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🕑 Added 2022-09-23 16:35:51 +0000 UTCTina's eyelids began to droop. She looked at the banal artwork on the walls. She examined the paisley pattern on a nearby lampshade. She even tried to focus on the tiny indentations in the surface of the ceiling. It was no use. The bright colors and constantly shifting images on the screen drew her eyes in like magnets, no matter how hard she tried to ignore them.
(Majestic landscapes sweep past. Bees busily run from flower to flower in a beautiful sunlit valley. Waterfalls gently trickle their way over rocks in peaceful, shaded glades. Puffy white clouds drift across the sky just as the sun is about to set. Soaring music plays to match the soaring motions of the camera. A gentle, teasing voice with a touch of a British accent whispers in the background of the music.)
Narrator: Relax. Let your mind wander. Let your focus scatter like a dandelion in the breeze. Feel your thoughts soften like warm butter. Inhale deeply through your nose...and then out again through the mouth. It's so simple, so easy, to relax and let my voice trickle through your silly little brain. Yes, of course you will have noticed by now that your brain is not what it used to be, and that's okay. Memories that used to leap to mind easily seem lost in a warm, pink fog. Everyday life skills that used to come so easily now seem hopelessly complicated and troublesome. Relax. There's nothing you can do about it. There's nothing that you need to do about it. It is simply natural. It is naturally simple. Your brain has simply outlived its usefulness. You don't need it anymore. Take a deep breath in. Deep breath out. Very good. Does your brain feel smaller now? Of course it does. You can feel it slowly shrinking, all day long. Every minute that passes, it becomes a little bit smaller. Less thinking, more shrinking. You can feel it becoming fuzzier and simpler with each passing hour. You know what is happening, and it's all just as it should be.
(A balloon slowly deflates. A sweaty glass of lemonade empties itself on a hot day, as though an unseen person were drinking from the straw. A drop of dew falls off a leaf. Complicated mathematical equations drifted through the sky, only to slowly morph into a flock of flying penguins. Brightly-colored skittles fall like rain from lavender clouds.)
Narrator: It's perfectly Natural. It's Easy. You can just be Stupid. You can give yourself permission to be Stupid. You can feel your worries and bothersome thoughts loosening and falling away, one by one. Your mind feels so wonderfully light and empty, like a silly little balloon. Being Stupid is more fun, anyway. Thinking is just a bothersome chore. Now that you are getting Dumber and Dumber, you can feel your emotions with so much more clarity. All your annoying thoughts and complicated ideas won't get in the way anymore. You can feel silly, or tired, or hungry, or playful, and you can truly experience those feelings without the need to hold them back or to try to control them. You can lie around all day long, and you don't need to think about what you might have done instead. You can just feel happy, without asking yourself why you should. Stupid people are always happier.
(A group of women in nothing but thick diapers run and giggle merrily on a gigantic plastic playground. One slides down the slide on her absurdly overpadded rear and falls, laughing and waving her arms, into the soft sand below. Another randomly turns the rollers on a tick-tack-toe board, making it clear that she can no longer remember how to play the game, but that she is absolutely captivated by the meaningless shapes nonetheless. They all charge excitedly together across the grass, chasing a bright yellow balloon as the wind blows it away.)
Narrator: Stupid people always have so much more fun. It feels so good to just relax and let your silly brain leak out of your ears. Your Stupid little brain is going away, and you won't miss it one little bit. You'll feel so much better once you are a Complete Idiot. Stupid people get to do so many things that Smart people simply can't. Would a Smart, mature, thoughtful woman let drool dribble down her chin? No. Would she giggle when a whistling fart escapes into the seat of her nappy? I think not. Would she need to be checked and changed all the time because she can't even figure out the difference between wet and dry? Of course not. Relax. No more Thinking. Only Shrinking. Breath the Stupid in. Breath the Smart out. You are becoming Dumber and Dumber now, and it feel so good, so right. It feels like your head is being filled up with warm, whipped cream. You want to let your silly brain dwindle away into nothing. You want to be simple, happy and utterly mindless. You want to know that you are becoming a more Complete Idiot, every single day. You are falling in love with the sensation of becoming Stupid.”
Tina tried covering her eyes with her hand, for about the twentieth time that day. She knew that her mind couldn't take this kind of punishment forever. She had already forgotten how many days she had been here, in this ludicrous parody of middle-class suburbia, being watched over by Miko, who had become a parody of an indulgent Mommy. She might have had the strength tear her eyes from the television and hide her face in a corner, but Miko had taken steps to prevent that. Tina's ass was tethered to two heavy-duty anchors in the ceiling joists by two lengths of thick elastic cable, ensuring that she would be gently but firmly returned to her point of origin if she walked more than about a foot away. The baby bouncer's seat was white, well-cushioned, and decorated with a little inflatable safety pin, which Tina really felt was a little much. “A little much” was a pretty good description of everything the Sponsor's created. Even Miko, who was certainly the same person that she had known in her previous life, had been...she searched for right words...simplified, maybe. Exaggerated. Puffed up and smoothed over, both in personality and in a literal sense. This new version of Miko was clearly an absurd fantasy, but one with just enough of the real Miko to make it almost believable, almost real enough to tempt Tina to embrace the dream.
Tina could feel the Sponsor's soft fluffiness invading the corners of her consciousness. Part of it was the hypnotic voices and images coming from the screen, but a lot of it was due to her new routine. Miko was officially her Mommy now, and she was being trained to fit her new role in the world, that of a helpless and docile diaper baby. Her life had suddenly turned into an endless parade of snacks, feedings, naps, potty breaks, playtime, and staring into the simmering abyss of bright colors and comforting music that was the television.
There were no actual shows being broadcast anymore. If she wanted to see something specific, all she had to choose from were the collection of tapes that the Sponsors had seen fit to provide Miko with. Her Obedience exercises were already finished for the day, and she had already watched three different Un-Potty-Training videos, including one narrated by Barney (Bye Bye Potty), another featuring the Care Bears (Wearing is Caring), and yet a third simply entitled “The Diaper Rangers Vs. The Invisible Toilet Snake”.
If the smell coming from the kitchen was any indication, Miko was at work on yet another batch of cookies, the only food that Tina was still allowed that didn't come from her friend's nipples. Miko stayed near Tina nearly 24/7, and even seemed to watch her sleep. Whatever the Sponsors had done to her, it seemed to remove most of her normal human needs, presumably so that she could focus on indulging Tina's. While she was working in the kitchen, however, she had simply left Tina in her silly baby bouncer to watch whatever the Sponsors happened to be broadcasting.
The ads ran end to end, without pause, all day long, on every channel. The perfect, smiling faces, the impossibly beautiful homes, the absurd products, and the weird, demented messages never ceased. Tina had tried simply shutting her eyes, but that always led to her sucking her thumb, which in turn always made her sleepy. The last time she had fallen asleep, she had been shaken awake in a soaking wet pair of Wuvvies training pants. That had earned her a spanking, and she had been forced to record the lapse in control on a large chart on the wall of her nursery.
Tina was starting to lose the plot, but she assured herself that if she still knew that, the Sponsors had not truly succeeded in taming her. Sure, they could bombard her with endless hypnotic messages telling her to simply lie back and accept her inevitable defeat, alternated with shining offers of ridiculous, hedonistic delight (hedonistic delight, that, thus far, they had shown every indication of being very capable of delivering), but somehow she still seemed to be more cognizant than any of their other victims that she had encountered. Tina's mind was certainly being weakened by these messages, and she wasn't foolish enough to even imagine that she might be immune to them. But somehow, the same struggle for control of herself that had once ended in complete and seemingly automatic failure would now occasionally yield success. Her potty training was going poorly, but considering that she was being bombarded with messages involving diapers and the joys of letting go and wetting, the fact that she was still in training pants might be considered a victory. Her record wasn't perfect, but she had not yet had enough accidents to give in and accept being diapered. It was as though the Sponsor's ads were steadily losing their power over her. She wondered if, if she kept up the mental battle and refused to give in, she might somehow gain a measure of freedom from them.
The music abruptly changed tone, from soaring and orchestral to serious, bordering on grim. The idyllic scenery was replaced by the face of a woman in a policewoman's cap, her expression stern and humorless to match the somber music.
“Hi. My name is Winona Marshall.”
Tina jolted awake slightly when she noticed that the woman speaking was none other than the infantilized police officer she had met on the car ride over. The camera was focused on her face, which was pale and grayish due to the washed-out lighting. The edges of the screen were blurred, making it seem like Winny was speaking from inside a raincloud.
“You know, I used to be very unhappy. Life wasn't bringing me the joy and fulfillment that it once did. For some reason, I just couldn't seem to connect with others. I was often grouchy and irritable. Sometimes, I would snap at people for no reason. My work felt overwhelming. I felt bombarded by other people's problems. I had so many things to get done every day, and it felt like no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get on top of it all. So many worries. So much stress.”
(Silent, black and white footage of Winny at her desk play as the music continues. Winny sits and noiselessly answering an old-fashioned phone with a long, coiled cord. Stacks of folders, binders, and loose papers are everywhere. A flash of white, and she is talking to two police officers in front of her desk. The conversation grows heated, as indicated by the angry look on Winny's face and the wild gesticulations of her two colleagues. Another flash of white, and there is a crowd in front of the desk. She is talking to them, and on the phone, at the same time. The footage speeds up. The “In” try piles up, and a second phone joins the first, and then somehow a third.)
“I was always worried. Worried that I would be fired. Worried that I would let down the people who counted on me. Worried that I would lose track of something important, and then everything would blow up in my face. I wanted so badly to get promoted. I was so determined to climb the greasy pole to the power and respect I felt I was owed. Every day was a struggle to appease my superiors and outdo my rivals. I wasn't even truly aware of how empty and lonely my life had become. Sure, I had my friends, and my family, but I didn't truly feel close to anyone. I was closed off from the world, and from the people around me. Sometimes, at the end of a long day, I would simply break down and cry.
(Winona sits at a small table at home, head buried in her hands. An ashtray full of cigarettes smolders at her elbow, and empty mugs are scattered around her.)
“I began to wonder if I might have a problem, so I talked to my doctor. And boy, am I glad I did. Turns out, I had a serious mood disorder that affects millions of Americans every year. I took some tests, and I was finally diagnosed with Success Syndrome.”
Clips began to play of Winny sitting in an intensely generic-looking examination room, talking to her extremely attractive physician with a serious, concerned tone. The busty doctor had an obviously phony expression of concern, and she nodded and pursed her lips as Winona explained her problems. At the bottom of the screen, words begin to crawl across in a flat, white script. Tina couldn't bring herself to look away, and her eyes kept darting from the text crawl to Winny's face and back again.
(Symptoms of Success Syndrome include, but are not limited to: stress, impatience, a feeling that the whole world is your responsibility, long work hours, competitiveness, headaches, irritability, guilt, ambition, excessive need for external validation, dry mouth, halitosis, and constipation.)
“I thought my life was over! But then my doctor told me all about Loser Diapers.”
(The smiling doctor presents a heaping stack of thick, white diapers. When the screen cuts back to Winny, the camera has panned out to show her full outfit. Her legs are bare, and her padded rear is large enough to to be easily visible from the front. The word “Loser” are printed across the front panel of her diaper in friendly purple lettering. Light and color flood back into the picture, and the music picks up to indicate the happy ending. Winny's smile is almost as brilliant as her doctor's)
“Ever since my doctor put me in Loser Diapers, my life has been so much happier! It's so much easier to just lie back and let the world handle its own problems. Failure is just part of life, and thanks to my Loser Diapers, I get to fail all day, every day! My Loser Diapers soak up all my drive and ambition, so I can finally just relax! I got demoted from Sergeant to Deputy at work, and it didn't bother me at all. It's a lot more fun just doing whatever I'm told! I don't have any of my stupid old responsibilities anymore. My Loser Diapers are a constant reminder that nobody is perfect, and that I don't always need to win. Everyone makes mistakes, and whenever I make a big one, I can just ask my supervisor to change me into a nice, fresh Loser Diaper! Loser Diapers are so thick and absorbent that I can go hours without a change, and they soak up all my nasty, self-important, competitive thoughts, so I can just focus on having fun and being myself!”
(A montage of Winny's new career in law enforcement begins to play, accompanied by triumphant music. Smiling from her car seat in the back of the squad car, being laid out on a changing mat in the park, sucking her thumb as her new supervisor held her other hand, waiting patiently as another officer ties her shoes, being tickled by her supervisor, showing off her expansive diaper-butt to a crowd of cheering tourists, eating an over-sized ice cream cone, having her mouth wiped for her with a baby wipe...)
“Thanks, Loser Diapers! Nine out of ten doctors recommend Loser Diapers for their patients with mild to severe Success Syndrome. And that last doctor is a real jerk!”
(The image of a comically villainous doctor sneering and steepling his fingers flashed across the screen. The word “Jerk” pulsed in bright yellow three times.)
Ask your doctor about Success Syndrome, and Loser Diapers today! This Message is brought to you by...Our Sponsors.
Tina cast her eyes downward and sucked her thumb thoughtfully. She remembered how she had felt when she had been compelled to participate in one of the Sponsor's little ads. She wondered how much of the story about Winny's former life was true. Had she really felt so overwhelmed by the stress of her career that being demoted to a lazy, diapered laughingstock had seemed like a reasonable alternative? Tina had no doubt that the Sponsors would twist the truth or just outright lie if it suited their purposes, but if there was any truth in it, it might explain why Winny had been vulnerable to the Sponsors' influence. How many people had felt depressed, overburdened, and adrift in the old world? A shorter list would be the people who hadn't. Tina herself had felt like that much of the time, and her life had been better than many. Was that the weakness that the Sponsors were preying on?
Tina wondered how long it would be before she herself was starring in a diaper commercial, or a scented baby wipe commercial, or a goddamned edible blanket commercial (Tina had nibbled at her own blanket during her mid-afternoon nap and had found that they were only fleece and polyester filling, at least for now), or whatever other asinine product the Sponsors decided to inflict upon the human race next.
Tina's thoughts were interrupted by a gentle nudge at the very edge of her perception. She needed to pee. She was grateful for the faint tickle of warning from her bladder. It was a sign that her uphill battle with Miko's Diaper Training regimen had not yet been lost. She knew better than to delay too long, however. She knew full well now that her potty-training (even in her own mind, that hateful phrase had stolen the place of more adult terms) was on the ropes, and would certainly give way entirely if she were less than diligent.
“Miko? Miko! Come let me out of this thing! I need to go potty!” called Tina to the kitchen, where Miko was now busy with the dishes. Tina heard Miko's footsteps in the kitchen, but they stopped abruptly and the faucet was turned back on.
Tina rolled her eyes. “Mommy?” she tried. Miko was in the room almost as soon as the magic word was spoken.
“Yes, my little gumdrop? Is it time for my Big Girl to make her tinkles?” asked Miko in her usual cloying tone.
Tina forced a toothy smile. “Yes, Mommy. May I...” Tina winced slightly before reciting the passphrase. “...please use the big girl potty?”
Miko clasped her hands together and cocked her head to the side, making her look rather cartoonish. “Of course you may! Good girl, asking permission so nicely! Do you remember what you need to say to get out of your baby bouncer, sweetie?”
Tina seethed and covered her blushing face with one hand. “...goddamn it, Miko...”
Miko cocked an annoyed eyebrow. “No, honey, that isn't it at all. I'm starting to wonder if a few little smacks on the bum-bum might jog your memory.”
Tina thought it best to pick her battles today. She doubted her bladder could see her through even a light spanking. Blushing fiercely, she extended her arms and intoned yet another ancient incantation. “Uppies, Mommy.”
“Your wish is my command, Teeny-beenie!” said Miko as she eagerly took hold of Tina's waist and effortlessly lifted her out of the contraption. Once her bare feet were free of the bouncer's seat, she settled Tina on her hip and carried her toward the bathroom.
“I can still walk, you know.” muttered Tina. She was having trouble getting comfortable against Tina's side. Was there something in the pocket of her apron?
Miko rubbed Tina's back affectionately as she answered. “Oh, I'm sure you can. I think I might even keep it that way, too! I love the idea of you waddling around the house in your adorable diapers. Once you've accepted how badly you need them, of course.” said Miko. She turned and used her rear to push open the bathroom door, and flipped the light switch with her elbow. She stood Tina in front of her training potty, which was shaped like a cartoon tortoise. It was actually slightly larger than the actual toilet that it sat opposite from.
“You do realize that there is literally no reason for me not to use that?” said Tina, pointing toward the pristine porcelain throne.
Miko didn't look. “Yes, there is.” said Miko matter-of-factly as she drew Tina's Wuvvies down to her knees. “That's the grown-up's potty, sweety. That's not for my sweet little Teeny's precious bum-bum. Not ever.”
Tina slipped a little on the damp tile floor, and might have fallen if Miko hadn't grabbed her by the hips and placed her on the plastic potty. “Whoopsie-Daisy!” sang Miko. Tina rolled her eyes and groaned theatrically, making sure to keep Miko's eyes on her face
Miko continued to stare with a blissful smile on her face, petting Tina's head as she did her business. Tina's face blazed as she heard the trickling sound begin. She hated being watched on the toilet like this. Of course, the Sponsors couldn't wait to get her into diapers so they could undermine her sense of independence and demean her still further, until she was just enough smiling face in their ads, giddily explaining some magical new product or other. They had no reason to make her visits to the bathroom pleasant, although Miko, whose fondness for her charge seemed more genuine than synthetic, did her best. Putting her in Miko's care had been clever on their part, she reflected. Fakery was even more appealing when it had a little of the real stuff stirred in.
The sound gradually slowed, and finally dribbled to a halt. Tina stood and took a deep breath to brace herself. Miko beamed as she tugged a wipe out of the box that she kept beside the training potty and got to work. Tina wondered if the kind of wipes they had sold in the baby aisle before the Sponsors had taken over had been as indulgently silky as these ones. One would have handled the job fine, but Miko pulled a second and a third, to make certain that Tina was gasping and sighing before she was finished. When Miko finally pulled her Wuvvies back into place around her waist and adjusted the waistband with gentle snaps, Tina wasn't sure herself whether to be relieved or disappointed. “There we go! Good job on making your tinkles in the potty! I don't mind putting you on the potty, sweetie, but it would be so nice if you would just accept the inevitable and let me put you in your diapers. That way, you could do your business without having to stop watching the TV! Wouldn't that be more fun? To just keep watching the screen while your bladder and your diaper work things out between themselves?”
Tina sat back down on the giant training potty, turning her hand to carefully hide her palm. “I know, Miko. I'm sure that make you very happy. And I'm sure it would feel really good.”
Miko placed her hand on Tina's knee. “Better than 'good', honey! The Sponsors have the most amazing diapers for you to wear, and I know you'd love every second of wearing them. And it would be so much fun to check you and change you and fuss over you all day long! Why can't you let me have that, Teeny? Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
Miko bent forward and whispered softly. “You don't have to say it out loud if you don't want to. Just a little wink would be enough. Just whisper and nod, and I can 'force' you back into diapers, no matter how much you whine and squeal and pretend to be a big girl!”
Tina slowly inhaled, trying to steady herself as she spoke. “Miko...I love you. I really do.”
Tears appeared in Miko's eyes almost immediately, making them look even brighter and shinier than the Sponsors had made them.
“That's what makes this hard. I know we could be happy here, with you spoiling me and wiping my butt as I slowly lose my mind in front of the television. I know it would feel wonderful. But it isn't right. There's more to life than this. I want to be able to share more with you than just diapers and boobies. I want long walks in the countryside. I want to read real books and have real conversations. I want to explore and create and struggle and learn and grow! I want to have a real job where I can actually do things that help other people. Everything the Sponsors have given us is sweet and easy and pointless! Maybe I could be happy indulging in something like this once in a while, but if we had to actually live here...we'd both end up miserable. And even if we were happy, the people who were happy wouldn't really be us. I'm sorry. This isn't working.”
Bright, shimmering tears streamed down Miko's face. “Teeny. You're making Mommy sad. What are you saying, honeybunch?”
“I'm saying that I need to get out of here. I need to leave while I still can. I need to escape from the Sponsors, or fight them if I can. If I keep sitting in that bouncer and staring at the TV and sucking your boobies, eventually I won't be me anymore. Do you understand? Do you understand at all?”
Miko's bottom lip quivered. Tina felt the bottom of her throat tighten, but she would not be swayed. “Teeny...no, you can't.”
“It isn't up to you Miko. I am leaving. But I do want you to come with me. The Sponsors will do everything they can to keep us trapped in their world. I don't know if I have the strength to fight them, but I will try. I want you to try too. Can you do that for me, Miko? I know the Sponsors have done a serious number on you, but I know you're still my Miko. Can you help me escape from here? I'd rather do it together, but if I have to go alone, I will.”
Miko looked down for a moment. She seemed distraught and confused. Nothing that Tina was saying seemed to fit the story that she had been told. Then, she looked up, seeming to brighten.
“I think we could do that, honey. I could take you outside to the car, and we'll go wherever you decide. As long as I get to be with you, it doesn't matter where we are. But I have one condition, Tina.”
Tina's face hardened. Even if Miko had finally used her actual name, she could sense that the other shoe was about to drop, and that it was a particularly large and smelly shoe.
“I will go with you, and take you wherever you'd like...but not in your training pants. If I'm going to take you out in public, I'm not going to be the only Mommy whose baby isn't properly trained yet. My little Teeny has got to be in her diapers. That's my price, sweetie. Are you willing to do that, for me? It won't be bad. Not at all. I'll pack us a nice diaper bag, and fill up the trunk with supplies, and we'll take a little roadtrip, just the two of us. I think that would be just wonderful, sweetheart. We'll get out in the sunshine and fresh air, go to the beach, go camping, go sight-seeing, whatever your little heart could desire. I'll be ready at a moment's notice to pull out your changing pad and clean up all your adorable little accidents. Please? I want that so bad, Teeny. I'm prepared to accommodate you however you like, I'll bend over backwards just to please you, but I can't wait any more. It'll be so perfect! Have you seen even half of what the Sponsors have made for us? Diapers that you can bounce around in like a bean-bag chair. Diapers that can make you want to hump everyone and everything around you. Diapers that can vibrate when I snap my fingers! I'll do whatever you want me to do, Teeny, but please, won't you let me diaper you? And nurse you? And...love you?
Tina felt her own eyes well up in sympathy, but her lips tightened. “I'm sorry too, Miko. I'd love that. I know I would. You could put me in the diapers, and I don't think I'd ever have a coherent thought ever again. I have no doubt at all that the pleasure would be too intense for words.”
She hung her head. “And with you there to share it with, it would be even better. I could embrace all that, and never turn my head. But I'm sorry. It's not what I choose for myself. If you can't come with me, I'll have to go alone.”
There was a long silence, as Tina and Miko searched each other's eyes. Then Miko shut her eyes and swallowed hard. She seemed to be struggling with herself. Finally, she spoke. “Oh, Tina. I don't think I'll ever really understand you. You're...you're so brave. I think...I think in many ways, you're a much stronger person than I am. I really love you, very much.”
She blinked. The shiny tears in her eyes no longer seemed genuine. They were shiny like glass, or like glossy plastic. “But I'm sorry. Mommy isn't going to let you run off and do whatever you want by yourself. Like or not, I'm responsible for you now, and you're not going to leave this house without my permission. I think we've had a little too much imagination time today, honey. Now, are you going to lie down for your nap, or am I going to need to give your cute little tushy a spanking first?”
A tear ran down Tina's cheek. She had lost. Whatever part of her friend was still in there, belonged to the Sponsors now. Though it hurt like crazy, she had to let go. There was no saving her, at least not this way.
“I love you too, Miko! And I'm really, really sorry.”
She suddenly launched herself off the potty and jumped back from Miko. She felt surprisingly agile, wearing nothing below the waist but a pair of training pants. She held aloft the perfume bottle that she had stolen from Miko's pocket earlier, when she had pretended to slip.
Miko slapped at the front pocket of her apron, eyes wide. “Teeny...you had better give that back to Mommy, or I promise, you will get such a span...”
Miko's eyes pinched shut as Tina spritzed her. Her already-oversized cleavage swelled inside her polka-dotted dress. Miko, blinded but furious, began stumbling forward, arms splayed to catch Tina. Tina knew that she would be done for if she were caught in those slender but inhumanly powerful arms. She danced backward, mercilessly spraying Miko again and again. Miko's breasts grew and grew, from cantaloupes to soccer balls. By the time the pair had reached the living room, they were big enough to block Miko's vision.
“This isn't funny Tina!” shouted Miko, helplessly and to some extent, inaccurately. “You come back here this instant!”
Tina braced herself. The urge to reflexively obey her Mommy's command shot through her. It was strong, but she knew she was stronger. More than that, she was right. She knew in her heart that she had the right to disobey.
By the time the little glass bottle was finally empty. Miko was filling a large part of the floor. Her breasts were larger than beanbag chairs, and her arms were too short to reach past them. Even with the inhuman strength the Sponsors had given her, she was helpless to do anything but struggle fruitlessly with her own boobs.
“Do you ever wake up feeling hungry, but just don't have the energy to get up and walk to the kitchen? Does the thought of having to boil coffee or fry an egg feel like just too much first thing in the morning? We have the solution! Introducing...”
Tina hurled the empty perfume bottle at the screen, just as the woman lying in the extremely comfy-looking bed took a big bite out of her thick, raspberry-flavored quilt. There was a loud crashing noise, and a smell of burning electronic components. The screen came down in large, dangerous-looking glass shards. Behind the screen, Tina saw what looked like a long corridor, it's walls composed of a simmering haze of black and white, like the static of a disconnected television. She didn't understand what was happening, or why, but she hadn't let that stop her yet. She stuck her fingers in her ears to block out her friend's orders, threats, and tearful pleading. She walked forward, resolutely, stepping carefully over the broken glass and through the hole she had made in the Sponsor's world.
Comments
John Doe
Great as always but I'm upset that we saw so little of the edible blankets in this story, I feel like they're a major plot point.
Josh Stack
Wow, I thought nothing could top the “we were made to love and be loved” internal monologue from the Disapproving Mother alternate ending but Tina’s speech was really inspiring, so much so that I think it would be a great message to send in a vanilla story. The human mind can’t be content with mere pleasure, we require challenge. This does not mean that hedonism is wrong, just that the mind must be stimulated as much as the body. Given that we live in a world which has spent thousands of years believing in the false dichotomy of ethics vs hedonism, it’s very refreshing to see someone acknowledge that there is a middle ground between “horribly repressed and prudish” and “literally mindlessly indulgent”. As for Miko, I think this might be the first example of total identity death in your stories. Previous examples carried the implication that some part of the brainwashed character, even if it was diminished to the point of barely existing. Miko is the first time we’ve seen that last remnant of the original personality just vanish, and it’s a good example of subtle tragedy. Hyped for the ending regardless of how it goes (please be happy).
