit is increasingly interested in launching campaigns against “woke” banks and China-friendly companies involved in everything from food production to autonomous vehicles in the US and potentially Europe. Leo also intends to invest in a US local media company in the next 12 months, although he has not decided which, and is building conservative coalitions through groups such as Teneo Network, a club with chapters across the country. He also confirmed that Marble had since 2021 helped fund organisations that launched campaigns against companies with DEI, ESG and other initiatives, including BlackRock, Vanguard, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, State Farm, Major League Baseball and Ticketmaster.
The Financial Times interviewed right-wing dark money activist Leonard Leo, as he announced plans to launch a $1BN crusade to "‘crush" liberal America.
Leo has hinted that he’ll invest in an unnamed American media company within the next year.
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“Like everything based on the writings of Karl Marx—seeing oppressors and colonial struggles everywhere—DEI was doomed to fail. The uniformity of thought known as intersectionality, fostered by DEI, meant all oppressed people must support all others who are oppressed. But that idea burst on Oct. 7 when Hamas raped, murdered and kidnapped Israelis. Many liberals, especially Jewish ones, couldn’t support genocidal “colonized” terrorists. Pop! The long march is in retreat.
By the way, ESG, or investing based on “environmental, social and governance” principles, peaked last June, when BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he would stop using “the word ESG anymore, because it’s been entirely weaponized.” Never mind that performance of ESG funds has been sketchy and that BlackRock had been adding the label “sustainable” or “ESG” to funds and charging up to five times as much. Then a study published in December by Boston University’s Andrew Kingfound “no reliable evidence for the proposed link between sustainability and financial performance.” Pop!
Most offensive to me was DEI’s devious underlying agenda: societal design. 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐰𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧, 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬. That was the “my truth” that Ms. Gay invoked on her exit. Critical theories and Marxist techniques would take power from you and me, using big government as the enforcer.
The new societal design, embedded in DEI and ESG, envisioned idyllic communal progress. 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐬. Diversity meant ideological conformity. Equity meant discrimination. Inclusion meant blurring the sexes. Men winning women’s athletic events would be considered normal. It was all theatrics, like the tampons I’ve seen in men’s bathrooms on Ivy League campuses. Somewhere George Orwell is rolling on the floor laughing.
One goal of progressive societal design is to shrink—depopulation. Twenty-somethings now question having children. Net zero and degrowth, both World Economic Forum approved, are pushed via energy myths: carbon bad, cows bad. A plant-based chicken in every pot and two electric cars in every garage. They envy the merit-touting rich, shout “inequality” and wear “Tax the Rich” dresses. They tear down statues to erase history. How did we let this happen?
𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧, 𝐢𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧. There was very little free speech at Harvard—the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ranked it last of all colleges last year. Those against the societal-design agenda were shouted down. Dissent was met with accusations of privilege or cancellation. Conform or be cast out. On a larger scale, the Biden administration co-opted social media to censure opposing views.
I, like most Americans, am for diversity, but not when it’s forced or mandated. In a 2017 interview, Mr. Fink admitted BlackRock would use DEI tactics to “force behaviors” of corporations on “gender or race,” including via management compensation. Now that’s power.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. Does national security adviser Jake Sullivan really care about equity or climate change? It polled well and put him back in power to implement his own societal design via “industrial strategy.”
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬. 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬. Those prices inform production much better than any government bureaucrat or Harvard professor. Societal design—remember Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society?—requires government control. I’ll take freedom.
Preferred pronouns are fading. College admissions, and maybe hiring, based on race is illegal. DEI departments are being deconstructed. But while the DEI movement may have peaked, like that Monty Python character, it’s not dead yet. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐄𝐈 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫.”
— Andy Kessler//WSJ
#wsj#thank god#dei must die#regressive ideology#luxury beliefs#striver class parroting of fashionable ideas that never work for working class and poor people#plantationeering 2.0#pseudo white guilt religion#society#Utopianism#elitism#Orwellian#Cadillac communism#equality NOT equity#reality wins#human nature#control#social engineering#emotionalism#wef#world economic forum#Andy Kessler#wall streeet journal#Marxism#apparatchiks#racism in virtuous looking clothing#pseudointellectualism#dehumanizing socially regressive mindfuck#diversity equity and inclusion#dei
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Ko-Fi Prompt from @apprendere:
Economics topic: ethical investing (what definitions are they using when companies like amazon are on lists of ethical/social/green stocks?)
This one took me a bit of research 😅
My first instinct is that those are frequently greenwashing, and that any individual company needs to be investigated for those claims, personally, before actually going ahead to invest. I'm generally hesitant to call most investment/stocks ethical, but there are ways and reasons for ethics in the given industry (as discussed here with @rhokitten and @dasnya).
Green-chip stocks are, by name, a play on blue-chip stocks (established, stable, reliable companies that are unlikely to waver overly much if the economy takes a bad turn). Green chip companies are those that claim to be environmentally sustainable, or to support the environment in some way. If the company in question is one that works directly in environmental sustainability, such as solar panels or wind farms or organic farming tools, that's probably not a lie.
However... you also get companies like Ford claiming to be green. Now, from what I can tell so far, they have been cutting down on carbon emissions for two decades now, but any large company that historically relies on gas or oil claiming to be green is... a bit questionable. The Climate Town video on Carbon Offsets is a good primer on understanding how large transportation and vehicle manufacturing companies can use 'green' language to claim progress while effectively not changing any of their practices. With Ford, we've seen minor cuts in manufacturing pollution, but as this Guardian article points out, they still advertise for massive cars with terrible mpg... which is a related issue, because said massive cars, the SUVs and 'extended cab' pickups are unregulated compared to sedans and other, smaller vehicles (see: Not Just Bikes video).
Ford spends a lot of money advertising a car that is the opposite of green, and doesn't actually provide a use for the vast majority of people buying it. Unless you work in an industry where you need to haul large, dirty equipment on the regular, like on a farm or in construction or landscaping, you don't need a pick-up truck. And if you do work in those industries, an extended cab is generally not helpful.
So Ford is talking good game, but... is it following through? That's up for debate.
You mentioned Amazon, so I went to look at their Climate Pledge Fund. They mention a "net-zero carbon goal," which already sends up red flags, as explained in the aforementioned Carbon Offsets video. They do seem to be investing in a lot of companies that will theoretically make their future work have less of an environmental impact; the companies include electric vehicles, renewable energy, and custom packaging to reduce waste. It all sounds good.
But what do the critics say?
In this Thomson Reuters Foundation article, Khalil Abdullah addresses how Amazon has historically hidden most of its information on environmental impacts, engaged in a number of greenwashing campaigns, and shoved numbers on its enormous pollution under the rug. Yet, despite this, it remains on the list of companies that the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investors consider a viable choice, because it's... easy. It's a good investment financially, so they can just... look away from the complications, because the money and reputation is enough.
In my eyes, the concept of green stock is yet another form of greenwashing, one with no actual, specified definition, which means it's about as useful in understanding your investments as words like 'organic.' Unfortunately, it looks like this is going to continue being one of the ways companies lie to us, and any individual investment needs to be examined thoroughly before we can figure out what it is that we're actually supporting.
My suggestion would be to look into companies that are acting directly in support of environmentalism (solar and wind are probably safe), have a long and transparent history of environmentalism, from before it was trendy, or are small, local, and maybe new enough that they aren't killing the environment in the name of economies of scale.
Maybe if you get in early enough, you can grab enough shares to have a positive impact on future green initiatives!
(Prompt me on ko-fi!)
#economics#stock market#capitalism#investment#greenwashing#phoenix talks#ko fi#ko fi prompts#economics prompts
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Why is ESG Intelligence Important to Companies?
Human activities burden Earth’s biosphere, but ESG criteria can ensure that industries optimize their operations to reduce their adverse impact on ecological and socio-economic integrity. Investors have utilized the related business intelligence to screen stocks of ethical enterprises. Consumers want to avoid brands that employ child labor. This post will elaborate on why ESG intelligence has become important to companies.
What is ESG Intelligence?
ESG, or environmental, social, and governance, is an investment guidance and business performance auditing approach. It assesses how a commercial organization treats its stakeholders and consumes natural resources. At its core, you will discover statistical metrics from a sustainability perspective. So, ESG data providers gather and process data for compliance ratings and reports.
Managers, investors, and government officers can understand a company’s impact on its workers, regional community, and biosphere before engaging in stock buying or business mergers. Since attracting investors and complying with regulatory guidelines is vital for modern corporations, ESG intelligence professionals have witnessed a rise in year-on-year demand.
Simultaneously, high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) and financial institutions expect a business to work toward accomplishing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Given these dynamics, leaders require data-driven insights to enhance their compliance ratings.
Components of ESG Intelligence
The environmental considerations rate a firm based on waste disposal, plastic reduction, carbon emissions risks, pollution control, and biodiversity preservation. Other metrics include renewable energy adoption, green technology, and water consumption.
Likewise, the social impact assessments check whether a company has an adequate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy. Preventing workplace toxicity and eradicating child labor practices are often integral to the social reporting head of ESG services.
Corporate governance concerns discouraging bribes and similar corruptive activities. Moreover, an organization must implement solid cybersecurity measures to mitigate corporate espionage and ransomware threats. Accounting transparency matters too.
Why is ESG Intelligence Important to Companies?
Reason 1 – Risk Management
All three pillars of ESG reports, environmental, social, and governance, enable business owners to reduce their company’s exposure to the following risks.
High greenhouse (GHG) emissions will attract regulatory penalties under pollution reduction directives. Besides, a commercial project can take longer if vital resources like water become polluted. Thankfully, the environmental pillar helps companies comply with the laws governing these situations.
A toxic and discriminatory workplace environment often harms employees’ productivity, collaboration, creativity, and leadership skill development. Therefore, inefficiencies like reporting delays or emotional exhaustion can slow a project’s progress. ESG’s social metrics will mitigate the highlighted risks resulting from human behavior and multi-generational presumptions.
Insurance fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, preferential treatment, hiding conflicts of interest, and corporate espionage are the governance risks you must address as soon as possible. These problems introduce accounting inconsistencies and data theft issues. You will also receive penalties according to your regional laws if data leaks or insider trading happens.
Reason 2 – Investor Relations (IR)
Transparent disclosures can make or break the relationship between corporate leaders and investors. With the help of ESG intelligence, it becomes easier to make qualitative and manipulation-free “financial materiality” reports. Therefore, managers can successfully execute the deal negotiations with little to no resistance.
You want to retain the present investors and attract more patrons to raise funds. These resources will help you to augment your company’s expansion and market penetration. However, nourishing mutually beneficial investor relations is easier said than done.
For example, some sustainability investors will prioritize enterprises with an ESG score of above 80. Others will refuse to engage with your brand if one of the suppliers has documented records of employing child labor. Instead of being unaware of these issues, you can identify them and mitigate the associated risks using ESG intelligence and insights.
Reason 3 – Consumer Demand
Consider the following cases.
Customers wanted plastic-free product packaging, and e-commerce platforms listened to their demand. And today’s direct home deliveries contribute to public awareness of how petroleum-derived synthetic coating materials threaten the environment.
The availability of recharging facilities and rising gas prices have made electric vehicles (EVs) more attractive to consumers. Previously, the demand for EVs had existed only in the metropolitan areas. However, the EV industry expects continuous growth as electricity reaches more semi-urban and rural regions.
Businesses and investors care about consumer demand. Remember, they cannot force consumers into buying a product or service. And a healthy competitive industry has at least three players. Therefore, customers can choose which branded items they want to consume.
Consumer demand is one of the driving factors that made ESG intelligence crucial in many industries. If nobody was searching for electric vehicles on the web or everybody had demanded plastic packaging, businesses would never switch their attitudes toward the concerns discussed above.
Conclusion
Data governance has become a popular topic due to the privacy laws in the EU, the US, Brazil, and other nations. Meanwhile, child labor is still prevalent in specific developing and underdeveloped regions. Also, the climate crisis has endangered the future of agricultural occupations.
Deforestation, illiteracy, carbon emissions, identity theft, insider trading, discrimination, on-site accidents, corruption, and gender gap threaten the well-being of future generations. The world requires immediate and coordinated actions to resolve these issues.
Therefore, ESG intelligence is important to companies, consumers, investors, and governments. Properly acquiring and analyzing it is possible if these stakeholders leverage the right tools, relevant benchmarks, and expert data partners.
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ESG Growth Strategy: Integrating ESG into Business Strategies
Organisations are paying more attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) as climate and sustainability take centre stage in every operational framework. Only a few organisations, however, have been able to connect their plans with it. To provide enormous financial and non-financial value, organisations must integrate a complete ESG vision into their company strategy. Increased productivity, cost reduction, encouraging the use of sustainable products and solutions, and improved access to funding are all examples of financial value. Furthermore, ESG-focused businesses must improve operational efficiency to reduce staff turnover rates and to encourage innovation through effective governance and risk management.
#ESG Strategy#sustainability strategy#business sustainability strategies#corporate and business strategy#long-term business goals#strategic business consulting
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Carbon Footprint Calculator For Business
The Carbon Trust offers a comprehensive online tool called the Carbon Footprint Calculator. It allows businesses to measure their carbon emissions across various scopes, including direct emissions from operations and indirect emissions from energy consumption.
#arbon Removal#Nature Based Solution (NBS)#Carbon Credit#Net Zero#Agro Forestry#Carbon Market#Carbon Trading#Electric Mobility#ESG#carbon footprint calculator#net zero emissions#net zero carbon emissions#carbon trading in India#carbon credit management#sustainable development goals#carbon footprint#carbon offsets#esg investing#carbon emission trading#environmental sustainability
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In early 2020, Bernard Looney had one clear goal as the incoming chief executive of BP: to convince the world to see the oil company differently. For a time, he did exactly that. In a glossy, high-concept London campaign launch, the BP boss set out 10 new aims for the company, the most significant being BP’s transformation to a net zero energy company by 2050. Within months, he reinforced the rebranding with a pledge to cut the company’s oil and gas production by 40% from 2019 levels by the end of the decade. At the time, his strategy even won the approval of Greenpeace – a feat few oil executives can boast. But by early 2023, BP had watered down the 40% cut to a 25% reduction after the war in Ukraine caused oil prices to surge, doubling the company’s profits. Within months, its greenest ever chief executive was ousted from the company amid revelations about undisclosed relationships with colleagues. His green plans have followed suit. It emerged last week that BP plans to abandon its curbs on fossil fuel production in favour of targeting several new investments in the Middle East and the Gulf of Mexico. The news angered climate campaigners, but surprised very few. BP’s green retreat has arguably been the most brazen in the industry – from a grandstanding green agenda to a fresh focus on fossil fuels – but the backtrack from environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards is gaining pace among the world’s biggest companies and investors. The term ESG was first coined by the UN in a 2004 report entitled Who Cares Wins. It provided companies and investors with a model for implementing the ideals of responsible investing in their spending plans.
continue reading
#uk#eu#us#bp#shell#volkswagen#unilever#environmental social and governance (ESG) standards#backtracking#green commitments#climate crisis#environment#late stage capitalism
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