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I’ve chosen to revisit the story Sally’s Growth because of its controversial ending. This time, I’m offering a new one. I’ve spent a long time thinking about the story I wrote—and why I wrote it. While the original ending was described by some as “Greek drama,” one of my deeper influences is actually Russian drama. It’s rooted in realism, psychology, social critique, and spiritual struggle. It asks hard questions: How should we live? What does suffering mean? Its characters don’t battle the gods; they wrestle with themselves, with their nation, and with their conscience. There’s a persistent search for beauty, love, and meaning—even in chaos. Redemption is never guaranteed, but it’s always pursued. That said, the ending was disappointing. I get it. It disappointed me too—mainly because it left too much unresolved. For instance, how would Sally now relate to Katrina, Clara, and Erika in her changed situation? Over time, I kept circling these questions, running “what if” scenarios in my mind. Eventually, they grew into something more solid—and that’s what I’m sharing now. Someone once commented that the ending of Sally’s Growth felt like a dream sequence. They wished Sally would wake up. I’m not going down that road. Instead, I’m picking up the story where it ended: Sally dies—but then she doesn’t. And from there, the story continues. (Spoiler: Nobody dies in this story) I’m posting Chapter 97 as a continuation under this new direction. New readers may want to check out Sally’s Growth in the Completed Stories archive before diving in. I suggest you read until Chapter 96, then begin here. Your comments mean a lot. I depend on them.

Hello everyone, and welcome to my 2nd ever story. This one came to me pretty quickly. As always, constructive criticism is welcome. Comments welcome. Diapers from the start on this one. Chapter 1: Anxiety Jimmy was having that dream again. As he lay sweating in his bed, his eyes continuously darted back and forth beneath his eyelids. He moved restlessly under the covers. It was his most frequent dream, the one that was more of a memory than an actual dream. The one he wished he could forget. In his dream, he was six again, walking home from the bus stop. The afternoon heat was in full effect, causing sweat to run down the small of his back, and a quick wipe of his forehead with the back of his hand. As he approached the front door of his house, he could see that the sun was at just the right angle to shine through the multicolored pattern built into the top of the wooden door. The refracted light on the carpet of the living room looked like a rainbow. In his dream, he had just walked in the front door, his mother’s imposing figure coming into view as he pushed the door open fully. His mother stood there, waiting for him, tapping her foot in annoyance. Before he could even get out so much as a “Hi Mom!”, his backpack was removed, and his pants pulled around his ankles. In one swift motion, his mother took him over her knee and told him off for misbehaving again. What had his crime been? His Mother informed him that his aim during his morning pee had been poor, and he’d splashed a bit onto the floor. As his mother’s firm hand struck his quickly reddening behind, his mother was extolling the virtues of cleanliness to him. In his dream, Jimmy was crying, promising to do better next time, to keep the bathroom clean. After a good twenty spanks, she set him back on his feet and pulled his pants back up. Stepping back from Jimmy, she pointed at the small amount of dirt he had tracked inside and told him to clean it up. He didn’t say a word and walked over to the laundry room where the mop and bucket lived. He cleaned the entire entrance until it was spotless. The blue and white tiling of the front entrance was once again sparkling clean, so clean you could see your face if you looked close enough. His mandated cleaning completed, the bucket was emptied, the mop returned, and the sink was sprayed down. Satisfied that her floor once again was clean enough to eat off, she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him to his room. Struggling to keep up with her pace, Jimmy jogged behind his Mom as she took him to the space underneath the stairs where he slept. Pulling down his pants revealed his wet pull-up. With machine-like efficiency, she removed it, wiped his privates and bum, and pulled up the fresh, clean one. A quick sprinkle of baby powder down the front, and she was done. The whole time, she was reminding him that things must always be perfect, always be clean. The final knife in the barrage of insults was her chastising him for still wetting his pants like a baby. Now clean and dry, he was told to sit down and play quietly. She had several videos to film, and he had already put her behind schedule. He stepped into the small space that was his bedroom and heard the door close, the lock sliding into place. Jimmy was in the dark, all before he could even sit down. Blindly waving his hand in the air, he attempted to grasp the string that he needed to illuminate his room. After a few empty swipes, he finally caught the string in his hand. Wrapping his small hand around the string, he pulled the string of the one light that illuminated his space. The sudden burst of light caused him to cover his eyes in slight pain. The light flash faded to black, and as he returned to consciousness, the morning rays peered through his curtains and right onto his face. Opening his eyes and rubbing eye crusties out, Jimmy gave a big morning stretch and a yawn as he began to move from underneath his covers. The familiar crinkle of his plastic sheets and the taped disposable medical brief around his waist didn’t even register with him anymore. He put his hand on the crotch of his taped disposable brief, and as usual, it was soaked. Jimmy gave a resigned sigh at the familiar feeling of a soaked brief (he refused to call them diapers, his ego had taken enough blows). Trudging from his bedroom to the bathroom just across the hall, he closed the door and pulled the shower curtain closed. As he turned the hot water knob, he heard the familiar groaning sound as water ran through the apartment’s pipes and into his shower. He didn’t have to wait for the water to warm up. His apartment complex was practically brand new, but out of habit, he waited for the water to warm. Jimmy used this warm-up time to grab his towel and washcloth, making sure it was a clean one. Mist was just starting to spill over from the shower as he turned to the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door and sighed at what stared back at him. Nothing about the image staring back at him made him happy. Staring at the slowly fogging mirror was a short twenty-two-year-old man, five feet five inches tall according to his driver's license, but he had worn lifts that day to ensure it. His body was skinny and underdeveloped physically. His body hair was hard to see as it was barely darker than the light blonde hair on his head. He usually kept his hair high and tight. He regarded his youthful face and the distinct lack of stubble on it. Even if he tried to grow a beard, it took forever, came in patchy, and looked awful. Between his legs sagged the well-used medical brief, which was one of the great sources of shame for Jimmy. You would think that after a lifetime of bedwetting, he wouldn’t care so much, but he couldn’t help it. To him, it was just another flaw, just another reason that he would always be alone and never find someone to love him. The mirror was now completely fogged up from the steam, so he quickly removed the tapes of his sodden brief before wrapping it up tight and putting it in the trash can. Stepping into the hot shower, he began to wash off last night’s shame from his body. He thoroughly scrubbed himself with body wash and a washcloth. Scrubbing away any hint of urine that could follow him into the office this morning. Stepping out of the shower and toweling himself off, he slapped on some deodorant. Smelling fresh, Jimmy made his way, towel wrapped around his waist, to the bedroom portion of his studio apartment. The indented space was full of shelves and metal rods running horizontally at varying levels. All of his clothes were neatly hung by a series of identical white plastic coat hangers on the lower bars, and to reach the top shelf, he needed a step stool. To the left was a bag of absorbent pull-on briefs silently mocking him. Grabbing a fresh one from the package, he carefully stepped into the briefs and pulled them into place. Next to the bag of briefs is a large bottle of talcum powder. Turning the lid of the container, Jimmy pulled out the front of his brief and dusted himself with a liberal amount of talcum powder. Jimmy was just glad it was Friday. Friday meant he didn’t have to be in uniform at the call center today. Casual Friday, really just means a Polo Shirt and sneakers. It really wasn’t that different from the button-up shirt and dress shoes he wore the rest of the week. He selected his favorite solid navy blue Polo shirt and grey dress slacks from their hangers, and threaded his black slide buckle belt through the loops of his pants. Now clothed, he walked back across the hall to his bathroom. Moving his stepstool in front of the bathroom sink with the large mirror set above it, he grabbed his squeegee brush from the adjacent hook on the wall. With practiced strokes, he removed the condensation that had accumulated on the mirror. Returning the squeegee to the hook, he stepped down off the stool. He then removed the tub cleaner from underneath the sink and sprayed down the shower and tub. Taking his trusty sponge from its holder under the sink, he thoroughly scrubbed down his tub and the surrounding tile. Next was the full-length mirror on the door, still fogged with condensation. He removed a squeegee, half the size of the other, from its hook and cleaned off the full-length mirror as well. Looking at his bathroom one more time, to his immense satisfaction, it looked like it hadn’t even been used, and that’s the way he liked it. Jimmy walked over to his bed and began pulling the sheets back into place on the queen-size bed. He tucked the sheets in tight and neat, making sure to tuck them in with hospital corners. Satisfied with the flat, smooth sheets, he pulled the comforter up into place and tucked it in as well, his pillows trapped underneath. Morning cleaning complete, it was time for breakfast. Jimmy poured himself a bowl of Raisin Bran and sat at his kitchen island. Scrolling through the latest local and national news, he mechanically moved the spoon from the bowl to his mouth. Depositing his bowl in the dishwasher, he glanced at the clock on the stove. Jimmy saw that it was currently six forty-five in the morning. He was on time, as usual. After quickly wiping down the countertops of any stray bran flakes, he swept the kitchen floor for any minuscule particles of dust that had built up since cleaning up dinner last night. Looking back at the living room and kitchen of his apartment, Jimmy was satisfied with how clean it looked. His apartment looked like it could be the model apartment that complexes showed off to prospective renters. There was everything you would expect: couches, end tables, lamps, a television, but it all felt artificial. The apartment had no feeling of being lived in. That didn’t bother Jimmy. This cleanliness and picture-perfect presentation were all he had ever known. He had no concept of a feeling of hominess, of a place being filled with warmth and personality. Next to the door on a low hook hung Jimmy’s work bag. The bag was a mix of work items and personal items. His lunch, work laptop, and a spare pull-on ultra-absorbent brief, along with travel-size powder and wipes, were contained within. He hated that he was forced to pack extra protection, because he knew that meant he was admitting that he would need a change. Just underneath the dangling bag, there was a bench with neatly arranged rows of shoes on the underside. Grabbing his red New Balance shoes, he slipped them on with practiced ease and grabbed his bag. He took one last look around the apartment to make sure he hadn’t left anything potentially hazardous on. Doing a final check of his pockets, feeling his keys, wallet, and phone, Jimmy turned off the overhead lights and exited his apartment. Locking the door to his fifth-floor apartment, Jimmy quickly made his way down the stairs and outside to the bus stop, arriving at five minutes to seven, just like he did every morning. The bus arrived five minutes late, much to Jimmy’s chagrin. Stepping onto the bus and swiping his Metro Pass, he was greeted by the same friendly driver who always was on this route. An uneventful twenty minutes later, the bus arrived at Jimmy’s stop in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. The bus deposited him just across the street from his work. Making his way to the street corner, he hustled across the crosswalk while it was still showing the Walk sign. Stopping a moment to catch his breath, Jimmy made his way to the front door of Hermes Insurance Inc’s soaring downtown headquarters. Doing his best not to be swept up by the revolving door, he carefully made his way to the security station. Swiping his badge at the reader, the turnstile gate opened with a click. The elevator bank was just beyond, and he was lucky enough to catch the polished gold elevator doors before they could close completely. Seeing that he had the elevator to himself, he quickly pressed the button for the tenth floor so he could keep it that way. The rapidly ascending elevator deposited him on his desired floor. He made his way to the break room to get ready for the workday. Depositing his prepared meal, made the night before, into the communal refrigerator, Jimmy took a seat to wait for the start of his shift at eight. He took several deep breaths in an attempt to prepare himself to be yelled at all day. He hated his job, his coworkers, and his boss was the worst. His choice of jobs hadn’t been large in this struggling economy. You took whichever jobs were available. As the clock flipped to eight o’clock on the dot, Jimmy swiped his badge at the check-in station. Hustling to his cubicle in the back of the room, he quickly sets up for the day. Once his computer finally booted up, he was able to sign in to all necessary work programs. He grabbed the headset from its dock built into his office phone. He exhaled as he put the headset on and once again attempted to steel himself for the day ahead. Marking himself ready to receive calls, Jimmy prayed that his first customer would be nice and not a mean customer. Jimmy was pleasantly surprised when, after reading his scripted answering prompt, the voice on the other end of the line was a kindly elderly woman who had dialed the wrong number. Quickly assuring her that it was not a problem, he switched to the next caller. This time, he wasn’t so lucky. The customer on the line was very audibly frustrated as Jimmy read through his case. By the end of the call, the man was screaming in his ear, calling him names like “idiot, useless, fool,” and eventually demanding to speak to a supervisor. He did as asked, even though his Supervisor would just tell the customer the same things he had. As Jimmy disconnected from the call, he felt a small spurt of pee escape into his padded brief. Yelling customers always made him anxious. They caused him to inadvertently clench himself as if he was trying to pull away from the voice on the other end of the phone. So when the call ended and he relaxed, a small spurt escaped into his brief. For the thousandth time, Jimmy cursed his anxiety and urge incontinence. Thankfully, no one at work knew about this, and he wanted to keep it that way. He just knew the department head would humiliate him if he knew about the incontinence. He was the nephew of one of the C Suite executives, and he walked around knowing he was untouchable. He blatantly played favorites, taking work off of the people he liked, and shoving more on the ones he didn’t. Jimmy was very firmly in the category of people he didn’t like. Jimmy had no clue why. He had barely interacted with the man outside of yes sir or no sir. If he had to guess, he believed it was likely that he was small, scrawny, timid, and quiet, the perfect combination for any bully’s ire. He tried to be pleasant, but it just seemed to piss the man off even more. Several hours and many involuntary spurts later, it was finally time for lunch. Jimmy ate quickly, using the remainder of his lunch to write a To Do list for himself, starting with this evening. The main task that needed to be completed was to stop by the diaper bank and restock his nighttime disposable briefs. He was down to half on his current bag and wanted to resupply before it got any lower. He didn’t want to risk running out and being left high and dry. He completed the list with several other minor cleaning tasks added on. Lunch about to end, Jimmy made his way to the Men’s room to change into a dry pull on briefs. Glancing around as he walked, to see if anyone else was in the bathroom before entering. Shutting himself in a stall, he quickly removed his slacks and placed them on the hook attached to the stall door. With practiced efficiency, he tore the sides of his wet brief and removed it. He put the used brief on the back of the toilet. Wiping himself down, he deposited the wipe in the open brief and rolled it up tight. Depositing the soiled brief into a sealable plastic bag, he quickly grabbed the dry brief and pulled it on. Quickly, dusting his intimate areas, he packed his bag back up and stepped back into his pants. As he was pulling up his pants so he could turn and grab the bag with the soiled brief, he heard the door to the bathroom open. He froze for a moment to allow the newcomer to enclose himself in a stall. Jimmy quickly flushed the toilet and left the stall. He tossed the soiled brief into the trash and washed his hands. He placed the wet paper towels over the bag, but before he could cover the bag any further, he heard the toilet flush and rushed out of the bathroom instead. Clocking back in at one pm on the dot, he returned to his station. Jimmy preferred the afternoons at work. Afternoons were when he took care of reports and forms that his boss had shoved off onto him, being too “busy” to do them himself. Doing reports meant he wasn’t taking calls, and no calls meant no yelling, and no yelling meant no spurts. Thirty minutes before quitting time, he finally completed all of his boss’s work for the day and printed out the reports to deliver them as instructed. Making his way to the dreaded “bro” department manager’s office, he timidly knocked on the office door. After being bidden to enter, he handed in the reports like he always did. He received a dismissive handwave from the boss, who never took his eyes off the computer screen. He turned to exit the office and return to his cubicle. As he was passing through the door frame, his boss called for him to return. Confused, he cautiously made his way back to the desk, and to his surprise, his boss complimented him for his work on the report. Suddenly, he was standing and walking around his desk to shake Jimmy’s hand. He was too stunned to react as his boss shook his hand. Still complimenting Jimmy’s work, he gently guided him out to the main call center floor. Loudly clapping his hands, he called for silence. Once he was sure he had everyone’s attention, he cleared his throat. “Thank you for your attention, folks. I have just received an email from HR reminding me that I have yet to complete this month’s training on workplace harassment. According to HR, I need to have a meeting with my whole team to discuss workplace harassment and provide examples of what to do to avoid harassing language and actions. Jimmy here has graciously volunteered to help me act out a few possible scenarios of workplace harassment. Hopefully, with these examples, you will all learn what language is acceptable and unacceptable in the workplace.” Jimmy’s anxiety spiked through the roof. Do a presentation with the boss? In front of everyone? With all of those eyes on him? He began to shake slightly at the pressure, as a small spurt made its way into his briefs. Looking over at his boss once he had stopped talking, Jimmy thought he might have seen a hint of a smirk on his boss’ face, but he couldn’t be sure. Jimmy waved it off as his anxiety. His boss was a dick, but he wasn’t evil. Right? His boss called his name, trying to get his attention. On the third repeat of his name, he came back to reality. His boss informed Jimmy that in this scenario, he was playing the part of the employee receiving harassment. His boss, Chad, would be playing the harassing coworker. In this scenario, Jimmy was being harassed for a medical condition. With their roles assigned, the scenario began. “Hey Jimmy! How’s it going, buddy?” “Um, good. How are you, Chad?” “I’m good, buddy. Say, do you smell that? Smells like pee!” Jimmy froze in place. This scenario was hitting too close to home for his liking. Did Chad know about his incontinence? Was he overthinking it? Was it possible that this was just the example scenario that someone in HR had assigned to be acted out? Some scenario picked at random from a generated list of possible harassment scenarios? “Hey, Jimmy! Earth to Jimmy! I asked you a question. Do you smell that?” “Ummm. No, I don’t smell anything.” “You don’t smell that? Smells like a baby to me. Smells like a baby with a pissy diaper. Any idea where that’s coming from, Jimmy?” “No…No idea. I don’t smell anything.” “No idea, huh? It wouldn’t have anything to do with the soaked diaper I found in the trash in the Men’s room, would it? Do you know anything about that Jimmy?” Jimmy’s mind was going a mile a minute, and his anxiety spiked even higher. Was this really the scenario? Was this really a coincidence, or had Chad found his brief in the trash after lunch? He felt himself spiraling into an anxiety attack, and suddenly, a warm wetness blooming from his crotch. Jimmy barely registered the spreading warmth, too in his own head to pay attention to any outside stimuli. It was only the sound of shocked gasps and a dripping sound that brought him back to reality. Looking around, Jimmy could see all of his coworkers still staring in his direction, but now their eyes were focused on his crotch. Jimmy looked down to see a large wet stain on the front of his pants, running down the legs to the floor, where a puddle had formed beneath him. In his anxious state, it seemed as if he had stopped holding his bladder and flooded his padded briefs. Not being designed for a flood of urine released from a full bladder, they had naturally leaked. His pants drenched, and a pool at his feet, Jimmy began to sob. His boss moved to his side with a look of sympathy on his face. “Ok, everybody, show’s over. Get back to work, and stop staring at poor Jimmy’s accident.” The rest of the office silently returned to their cubicles and got back to work. Jimmy’s sobs slowed into sniffles, and he looked up at his boss. His boss gave him a sympathetic smile, but Jimmy could swear he was actually smirking inside. His eyes seemed to give off a spark of glee, that this was hilarious, but he had to appear sympathetic. He bent down to whisper into Jimmy’s ear. “Do you have anything to change into? Another pull-up?” Jimmy didn’t even register that his boss had mentioned pull-ups, and that there should have been no way he would know that. He didn’t clock the false sympathy oozing from his boss’ voice. He just sniffled and shook his head. “Why don’t you go grab your stuff and leave a bit early then. No need to clock out, I’ll take care of it. You just hurry home and get dry!” Jimmy just nodded and started towards his desk. He thought he heard the faint sound of laughter behind him, but he couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t in his head, and he was laughing at himself. Quietly, he grabbed his laptop and personal items and walked towards the elevator. He was doing his best to keep the front of his soaked pants out of everyone’s eyeline, not realizing there was a large stain on the back of his pants as well. He quietly waited for the elevator, his head hung low, eyes focused on the ground. It felt like an eternity before the elevator dinged its arrival and opened. He shuffled in and made his way to the lobby. He just wanted to get out of this place. He couldn’t believe he had just wet himself in front of his boss and coworkers. How did that happen? That’s what he asked himself on the ride to the lobby, and all the way out the front door to the street. Art from Manga Kare to Kanojo no Chiguhagu by Manako.

Hi, Have been lurking some time but here's a first try (and first chapter) of a story. I plan it to be a long one. English is not my native language, so there might be some quirks in grammar. I hope it's not to inconvenient. Though this is about an underage young boy, and there will be scenes of diapering and spanking included, nothing is erotic. Basically it will turn into a feel-good romantic and-they-lived-happily-ever-after. Cliche, i know, but i'll try to make the cliche proud. Feedback is welcome, let me know if this is any good. And if site admin's feels the story is inappropriate, let me know and remove it. --------------- The broken teapot 1 Jenny Miller rode her old Toyota up the short driveway to the closed fence where the security officer checked all in and out going traffic, lowered the window at the driver side and showed her id. "Good morning Mrs Miller, how are you today? " said the good humored officer to her. "Hi Nathan, good morning to you to. It's back-to-work-day, looking forward to the weekend-day already" He chuckled at the bad habitual joke they made everyday since she started working at the State Special Correctional Centre for Young Offenders, pushed the button on his desk to open the fence and waved her through. Slowly Jenny let the car roll forward to the massive looking building up the end of the pebbled path. It was old, just begging for a good paint-job. Some old buildings have a certain charm about them. But not this one, seeming to shout "Go away" to everyone who dared to approach it. After 4 years of working as a counselor she'd gotten used to it but in her mind she could very well picture the impression it made upon anyone who's was first brought here for "correction". It looked like a prison, as it was. She parked her car at the spaces for staff just left from the big central stairway that led to the entrance, got her bag from the passenger seat and walked up the stairs, pressed the buzzer on the left side of the big heavy double doors and looked strait up at the camera also on the left. With a small sound and harsh click the door sprung slightly open. She pushed it further and walked in on an impressive hallway where the marble floor and high ceiling augmented every sound that was made. "Hi Jenn", the secretary down the hall greeted her from the stall were every person that came through the door was supposed to check in. Jenny noted her name and entrance time in the log and was about to move on to her office in the building when the secretary informed her that Mr. Halloway would like to see her as soon as she was available. "Oh, of course" she answered and instead of turning left she walked right up the corridor where the Director's office was situated. It wasn't and odd request. Henry often called her in when he needed some advice on one of the pupils they used to call them here. That was her job after all. All correctional institutes were required to have a counselor on staff to have someone on the payroll outside the chain of command with the authority to go over the warden's head if necessary. Given the sensitive nature of the correction's at this specific institute it was a no brainer. It prevented tunnel vision's and helped to keep the entire group of guardians and officers responsible for the daily handling of their pupils on the right side of the thin line between "correctional" and "abusive" behavior. "Good morning, Jenny!" The big athletic build man on the other side of an impressively big, but equal impressive messed up desk, veered up from his chair and waved her in when she had opened the door and peeked in to see if he was busy. Henry Halloway was everything you wouldn't expect a warden of an state correctional institute to be. He wore a loose leather jacket over a heavy metal printed shirt. Long black hair was bound with a leather thong at the back. As counterweight to this, slightly menacing first appearance, was a comical small set of reading glasses that never seemed able to stay at place on his hawkish nose where he pushed it regularly, every minute or so. "Have a seat. Had a good weekend? Had some coffee yet?" He rapidly fired these question's without waiting for an answer and walked strait to the side of the room, poured two steaming mugs of pitch black coffee and offered one to the slim medium height women that had made herself comfortable in one of the chairs across the desk.. At her mid thirties, Jenny looked every inch the friendly professional she was. Anyone who saw her the first time got the same message from her appearance, clothing and manners: "Hey, I like to keep things neat, orderly and organized. But also simple and practical. No fuss. I am here for you, but don't expect me to save you if you don't want to help yourself" It helped to reach some of the more challenging pupils they housed at this institute while keeping the professional distance between them at the same time. Only the ones who had known her longer could recognize the faint aura of sadness that surrounded her the last couple of years. They chatted a couple of minutes about their weekend. As usual Henry's had been far more eventful than Jenny's. She laughed at his retelling of the heavy metal concert he had visited on his motorcycle, a foul stench emanating, god forsaken roaring Harvey with which he always arrived at this institute. "OK, what have you got for me this time" Jenny turned Henry's attention to working matters. "We got a new group yesterday." Henry moved to his own chair and picked up a dossier from the pile on his left. "There is an interesting new pupil i would have you to take a look at" Jenny took the file, flicked the cover open to the first page and started to scan the information on the pages. As usual it didn't take her long to digest the most important fact's from the file. "Wow, 10 years old, isn't that a tad on the young side for this place?", was her first comment. "Yes, just turned ten, was surprised myself. You know the most of 'm are between 14 and 16/17. We have had younger ones from time to time but always at least thirteen. Not one from elementary" "So?, how come?" "Well, as you can see in the file, his record is quite impressive. Theft's and even burglary's. And no simple stuff. I mean, he wasn't stealing apples here. An old necklace worth several thousands was his last price" "Most judges would take his age in account" . "True, but he got old Farlington this time..And it was his third strike. With the stricter policies our government agreed on last September he saw no way out this time. It would have to be some jail time. So he put him up for two weeks here, judging that our special approach would benefit this fellow. Guess he was just fed up with this youngster, wanted to teach him a heavy lesson and never see him again" "But you're having doubt's" "Yeah......" Henry fell silent and fidgeted with one of the pencil's on his desk. Collecting his thought's. Jenny was a good listener. Leaving silences or a few words were often enough to get people to tell the story they wanted to tell. She waited patiently for Henry to resume his account but inward a tingle of not being right was manifesting itself already. Considering herself old fashioned when coming to the subject of raising children, she had absolutely no qualms of using spankings as a form of discipline. In fact, she had had to use this method a couple of times in the past. Otherwise it would have been impossible for her to work at this place of course. Jail time, as in most juvenile institutes, had proven almost non-effective in correcting boys send there. Therefore a couple of years ago this institute was founded. The thought was that confinement, combined with daily spankings would yield more results. But ..... Ten...., just, and now being confronted with the realities of this institute, God!. she thought "He was brought in yesterday afternoon" Henry resumed. "A small group this time, four. Three guys 16/17 and he. As usual we got them booked and let them change in our sweat's and t-shirts. We gave him the smallest we have of course but he still drowned in them. You know they all come with a court directive about how long their daily mandatory spanking must take and which implements may be used. " Jenny nodded. "So Gary, the correctional officer on duty, explained that to them and started right away with the first session. And let me say right up front, Gary is a good man, he did nothing wrong. We can argue that he is a bit inflexible but followed all the rules. He bent the first over his desk, trousers dropped and started. He had to use the long ruler for this one and a strap. I must say this guy was a though one. He sweared the whole procedure but eventually showed some tears. That youngster was next, scared to death. A colleague had to held him bent over the desk. I saw on camera that Gary was a bit put off by his age and small demeanor but he abided by the court order this young man was given. That was 30 and two by the way." Jenny gulped. 30 meant that the correctional officer was ordered to give no less than 30 spanks with a bare hand, as kind of warming up, and 30 for every implement that was ordered. As usual, on arrival the bare hand spankings were omitted if an implement had been ordered. And one always was. That meant that this 10 year old had been sentenced to at least 90, with 60 from ruler, spoon, strap or even whip if needed, every evening of his two weeks stay at this institute! Henry nodded, acknowledging her surprise. "He used the short ruler and spoon on him, the mildest choice's if you ask my opinion. Now what surprised me. this younster didn't offer a sound. Though we could see how much it hurt. He stayed silent the whole time" Jenny lifted her eyebrow, also showing some surprise. "And after?" "We let them stand with their noses to the wall, as you know. Till we are finished with 'm all. He could hardly stay standing, knees almost giving out under him, his face red from silent tears. When we brought them to their "rooms" to wait for dinner he fell face forward on his bed. We tried waking him up for dinner but he fell asleep so the officer in charge let him sleep it out." "Good call i think" Jenny interrupted. "You could expect something like that, so this isn't why you asked for my opinion, Am I right?" "No." Henry resumed. "We checked upon him the whole evening of course, covered him with a blanket, he didn't move a muscle. But this morning, when we woke him up, he crawled to the corner of his bed. Held his blanket up on him. The officer who woke him said he saw some sort of primal fear in his eyes. Whatever that means. It took some struggle to get it off him. He, his bed, the blankets were soaking wet. The officer in charge let him take all to the laundry, let him take a shower and gave him a new set of clothes. He was shivering with fright at first, that left somewhat when the officers stayed neutral. Of course, it was quickly known with all the boy's that our newest "guest" had wet his bed. Now as staff, we'll manage with this of course. What worries me most was the group's reaction." Jenny again lifted an inquiring eyebrow. "You see, one could hope for an understanding reaction from the other boy's, like big brother's who instinctively take to caring for the littlest of them all. Helping him through. He's clearly no thread for any of 'm. But I'm afraid it's turning the other way. At breakfast he was bullied, made fun off and his plate was thrown on the ground. We know, not uncommon but this time they took it to the merciless extremes. Giving him no rest...... he took it quietly sitting at the table's. When the group moved to class, a group of the oldest cornered him, tripped him, pulled his pants down and threatened to make him their "baby-bitch", excuse me for the choice of words. When we got to the situation he fled to his cell and sat in the corner again, his blanket pulled around him. We tried talking to him, but we can't connect it seems. He hasn't moved an inch since" Henry fell silent. Jenny let the story sink in. Of course, all maternal instincts in her flared up, and she recognized her feelings. But this was still a three times convicted thief, they were talking about. She had to keep her professional insights on the fore. Henry was the first to break the silence. Looking past Jenny into thin air. "They'll have him for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Jen." he said softly. "The spanking directives, I think they are harsh for a boy his age, but he can survive them. It's the atmosphere around the group we have in currently. We'll do our utmost but can't protect him everywhere. He'll find no support. Somehow, they will find a way to pass him off to each other, feeding of his fear. They'll eat him alive. After two weeks, what scraps will be left of him?" Jenny thought about this, already inclined to agree, but again........ "We have been fooled by young angelic convicts turning demon before, Henry" Holding up her hand as Henry was about to interfere. "But I tend to agree with you that this one doesn't seem to be made of the same stuff as the older one's. In the file is no mention of motive, am i correct?" "Correct, he never said why, never mentioned a name. The group home that was responsible for him and his school were played, somehow. Stupid staff there, if you ask me. They both had no idea of his activities, but it's hard to imagine that he did all this alone. Lots of blanks in his life's story. An' he offered nothing in his questioning. But again, he was busted trying to pawn that necklace I mentioned, on his own! The fingerprints at the house he last broke into to get it were circumstantial evidence enough." "Interesting. Any fights, violence?" "No. And maybe that's why he slipped trough the mazes for so long. He didn't draw enough attention." "Where is he now?" "In his cell, the corner." "Well, let's have a look. You have a camera on him?." Henry nodded and Jenny moved to stand beside him at his computer screen. He hesitated. Jenny looked at him, asking silent for the problem. "I eh, need to warn you Jen, We have known each other a good couple of years now and God, how I know what you have been dealing with, but......I cannot soften this" He flicked the screen on. At first Jenny, puzzled by the warden's last remarks, couldn't see much more than a mountain of blanket, huddled in the corner of the cell. Then, Henry closed in on the face and Jenny gasped, turning white as chalk. A normal young, tear stricken face was looking past the camera. Slightly red curling hair dancing in all directions. A small nose that seemed to tip upward at the end and freckled apple cheeks that made him look adorable. His eyes were light brownish looking nowhere and Jenny understood what the guard had meant by 'primal fear'. But that was not what shook her to the core of her being. She knew that face! Her stomach turned with remembrance and all the pain that flooded back in with it. "I'm sorry Jen" Henry whispered while he vacated his chair and let Jenny sink in it., staring incredulously at the screen before her. He tapped a glass of water and handed it over. Shaken she brought it to her lips. "What's his name again?" She could hardly voice the question.. "Jake, Jake Hanson" Silence. After a long time Jenny sighed.. "Let me think about it for a while and I'll make some calls" "You can use my office, take as long as you need..... or want." Henry patted her shoulder lightly in sympathy and left his office.

This is a rather unique reimagining of the classic Baby Bottleneck cartoon featuring our favorite trio of troublemakers from Ed, Edd and Eddy. I hope you enjoy the journey and the comic page that accompanies each installment of the story. --- The Kanker's Baby Bottleneck The dazed and confused blonde stared up at the metallic orange beak that was only a few feet away from her face. She was just barely beginning to regain her ability to focus her thoughts when the sudden and very strange sensation of weightlessness consumed her body! The sight of the robotic beak growing further and further away as the feeling of air flowing over her bare arms and legs caught her attention; she was falling! Nazz hit the ground with a rather loud “bam” that announced her landing to whoever was home. She looked around and spotted the backdoor of a house, but that was normal compared to what she was wearing which left her feeling all the more baffled and confused. It was hard to believe but the cheerleader from Peach Creek was dressed in a pink baby's bib and a rather thick cloth diaper that was held together by what could only be described looked as a comically large safety pin. Her new outfit wasn’t the only thing that caused her to question what was happening to her; she quickly became aware of the fact that she was lying in a wicker basket which thankfully had broken her fall. If all this wasn't weird enough for the blonde bombshell, the sight of the homeowner, appearing in the frame of the door, caused her to blink her eyes in confusion. “I didn't order a baby.” The woman said to herself, taken aback by the unexpected diapered blonde lying on her doorstep in a basket. “Uhhh, what just happened?” Nazz couldn't help but ask only to realize that there was a pacifier in her mouth once she started talking. "Mistakes have been made," Eddy, dressed in only the finest alabaster suit that money could buy, started his speech as he looked over at the three familiar faces who stood bored and disinterested in front of him. From what he could see the red headed Kanker seemed far too busy swirling her finger around in her ear, trying to pull wax from it, to pay the pint sized scammer any attention. Her younger sisters were just as equally as unenthusiased as herself; The blonde was whistling while her blue haired sister stood with her right arm hanging towards the floor while her left arm was planted firmly on her hip, looking bored out of her mind as Eddy prattled on. “Every delivery goes to the wrong mom so I'm paying you guys to fix my factory and make my money back.” The mere mention of money immediately pulled the trio of trouble makers from their distracted daydreaming and caused them to stand at attention. Each Kanker instantly brought their left hand up to their forehead, giving their new boss a salute as they acknowledged him in their own unique way. “Whatever you say, Casanova.” Lee grinned as she responded to the man of her dreams. Needless to say, she wasn't exactly sure what he wanted, but that wouldn't stop her from doing a good job so she could get his attention. “Sure thing, chief!” May quickly followed her big sister, eager to get paid even if she had no clue what she was supposed to do to earn her keep. ‘I'll just stand around and look busy until lunchtime.’ “No problem, boss!” Marie chimed in, happy to see that the penny pinching pipsqueak had finally shut his big mouth. 2 Hours Later May stood hunched over a lever, pulling it back every minute to send another brat down the conveyor belt only to release it and sigh. She had been working nonstop, manning the lever since that was the only job her older sisters had deemed fit for her to do by herself since it didn't require much brainpower. “I'm tired of taking care of all these brats. When's our lunch break?” Marie had been watching her baby sister from afar during much of the shift only to walk up on the blonde brat complaining to herself. It wasn't exactly unexpected since May had been whining since the start of their shift, but it was beginning to annoy Marie. Needless to say, the blue haired bully was starting to feel bored after inspecting the various stations along the industrialized conveyor belt. She had finished her job and decided to have some fun with her annoying little sister before lunch by making the youngest Kanker test out the machine. “I'm tired of hearing you yapping.” Marie declared with a devious grin as she hoisted her younger sister up by her armpits. “Maybe you should join the other babies!” To Be Continued... (at the links below) --- The Kanker sisters are hired by Eddy to fix his baby preparation and delivery system, but do they know anything about machinery? Find out in this fun and faithful reimagining of Looney Tunes' iconic "Baby Bottleneck" cartoon! (Links below) Follow me on Twitter or consider supporting the comic and my writing by joining my platforms. All for less than the price of a cup of coffee! Twitter: Free! https://x.com/DaymareAB Fanbox: $5 https://www.fanbox.cc/@daymare/posts/10540195 Substar: $5 https://subscribestar.adult/evisceratednite

18-year-old Benjamin has just been evicted from the college dorms after he has failed out of college for the semester. He sits in the student lounge with his bags while he figures out his next moves. His former professor Megan is talking to her faculty friend and sees him sitting alone. She is confused because he is supposed to be in her class for the semester. "Hi Ben. I missed you in my class this semester. Are you okay?"

I'll play any age and any gender. Mommy, daddy, boy, girl, sissy. Also I'll play with any age or gender. As long as the scene is fun, I'm okay with it. I also have many ideas for scenes. So whatever you like, just let me know the roles or the scene, or both and we can probably play it. Cute or kinky, everything goes (depending on the mood).

This is a story I wrote for a Halloween contest, here it is edited. I hope you enjoy! RUN By ExpeditionFiction This was written for a Halloween story contest. It is much lighter on diaper content than my typical stories, but I hope you enjoy it! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fear, that carnal feeling every person in the world is familiar with, yet none seem to respect till it is their heart, beating at the wall of their chest. Some find it in the dark or under their beds, however, those simple concepts are not what haunted the young man. He crouched against the wall in a pristine hallway, breath shallow and labored, what he feared, he didn’t even know, he just knew he needed to run. The sound of his bare feet hitting the tiled floor was the only thing he could hear. Quickly making his way through the clean empty hallway, filled with doors that led to everything and nothing at the same time. Were he to listen closer, two more sounds would have been apparent, the crinkle of his slightly wet diaper taped tightly under the hospital gown, barely hidden from any passing glances, and the sound of fizzling fluorescent lights. Darkness, fit to consume one's very soul, should they falter to its pursuit. He was terrified, he did not know what would happen, if it caught him, only that it would surely mean the end of his life. So pushing forward, he barely even looked up from the ground, almost reflective in its clean and pristine nature. Had he looked, he would have noticed the wall ahead, where his mindless sprint eventually came to its end. *Thud* “Fuck! What the…” In a second he was sitting on the floor, a staunch reminder of the not clean diaper hugging his skin. Looking left and right, there were two paths, both the same hallway with the same walls and doors. “Where… do I go” he shook, slowly standing up. The quiet of the moment, giving him pause as the fizzle of the lights became clear and louder with each passing second. Taking one glance back, he froze, the darkness only mere feet away. “Come here… it will all be okay.” a whisper echoes from the dark hallway, the voice scratching at his ears, pulling him closer. However, his fear was much stronger as he dashed to the left, paying no mind to where he was going, only that it was away from the emptiness behind. So he ran, faster than before, three steps accompanying each heartbeat, not stopping till the building began to shake, causing his already somewhat unsteady stance to falter. Stopping he braced tightly, the warming of his diaper doing little to bring comfort. As quickly as it began, the shaking stopped. With closed eyes the young man would start to relax, until the sound of a door opening brought his gaze forward. “... hello?” He asked, near out of breath, heart thumping. He was not greeted with a response as the door opened about half way, revealing the dark interior, just like the hallways behind. However, within the darkness laid two crimson eyes, burning with want, desiring to be fed. Sweat was dripping down the man's brow now, his heart nearly outside his chest as a long slender hand slowly reached out from the room, gripping the door with its long claw-like fingers. Turning he found himself met with the same approaching darkness, still encroaching ever closer, whispering to him, calling him. *BANG* Startled, he turned and saw the door now wide open, no figure in sight, panicked; he searched every corner of his vision, finding nothing, until, like the waters of a river, the darkness inside the room began to spill into the hallway, crawling toward him. With no other options available, he found the nearest door, took a deep breath, opened it, and jumped through only to be met with a cozy looking house. “Wh… where am I? Why does this feel so familiar?” He questioned, looking at the soft carpet, the large well worn couch, and end tables. He glanced back and no longer found a door, but an entertainment center, tube tv and all. “Seriously?” Walking forward, the young man almost felt calm, like he was safe, had it not been for the static on the tv coming to life. “Maybe just a bit more… almost there.” The same whisper from earlier echoed into the living room. “Hm, maybe one more.” Suddenly everything began to shake again, however this time, it was accompanied with an ear piercing scream. Shuddering down to his bones, the man covered his ears, blood beginning to creep out of his nose. This time the shaking felt harder, lasting even longer, until he was almost ready to collapse under the weight, then it stopped again. The tv was black now, at least until those crimson eyes began to peer into the room. Its gaze drilled into the man’s soul. Looking back, the man began backing away, until his back made contact with the couch collapsing into its soft cushions. “What… what do you want with me… I didn’t do..” Tears began to come out of the sides of his eyes, the overwhelming emotions too much for him to handle. “...anything.” *crack* With barely a moment to react, the glass shattered, claws shooting out toward the couch. The man ducked and rolled just in time, the claws cutting through the fabric like butter, the middle of the couch completely gone and only a dark emptiness in its place. The arm slowly pulled back, claws scraping through the floor, five distinct lines, darker than night, and slowly creeping further into the carpet. The claws lifted and grabbed the side of the tv, several more sprouting around the edges, the strained sounds on the monitor grew louder, as the diapered man stood back up, and looked for any way out. Quickly seeing another door, he ran to it, finding it locked. “God dammit, open!” he reeled back and kicked hard at the door, not even causing it to budge. “Please just fucking open!” he screamed tears streaming down his face. He looked back, and saw those same eyes, now taking shape, a body adorned with long arms and claws, halfway out of the tv, and crawling its way even further. He banged his hands against the door, crying and begging to be let out, when suddenly it opened. Inside he saw what looked like an office, with bookshelves and a desk, stepping in he slammed the two doors just in time to see the shadowy figure stand to its full 13ft height, crouched over, arms outstretched, consuming anything it touched. The door locked once again, the sound of claws scratching could be heard ever so slightly, the beast attacking the door, but somehow unable to claw through. The man backed up and looked forward, two round windows adorning the other side of the room, both pitch black, no openings anywhere. “Shit” He looked toward the only door, sounds of anger lightly coming through, only a little darkness creeping under the frame. “SHIT!” Walking over to the desk he sat down and looked at the pitch black windows, empty and devoid of light, a long sigh coming out of his mouth. Like the rising sun, the darkness began to clear a blurry picture of several figures standing on the other side. One began to approach the window, clipboard in hand, they leaned down glancing around the openings, eventually matching their gaze with his. “What the hell.” The young man stood up, more even with the window in front of him. “Aw look who is awake, how are you doing honey?” The large person asked calmly. waiting for a response. No answer came to the young man, as the person through the window continued to stare. The room began to move a little and a louder voice echoed. “I, why me? I… I nawta baby.” The young man looked around not seeing anyone else, as the smiling figure suddenly began to frown. Shaking their head and tsking lightly they stood back from the windows. “Hm, not there yet, resilient little thing, I’ll give you that.” They step back to the group, some sort of control panel now visible. “Most people would be happy where you are, just about mindless, using your diapers like a good little girl, but unfortunately for you, our client wants a completely mindless doll.” sighing they shook their head. “Oh well, one more time everyone, full power, I want to get this over with and go home.” A loud whirring noise started as the man looked through the two windows, horrified, helpless, he continued to cry, tears streaking his face, unaware of the same water now cusping the bottom of both windows. “Please… please leave me alone..” Was all he could mutter as the entire place began to shake again, that same piercing scream now louder than ever before. “Please just leave!” Five claws rammed through the door ripping it from its hinges, the dark figure began to slowly crawl through the opening into the small office space. The world seemingly erased as it stood up in the room. The young man fell to his knees, terrified, unable to control himself from filling the diaper now hanging from his waist. “Please just, I want to live.” Looking into its eyes, he saw no remorse, no emotion, the world continued to go dark, its arm slowly rising. “Why… me.” In one quick motion, he found five vicious claws stabbed directly through his chest, there was no pain, only emptiness, as darkness began to engulf him. The monster leaned forward, its face now inches from his. “Be good for mommy.” were the last words it whispered as the shadow fully swallowed the young man. Then, the shaking stopped.

Chapter One: Starting Small Cassidy Marks had been practicing her runway walk since she was nine—usually in socks, sometimes in boots, once in a pair of heels two sizes too big that she borrowed from her cousin and promptly tripped in. She was sixteen now, tall enough to pass for older in the right lighting, and absolutely certain that her future was in front of a camera. What she didn’t have yet was a portfolio—or even a single paying job. She’d signed up for every local casting site her mom would allow and sent her headshots to anyone with an email address that sounded remotely professional. Most replies were silence. A few were rejections. One was from a guy in New Jersey asking if she’d be okay modeling in “jelly.” She didn’t reply. So when she got the call from EcoCare, she didn’t even read the full pitch before replying 'yes.' Everyone knew EcoCare. They were the eco-baby brand—the one all the “green” moms swore by. Their bamboo diapers and compostable wipes were sold in every major store, and their TV ads were full of glowing, natural-light nurseries and babies wrapped in soft beige cotton. Lately, though, the company had been hinting at something new: “EcoCare is growing up with you,” the teaser campaign said. No one was sure what that meant. Cassidy found out in a tiny office inside a clean, modern studio in the city. “It’s our new Youth line,” said the brand coordinator, a woman named Myra with perfectly straight bangs and a clipboard full of contracts. “EcoCare Bloom. Designed for older kids and teens who need daytime or overnight support—whether for medical reasons, sensory issues, or just peace of mind.” Cassidy blinked. “So… like diapers? For teens?” “We prefer protective underwear,” Myra said smoothly. “They’re thinner, breathable, biodegradable, and come in youthful prints. Totally discreet. Totally responsible. You’d be helping normalize eco-conscious personal care for young people.” Cassidy swallowed. This wasn’t exactly what she imagined for her first job. She had pictured makeup ads or maybe activewear. Something fun. Cute. Something that didn’t involve explaining to friends why she was standing next to a pastel package that said ‘12–18 yrs: SleepSecure Fit!’ Still, a job was a job—and EcoCare was huge. She’d be working with a real team. Professional stylists. A real camera crew. She’d be paid. And there was something exciting about being chosen for a new line. Like being the face of the future. Cassidy glanced at the contract. Then at the sample package on the table beside her. Then at her mom, who sat quietly beside her, giving no sign of judgment—just that steady, trusting look that said your call, kid. Cassidy took a breath and picked up the pen. “I’m in.” "Ahem," her mother interjected, "I'd really prefer if we took some time to read the contract over, plus you're under 18 so you can't really sign it anyway." They thanked the representatives and took the stack of papers home. Cassidy’s heart thumped as she clutched the neat stack of papers the EcoCare representative had given her. She’d thought it was just a matter of signing her name and starting her very first modeling gig, but her mother seemed to want to challenge her resolve. That evening, at the kitchen table, Cassidy slid the contract across the wood surface. “Mom, can we get this done,” she asked, fiddling with the edge of the folder. Jenna dried her hands on a dish towel and slid her glasses into place. “Alright, let’s take a look.” Cassidy bounced on her heels as her mom flipped through the pages, murmuring now and then. Then Jenna stopped, her brow knitting. She read the paragraph twice, then looked up at her daughter. “Cass,” she began carefully, “this isn’t just photo shoots and interviews. There’s a condition here that I think you need to understand.” Cassidy leaned over the table. “What do you mean?” Her mom pointed to the clause in bold: Transparency Requirement: All models must wear the product full-time for the campaign’s duration. This includes continuous wear and natural use, day and night, with no exceptions. Cassidy blinked, her smile faltering. “Wait—so… they mean actually…?” “Yes,” Jenna said gently. “They want you to really live with the product, not just pose in it. You’d have to wear it constantly and use it, as though it were your normal routine.” For a moment, Cassidy was quiet, the weight of the clause sinking in. Then her lips curved into a wobbly smile. “Well… I guess that’s what makes it real, right? If I want people to believe in it, I should too.” Her mom studied her, torn between pride and concern. “It’s a big commitment, Cassidy. I need to know you’re sure. Once I sign this, you’re bound by it for the whole campaign it could be for up to six months depending on the company's optional extension built in here.” Cassidy drew in a steadying breath. “I’m sure. This could be my chance, Mom. I’ll handle it.” Jenna hesitated, ok but you better mean you'll handle it because I potty trained you for a reason. Cassidy nodded, still not completely sure. She watched as her mother picked up the pen, her hand pausing for just a second before she signed her name. “Alright. But you come to me if it’s too much. No hiding, no pretending. Understood?” Cassidy leaned over and hugged her. “Understood.” Jenna could hardly believe the ‘adult’ decision her daughter had just made was to wear diapers again 24/7 for up to six months. As Jenna slid the signed contract back into the folder, she caught herself staring again at the clause. Cassidy might be ready now—but the reality would set in soon enough. Cassidy was in for the summer of her life. ----- Thanks for reading this is chapter one. I have yet to put the human touch on the rest of this AI assisted work but I'd appreciate your feedback.

All characters in the following story are 18+ Once there was a small village that sat on the edge of a forest. In the summer, when summers lasted many years at a time, the forest bloomed bright with green leaves and deep, warm earth. It was alive with the singing of birds, the sets of badgers, and all sorts of other creatures who called it home. At the very centre of the forest was a massive tree, far taller than all the others, which watched over its kin as their guardian. Through the years, the village and the forest lived in harmony with one another. Yet summer cannot not last forever. One morning, when autumn had fallen over the forest and the trees were bare of leaves, a brother and sister came from a nearby town to visit their aunt, who lived in the forest. They hadn’t seen her in many years, and wanted to bring her gifts to greet her with. First they went to the bakers, and each ordered a loaf of bread to take. “Well, if you’re going through the forest, you best be careful!” the baker’s son said as he kneaded dough. “They say there’s a curse on the forest.” “A curse?” the brother said, shaking a little. “Oh yes. A tree stands there, they say it takes travellers who stray from the path, into it’s domain.” The sister chuckled. “A tree! Who’s afraid of a tree?” She looked over to her brother, but found him shivering with fear. “Stop scaring them!” the baker said, coming out with two fresh loaves of bread. “You go and say hello to your auntie now.” With their fresh bread, the brother and sister made their way to the market. “You don’t really believe in all that nonsense, do you?” the sister said. “N-no! Of course not!” said the brother, his legs shivering. “But could we maybe stop to use the bathroom before we head to auntie’s house?” “Ugh, fine.” Soon they arrived at the market, and got talking to farmer Potts as he filled a jar with fresh honey. “Oh yes, it’s true.” he said, “They built a road through the forest many years ago, and travellers used to throw litter, relieve themselves, do all sorts of things on the road. They say you have to be careful to go potty before you travel there, because if the trees catch you doing it there, you’ll never come back out!” The brother was shaking now, terrified of what may lay ahead. The sister cackled. “We’ll be careful.” she said, and took the honey with a smile. Once they had gathered everything they needed it was late afternoon. The sun was already low in the sky, never having fully risen. “Can we please find a potty now?” the brother said as they came up the road. The sister frowned, and looked up into the quickly darkening sky. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll be walking through the forest in the dark. You can hold it, right?” “I-I’m not sure I can!” “Well then just go in the forest.” the sister said. “But the tree--” “Oh don’t be such a child! There’s no tree that can punish you for peeing!” Soon they were outside the forest itself. What few leaves the trees had were brown. The path seemed to disappear into darkness, the trees like a skeletal ribcage that arched over top. “You’re not scared, are you?” Asked the sister, though even she had to admit, she was a little unnerved. “N-no!” insisted the brother. He stood a little straighter, the jar of honey tight in his hands. If there was another way, both would surely have taken it. But this was the only road to Auntie’s house, and she was expecting them. So, they both took deep breaths, and wondered into the forest. The trees seemed to have eyes. The brother glanced from branch to branch, hoping desperately that the path would reach Auntie’s house soon and they could lay down in nice warm beds. But the path went on and on, and soon the trees grew twisty and windy. Crows laughed from far above, and the darkness became greater, until they could barely see the mushroom-strewn path ahead. “How far away are we?” the brother asked soon after. He was fidgeting now, growing desperate to relieve himself with nowhere in sight. “I … I don’t know.” the sister asked, looking around nervously. There was no-one else here, and it all looked the same. “None of this is familiar.” She looked over to her brother, waddling uncomfortably lest he pee his pants. “Just go in the forest! I won’t look.” “I … I can’t. The trees will be angry!” The sister scoffed. “Don’t be such an idiot!” she said. But soon she too felt nature’s calling. The feeling seemed to sneak up on her, she hadn’t been expecting it, and the longer the sensation of a full bladder lingered, the harder it became to concentrate. When at last they came to a large clearing, they hoped to see Auntie’s house. The trees weren’t so thick here, and the moon crept through some of the branches, casting broad, bright beams onto the forest floor. “It has to be here!” the sister quickly did a lap around the clearing, but all that was here was a large tree, far bigger than all the others. Nothing else. Not a bee, nor a butterfly. No life except the ancient tree. “Stop walking like that, you’re making me want to go too!” The sister scowled at the brother, who had his hands pressed between his legs, his knees crossed. “Sorry! I—I really need to pee!” They were clearly lost. They had been walking for an hour or more, and still the cottage was nowhere in sight. The sister turned her back on her brother, and the clearing fell into a deep silence as she tried to concentrate on what to do next. The trees whispered far above them, and the branches groaned. Beneath the sister’s feet, the gentle squelch of leaves and mud, and the occasional mushroom, was all the noise in the entire forest. “I-I can’t hold it much more!” the brother eventually whispered, and the sister turned to berate him, but before she could there was a shrill, shrieking call. The brother stiffened, standing straight and alert. The sister jumped too, almost dropping her loaves of bread. They glanced at one another. The brother squeaked as a terrible warmth flooded him. Slowly, a shadow, blacker even than the darkness of the evening, appeared ahead of them. An elongated body. Terrible, bony horns. A snout that huffed and sniffed in the air. But the sister squinted. She took a tentative step forward. No, that was no phantom or ghost. The figure emerged into the clearing, and the moonlight showed it’s true form—a deer, it’s antlers tall and proud, it’s nose twitching. From behind her, the sister heard a quiet sigh. The deer startled, stood frozen for a moment, and ran. When the sister turned, her brother stood there suddenly relaxed. “See, there are no ghosts!” she said, “Finally over your fear of the forest?” “No,” the brother said, “I just don’t have to go pee any more.” The sister glanced down. A dark patch was slowly spreading through his pants, steaming where his accident met the cold air. As shocked as the sister was, her brother’s accident only reminded her of her own desperation. She rushed past him towards the big tree. A ring of mushrooms encircled it, disappearing around the other side. “What are you doing?” the brother asked nervously as he saw her moving around the side of the great tree. “Don’t leave me!” “I’m not going away! I just need to pee as well. Now turn around and let me go.” The brother awkwardly did just that. He was still going as he turned, emptying the last of his bladder down his pants and onto the leaves below. As embarrassing as it was, it felt good to finally just let go. The warmth was nice too. Auntie will surely understand, he thought, not paying attention to his sister. The sister had moved to a discreet spot beside the massive tree. She had beden growing desperate too. If they continued down the path as they had been, who knows when she was going to get another chance to go? Better here, before she joined her brother and wet her panties. She unzipped her skirt and dropped her leggings. She squatted awkwardly by the ring of mushrooms, obscured from the clearing by a massive tree-root. She ignored the small wet-patch on her panties where she had almost lost control. She wasn’t some silly man, unable to hold herself until she reached civilisation. She was a grown woman dammit, and she would certainly not be showing up to her Aunt’s house having wet herself like a child. Finally able to let go, she sighed. Relief washed through her, fear of the forest vanishing along with her full bladder. She closed her eyes, listening to the patter against the ancient tree. In fact, she was so consumed with the relief she felt, so absorbed by her potty-break, that she failed to notice the ground bubbling beneath her feet. She did not notice when the roots of the tree moved through the earth, carrying with them the same mushrooms she was now relieving herself on. She did not notice the branch reach out around the brother, and did not notice when the brother whispered a dissonant, “Yes.” The brother felt so good, so empty, so … dumb. And what was this all around him? This sweet scented cloud that twinkled in the moonlight? “Why, you’re a very wet little boy, aren’t you?” A voice from nowhere said. “Let’s get these dirty things off and put some more appropriate clothing on, mmmm?” “Yes mama.” the brother found himself saying as his legs went cold. Then, as if he had been wrapped in a warm blanket, a pleasant warmth suddenly enveloped his whole body. His legs felt weak, his waist felt heavy. So heavy that he planted himself onto his freshly padded bottom with a splat, giggling a little to himself at the funny feeling. Soon the sister had finished her business. She pulled up her leggings and her skirt, and stepped back over the massive root. She heard a sigh, and looked down to see the mushrooms twinkling a little. They looked very pretty in the moonlight. “Finished! Now, let’s get going, Auntie’s has to be around here somewh—” “There there.” the tree said in a thousand voices as it rubbed a branch gently against the brother’s back. “It wasn’t your fault you went in your pants. Little boys like you can’t help it. You did warn her after all…” “W-what is this?” the sister whispered. She backed up slowly. Ahead of her was her brother, right where she had left him. He sat there, on the forest floor, playing with the jar of honey, scooping it out of the jar by the handful and stuffing it into his mouth. “Stop this!” the sister shouted, and the brother turned, his eyes red with tears. He sat there, on the forest floor, in nothing but his underwear. No, not his underwear. Around his waist was a thick, poofy diaper. “Get up!” the sister shouted, “Stop it now!” she was shaking, unable to move. “Now, don’t be so mean to your brother.” “Who—” the sister stuttered, unable to get her question out. She hit the tree, unable to back up any further. Suddenly the entire massive trunk shifted behind her, the branches creaking and groaning, the knotted bark slowly peeling open. A thousand green eyes appeared all the way up until they disappeared into the canopy above. A mouth, jagged and uneven, opened up. “I am the guardian of this forest!” the tree said, “Who are you to intrude on my land?” “Tree--? We were just following the path, just wanted to get to our Auntie’s house.” The sister said, though it was becoming difficult to think, difficult to speak. “And yet you defile my woods with your human mess!” “We-we had to pee! It was an accident, I swear!” “No! It may have been an accident for your poor sweet brother here, but not you.” The brother turned, and the girl looked on in horror as his mouth tried to form words, but all that came out was “Bwaaa baa! Bwaa ba bee!” “Awww, he’s trying to say your name! How sweet.” “Stop this!” the sister cried, “Stop it now! We have to get to Auntie’s house! You’re not a baby, you’re my brother!” The tree just laughed. “He cannot understand you now, dear!” But the brother’s expression suddenly dropped. His honeyed hand froze mid-air. He squinted, as if he was concentrating, trying to break free. The sister saw him trying to stand, lifting himself off the ground slightly. “Come on! Please!” the sister plead. The brother’s face suddenly scrunched up. There was a moment of silence in the forest again. The sister’s heart was racing. Then there was a brrraaap. The sister crumpled her nose. A foul smell filled the air. As the brother leant forward, a small round bulge peeked out the back of his diaper. It grew and grew, and the brother grunted a little, until his face relaxed and he sighed. Then, without a care in the world, he sat back down and resumed his playtime. The tree just laughed. “Hahaha, how cute! We’ll have to call your auntie for a change, won’t we? But first…” The branch that was caring for the brother suddenly twitched. It began to move, slowly at first, but quicker and quicker. The sister realised with a start that it was coming for her. “No!” she cried, “Please!” “Ah, ah. No complaining now, you brought this on yourself.” The sister pushed herself off the tree, slowly backing up into the forest. She stepped on a mushroom, and a cloud of dust puffed around her. Coughing, she said, “No! Not me! I don’t need diapers like him! I’m a big girl!” “Now now, don’t lie to mama. Clearly you need some more potty training, otherwise you would have been able to control yourself until you reached your auntie’s house.” The sister looked down at her brother. He was gone, his mind turned to mush. All she could do now was get to her aunts. So, with the branch approaching her, she did the only thing she could. She ran. “Oh, feeling naughty? Well, if you insist on not doing as you’re told, we’ll have to find an extra special punishment for you, won’t we?” The tree’s voice was surprisingly calm, like a mother who had done this a thousand times before. As the sister raced through branches and brambles, she could hear the tree’s branch reach out for her, chasing her though the woods. Soon all light had gone, and she desperately stumbled around in the dark, the path long behind her. She had no idea where she was going, only that she had to run. Behind her, the branch kept coming. Closer. Closer. Then, suddenly, she saw a light ahead. It wasn’t the pale glow of moonlight, but the warm inviting ebb of a hearth. She could smell fresh broth, too. Auntie’s house was right there. Other sensations, smells sweet like honey, a sudden warmth through her body, relief at having found home, all of it washed over her. She burst through the treeline, onto the path she thought she had lost. Auntie’s house was right there, and the sister could see her in the window, cooking their dinner, waiting for her and her brother. The sister smiled, inhaling deeply. She wasn’t sure how long she stood at the edge of the forest for. She wanted to call out, to run to her aunt. Something stopped her. When she finally heard auntie’s door creak open, when the warmth smell of broth wafted over, the sister had already followed the mushroom-laden branch deep into the forest. *** Auntie opened her front door to the sounds of the trees. “Come, I have a present for you.” the tree said. “Oh? I hope this won’t take long. I’m expecting my niece and nephew.” “I’m sure they won’t mind. In fact, I’ll think they’ll like what I’ll show you.” Auntie followed the tree into the heart of the forest, to where it’s clearing was. It was here that the village said lonely travellers disappeared, but that was because they showed no respect. It was a lesson she had learned long ago. And it seemed her niece and nephew had yet to learn that lesson. They sat giggling on the forest floor. Her nephew was playing with a jar of honey, her niece dribbling all over herself, squelching mud happily between her fingers. Two fully grown adults, playing in the mud like a pair of babies. “I found them wondering all alone.” the tree said. “So you thought you’d ‘take care’ of them?” “That’s right! The sister is a very naughty little girl, urinating in my forest,” the tree said sternly. “But her brother is sweet enough.” There was a foul smell in the clearing as well. Auntie sniffed around a little, and soon came to the source of the odour. “Ooof! He certainly doesn’t smell sweet.” The sister wasn’t quite as messy as her brother, but stank all the same. Both of their diapers were full of as much mush as their brains were, now. Auntie sighed. “Come on.” she said to the tree. “Help me get these too home.” “Wonderful! What then?” the tree said. “We’ll get them acquainted with their new lives.” THE END The Potty Tree-by RawrJam.pdf

Anyone in bend?

Hi everyone! I’m Shawn or Sissy Jessica a devoted sissy and adult baby exploring my ABDL journey. I love embracing my submissive, feminine side fully — from wearing pink, ruffled diapers to enjoying the complete sensory experience of waddling, crinkle, and squish. I’m fascinated by diaper training, stretching, and enema play, always aiming to push my limits while remaining safe. I adore the humiliation and submission aspects of ABDL, and I find dressing up in full baby outfits, boosters, and even scented diapers deeply satisfying. I’m here to connect with others who enjoy ABDL, sissy play, and intense diaper experiences, to share tips, stories, and maybe some encouragement for pushing my boundaries.

Warning As with my previous stories, this one contains several elements inherent to the pre-established 'Diaper Dimension.' These include, but are not limited to: Diapers and their usage for their intended purpose Non-consensual mental regression through various means (Including possible drugs, hypnosis, and/or surgery) References to surgery to achieve various nefarious goals Humiliation Female domination Babying of adults (perceived or otherwise) Experimentation on humans Kidnapping Coerced or manipulated actions through possible means of white lies, gas lighting, or incentives Mild language or use of explitives Depictions of death, illness, or handicaps Graphic imagery associated with any of these warnings Depictions of non-consent and other forced actions of a sexual or other type of encounter Emasculation and feminization through various means and to differnt ends Degredation of human anatomy and mental status This story has not been labeled as mature, due to a lack of specific references to anything overtly sexual, but this warning serves as a 'turn back' point for any readers who do not wish to read about the previous warnings. Lastly, this list is subject to change during the course of writing this story. While most of the plot is ironed out, more warnings may be added if needed. Hey everyone! Welcome back and I hope everyone had as good of a break as I did! Work was stressful as usual these days, but it’s always nice to get away for a little bit from trying to meet my own personal deadlines, especially after such a large project as my last few stories were with some requiring all the completely new world-building and whatnot. Now, though, it’s just as equally good to be back and writing stories again. Unlike my previous story, due to how the system works here, I needed to be very precise in calculating everything out before I wrote a single word down. That being said, some of these chapters have proven to be temperamental and don’t quite make the page count I thought they were going to or are entirely too long for a single one. So, right now, the total chapter count stands at 27, but this is subject to change. Some of the later chapters are mapped out precisely as they are and won’t change, but some of the chapters in the middle may need to be altered or fleshed out to give more growth to these characters here. Which I guess is all to say that if the final tally of chapters changes at all, I will let you all know. Now, as much joy as I’ve derived from this story so far, I need to mention two caveats. First, I have based this story on a CYOA I found years ago. I’ve looked for the creator for at least five years now, but no such luck. I have also modified it for the story a little, but the concept is still there. Also, I should point out that because of some of the themes here, it will be a little coarser and more mature. I will try to give out warnings before some of the more intense scenes, but be warned, this one is not all fluffy diapers and pink princesses. Next, as is typical these days, I will post the next poll at the start of the following chapter. Looking ahead, I already know that this concept will be a one-off story, so there will not be a sequel in its future. With that in mind, the next poll will contain one DD story and two others that are a little more on the supernatural/spooky side. Because of this, I might try to put out more than three chapters a week and I might take a shorter break, but I think the stories are interesting enough on their own and plus, they have never been shown in one of my polls before. So, be on the lookout for all that next. Also, looking ahead, I’m absolutely tasking myself with writing/editing at least three chapters a week. That being said, with 27 current chapters and at least three a week, this will definitively bump into about mid-October, which means that I will be pausing at least at one point for a multi-day vacation. Once again, I’m headed down to Florida, but this time, it will be for some Halloween-themed events, so you just never know what twisted or fantastical tales I might come back with for new story ideas, so take comfort in the delay with the prospect of at least other future stories from me. Last but not least and as usual, I hope everyone enjoys this first chapter of my next story! Chapter 1: Starting Off, 35-01 Blindfold. Gag. My hands are behind my back and tied with something… rope, I think. The truck I saw for a brief second before getting hustled up into it has a rusty axel that’s connected to a suspension that bounces heavily each time that we hit a pothole or some other ungodly bump in the road. The sound of cars, machinery… even people… all that vanished at least three hours ago now. In the back of the canvas-drawn over truck, I can feel the intense heat rise all around me as each hour passes and the day creeps on. Thinking back, though, despite my current circumstances, I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised that this is where I ended up… but really, I just wanted a job again. * * * The suited man opens the door for me and gestures inside. I look and blink a few times at the sparseness of what I’m seeing inside the hole that is the room he is gesturing to. “You’re kidding, right?” The older gentleman glares at me from his at least six inches above me. “No. You want the help… you go inside. No questions asked and you follow the instructions… or you’re out. No exceptions.” I wince a little and even turn around to view the door I just came from. I recite over in my head how to make a quit exit in case I need to. ‘Three lefts, down one floor, and through the main lobby and the security there and then out the front doors.’ There, it would be freedom and the life I had… rather than a barren room of unknown before me. But I also know what’s out there waiting for me beyond those front doors. The world sucks for people in my position, and my pride went out the window the first time another bill came in without the funds to fully back even one or two more of them. Simply put… I’m desperate. So, with a deep plunging breath, I go forward into the room. Once inside, with a sigh, I sit in the far metal chair with my back to a mirror… likely a two-way like an interrogation room. I feel the hair stand up on my neck and a growl inside my stomach… warning me to run, but these people have me cornered with the prospect of opportunity. So, even as the main door closes to this little barren room, I can really only just sit there and squash my horrid feelings deep down. Now alone with my thoughts and trying not to assume or think the worst-case scenario, I look around the room and try and check if this is some trick or a test of some kind. ‘No… no hidden messages on the walls… no pen or paper. Not even a whisper of something I should be listening for.’ It’s just me and the singular metallic desk and two hard metal chairs… both cold and unfeeling as they slightly glint off the single overhead light that slightly pendulums back and forth. Gratefully though, not to long after, the door then reopens, and another suited man comes in with a manilla folder. His expression is mostly neutral but his taught features and cropped haircut reek of ex-military and no nonsense. I could immediately feel a tightness in my stomach, one which I try to will away as I shift slightly in the chair. The man then closes the door and sits down calmly and without even a single word back to me before opening the folder out flat on the table. I immediately notice my photo on the upper right holding on by a single paperclip. “State your name for the record,” he commands, taking out a black-cased pen from the inside of his suit jacket. I swallow hard and wish more than anything that a glass of water would have been right there in front of me in that moment. “Jack… Thomas.” The man pauses and looks up at me with a hint of a hateful and annoyed glared in his eyes. “Your full name, Mr. Thomas.” I hesitate for a moment, hating my middle name… always have, but the man keeps staring at me. Maybe if the room was pastel blue and I hadn’t been frisked on my way in, I might have asked a simple ‘why,’ but my present circumstances tell me that any perceived ‘backtalk’ or questioning would be unwise. “Jack… Marie Thomas.” I can’t help but say my middle name with a slight distaste in my mouth. ‘Stupid family name…’ As typically happens, as I say it out loud, despite likely knowing it beforehand and just confirming my identity, even the stern man before me seems to find my middle name amusing… Ultimately though, he says nothing about it. He then uses his pen to go through several more verifications of my identity… social security, gender, age. All typical for someone trying to confirm I am who I say I am. Working for the government before, all that at least doesn’t faze me. But then comes the questions afterward. At first, they seem pretty normal for someone in my situation… like how long I have been unemployed, or, what my financial situation looks like, but then they start to veer towards the realm of being highly uncomfortable as why they would even need to be asked in the first place. Questions like, “Do you have heart troubles?” or “Do you have any family that miss you if you were absent?” are among the more particularly alarming. Finally, after he asks me if I’ve ‘had any surgeries,’ I can’t take it any longer. “Okay!” I shout, standing up and forcing my chair backward toward the likely two-way mirror. “No more questions! I’ve answered everything from my size to sexual preference to even if I have any allergies to medications or latex! What the hell does that have anything to do with finding a job?” The suited man glares at me and calmly stands up, towering over me. “Sit down, Mr. Thomas. These are all vital questions, I assure you… and we’re almost done.” His calm presence slightly infuriates me and only adds to my already-present anger. “Sit down? That’s all?” I smack the table. “Screw this, mister! I’m getting out of here right this second!” I march toward the door, but as my hand touches the doorknob, the man speaks up once more. “Mr. Thomas… Jack.” He calmly walks over to me and stands right up against my left side, staring down at me… not with rage or annoyance, but almost a calm passivity of a parent to a child. It more than halts my efforts in leaving right away. “You will find no locks on these doors or any others in this building toward the exit. You are free to go anytime you please...” Determined and still disturbed, my hand turns the knob. “Well, then. I’m getting the hell out of…” “But I encourage you to stay,” he says resolutely in a way that stops my hand cold… almost like he knows something I don’t. He then walks back over to the desk and retrieves my file before switching it to one of the pages on the left side. “It says here you’ve been out of a job for about a month now, which you also just confirmed for me. I’ll stop the questions, but… let’s talk about that for a second.” He pauses briefly. “Promise. Nothing more.” I hesitate to move back to the table, but I at least remove my hand from the doorknob and reface him. If nothing else, he seems happy about that. “Good. Now, come back to the table and sit down. Or stand… I just want to lay out your options here, Mr. Thomas.” I grumble and nearly leave on the spot, but there’s an odd quality about this man that makes me stay. I don’t know what it is, but that intangible quality eases me up a little. So, at least curious now, I walk back over to my chair… but I don’t sit down. “Very good, Mr. Thomas.” He calmly flips through several pages in my file. “So, again… you were laid off from your job about a month ago, correct?” “Correct,” I confirm, feeling a little deflated at admitting that. “I knew it was coming though. I’ve been working part-time for almost eight months now. Budget cuts and all…” The suited man nods. “Yes. The economy isn’t doing wonders at the moment and there have been several cuts to federal programs. Seems like your program was hit but you managed to linger on… at least until last month.” “Yes,” I admit, my ego deflating even more. “And from your earlier confirmation and from what it says from the application you filled out online that you’ve been looking for a job since then?” he asks before looking up at me. “But nothing since?” I shake my head. “Nothing serious. Small positions. Some part-time work I’m looking at in the meantime, but… I need something more. You can’t live in this area without something steady anymore.” “Yes…” The suited man’s eyes nearly seem to glow with opportunity, happiness, and another quality underneath that would amount to something nearly sinister. I focus on that last bit. “I see all that on your file here. Some college debts remaining… ouch on those, but a car payment… three years from paying off, and…” He looks back up at me and squints his eyes. “No savings?” I shake my head, and I feel I can’t sink any lower now in this room, sitting in the chair in a slump of built-up defeat before this mysterious figure… a deflated and defeated individual. “No… I have some savings, but… the form asked if I had less than $1000 in savings… which I do. So, yes, some saving, but not enough to check off the box indicating something higher.” “I see… so practically nothing and you’re living on fumes now as well…” He doesn’t wait for me to respond as my silence does plenty of talking alone. “So, you see, Mr. Thomas… when I ask you these questions… I know they may be intrusive, but honestly, this is for a government position and what amounts to an ultimate handout. With the economy and layoffs recently, I’m sure you can understand that we have many candidates in search of work or money these days.” He lets his points hang in the air for a moment, each one a painful reminder of my desperation and how close I am to failing completely. I wished I could say I had backups or a plan to bail me out, but that would be a lie. My parents are far away and broke themselves after sinking their money into some long-term investment. My brother is too busy with his wife and a new kid on the way… and we aren’t even that close. And friends? Well, I’m not exactly a social butterfly and the loss of my job hasn’t helped with that any in finding new ones. The suited man has me cornered and while the door is unlocked… it might as well be a safe door as far as I’m concerned for leaving through it now. Despite my apprehension, I know that this is one of the few chances I have to get out of the hole I’m digging myself further into every day. And terribly, the suited man knows it. His underlying smile, so subtle as to almost even be unseen, ripples along and emphasizes my desperation and his next question. “So… may I continue?” Submissive to his whims and with the knowledge that I have nowhere else to turn, I merely nod my head. He smiles, but this time his glee is obvious over my compliance with what he wants. “Excellent. Now,” he flips another page from the right side of my file, “do you have any fetishes… sexual deviancies? I really try not to judge… Purely for the record.” An hour later I’m back out on the street in Washington D.C. It’s been my home for years now, but lately it’s felt more like a self-contained prison. Each Brutalist building contrasts heavily with the Greek Revival ones, but each seems like a slap in my face now as I pass by them. ‘That’s where I used to work…’ is my constant theme these days, and each day that passes without a solid job, those words feel more distant. So, in an attempt to blur my lines of what is real and what is crushing, I head to the nearest bar I can remember. It’s a small little thing and usually a pretty quiet behind the Archives building… mostly a place for stuffy politicians or glassy eye curators. For me, though, I just order a beer and sigh as I look down into it and the bubbles fizzing up from the bottom. It’s a small distraction, but it still work its magic and let’s me forget for a second… “Pretty shit, huh?” the bartender asks out loud, catching me off guard. I look up with bleary eyes and squint back at him as he polishes off another glass with his dish towel. “Huh?” He gestures to the nearby small TV, almost looking at odds with the rest of the older style bar in the district. Still, unlike most others in the city, it displays the news instead of sports. Most newcomers request to change it, but that’s not what this place is about, and they’re always shot down. In this place, it’s all about governmental policy and change. So, when I look up at the TV and see yet another news report, it’s not surprising, but the headline opens my eyes more than I care to admit. “Government eases testing standards for new programs.” It could be worse, especially in the modern climate, but still… it makes me wonder. “Hard to believe. Maybe chickens won’t be tested as well or something. Saving a buck or two, I guess…” I shrug, not really knowing the answers and not being surprised by most anything on the news anymore. The bartender eyes a nearby chicken sandwich with more than a little unease but ultimately collects it and comes back. “Maybe, but… ready for another round tonight?” He gestures at the once full beer in my hands currently. I sigh and stare at my nearly empty glass. I want another, but ultimately, I shake my head. “No, would love to but…” I don’t finish my thoughts and simply pull out my only 20-dollar bill and hand it over. From the change I get back, I am sure to still leave a decent tip. I might be screwed these days, but I just can’t find it in myself to tip poorly. I walk back to my apartment rather than taking the metro. It saves me a little money, and the walking feels good… despite the fact that the weather is unseasonably warm for this time of year. It especially doesn’t help as I make my way up the flight of stairs and to my actual apartment. Little beads of sweat are already pouring from my forehead as my keys turn to my barebones living space. With my previous job, I was never here much before, so I never felt the need for more. Now though, especially as I immediately go back to job hunting and checking my email, it feels especially lonely. Tonight however, while I’m looking through my emails, I see what I’ve been looking for now for a month. The newest email in my inbox blinks and is all in bold. “Your application has been accepted.” It’s all I can do to keep myself from jumping up and down in joy after reading the header of the fresh and beautiful email message. “Yes! Finally!” I briefly stifle my joy and check out the job… just in case of spam. To my utter relief, it seems all legitimate. So, not wasting a second, I quickly reply back to set up an interview. My hand nearly shakes the whole time I’m writing the email back to them. I can feel the electricity of the potential in the moment. It feels like… freedom… opportunity. Once I hit send though, I allow the waves of euphoria to fully pour through me. I’m electric… thrilled… jubilant. I jump up and after even do a little dance before snapping my fingers. “This calls for a celebration!” So, once more, I grab my keys and head out my door to the nearest convenience store. It’s small and a little dingy around the back, but they have a great selection of chips and ice cream… perfect for a little late night snack celebration. I almost go for chocolate and cherry, but considering the heat and the occasion though, I grab my favorite flavor of chocolate and peanut butter. It feels so good to clutch that pint of cold deliciousness in my hand and I even whistle slightly as I checkout. “Man, I wish I could be that happy about something,” the store owner tells me. “Oh, it feels great,” I acknowledge. “Just got a job application back and I’m waiting to set up an interview. I can honestly say that it’s the best news I’ve had in a month.” The store owner’s eyes light up and he smiles wide. “Congratulations, sir! Best of luck to you on that,” he says, handing me the receipt with nearly a bounce in his words now. Most people know the horrible state of the economy and the huge numbers of joblessness. An interview was always great before, but these days… it’s an even bigger deal. I smile even wider and take my receipt. “Thank you! I really think things are just about to turn the corner for me…” I then exit the store and head back to my apartment. I’m humming along the darkened street… a few lights out from the lack of maintenance. Crime is up in the area, but my apartment isn’t far, and I almost have developed sixth sense about these things by now. But I’m happy. That wouldn’t be a problem normally, but I’m nearly in bliss. There’s something so alluring and free about the prospect of an interview for me. It’s a light at the end of the tunnel and a beacon of hope I can turn toward through the rough storms that is my life at the moment. It should all be grand. I’m even whistling a bit once again and focusing just on what is in front of me. I’m distracted. I don’t hear the crack of a twig on the sidewalk behind me like I normally would. I don’t pay attention to the rubber turning on the pavement off to the side or the deft footsteps on the alleyway down on my left. I’m oblivious to all other things other than my own happiness that yes, I’ve turned the corner in life. Yes, most absolutely, things will be different. Turns out… just not in the way that I wanted. The personnel that surround me are very quick. Professional, burly, and imposing masked figures. They bear no insignia, and I can’t make anything out of them except their maybe six inches to a foot in height and maybe 30 pounds of muscle over me at least. One gets me from behind and places their hand over my mouth with some kind of cloth. Two go for my arms quickly after and lock me into place. The fourth goes for my legs in a vice-like grip. I can’t move and I’m being hauled away… right down the darkened alleyway and into a van. I try to scream. I try to flail around… but it’s useless. I’m useless. I’m packed into the black van in seconds, and I hear the side sliding door crunch over on its tracks and then slam shut before the vehicle lurches away. I barely move with how I’m still being held. No voices around me. Just hand signals and quick and efficient meaty hands that go to work around me. I’m locked in and I can’t do anything about it. Darkness starts to envelop me. The van is dark and curtains black out most of the light, but quickly, I know with terrifying horror that this is something more. My limbs become heavy. The fight inside me begins to fade whether I wish for it or not. I want to kill these people… at least scratch or beat them senselessly and flee back into the night and up to the relative safety of my apartment. But those are the actionable desires of someone fully conscious. Simply put, that isn’t me anymore. A hand is still over my mouth. Though the edges of my world begin to blur, I still smell something chemical in front of me. ‘The white rag covering my mouth and nose must be laced with something.’ There’s no other rational explanation for how I’m feeling right now. It’s a terrible sinking feeling in my gut. But it doesn’t matter. The figure that was once holding my legs now comes over to me, and while the van is still mostly black, a flash of light streams in from the front and highlights the metallic cylinder precariously balanced in their hands. The needle at the tip almost seems to sparkle and drip with something magical and yet unwanted. I’m not a genius, but it doesn’t take one to realize what is about to happen. With my last efforts of strength, I thrash about. But again, I’m useless. Before, it was the locked position of the personnel holding and pinning me in place. Now, I feel their grip is still locked but now significantly loosened. If anything, my efforts against them come off as simply pathetic. So, whether I wish it or not, the person takes advantage of my uselessness and weakness and comes forward. Before I can even attempt to scream out, he quickly jabs the needle right into my arm. It burns heavily and I wince and try to scream in pain as it plunges deep. But again, I’m useless. I’m powerless to stop anything, and worse… the blackness, at first creeping, now surges forward around my vision like a crashing wave. Now, there is nothing more. I feel nothing. I am nothing. * * * The bumps that jostled me awake earlier are no less smooth now than they were previously from what had to be at least three hours ago. I have to pee something fierce but the truck I’m bound, gagged, and blindfolded in has shown no signs of stopping. Occasionally, I hear something on the radio or hushed whispers, but that’s about it. I could forgive anyone from thinking that it meant I didn’t know anything. True, I couldn’t hear or really touch anything, but my other senses were ever more focused. I had watched a documentary last year about a woman who fled her kidnapper and because she remembered the sound of a train going by not long before the car she was in stopped, the police were able to later apprehend her kidnapper. So, drawing at least a few parallels between our situations, as soon as I had come to my senses, I tried to figure out anything I could in this less-than-ideal situation. The road was rough and bumpy. As I noted before, it’s what jostled me awake after I had passed out in D.C., but that was another prominent thing. Also, yes, it was summer in D.C., and the old swamp area was particularly humid, but now… it is still hot around me, but more of a dry heat. I feel the sweat accumulate slightly around my body in the back of the truck… likely poorly ventilated and maybe even open to the outside in places. I’m not entirely sure about that, but the heat and lack of humidity tell me that I’m nowhere near to where I live. Potentially problematic, yes, but also telling. Loving to travel, I’ve been to most of the surrounding states near D.C., and what’s absolutely certain, nowhere right now is receiving dry heat as their weather forecast right now. It’s either something akin to the swamps of Satan or the near drownings of a wretched batch of storms in the areas… not this. So, I begin to check off in my mind where I could be. ‘Definitely west of the Appalachian Mountains… but no cold or extreme breezes of the Rockies… plus maybe too far. Back roads definitely… so not near a city. No traffic lights either, since we haven’t stopped once, so that kills a lot of places as well. Figure a straight drive since last night and the amount of heat… intense and not boiling but growing… means early or midday… but that also would only place me somewhere along just east of the Mississippi longitude from when I was kidnapped last night to now.’ I paused and winced. ‘No… that’s not right, so… crap. Was I out for a whole day already? My bladder… shit. I’m even further west. Maybe a full day then… Still a big area though. Doesn’t narrow it down too much, but it’s something.’ I hope I’m wrong in most of that in a way, since going to a barren area hardly ever spelled something good, but considering I was kidnapped already… my luck doesn’t seem that good. The truck bounces me about a few more times and my need to pee is near to the bursting point. I try thinking about almost anything else, but that’s proving an issue. Between my hunger, my bladder, and my confinement, I nearly feel bugs crawling over my skin in a near phantom itch to move… to run. Just… anything more than this. I try to speak, but the gag prevents anything but a muffled sound emitting instead of the pleas to let me go or at least let me move around that I truly intend. It does attract the attention of my kidnappers though… “Hey, you!” a gruff voice nearly growls at me. “Cut that out. We’re almost there, so just sit tight. We can’t hurt you, but we can make your last moments out here very miserable.” I feel a hand shove me slightly back. “So… what’s it going to be? Stay calm or are we going to have to get… creative?” I sense his threat is exactly that. There was no hesitation or even any signs of a bluff on his part. This man, whoever he is, seems to have both done this before and be pretty okay with it and whatever else was necessary in his role to subdue me. So, weighing my options, considering my current state of being trapped, mute, and blind… I settle down and don’t say a word. The man chuckles. “Good boy. Maybe there’s hope for you yet…” His words do nothing to help the already pent-up and dreading feeling I had since I had been taken. Still, despite his gruffness and threats to use possibly violence or torture or some other nasty thing against me, the man was at least telling the truth that we would soon arrive. The van quickly lurches to a stop. A few shuffling noises later, my blindfold is finally removed. I have to blink a few seconds as the light streams all around me from the windows in the front and the back. I find it strange that the van is so open like that now as compared to last night with the curtains on the windows, but the figures in front of my vision fully distract me from any further thoughts on the matter. Masked and geared to the hilt, they exude an ex-military vibe that I often saw in my previous job when dealing with mercenaries and security personnel we contracted out for our safety sometimes. Not saying a word, the lead man then points out the door that is soon opened. More light floods in and I look back to the man who gestured to the door for more answers. I’m not sure why he isn’t just using his words, but at this point, I remember the veiled threat before. Whatever this is, I absolutely don’t want to make it uncomfortable… or at least more so than it already is. The man simply waves his hand at me out the door. I take his meaning this time to exit the vehicle. I’m still gagged, and my hands are bound together tightly… uncomfortably at this point, but again, I don’t want to cause any more problems for myself. Simply put… between the dry heat, the backroads, lack of traffic lights, and the amount of time it took to get here and stop, I don’t like my chances of escape. Terrifyingly, my suspicions are confirmed when I exit the vehicle. Desert… or at least at best a barren wasteland of dried-up prairies stretches for what seems like miles in all directions. Hazy mountains flank to the west, and to the east… nothing. I think I see a shimmering glint of maybe a tower… a fence… something, but definitely not civilization. If anything, even those signs of something else seem to reinforce the barrenness of where I’m currently standing. Another masked and geared man comes up to me and holds up a tablet of sorts near my head before glaring right at me. “Confirm… Jack Maria Thomas,” he directs right as another man removes the gag from my mouth from behind. I smack my mouth together a few times in an effort to remove the nasty threads left on my tongue. I can already feel the dryness of a lack of water from all that time, but I also see the masked man’s eyes. Sharp, focused… full of duty, sternness, and no-nonsense. I saw the same in the other man and I know not to screw around, but I know I need to try. “Please… just let me go and…” “Confirm,” he presses again, this time with a small amount of anger behind his voice and one of his fingers seemingly itching toward the stock of the gun he’s carrying as well. I swallow hard at the scene, and I nod as fast as I can. “Yes… that’s me.” I take a breath. “But what…?” “Silence.” His voice isn’t annoyed, angry, or even shrill like I might has expected. Just more to the point and focused on the task he seemingly has to perform. To me, it seems we both have our roles to fill… ‘Definitely not the overall leader of this thing.’ The man taps a few more things on the tablet before him, before strangely looking dismayed. I almost question him, but with everything going on around me, my thoughts bounce from one subject to the next and his looks take a momentary backseat. My vision moves from the desert landscape to the horizon line, to the distant mountains, to the men with guns… and then even to what I am currently wearing. Before, back in D.C., I was still wearing the suit I had worn to the interview earlier in the day. I had removed the suit jacket once I got home, but the button-up shirt and pants were definitely still attached to me. Now, they’re gone and in their place is a faded green prison jumpsuit of sorts. I swallow hard at the implications… Finally looking up from his tablet, the man looks at me once more. “Okay… here’s your situation. In a moment, you’re going to a bunker of sorts. You will be there for one year, and at the end… you’ll get a substantial payout for your services.” I frown back at him in confusion, but I keep my mouth shut, my eyes still drifting to the rifle attached to his body. ‘Definitely not where I thought this was going…’ “I see you have questions,” the man notes, stepping closer to me, “but they will have to wait. We need to do two things right now. First, know there are only three ways out of this.” He holds up one finger. “First… quit. You do that and all the money reserved for you at the end will be forfeited, and you will receive no government assistance of any kind afterward.” He holds up a second finger. “Two… flee. You try to escape, and…” He pivots over and points to the shiny point at the distance I had seen earlier. “You see that?” I quickly nod. “Good. That’s a watch tower. They’re all around you,” he notes menacingly as he gestures in a circle around where we’re standing before he rests his hand on his large gun. “They have guns just like this one… or even much larger. You escape; they have the option to shoot you on sight. You survive; you go back and incur a penalty… a harsh one.” He glares at me. “I wouldn’t suggest that route.” I wince but note internally that there’s still one more option. “And third?” I ask hesitantly, the first two options seeming truly terrible and hoping beyond measure that somehow the third would be more reasonable. “Third…” He smirks down at me, his few inches of height over me seemingly a lot more in our current roles. “Well, third is that you finish the year here. It might seem like a burden and impossible in the days ahead, but considering the others, I would still recommend option three.” Again, I quickly nodded. Another person, feistier and more combative might have fought, but that wasn’t me. I was trying to use my head, and simply put, I saw my options and the remoteness of where I was. Fight, escape, and flee, but to where? Out here, even if I managed to avoid the towers with big guns, my survival out here wouldn’t be guaranteed in the slightest. So, as much as a little voice inside my head was telling me to, my instincts told me as plain as day that fighting back would be pointless… foolhardy at best. “Very good. Maybe there’s hope for you after all…” He smirks and turns back to his tablet before holding it back up to me. “Now then… in you go…” I blink back at the man and look around. “Go? Go where?” The man points nearby and while I have to squint my eyes to see it, only about thirty yards away is what amounts to a slit in the ground. Only about 20 feet long, I see the ground plunges inward and leads to a submerged door right under the surface of the soil above. All of it concrete… devoid of emotion… uninviting. I feel a cold splinter of fear enter my heart. “Wha… what’s down there?” I ask, a weakness and subsequent trembling sensation beginning to take over my limbs as the true measure of my situation begins to unfold before my eyes. “That…” the man noted smugly. “That… is your new home for the next year… or at least the entrance to it.” He pauses for a minute, but me still not budging, the man then scowls back at me and raises his rifle barrel to my chest. “Now… I said to move. Or are you going to be giving us a problem already?” I see his rifle. I see the desperation of my situation being stuck in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by towers that had ‘shoot on sight’ orders. It was horrible, but it was that or the unfeeling bunker-like entrance now before me. Underground and heavy duty… there now seemed to be a permanence to my situation that I hadn’t felt before. I didn’t want to go down there. That’s for sure. I had read and heard about these things before… down there meant torture or death or imprisonment. I would be lucky to ever see the sun again. But… the gun in the hands of a scowling and tough ex-military masked figure before me presents an unmistakable choice, death or compliance. Unlike the previous man in the van before, the one in front of me had made no such promises of not hurting me. Somehow, the van ride now felt like the preliminary phase of all this, but now that I was here, the stakes of it all… the reality and actual event seem to be at my feet now. I didn’t like it… but I knew my options… and their limits. So, I meekly raise my still-bound hands as best to surrender and walk over to the entrance… no fight… no protest… Again, despite him still aiming his gun center-point at my chest, he smiles and soon follows me over to the slit in the ground that is to be my ‘home’ for the next year. Stopping right before the steps to the door, I turn around and hold my bound wrists up. “Can I… well, can I at least be free before I go down?” I try to widen my eyes and seem as desperate as possible. I want to stay strong, but I felt there was a wide gap between entering the creepy bunker with my hands bound versus them free. So, I had to try at least. There’s a grumble and an annoyance from my masked captors, but the main leader nods his head to one of the other men behind me. This new masked man comes at me hard and quickly flicks out a long knife from one of his chest pockets. It shines underneath the desert sun; glinting and deadly. I wince and shut my eyes… painfully aware that I’ve likely lost the protection that was once promised to me before. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, with everything going on, I’m no longer taking anything for granted… not even my safety or my life. But the man only ambles over, roughly takes my wrists, and cuts the rope that was binding them together. I open my eyes and see my now free wrists. “Thank you…” I muster out. The man only grunts and turns away… leaving the leader to point his gun once more at me. “Alright… you’re free. Now, down you go.” Again, his actions are clear, and his gun speaks the volumes that he doesn’t. It says threat and deadly force is now authorized on my hide. It says this is serious business and whatever awaits me in the hole, in case I already knew what was happening, isn’t going to be much better… or at least to the point where they would need to threaten me with entering or face down death itself. I rationalize that most things are better than death and then place my foot on the first step going down. My knees wobble as I turn around full now and head down the stairs. The morning sun begins to arc overhead and fill the hole with light, showing off all the dust floating around in such a barren climate. I see the door ahead of me… it’s shine in stark contrast to the rusted stains on the concrete around it… almost like the place had recently been repurposed… like I was the first guest to come here in years and precautions to keep me in needed to be upgraded. Seeing all that, my hands tremble as they reach out to the large wheel to open the door before me now. But, just in case, I turn around and look one last time at the leader. “I…” I don’t get to finish my thought… my counter to all this, hoping to plead one more time to leave. Instead, the man points his gun at me, but this time… he also makes sure to place his eye along the top rail of the gun, aiming at me with deadly precision. His new actions are clear to me now. Get into this bunker-like structure underground now and be a smear against the door instead. With such an ultimatum, I snap back to the door. I reach out with both hands this time and turn the wheel. It creaks and moans in an awfully hellish way like I am about to enter the very bowels and devilry of the earth. My stomach drops more, and I feel a single bead of sweat perspire on my forehead as the wheel finally budges. It turns and turns some more… the door finally opening. Inside is just another set of stairs downward. Darkness enshrouds more than a few feet, and I hesitate, but my ears pick up the faintest clicking noise. With my last job and growing up with a few who took me to a shooting range, I knew that sound… it was a gun loading its ammo… the weapon aligning with the bullet. Next stop, my head… my body. I have no choice. I don’t even turn around this time to plead to be let go or question a thing. I simply walk forward to my fate, sheer blinding light behind me and nothing but cold concrete and darkness before me. I swallow hard and give myself over to be swallowed by the earth and whatever this place is. Fully in, the door slams behind me. To my relief a few lights flicker on ahead of me. The stairs don’t descend as far as I originally thought but the ominous cramped feeling of all this place gives me a terrible case of claustrophobia. I immediately want out, but a quick turn of my head only reveals a thoroughly shut door behind me… and no handle or even a wheel to let myself out even if I chose that option and forfeited the end prize. Now, whether I want it or not, I’m truly trapped. Suddenly, a speaker overhead crackles to life. The sound coming from it takes a second to synch and come in as more than static, but even in the old-fashioned clicks and echoes of a speaker system at least thirty years old now sounds like, the words are very clear. “Keep moving.” I don’t know why, but I merely nod my head in compliance. I can’t go back. The sealed door and lack of egress proves that at least ten times over in my head. I can only go forward, and now with the lights… it’s not just wandering around blindly in the dark. It’s a concession for sure as to how far I’ve fallen into this terrible plot seemingly against me, but again… I feel I have no choice, or at least not a real one... Wandering down the staircase, holding onto the rail the entire time, I eventually come to a landing zone of sorts before another door. The speaker in front of me this time crackles once more. “Scan your hand on the pad in front of you.” I look and that beyond the grungy metal fittings and the leaking concrete in places, there is a brand-new electronic system… right next to where there is a large pad. It blinks a few times and then stops. Looking around, I don’t see any traps, so, I sigh and place my hand on the pad as instructed. The pad hums and blinks a few times before turning green. “Excellent,” the voice behind the speaker says once more. “You may proceed inside.” A hiss follows and the large metallic door before me opens wide. “Step in,” the voice calls out overhead. Not wanting to stay any longer in the hallway than I need to, I step inside… only to wish I saw just about anything else. Inside is only what I could describe as a jail cell. A simple plastic-like faded green bed has been shoved against one wall. The most basic metallic and uninviting toilet and sink are against another. A barred door is at the other end and as if I didn’t remember for whatever reason, the other door behind me slams and hisses close. Curiously, as I turn back, I am only greeted by a flat wall with a single seem around the edges of where the door had opened up. It’s all cold, barren, and unfeeling… except the electronic device in the corner of the room. Compared to everything else, it seems out of place. Not much larger than an oversized notebook, it blinks to life, and a single plain computerized image of a person appears. “Come here,” the voice from before says without emotion, now sounding more like a computer recording than an actual human being. I step forward cautiously and for whatever reason, I wave at the thing. “Hello?” “Greetings… candidate 35-01.” Again, the voice grates and there’s almost a synthetic whine behind it as well. “Please confirm identity and place hand on screen where indicated.” Like before, I see the blinking panel just to the left of the computerized plain head staring back at me. I sigh and place my hand where instructed. “Jack Marie Thomas.” I was starting to get annoyed at having to say my name… particularly my middle name, so often. A ping goes off and the voice returns. “Welcome, 35-01… Mr. Thomas. You have been selected by the government from a contest of over a thousand candidates to participate in a year long study and observation, known to authorities as ‘Operation Hebe.’ During this time, you will be required to make certain selections in order to facilitate your life… benefits or consequences.” The screen then changes to a counter, but to my dismay it starts simply at 100 and then counts down to only 5. “These are your starting points. As you will see, think of these as a money system of sorts. The more you have, the more you can obtain. All candidates are assigned what you will find labeled as the ‘jail cell.’ You may opt out of this at any time but know that your points can never equal less than zero. Answer, ‘acknowledge’ that you understand this.” Seeing the numbers count down to only 5 quickly gives me an uneasy feeling in all this. I feel queasy… faint and dizzy too. I nearly fall over right then, but I place one hand against the wall at the last second and take a deep breath. “Acknowledge.” The words feel like poison over my tongue, but I don’t see many other ways out. “Recorded.” The screen then flickers briefly and then changes to a large screen with several labels on it. Even in my brief look before it flashes away, I see two labels… listed as ‘Makeup’ and ‘Owners.’ “What the fu…?” “Please, 35-01,” the electronic and mostly faceless voice interrupted. “Look through these first few categories that are mandatory. We will give you some time to choose as we know this may be a shock to your system, but your non-compliance will be met with punishment.” The screen flashes back to the selection options. ‘Makeup’ and ‘Owners’ appears, but so do others before the screen switches once again to one labeled at the top as ‘Medicine Effects at 6 Months.’ My eyes instantly widen in shock at the options… particularly with the flashing ‘Selection of One Mandatory’ sign near the top, highlighted all in red. “Hair growth? Incontinence? Penis shrinkage? IQ drop?” I yell out at the screen to where I once saw the lifeless computerized head of the only voice I had been hearing down here. “What the hell is this place?” I smack the bars next to the screen, but there is no response. It’s just me here… me alone with these horrid options. Me alone in a self-described ‘jail cell.’ Me alone after being kidnapped and now confirmed to be part of the government. I slump on the bed in realization of everything clicking together. “The government… the interview I did…” Me, the homeless, ex-government employee walked right into this trap. I wanted a job, and now… for the next year, I seemed to have one. My mind swirled, but it didn’t last long. “35-01. Please make your choice. You now have one hour to make your choices… or suffer the subsequent punishments,” it calls out, its electronics seeming fragile in this state as it droned on. I look over at the still-flashing screen and the selection I have to make. Considering the methods that were employed to get me here… the guns… the towers… the desert… even the bunker I was now in. It all leads me to the same conclusion… punishments mean business here and finding out what they were was ill-advisable to say the least. I sigh and stand up. “Fuck… this is going to be a very bad year…”

Elizabeth is 30 years and in the grocery store and goes down the baby aisle and decides to try diapers for the first time. She decides to bye a pack of diapers. The only problem is she does not know how to put them on. She is looking for a person or couple to help her. While she is in the aisle she has to poop so she squats down and pushes it into her panties. I will play Elizabeth

Hope you enjoy this story I created back in 2023. At that time in my life I was going through a breakup and finding Mommies online. Lately I’ve been getting back into reading diaper stories and I wanted to share my own. Rereading it has been baffling with some mistakes I’ve found, but my battles with dyslexia is real since with my regular job has me staring at Excel spreadsheets all day. This 6 part story has been on Fet for a while I never really got any feedback I was hoping for besides couple of hearts. I’ve been contemplating picking the pen back up. Enjoy 😁 —————————————- Four contracts in one day. I was pooped. As I finish off my work week on Friday afternoon I begin to pack up my things to head home. The Wi-Fi in my apartment died the night before so I was forced to go into the office. Usually, we only are required to come into the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so the office was a ghost town on Friday. Since I knew that the office would be barren I thought now would be a good time to have some fun and go to the office in my favorite Tykable diaper. Before I left in the morning I even through a booster pad during my change since I knew I would use it to its max. Before I shutdown my laptop I wished Vanna (the girl from Marketing two floors above me) goodbye via our chat on Teams(internal company messaging). Before she could reply I closed my laptop and stuffed my notepads in my backpack. As I stand up the unmistakable sound of a badge scanning the door beeped and the door popped open. My eyes raced over to see who was there since nobody had scanned in all day. In came Vanna from Marketing and my heart jumped to my throat. Vanna was a self-made woman who took no shit from anyone. If you worked with her you would not find a more loyal and determined colleague, but if you were on the opposite side of that coin then she would either eviscerate you or roll right over you. She was 31 and never mentioned anything about relationships or social life. She was a mystery besides her loving cat that she had framed all around her office. Her passion has always been her work. Like everything in life there are two sides to every story, little did I know her determination at work was only a fraction of what truly made Vanna her wonderful self. Vanna was an absolute bombshell of a woman who looked like she inspired Victoria to start having secrets. She had an hour glass body frame that she never used to her advantage in her ruthless climb of the corporate ladder. I was easily head over heels for this woman but I couldn't find a way to express this to her. Now this Goddess was looking right at me and all I could think was, "How do I get out of this?" My heart raised as I shift in my chair resulting in crinkles for all to hear in the ghost town office space. As she walked through the door reality hit me hard and fast. There was nobody on my floor besides me and I'd been sitting in a soaking wet diaper that I could even smell while I was working. The combination of being alone and smelling like a wet toddler made my heart race as she came closer and closer. "Hey Frankie" Vanna sang out as she walked over to my cube. Luckily I had my do not disturb drawer pulled out that blocked others from entering my cube. This was done strategically earlier so no one could see me humping my chair making cummies in my diaper like a dirty baby. She noticed the block and made hand gesture like she was going to leave and catch up with me later. I sprung out of my chair like someone threw hot coals down my back to greet her and tell her to come by. She turned around and approached my cube while I came to terms with what I just did. "How are things on the smelly 2nd floor?" She said waving her hand back and forth as if she had smelt a soaked baby boy. "Ha, no change from the usual. Hey, I thought you worked from home on Fridays." She rolled her eyes," Ya I'm closing this giant deal and all my colleagues are too scared to make moves without me so they keep pestering me. I come in when it is quiet and I can get work done." Vanna looks me up and down, "Oh, is that a new shirt?" Confusion hit me like a ton of bricks because I rarely buy new clothing. What is she getting at? She was staring directly at my waste line so I began scanning my waistline wondering what she could be referring to. Then...I saw it. One of the wing tips from my diaper was poking out from my Hawaiian shirt that I was wearing specifically so this WOULD NOT happen. In an instant I felt all of my blood rush to my feet. I was frozen with embarrassment as I tried to muster a response. "AHHUH, ya it's new and I haven't taken the tag off," I said as I tried to shift around in my seat to make this "new tag" shift under my clothes. "Well it looks like the purchase has been finalized, lets get that tag off." Before I could react Vanna slithered past my useless pullout drawer that was supposed to keep others out and grabbed the wing of my diaper with pinpoint accuracy. She moved so fast that I had no time to react. When she pulled it and the "tag" didn't come off but instead got bigger, she let out an audible gasp. My face was now on fire as she began to put together what she just discovered. Here I am staring at the most sought-after woman in the company and she just realizing that I am in a diaper. "Is...Is that a DIAPER?!" She asked. My jaw literally hit the floor as I contemplated jumping up to running out the door. As I tried to form words all I could do was breathe heavier and heavier until it sounded like I was running half marathon. "And is that stale smell I'm sensing coming from...YOU?!" The sound of my heart pounding was all I could hear and it felt like I was on a wooden rollercoaster with my adrenaline going through the roof. "Are you wet? Are you peeing right now??" I braced my chair, "NO! I...we are so close to the bathroom." She cut me off, "You bring up a good point. You are close to the bathroom and yet here you are in a diaper." As she said "diaper" I could feel the blood start to pump in a very focused direction. My squishy wet diaper began to have solid formation that was poking towards the voluptuous figure in front of me. How could I be aroused in a time like this? As I shifted around to hide the tent currently being pitched in my pants the sounds of a crinkly diaper emerged. Vanna giggles, "OMG you crinkle!!" She said as her face lit up. She covered her face and pointed at me as she started to laugh. The excitement I felt from her pointing out my diaper suddenly went away in one heartbeat. It dawned on me that my chances with this incredible woman of my dreams were now shattered. "Why would any woman want to be with a 33-year-old stuck in diapers?" was the thought that was shooting across my mind. Vanna continued laughing as she turned her head to soak in what she was witnessing. A feeling of hopelessness came over me as she turned away to compose herself. My vision started to become blurry as tears began to overrun my eyes. As she turned back around my head started to sink into my chest as a low sob began to slip from my lips. "Ohhhh noo...Frankie!" she expelled as she started to move closer to me. I felt her hand gently rube across my arm and another caress my cheek. "I'm so sorry you poor little thing." The tone of her voice hit my ears which unlocked a feeling of comfort that is rarely felt outside of a loving mother/son relationship. This juxtaposition of feelings was so extreme that it caused me to lose focus for a second. Her hand continued down my cheek to the back of my neck which sent shivers down my spine. In a moment of euphoria I felt this genuine sense of vulnerability as I looked into Vanna's mystical eyes. It triggered a warm sense of love and security that I hadn't felt before in years. I never wanted this feeling to go away as I lost myself in this paradise. It was so intense that I could feel the warmth building inside until I noticed another warm spot but it coincided with giant wet spot on my pants. "OH MY GOODNESS FRANKIE!" I open my eyes and Vanna is right in front of me hands over her mouth as she looks at the very visible stain on my jeans. My vision became blurry again as the levey broke in my eye ducts. Vanna grabbed my chin and made me look into her eyes. "Do you want me to find a way to make things better for you?" My head began to bounce up and down as my noise began to bubble up in conjunction with my eyes cascading tears. Vanna took my hand and said, "Ok baby, you are going to follow me ok?" She grabbed my hand and pulled me up from my chair where she threw a jacket around my waist. "Everything is going to be ok you just need to follow me and do as I say ok?" I nod my head again and try to prepare for the unexpected.

Chapter 1 "I know someone for whom it's time for bed," I interrupted the peaceful puppet show of my little sister on the living room floor in a tone that, to my shock, almost sounded like my mother's. "Please Emily, just a little bit longer, I'm not tired yet," begged Sophie, looking at me hopefully with her big, brown eyes. It was the usual evening drama she played when she had to go to bed. "No Sophie, it's bedtime now, there will still be a tomorrow to play," I explained to her clearly. I had more than enough of her daily, evening disagreements. "But...," she started to whine, but I cut her off. "No Sophie, it's bedtime now, no arguing!" Sophie pouted, but when I took her by her hand, she got up without any further grumbling and allowed me to accompany her to the bathroom without resistance. After a few meters, I noticed that her walk was a bit odd. She was walking with her legs much more spread apart than usual, as if she were imitating the walk of a duck. At first, I thought it was just another game of hers, a way to make the trip to the bathroom more exciting. A Game that she might have learned at kindergarten. But then, suddenly, I realized why she was walking so strangely. "Sophie, can you wait a moment please," I asked her with a sense of foreboding, and stopped. I lifted her summer dress and saw that her pull-up was completely soaked. It was almost a miracle that she hadn't leaked yet. " You're supposed to tell me when you need to go potty," I scolded her sourly. She looked down ashamed. "I was having so much fun playing, I didn't want to stop, and then suddenly I had to go potty before I could say anything." Sophie was a highly advanced child for her age of four. Her language skills were significantly above average, and she could not only read the entire alphabet, but also already write several words. Even simple addition problems were not a problem for her. Despite her remarkable intellectual abilities, she struggled with potty training. She still often woke up with a wet diaper and had more accidents during the day than a typical girl her age. My mother had tried every imaginable method to help Sophie overcome this issue, but with no avail. She even experimented with alternative therapies, like Bach flower remedies and Homeopathy, but as expected, they were of no assistance either. Typically, I would have put Sophie on the potty one last time before bed, like every night, but I could spare myself this step now. Instead, we just made a quick stop in the bathroom to brush our teeth. Then I took Sophie to her room, where I placed her on the changing table. I removed her dress, took off her wet pull-up, cleaned her privates, and sprinkled some baby powder on her diaper area. Finally, I put her in one of her nighttime diapers. "Is this the pajama you'd like to wear, my dear?" I asked my little sister, offering her the princess-printed sleepwear she loved so much. She beamed with joy and put on pants and top with my assistance. "And which story would you like for bedtime tonight?" I asked, giving her the option to choose, even though I already knew the answer. With a loud rustling of her diaper, Sophie scampered over to her bookshelf, and, as she does every night, pulled out the storybook about the adventures of a little princess. "What a surprise," I said with a touch of sarcasm as I took the book from her hand, but she simply smiled contentedly. To my surprise, Sophie was still enamored with the book, despite having memorized every story inside and out. "Will Mum come to give me a goodnight kiss?" Sophie wanted to know as I helped her into bed and looked at me hopefully. "Mum is still out and won't be home until later, but I'm here if you need anything". Immediately, any trace of a smile disappeared from her face, although this situation was nothing unusual for her. Our mother was a highly sought-after lawyer and often had to work late at her office. In such cases, I was often the one who had to pick Sophie up from kindergarten and take care of her until our mother returned. Only on days when I couldn't or didn't want to, a babysitter looked after her. "Mom will give you a kiss as soon as she's back," I cheered up Sophie. "Remember that your potty is right beside your bed in case you need to use it during the night. And if you don't want to go by yourself, you can always call me," I reminded her, as I usually did, in the hope of preventing any nighttime accidents. "I know," Sophie replied with a touch of frustration, having heard this reminder every night before bed. It would only have been nice if she had finally put this knowledge into action. "The little princess lived in a grand and magnificent castle," I started reading to Sophie, and before long, her eyes began to close. So much for her insisting she wasn't tired yet. I continued reading a bit longer, until I was certain that she was soundly asleep and wouldn't stir even if I stopped the story. I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and tiptoed out of her room. Chapter 2 The pleasant chirping of birds in the garden woke me up from my dreams the next morning. Only two weeks ago I had finished my final school exams and it was still unusual for me not to be woken up by the annoying melody of my alarm clock. Finally, I was free, I was no longer forced to adjust my sleep rhythm to the early morning school hours. I could get up and go to bed whenever it suited me. Of course, I was aware that once I started to go to university, the morning sleep-in would also come to an end, but for now I was going to enjoy every moment of my temporary freedom. Unfortunately, this freedom was still quite lonely. As soon as I had finished my final exams, my mother, my younger sister, and I moved from the city to the countryside. My mother had long dreamed of a small cottage, and she took the opportunity provided by the end of my school years to start a new life in a more idyllic place. Admittedly, the old house and the surrounding countryside were beautiful, but it didn't change the fact that it now felt like we were living at the end of the world. There was no club or bar in the immediate vicinity and nothing else to pass the time as a young person. Without a car, you were completely helpless here and I had neither a vehicle nor a driver's license. As a city child, I had never seen the need to waste my time with tedious driving lessons when you could get around more quickly by bike or public transportation in an urban area. But in the end, it didn't matter that I was not mobile here, it didn't matter that I didn't know anyone my age yet, because in no time at all I would be moving far away to England, the location of my new university. I was about to drift back to sleep when I suddenly realized something was amiss. The area around my buttocks felt uncomfortably wet. Had I sweated excessively in my sleep, causing the mattress to become soaked? But why did only the area around my buttocks seem to be wet? I wondered if I had gotten my period, but it was hard to imagine that the little bleeding I normally had could have caused such a mess. I quickly realized what had happened as I lifted my bedspread and discovered a circular, yellow stain around my buttocks on the otherwise pristine white bedsheet. I had clearly wet the bed, even though it seemed surreal at that moment. After all, I had enough experience finding Sophie's mattress in a similar state when we tried letting her sleep without a diaper at night, to know what such a mishap looked like. Repulsed by the wet, already smelling urine that now also stung my nose, now that the bedspread no longer trapped the odor, I rolled out of bed and immediately stripped off my pajama pants, which were also soaked with urine. No one was ever allowed to know about this mishap. I was 19 years old, not four like my sister. There was no excuse for such an accident at my age. I couldn't even imagine what my mother or friends would think if they found out. I could already picture the rumors spreading through my social circle and my new village. "Have you heard, Emily still wets the bed at 19 years old." I had to act fast. I quickly thought through my options. If I threw my bedding into the washing machine before anyone saw it, no one would ever know about my accident. I quickly took off my sheet from the mattress and also removed the covers. However, now that the mattress was uncovered, my mistake was even more obvious. The big yellow stain in the center of the white mattress was unmistakable and would immediately reveal what had happened to anyone who saw it. I had to turn the mattress over to completely hide the urine stain, but just at the moment I was about to start, there was a knock at the door. "Emily?" I heard my mother's voice. "Please don't come in," I panicked, but as usual, she had already entered without waiting for my permission. "I told you not to come in! You always come in without waiting for me to say it's okay," I yelled at my mother while desperately trying to position myself so she couldn't see my bedding and bed. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to quickly ask if you could unload the dishwasher later, after all, you shouldn't have much to do otherwise," she explained apologetically, but didn't make any effort to leave my room and instead looked curiously inside. She must have just been about to leave the house to go to the kindergarten and then to her office, since she was already holding my little sister at her hand. "Why isn't Emily wearing any pants?" my little sister innocently asked my mom when she saw me. I blushed. Out of sheer fear that my sheets and my bed could be seen, I had forgotten that I was standing half-naked in front of them, giving them an optimal view of my uncovered vulva. I couldn't recall the last time my mother had seen me this exposed, but regardless of when it was, it must have been before I hit puberty. "Uh, I was just about to change", I stammered and quickly brought my hands down to conceal my privates. "Why did you make your bed so early?" My mother wondered as she noticed that my sheets were lying behind me. "Did you get your period and is there some blood on the bed?" "Uh, yeah, that's right” I lied, grateful for this plausible explanation. Unfortunately, it didn't have the desired effect, and she didn't leave me alone. "Is there any stain on the mattress too? You need to act quickly if you want to remove it completely," she explained and before I could do anything, she stepped further into my room and looked at my exposed mattress. She appeared stunned. "Did you wet the bed, Emily?" she asked, clearly in disbelief. The question was rhetorical, she didn't need a response to know what had happened. I was speechless. I stood there, my face red, covering my nudity with my hands and hoping it was just a nightmare from which I would soon wake up. Unfortunately, it was not a dream, and I had to confront the unpleasant truth. To my shock, my mother reacted in the same way she always did when my younger sister had an accident. "Oh Emily, it can happen to everyone," she comforted me in a loving tone. Most people would probably argue that my mother's sensitive and considerate response was a positive thing, something to be happy about, but I would have preferred if she had screamed at me from the bottom of her heart. By reacting to my misfortune in the same way she reacts to my little sister's, I felt like she was equating me with a toddler who was expected to wet the bed once in a while and could therefore not be blamed. "We really have to go now. Are you okay?" my mother asked me with such a soft and concerned voice that I almost started crying. Her caring and considerate demeanor only made me feel that the whole thing was even more of a disaster than I had initially thought. I could only nod silently, as I knew that one more caring word would finally make me cry. "Just put the sheets in the washing machine and let the mattress air out before putting on new sheets," she instructed as she was already walking out the door. "Don't worry Emily, it's probably just a one-time thing. We'll see you tonight," she said finally and in the next moment she was gone with my little sister. Hardly had I been alone when I could no longer hold back my tears. For the rest of the day, I was occupied with crying my eyes out. Why did this have to happen to me and why was I so stupid to get caught as well!?

Just thought I’d share some diaper Arts I’ve drawn (these characters are OCs of mine) abdl art is the minority of the art I draw tho. Usually if it’s a non baby/toddler diaper arts will be in scraps section instead. https://www.deviantart.com/rotommowtom/gallery?q=Diaper (Caraline and Angeline) (Angeline morning) (random diaper girl in Alphagatorz) Princess dieanna and her twins (Kyra & wrektor) (Clare and Iris, Iris holding starline “aka worlds smartest baby”) clare is my freind’s OC

When I was 6 1/2 years old, I developed an impaction. I was hospitalized for 10 days, during which I was given medication’s from both ends to combat the issue. After my discharge, I had to take a hodgepodge of meds, and they damaged my system. The doctors, the ones who knew it all, or at least thought they did, had my mother convinced that giving these things to me long-term wouldn’t hurt me in anyway, though the labels on the bottles said that they could cause all kinds of issues. I was taking six Colace stool softeners a day. I took two at breakfast, two at lunch, and two at dinner. Then, at bedtime, I took 2 tablespoons of either Haley‘s ammo or milk of magnesia, whichever was available, and chased that down with an 8 ounce glass of Metamucil. Talk about overworking the system. This went on from the fall of 1984 until late summer of 1991, when my mother had enough and weaned me off of them. I took my last pill in Midsomer, 1992. But the damage was done. Now, I have to deal with frequent bouts of diarrhea, and when sitting on the toilet during a normal bowel movement, nine times out of 10, I have to force myself to go. The only time my bowels will move on their own during a normal BM is if it is large enough to stimulate the damaged nerve endings of my colon. When I was a teenager, to deal with these flareups, I started experimenting with toilet paper in my underwear. As a toddler, I remember how good it felt to have a solid bowel movement in my diapers. I wanted to re-create that feeling. So I used toilet paper when I was a child around 13 years of age. When I was out on my own, I decided to go back in actual diapers after a cleaning aid found a pair of badly stained underwear in my laundry. She asked me what I wanted to do with them, and I told her to just pitch them. I have tried a number of different brands, and I am glad I found In control Diapers. I love their products. The ones I am currently using, which I like very much so, are the Rearz Inspire due to the fact that they feel just like The Luvs diapers I used as a toddler. Though I wish not to engage with others, and have them change me, or treat me like a baby, when I am alone in the privacy of my bedroom, I prefer to feel little again. It isn’t only my way of escaping from the stress, of this, but just the world in general. Back when I was a toddler, I didn’t know war or violence. I didn’t know hate or jealousy. It was a time of pure innocence. I pull up those toddler memories when I am wearing just a diaper or a onesie over my diaper. I love onesie T-shirts. I remember countless trips to grandma and grandpa‘s house, my aunt and uncle‘s house, and so many other places. I remember piggyback rides on my big brothers shoulders to the park. I remember him pulling me around in my little red wagon. And yes, I will occasionally have a firm bowel movement in the diaper as I remember how good it felt when I was a toddler, that warm, solid thing pressed against my butt. My question for you is, do you use these types of things to cope with your incontinence? What do you remember from your toddler years in diapers?

Hi everyone, I’m a male ABDL from Japan. Recently, I started to think more deeply about why ABDL — especially the DL side — feels the way it does to me as a man. What I wrote is not a professional study or academic theory, just my personal reflections, kind of a hobby-level psychological thinking. I used AI to help me translate my original Japanese writing into English, so please forgive me if some parts sound a bit strange. For me, ABDL is not only about regression or comfort. When I think about it more deeply, it also seems connected to shame, control, helplessness, and a kind of symbolic reversal between masculine and feminine feelings. Wearing a diaper sometimes feels like placing myself inside a small, protected world — almost like a symbolic womb. At the same time, it takes away my control; I can’t act freely, and that loss of control strangely brings both embarrassment and peace. When I imagine being told things like “You can’t use the toilet” or “You must keep it on,” it feels like giving up my own power and surrendering to some authority. And in that surrender, I find a complicated mix of shame, safety, and excitement. In a way, ABDL for me is also about reversing the usual gender roles: instead of being active and “in charge” — the typical masculine position — I become passive, protected, and receptive, which feels more feminine or childlike. That contrast makes the experience very emotional and intense. Of course, this is only my personal interpretation — not everyone feels the same way. But when I think of ABDL like this, it seems to express a very human contradiction: we want to be free, yet we also want to be cared for and controlled; we fear shame, but we also find warmth inside it. I’m curious how people outside Japan feel about this kind of interpretation. Does any part of it make sense to you, or does it sound completely different from your own experience? I’d love to hear your honest thoughts. Thank you for reading this long post, and sorry if my English sounds awkward — it’s partly AI-assisted.

Preface: writing my first coming of age story loosely based on my real experiences growing up as a bedwetter. Names and timeline are fictional or moved around for narrative purposes, but most of the story detail has some basis in my childhood. Chapter 1: Just in Case July, 2020 “Ryan, let’s go we’re going to be late!” yelled his father from the first floor of their suburban Chicagoland home. Recently -turned-9 year old Ryan Santos mentally prepared to groggily pull himself out of bed. It was 5am, and he and his family were slated to leave in an hour for his first major family vacation in over a year: a 6 hour drive to spend the weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally, to celebrate his birthday, the family trip was to fly to the Philippines and reunite with extended family that Ryan’s parents had left almost a decade and a half prior. Due to the pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions, those plans were scrapped, but his mother Linda saw this as a perfect opportunity to visit the city of St. Louis, a place she had been enamored with since childhood during a trip to the states back in the 90s. The interstate travel restrictions were also easing up as lockdowns became less strict and social distancing became the norm. While not rich, Ryan was fairly well off as an only child in an upper middle class neighborhood. Both of parents worked in the medical field: his father, Jerry, worked in hospital administration and Linda worked as a nurse. With the pandemic, their workload went into overdrive, but they managed to carve out some free time over the weekend to go on this vacation and blow off some steam. Nonetheless, Jerry was often strict and regimented when it came to schedules, even on a vacation, sometimes adding tension to family outings in the past. Linda entered the bedroom and saw Ryan still in his red pajamas in bed, the covers halfway down to his legs. He shifted around in his sleep frequently, causing his shirt to roll up a few inches above his belly to reveal the blue waistband of his Goodnites, and he noticed his favorite Tigger stuffed animal was knocked on the ground and somehow made it into the crevice between his bed and nightstand. “Anak, you know how your father is, don’t make him ask twice please,” she said tactfully. “Okay, I’m getting up already,” Ryan replied as he got out of bed. He had been awake for about 25 minutes already, but had been dreading leaving the comfort of his bed. As he sat up, he noted the tension in his lower abdomen but thought nothing of it as he got to his knees on the floor and bent over to reach for his stuffed animal. His slender frame made it easy to get between his bed and the nightstand. Mid reach, he released his bladder and felt his already swollen Goodnites become warm again. His stream concluded as he stood up and faced his mother. Ryan had wet the bed every night his entire life, and despite recently turning 9, it showed no signs of stopping, despite his mother and doctor saying it would stop itself eventually. While he wouldn’t prefer to have this problem, it wasn’t a big deal to him or his immediate family; his nightly donning of protective undergarments was simply a normal part of life. None of his friends knew, and he preferred to keep it that way, often bowing out of invitations to sleepovers and overnight extracurriculars, though he would like to experience those one day. While he didn’t necessarily potty train late, he did achieve it with literal days prior to starting preschool, and even then he still had frequent accidents up through kindergarten. His frustrated father threatened to send him to school in diapers on multiple occasions but never followed through with it. By age 6, Ryan was in control of his body, save for the nightly accidents that were remedied by his mother’s weekly grocery run for Goodnites. Ever since he was little, he had made a habit of using his Goodnites while still awake, both before and after bedtime, something that his mom called him out on occasionally, but usually wouldn’t notice. While embarrassed, Ryan would internally justify it as they would be wet either way, might as well use them for the intended purpose. “Get ready soon! We’re trying to leave in the next 30 minutes, we’re putting the maleta in the van soon,” Linda said with her usual hint of Filipino accent mixed with Taglish. He obeyed by making his way to the bathroom down the hall to brush his teeth and prepare for the day. He pulled down his pants and pulled down his heavy, soggy Goodnite and placed it in the trash bin with a thud. He got dressed with a souvenir shirt with the Canadian maple leaf logo and put on some normal underwear and sweat pants before meeting his mom at the foyer of his house, Tigger in hand. His mother had packed most of the family’s clothes and belongings into one massive leather suitcase that she had brought when they first immigrated to America. She prided herself in fitting a family vacation’s worth of clothes into one bag, even if it was only for a weekend. She asked her son a question as he placed his stuffed animal in the suitcase, taking inventory of toiletries before zipping it up. “How many pull ups do you have left in the bathroom?” “I dunno, like 3 left I think? They’re already in the bag,” he answered as he noted 3 Goodnites already zipped up in a mesh compartment. “Go get them,” she ordered. “What? Why? Isn’t this enough for the weekend trip?” “Just bring them,” she said bluntly. “Just in case.” “Okay,” Ryan said with a shrug as he ran up to the bathroom upstairs. Not sure what that’s supposed to mean, he thought as he got the got the last 3 from the pack and threw the plastic package wrap in the trash. He walked down the stairs and handed the Goodnites to his mother, who zipped them up in the mesh pocket with the other toiletries. After doing a final check, she zipped up the suitcase and had Ryan load it into the back of their silver Honda Odyssey. “Make sure the top is easy to access,” she specified as he loaded it into the trunk. Ryan proceeded to hop in the back seat with the snack bag, and enjoyed the Nesquik chocolate milk he traditionally had in a travel mug. His father started the van and typed in the address of the fancy hotel on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River that they would be staying at. His mom entered the car, checking the glove compartment to make sure their emergency supply of medical masks was still there after they became mandatory in most public establishments. Jerry looked back at his son as he backed out of the driveway and turned to Linda. “Is he wearing his nappies?” He asked her not so subtly. Ryan cringed internally; he hated when his dad called them that, not that the term “diapers” was much better. He considered the term infantilizing, even if the term reflected how his parents grew up overseas using different lingo. He appreciated that his mom simply called them pull ups, but the mere mention of them in general outside the house always made him a little self conscious. He knew why his dad was asking: while he never had to wear them on car trips before, the idea was always floated after multiple close calls in past road trips that resulted in emergency bathroom runs to gas stations, restaurants, and rest stops for Ryan to relieve himself, further delaying their trip. Deep down, Ryan almost wanted to wear them for that specific reason, but quickly pushed the idea out of his head as the embarrassment was too much. He had always been insecure about his weak bladder, but he hated it most when his parents brought it up in casual conversations. “No, he’s not,” Linda answered with a hint of annoyance. “Not yet.” Yet? Ryan thought as he downed the last of his chocolate milk. He didn’t think much of it as he looked out the window and saw his suburb turn into countryside as his family began their drive south. Within about 30 minutes, the familiar tension in his lower torso appeared, causing Ryan to dread that he still had over 5 hours left of the trip. Chapter 2: Not quite a bathroom break “What is it, Ryan?” Jerry said with a hint of frustration as he noticed his son squirming in his seat as he looked into the rearview mirror. “Um…” Ryan stammered as he dreaded asking the next question. “I… have to go to the bathroom.” Jerry clicked his mouth and sighed angrily. They had been on the road for a little over 45 minutes and had successfully beat the traffic rush to the interstate by leaving early, but stopping now would negate that progress. “Sorry,” Ryan added sheepishly. “You should have gone before we left!” His father said as they continued driving. “Please?” The young boy squeaked as he felt the tension worsening. He noted that he technically did relieve himself just before they left right after he woke up, just not necessarily in the bathroom. “Why do you always do this?” Jerry said with an eye roll. “Jerry!” Linda said with a slight scowl to her spouse. “We’ll try to stop soon honey, just hang in there.” “Okay,” Ryan said as he felt a bead of sweat form. His mother looked up and saw that a rest stop was only 2 miles ahead, but her hopes were soon dashed as a “REST STOP CLOSED” sticker was placed on the sign, a further indication of the majority of public rest stops being shut down due to the pandemic. The following sign saying that the next rest stop wouldn’t be up for another 45 miles didn’t help. Another 5 minutes went by as Ryan continued to squirm, trying to distract himself with the near featureless midwestern countryside. “There!” Linda said as she noted an exit sign saying there was a Shell gas station and an old diner a couple miles ahead. “We could use a top off on the gas anyway,” she remarked, despite the tank being 3/4 full. Reluctantly, Jerry shifted into the right lane and proceeded to take the exit ramp when it came up. After about a mile, they pulled into the parking lot of the gas station and Jerry exited the van to pay at the gas pump, only to get a notification “SEE CASHIER INSIDE” as he swiped his card. Annoyed, he grabbed a mask from the glove box and headed inside the store, noticing a line of other masked people standing 6 feet apart who were already pulled up at other pumps. Ryan quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and prepared to open the van sliding door when his mother stopped him. “Honey,” she said sweetly. Ryan turned to her with desperation on his face as he wondered what was so important that his mom had to say. “I know this is going to sound strange, but I don’t want you using the bathroom here.” “What?” Ryan said in disbelief. “What do you mean?” “Your father and I talked about it last night: we really don’t trust the public bathrooms out here, especially on the interstate. There’s so many people who might be sick using those bathrooms who probably don’t wash their hands, and they could be spreading Covid.” “But the sign right there says they deep clean and disinfect it every hour!” He replied as he pointed to one of the signs at the gas station window. “I know it says that honey, but you never can trust those. Plus, you might run into a whole lot of people from all over the country who might have Covid but they’re asymptomatic and are just spreading it to everyone. You don’t want to get sick like you did last Christmas, do you?” Ryan thought back to this past winter where he spent the majority of his Christmas break bedridden and battling a fever, taking the fun of the holidays away in the process. He couldn’t really argue with his mom, as he knew he had a history of a weak immune system, and he over heard his parents the past few months constantly lamenting about the overwhelming amount of the horrifically ill patients they saw everyday in the hospitals they worked at. Ryan sighed as he struggled to keep composure at the mounting pressure in his bladder. “What do you want me to do? Go in the grass by the parking lot like a dog where everyone can see me?” “No, not that…” his mother tried to think of a way to bring it up delicately. “Your father and I were thinking the easiest and safest way for you to go to the bathroom would be if you went to the maleta…” Ryan blinked nervously as he started to realize what his mother was suggesting. “…and put on one of your pull ups… and used those.” Ryan wasn’t sure how to respond to that. The notion of it was so deathly embarrassing, but he also considered running to the gas station bathroom, which on the other hand, might actually result in him catching Covid and ending up as another pandemic statistic at a hospital. “You can put them on in the van so it’s a little more private. Even if you have to go number 2, I can help you clean up,” she concluded. “Mom!” He snapped. “I don’t have to go number 2.” He thought about making a break for the bathroom, then ultimately decided against it after realizing he’d likely get an earful from his dad later for disobeying his mother. He looked around the gas station parking lot and saw other families with kids walking around: some his age, some older, some younger. It’s not like I’ll see these kids ever again anyway, he thought. “Fine,” he said defeated. “I’ll be right back,” his mother said sweetly as she exited the front passenger seat and made her way to the trunk of the Odyssey. She unzipped the suitcase and pulled out one of Ryan’s Goodnites, as well as a package of Pampers baby wipes as Ryan hid in the backseat and crouched down to try to stay clear of the windows, mortified if one of the other kids saw his mom with his pull-ups in hand. She opened the sliding door and handed him the pull up, which he reluctantly grabbed and popped back behind the seat as he closed the door. His hands began shaking as his desperation reached a breaking point, making his fine motor skills jerky as he took his shoes off and quickly pulled his pants and briefs down. He crouched extra low as he opened up the Goodnite and slipped it on, barely in time as he began to relieve himself with an audible hiss. Ryan breathed a relieved sigh as he felt the familiar sensation of his pull up filling with the warm liquid and causing it to expand. He figured it felt different than the other times he had gone on purpose either just before bed or after waking up, probably because his mother had not only given him explicit permission, but encouragement to do so. After about a minute, Ryan finished, noticing how heavy it sagged and swole up. While it did feel very toddler like, it wasn’t as bad or embarrassing as he thought it would be. He began to get up from his crouching position on the floor by the back seat when his mom pulled open the side door. “Oh! Sorry, I thought you were in the very back row,” she exclaimed as the pantsless Ryan had his wet pull up on full display. He prayed the group of kids playing in the grass about 50 feet away didn’t see him in this state. Ryan jumped in the back row of seats where he was relatively out of view of the open door. “Are you done?” “Yes,” he answered his mother quickly. “Are you sure?” “YES!” He said annoyed. “Just making sure,” she said nonchalantly. She held up the package of baby wipes. “You got this?” “Yes mom,” he said as he grabbed the pack. “Can you please close the door?” Without another word, Linda shut the sliding door and Ryan crouched down in the back most seat row. He shimmied off the Goodnite as it made an audible plop on the floor of the van. He did a quick once over with the baby wipe before putting his underwear and pants back on, followed by his shoes. Soon, his mom opened the sliding door again. “All good?” “Yes,” Ryan answered quietly. She looked down at the wet pull up on the floor of the car. “Do you want me to throw that away for you?” Ryan hesitated, not sure if his mom holding his waste was more embarrassing or if he would rather take care of it himself. Eventually, he made a decision. “Can you take it please?” He asked, too ashamed to leave the perceived safety of the van. “Of course,” Linda said with a smile to try to cheer her son up. She rolled up the wet pull up, reminding her of the times when Ryan was a toddler. Noticing the trash can next to the gas pump was full, she began to walk towards the edge of the parking lot by the grass. Ryan began to turn red as he realized she was going to throw it away in the trash can right in front of where the other kids his age were running and playing. She promptly threw it away and proceeded to rub her hands with hand sanitizer as she walked back to the van. Opening the front passenger door, she noticed Ryan staring out the opposite window, still as red as an apple, trying to watch the other cars at the gas station to take his mind off his embarrassing ordeal. “You okay, anak?” She asked. “I’m great, just great,” he mumbled as he saw a mother exit a pick up truck with her toddler age daughter in her arms. She proceeded to lay her down on a mat on the tailgate of the truck, lifted her skirt up, and proceeded to change her diaper. In a way, Ryan almost envied how unashamed and not self conscious the little girl was and how her situation just mirrored his own. Soon, Jerry returned from the cashier line and proceeded to fill the car up quickly. He sat back in the driver seat and began to drive back onto the country road leading to the interstate. “Did he go?” He asked his wife over some country music playing on the radio. Ryan could still hear the conversation. “Yes, he did. Took him a minute, but he did.” “Is he wearing one now? I don’t want to make stops every 45 minutes or we’ll be on the road all day.” “No, he’s not. He’s still warming up to it,” she defended. “He’s done with his chocolate milk so he probably won’t have to go for a while now that he has nothing else to drink.” Jerry visibly wasn’t very happy with the answer. “I’ll have him put one on next stop,” she relented. Chapter 3: Traffic Overflow Author’s Note: we’re 3 chapters in and I just realized I should probably provide translations of the infrequent Tagalog vocabulary used: - Anak = child - Maleta= suitcase - Sige na: an expression that loosely translates to “come on” I’ll probably post these as needed for each chapter. Back to the story: The next couple hours of the trip went by fairly uneventfully as the Santos family made their way through central Illinois. Ryan had his sketchbook and colored pencils to keep him entertained by drawing custom Mandalorian armor and other Star Wars characters, while making sure to bring his liquid intake to practically zero so as to not repeat his experience at the gas station. His parents listened to podcasts and audiobooks to pass the time, noting that they were approaching lunchtime and were due to reach the historic state capital of Springfield in less than half an hour. It was a particularly hot summer day, and Linda began to notice that Ryan had not drank anything since the chocolate milk he had this morning. “Ryan, Anak, are you thirsty? Why don’t you have some water or Gatorade?” “I’m good, thanks mom,” Ryan fibbed. He was definitely a little parched after not drinking anything the past couple of hours. “Sige na! It’s all there in the cooler, we’re only about 15 minutes away from getting lunch.” “Okay, I guess,” he acquiesced. Ryan grabbed a red Gatorade and took a sip, which quickly turned into him chugging half the bottle after realizing how thirsty he was. Soon, they reached Springfield, and pulled off the exit to streets adorned with Abraham Lincoln tributes and paraphernalia. They reached a McDonald’s and pulled into the parking lot, stretching their legs and preparing to enter the restaurant. “I’m going to the bathroom if you want to watch the car,” Jerry said as he went inside after giving his wife a kiss. “Okay! I’ll go when you come back and then we’ll hit the drive through,” She responded as she walked to the opened back of the van. “Can I go too?” Ryan asked. “You need to already?” Linda asked as she began to open the giant suitcase. Before she could open the toiletries pocket, Ryan interjected when he realized what she was doing. “No, wait! I mean, can’t I go in the restaurant with dad and use their bathroom?” “Honey, we went over this,” his mom answered with a tone of empathy. “How come you and dad can go use the bathroom there and I can’t? Aren’t you afraid of getting sick?” He protested. “Oh it’s different. Your dad and I work at the hospital, and we’ve already been exposed to Covid, and even if we do get sick, it wouldn’t hit us as hard as it would you. You know how easy it is for you to get sick- you miss a week of school almost every year from the flu with your immune system issues,” his mom explained. “I guess,” Ryan sighed in defeat. He was notorious at school for getting sick easily, sometimes getting picked on when he would return to class, and despite getting fairly high grades, he often felt like he was playing catch up on class work to make up the difference. When he got sick, it almost always hit hard. “Do you still need to go?” Linda asked as took a pull up out. “No I’m good,” he replied. “You sure?” “Yes I can hold it!” Ryan insisted. “Okay,” she said somewhat defensively. Instead of putting the pull up back, Ryan noticed she put it in her purse along with the wipes. Jerry soon returned and traded spots with Linda, and they shortly all were back in the van and in line for the drive through. Eating out was a special treat for Ryan as his parents were both into eating home cooked healthy food the majority of the year. Ryan could count on one hand how many times he’s had McDonald’s the past couple years, with the most recent being his 9th birthday, where in a rare show of affection, his dad treated him to his first Big Mac instead of the kids menu he would typically get in the past. After ordering and receiving their food, the family pulled into the parking lot and ate in the van together, another social distancing precaution that was all too familiar as they travelled in the pandemic. Ryan was the first to finish his Big Mac meal, quickly devouring the burger and guzzling the orange Hi-C drink. Fully satisfied but unaccustomed to the greasy meal, he began to grow lethargic, letting out a long yawn as his parents finished their food. Linda noticed this and saw an opportunity before they hit the road. “Why don’t you take a nap, sleepy head?” She asked. “It’s the last leg of the trip, we’re only about 2 hours away from the hotel, and I know you’ve been up since before the sunrise.” “Yeah, I guess I will,” Ryan answered as he stifled another yawn. He saw his mother dig into her purse and take out the pull up. He was already expecting this and didn’t mind as he’d already worn one on car trips in the past when he was asleep, which was usually only the first leg. Now, it was a little strange since his mom was insisting on him wearing one the entirety of the trip. “You sure you don’t need to go before we leave? It’ll be easier to change if we’re stopped instead of sitting in a wet one the remainder of the trip. If you can hold it, you can use the bathroom at our hotel room- I’ll make sure to deep clean and disinfect it before any of us use it… but your father and I both think it’s best if you wear one now.” “I’ll put it on now since I want to sleep,” Ryan relented as he grabbed the pull up from his mother, “but I don’t need to go right now.” “That’s a first,” Jerry mumbled. Linda shot him a mean look and turned back to her son. “Thanks so much for making things easier anak! We’ll get whatever you want for dinner at the hotel when we get there.” Ryan moved to the back most seat for privacy as he put the pull up on. His parents patiently scrolled through their phones as he finished up getting dressed and hopped back in his seat. They continued on with their journey as they left Springfield and merged back onto the interstate, but for the first 20 minutes Ryan struggled to fall asleep as the all too familiar urge hit his bladder once again. He shifted his position in his seat to ease the pressure on his lower body, and contemplated asking his parents to use the restroom once again, only to remember what he was wearing. Instead, Ryan relaxed and proceeded to wet a moderate amount in his pull up, barely causing it to swell between his legs. Now at ease and comfortable, Ryan was able to drift off to sleep within 5 minutes. After what felt like only about 30 minutes, Ryan awoke to notice that they were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. He checked the clock and realized he was out for a little over 2 hours, especially evidenced by the fact he noticed his pull up was significantly more full than what it was when he drifted off to sleep. “Where are we? Are we almost to the hotel?” He asked after a yawn. “We’re in Belleville,” his dad answered. “And we were 8 minutes away from the hotel according to the GPS, but that was 45 minutes ago before we ran into traffic.” “Looks like there’s a car accident about half a mile ahead,” his mom added. “We should be getting out soon though.” Ryan groaned. He was ready for the road-trip to be over. He felt another urge to pee hit his bladder, which he let loose almost immediately. Definitely feeling that large Hi-C and Gatorade, he thought, and for once was thankful he was wearing Goodnites in situations like this. “Ugh this traffic needs to ease up soon, I need to get out of this car,” Linda remarked as she sipped the last of her water bottle and turned up the A/C. She noticed how much her husband was sweating and offered him a water bottle from the cooler, to which he enthusiastically accepted. She got a second one and gave handed it towards Ryan. “Anak, drink this! I don’t need you getting heat stroke. I’m not taking no for an answer.” Ryan obeyed without question and quickly drank the water bottle until it was empty. He wanted out of this traffic jam just as much if not more than his mom. After another 20 minutes, he released another quick stream into his pull up almost absent-mindedly. Another half hour of traffic passed, where Ryan zoned out, too hot and bored to continue his drawings, when he thoughtlessly let out another steady trickle, when he felt a warm liquid run down his pant leg, causing him to stop mid stream. Oh no, he thought as he snapped back to his current reality. He lifted open the front of his waistband to view the front of his pull up, which had become visibly over saturated. He lifted up his leg and felt the seat of his pants and noticed it was slightly damp, and not from sweat. “Um… mom?” “Yes, anak?” “I kind of… have to go to the bathroom.” “Just use your pull up, honey. It’s okay.” “Um, I can’t,” Ryan said awkwardly. “What do you mean you can’t?” His dad asked. Linda turned around in her seat to face her son. “I’m kind of… wet,” Ryan mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact with his mother who now realized his predicament. “What do you- “ , Jerry glanced back and groaned. “That better not have gotten on the seat.” “Jerry!” Linda exclaimed. “I’m sorry,” Ryan mumbled in embarrassment. “It’s okay Anak, it’s not your fault. We just need to be more careful with the juice in the future,” consoled his mom. She reached into her purse and realized she had already given him the pull up she packed earlier. “Do you think I have time to get to the maleta?” “Traffic’s finally starting to move, we’re less than 10 minutes out from the hotel. He can wait,” Jerry said. “Sorry honey, do you think you can hold out for a little longer?” “I- I think so,” Ryan said, still needing to empty the rest of his bladder. Sure enough, traffic on the interstate began to accelerate after passing the scene of a multi car pile up. Thankfully no one appeared to be injured, though the spread of debris and the number of cars involved definitely accounted for the lengthy delay. Within a few minutes, the van arrived at the Snowden hotel, a small but fancy hotel located between the town and a stone’s throw from St. Louis. Jerry parked the van and put on a mask as he rushed inside to check in. Linda exited the car to stretch her legs, and Ryan got out of his seat, but stopped short of exiting the van out of fear that someone would see his wet pants. After what felt like an eternity, Jerry came back with the key cards while Linda escorted Ryan inside, power walking through the hotel corridors to get to their room. By this point, Ryan was hobbling from left to right, feeling like he was about to burst. Instinctively, he covered his groin area and quickly let go after feeling the dampness seep out through his pull up and onto his sweatpants. His mother was finally able to swipe the door open with the key card, causing Ryan to almost push his way into the hotel room and make a beeline for the bathroom. “Wait!” His mom interjected, causing Ryan to stop dead in his tracks with a look of dejection on his face. “What now?” He asked as Linda reached into her purse. She pulled out an aerosol spray and disinfectant wipes and stepped towards the bathroom. “Let me clean it first, you never know if they wiped down all the surfaces for Covid,” his mother stated as she spent the next 2 minutes doing a quick clean of the toilet, countertop, shower, and sink. Unfortunately for Ryan, it was 2 minutes too long as he accidentally let out another jet of urine into his pull up. This time, he crouched down to try to get the pool of it to absorb in the back as it was significantly less saturated than the front. After relieving most of the pressure, he was able to hold it. “Okay, you’re good,” she said as she stepped out. With a dejected lesser urgency, Ryan pulled his wet pants and pull up down with a thud and tried to pee, but could only let out a weak stream that lasted no more than a couple seconds. He covered his mouth and nose as he dropped his soaked pull up into the trash can under the sink. Ryan noticed the bottom edge of his shirt had also been slightly wet and proceeded to take that off before stepping into the shower. While he was in the bathroom, his dad entered the hotel room with the giant suitcase. After giving him a few minutes in the shower, Linda cracked the bathroom door open and left a fresh change of clothes, including normal underwear, on the countertop for her son. As he wrapped up his shower, Ryan pondered on the day, noting that while being in wet clothes for several minutes was uncomfortable, he was at least thankful his pull up was able to hold up for at least the first couple of hours of the final leg of the trip. He thought about how careless he was chugging all that water, juice, and Gatorade in such a short span of time; no wonder he was able to flood it towards the end. It wasn’t my fault, he thought. Mom said so. Ryan put on his fresh set of clothes, consisting of basketball shorts and a Spider-Man shirt, but most of all appreciating the feeling of dry underwear. His parents followed suit, spending the next hour freshening up in the shower and changing into new outfits to go out for dinner. As he waited, Ryan turned the TV on to the classic SpongeBob episode “Grandma’s kisses.” As if the universe was taunting him, an ad for Pampers Baby Dry diapers played during the commercial break, boasting about its superior absorbency compared to competitor brands. Honestly could’ve used that earlier, he thought as his dad entered the bathroom as his mom exited. Before long, Ryan and his parents made their way to the lobby where the renowned hotel restaurant was. Much to everyone’s chagrin, instead of a hostess, the family encountered a “closed” sign, followed by the reduced hours of the hotel restaurant due to Covid mitigations. “You’ve got to be kidding me! It’s barely dinner time! What were we supposed to do? Eat dinner at 3 in the afternoon?” Jerry complained to the front desk. “I’m sorry sir, we had to close early due to state mandates. Unfortunately, most, if not all, of the other restaurants in the area are closed now as well. If we can make it up to you and your family, there are grab and go prepared meals that are available at the mini convenience store around the corner down the hallway,” said the short blonde desk attendant. Too tired from the trip to make another argument, Jerry yielded. “I suppose since it’s complimentary,” he mumbled. “Excellent! There’s a self checkout at the stand, but if you charge it to your room number, I’ll make sure to take it off the bill for you,” she said in her most cheerful customer service voice. Jerry thanked her and proceeded to direct his family to the mini store. He and Linda both got salads, with Ryan taking a ham and turkey sandwich. The family brought their food up to their room, eating quickly as everyone was ready for an early night of sleep, eager to end this draining day. What a way to start this weekend, Ryan thought as he put on his pajamas and once again pulled on one of his Goodnites. Soon, he drifted off to sleep, hoping the next day would be better. Chapter 4: Arches and Shortages Ryan felt as if he was in a daze, dizzy and not quite coherent as he laid in bed. The room was still dark, save for the orange light of the street lamp outside his window, and his vision was hazy as if he were in a half dream like state. The sensation of his equilibrium being thrown off and the room spinning made him close his eyes silently and groan. His lower half of his body felt warm, and an odd, pungent scent filled the air. Suddenly, he felt as if his blanket was being pulled away, and he blindly began feeling around for it, only to feel his Tigger plush move into his reach, to which he grabbed the stuffed animal and hugged it to his face. He began to stir a little as he felt the sensation of his pajama pants being pulled off. “It’s okay Anak,” the familiar voice of his mother said softly. His head continued to pound as he felt the sides of his pull up being ripped open and his ankles held together and raised as the cool sensation of a wet wipe radiated around his lower body. After a couple minutes of the cool air and wiping sensation, he heard the telltale crinkling of one of his Goodnites being opened up, and he felt the elastic and padding make its way up his legs and onto his hips. The strong smell went away, and Ryan turned onto his side and drifted into a deep sleep once again. Rays of the morning sun shined through the hotel window and greeted Ryan’s face, causing him to wake up and realize he was in the hotel bedroom. He rubbed his eyes and immediately noticed something was amiss. Not only did he still feel a little dizzy, but he sat up in his bed and pulled the covers down to show that he was no longer wearing his pajama pants, and beyond that, his typical wet pull up felt… different. He pivoted out of bed, and the moment he stood up, the strange smell from last night hit him as he felt a semi-solid mass on the seat of his pull up, causing him to glance down at his nighttime underwear and spread his legs for a better angle to confirm his suspicion. I can’t believe I just did that, he thought. He turned to the other queen bed in the room and noticed both his parents were gone, but his mother stepped out of the bathroom in her bathrobe and wished her son a good morning. “Ummm… mom?” “Yes honey?” She noticed the distraught look on his face. “Are you okay?” “Please don’t be mad… but I think I…” Ryan could barely get his words out. “Did you poop?” She asked bluntly. “Ummm… yeah, I think so,” Ryan answered sheepishly . His mom walked up to him and immediately pulled the rear waistband of his Goodnites open for a quick peak. “Yep, you definitely did again,” she said nonchalantly. “Again?” He said. That wasn’t a dream? Linda grabbed the baby wipes that were sitting atop the nearby dresser, and before Ryan could react, she pulled down his Goodnites and began to clean the mess off of his bottom as he stood there, too unsure of how to act at the abruptness of his mom. He caught a quick glance of the mostly mostly liquid waste at the seat of his full pull up, and became disgusted at what his body had produced. “It’s not your fault, Anak. The hotel sold us expired food. We should’ve read the expiration dates on the packages before we ate. Thankfully I was okay, but your dad was throwing up all morning. He’s complaining to the manager at the front desk right now. We’re not staying the weekend here; we’re actually planning to just head home today, but we will do a quick visit to the Arch so it’s not a wasted trip,” she explained. “Okay,” Ryan replied as his mother continued to wipe his rear end like a toddler. “Can we at least close the curtains?” “Oh don’t worry Anak, we’re on the second floor. Don’t be embarrassed, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to clean you up like this,” she responded matter-of-factly. She finished wiping and put the soiled pull up and baby wipes in a plastic grocery bag and tied it up before throwing it in the hotel trash bin. “Go hop in the shower! I’ll have your clothes ready on the bed. Your dad should be almost done checking out and we can finish packing the maleta so we can go see the Arch.” Ryan quickly hopped in the shower, ruminating about his situation. That was embarrassing, he thought. You literally just crapped your pants like a toddler, and not only that, mom cleaned me up like one too… but she said it’s not my fault… it was the food! The McDonald’s from yesterday probably didn’t help either. Yeah, that’s it. It was a one off thing. Definitely a one off thing. He finished his shower and dried off, wrapping his towel around his waist as he headed towards the bed to grab the clothes his mom provided. Ryan’s eyes froze as he immediately noticed that on top of his folded Star Wars shirt and khaki cargo pants was one of his Goodnites. He turned to the giant suitcase on the floor and saw his mom zip it shut as she finished packing. “Mom, do I really have to wear one out again?” “Yes, honey, don’t you remember what we talked about yesterday? We don’t want you getting sick from the bathrooms at the Arch. Plus, we’re planning on hitting the road immediately after so we can get home before it gets too dark,” she explained. “Also… since the food last night made you sick, I’d rather you wear one in case you… have an accident again.” “But I feel fine mom!” Ryan fibbed. He did still feel a little woozy, but not as bad as last night. “And it only happened once!” “Twice,” Linda corrected. “I think you were asleep when I changed you for the first time.” “But mom,” he whined. “I don’t want to argue, Ryan,” she raised her voice slightly, her son getting the hint that she wouldn’t change her mind. “I don’t want to deal with your poopy underwear if we can avoid it.” “Fine, okay,” Ryan said curtly as he turned red. A knock at the door announced that housekeeping had arrived, to which Linda responded for the maid to come in. This took Ryan off guard as he held his towel tightly to his body as the housekeeper made her way in. She did a quick inspection of the state of the room when her nose visibly twitched under her face mask, to which she immediately made her way to the trash bin containing Ryan’s soiled Goodnites. Without a word, she made her way to the trash and replaced the liner. As she passed, Ryan darted to the bed with his clothes and pull up and held it close to his body. He swiftly made his way to the bathroom to change in privacy, starting with begrudgingly putting on his pull up. Within a couple of minutes, the housekeeper was out of the room, and Linda began getting dressed for the day. Jerry finally arrived back and took the giant suit case and smaller bags back to the car. He returned to the room just as Linda finished up and Ryan exited the bathroom. “Ready to go?” His father said enthusiastically, eager to conclude this snafu of a vacation. “Yep!” Ryan said. “I’ll pull the van up to the front,” he said as he grabbed the keys. “We’ll meet you down there in a second,” his wife responded. She turned to Ryan as Jerry left the room. “Are your pull ups on?” “I have them on,” he grumbled, avoiding her gaze. “Let me check,” she said as she tugged at his shorts waistband to see the telltale top of his pull up. “Good! Why don’t you try going potty one last time? It might be a while until we find another that’s clean and safe.” “Fine,” Ryan said quietly as he entered the bathroom. The way she said “try going potty” not too long after cleaning up his messy pull up really irked him, as if his mother was going out of her way to baby him. He managed to let out a quick stream and finished up in the bathroom after washing his hands. He accompanied his mother to the lobby where the family van was waiting outside. Before long, the family was on their way to St. Louis. Within a few minutes, they crossed into Missouri and were at the base of the famous Arch. Linda turned to Ryan as they prepared to exit the car. “How’s your stomach, Anak?” “Better,” he answered, though it did still feel noticeably bubbly, but not enough for him to be concerned. “Good! Do you think you can handle a banana? I don’t want to give you something to upset it, but I don’t want you walking around on an empty stomach either,” she said, handing him the fruit from the snack bag. “I guess,” Ryan said as he grabbed the banana and began to peel it. His appetite was barely there, but he didn’t want to fight his mother on it as he finished the fruit. “Alright, let’s get to the top of this arch,” Jerry said as he led his family towards the museum entrance at the base. Ryan looked up in awe at the Arch, distracted as he walked behind his parents. Jerry turned to Linda. “Is he wearing his nappies?” “Yes, I made sure,” she confirmed. “As much as I don’t want to deal with dirty diapers.” “It’s better than throwing out dirty clothes,” Jerry remarked. Soon, they fell in line for tickets to access the museum and the arch itself. Ryan started feeling pressure in his bladder, but rather than bother his parents about it, he simply went in his pull up. When they got their tickets, the Santos family perused the museum, reading displays depicting the story of Lewis and Clark and their expedition with Sacajawea. They fell in line to access the elevator to get to the top of the Arch, which was moving slower than usual due to limitations on the number of people they’d allow to go to the top as a Covid precaution. While Jerry was distracted checking social media on his phone, Linda whispered to Ryan. “How’s your pull up?” “It’s fine,” he answered. Ryan quickly shifted around, making sure no one else was able to hear. “Did you pee?” “Only a little,” he blushed. Linda looked over his shoulder and not so subtly pulled back the rear waistband of his pull up. Ryan quickly pulled his shirt down to cover it. “No accidents, that’s good,” she stood back up, satisfied. “I’m glad your tummy is feeling better.” Ryan chose not to acknowledge, feeling like he was about to die from embarrassment, even though no one else in line seemed to have noticed. He quickly forgot about it as they finally made it through the line and entered the pod shaped elevator to reach the top of the Arch. The ride up the curve was fun, but Ryan couldn’t help but feel a little nauseous as it went up at a strange angle, making his stomach feel even more off. Soon, they reached the top, and immediately Ryan was in awe of seeing the city from the top of such strange architecture. With the way the windows were designed, he had to jump up with his petite Filipino frame and bend over to get a good view, inadvertently exposing the back of his pull up as it rose out of the back of his shorts like a tail. Linda considered telling Ryan, but he didn’t want to interrupt his childish wonder of the bird’s eye view of St. Louis. That, and she thought it looked kind of cute. After a few minutes, Jerry began to lead his wife and son back to elevator so they could get on the road. As soon as the elevator ride down began, Ryan’s stomach began to feel pressure. He held it, not wanting to stink up such a tight space, even if it was just gas. The swaying of the elevator pod also began to aggravate his nausea, and by the time it reached the base floor, he dashed out to catch his breath, putting his hands on his knees and slouching over. His mom and dad caught up to him, concerned. “Are you okay?” Linda asked. “You’re good, deep breaths,” Jerry added. “I’m okay, I just… I didn’t like the elevator part, but the top was really cool,” Ryan said, still feeling the internal pressure on his lower abdomen. “That’s good! Let’s take one more picture by the Buffalo for Facebook and let’s go,” Jerry said. Ryan slowly followed his parents to the massive stuffed Buffalo in the museum, walking carefully. Linda noticed this as they bunched up for the picture, but decided to hold off asking until after the photos were taken. “Okay… 1, 2, 3. And 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3,” Jerry said, taking selfie pictures at different angles for what seemed like an eternity to Ryan as the pressure in his stomach built to unbearable levels. Ugh, I can’t take this… it’s just a fart, it’ll be okay, no one can hear it in this huge museum, and they probably wouldn’t smell it, Ryan thought as his dad took more pictures despite saying “last one” multiple times. Ryan felt his stomach gurgle as he finally released, leading to immediate regret as he felt the liquid production slowly fill his pull up. His eyes grew and face turned red in the last picture as he realized what he just did. “Okay, let’s go,” Jerry finally said, satisfied with the shots. “I’m going to use the bathroom before we head out though.” “You go ahead,” Linda insisted, sensing something was off with her son. “I’ll wait here with Ryan and I’ll go next.” She crouched down to his eye level after he slowly moved from his spot. “What’s wrong, Anak?” “Umm, I had an accident…” Ryan alluded. Linda’s eyes grew as she realized the severity of the accident. She stood back up and spotted a secluded corner of the museum a short distance away that was partly concealed by a mock up of a Native American teepee. She held Ryan’s hand as they walked behind the exhibit, making sure not too many people were around. He stood there frozen, with his legs spread wide, trying to come to terms with how he just soiled himself while awake. “Okay, let’s have a look,” Linda said sweetly to put her son more at ease. She pulled the back rear waistband of his Goodnites once more, this time seeing the brown liquid stain that was partially absorbed by the pull up. She proceeded to pull his shorts down to his ankles, seeing the full extent of the damage where the mess pooled by the seat of his pull ups. She checked her purse to realize that she left the extra pull up in the suit case along with the baby wipes, legitimately not expecting any major accidents in the brief period they would be at the Arch. She grimaced at her lack of oversight, and felt bad that her son now had to walk around in his own mess. She pulled Ryan’s cargo shorts back up. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” she said, thinking aloud as she sanitized her hands. “We’ll walk over to the van and get you all freshened up there. I’ll text your dad to meet us there and we’ll be on our way after.” “I’m sorry,” Ryan said quietly, looking at the floor. “Honey, it’s okay. Accidents happen,” she said, hugging her son. “I’m your mom, it’s my job to keep you clean and healthy. Now let’s go.” The two of them held hands as they made their way through the museum and into parking lot, with Ryan self consciously trying to walk as normal as possible. Eventually they got to van, with Linda instructing Ryan to stay in the middle row of the Odyssey as she went to the trunk to open up the suit case. She grabbed the baby wipes and realized this was the last pull up, taking a mental note to pick up some more at their next stop. She opened up the sliding door to see Ryan squatting down to avoid being seen from the windows. “It’s okay,” she reassured. “Now lie down.” “Lie down? Here? On the floor?” Ryan asked. “Yes, now let’s go, your dad will be out soon.” “Can I at least lie down on the back seat?” He pleaded. “No, I don’t want any poop to get on the seats. Also, I’ll have more space to work with from here,” she explained. Reluctantly, Ryan obeyed, still self conscious about how little privacy he was about to get. He laid down on the floor as his mom blocked the view from the outside, and began by pulling his shorts and shoes off. Ryan covered his face as she began to tear the seams of the sides of his pull up and unfolded the front. Linda grimaced a little as she held up his ankles with one hand and grabbed a wipe with another. Ryan hoped no one was walking by as his mother thoroughly wiped his bottom for the next several minutes. “Okay, hard part’s done,” she said with a sigh as she lowered his ankles. She opened the pull up and slipped it up his legs to his waistline. She then put his shorts back on, and rolled up the heavily soiled pull up before tying it into a plastic shopping bag with the used wipes. “Can you get your shoes on?” “I got it,” Ryan said, hoping to regain some dignity and independence by doing the small act of tying his shoes. Jerry returned to the car and hopped in the driver seat as Linda threw the plastic bag into a nearby trash can. She got in the front passenger seat as they started their long journey home. After the first hour, Ryan fell asleep as the deep hypnotic midwestern landscape lulled him to a slumber, and Linda asked Jerry to search for the next closest drugstore or retail center. The GPS located a Walgreens off of an exit 30 miles away as they traversed the empty midwestern farmlands with the interstate. Knowing how much Jerry hated taking side trips that would delay them, she didn’t mind waiting to find a store that was conveniently just off the interstate. They soon pulled off into the remote town and quickly arrived in the parking lot of the drug store. Ryan felt the car stop and woke up disoriented. “Where are we?” He asked as he rubbed his eyes, not recognizing the area. “Your mom is just grabbing some supplies from the Walgreens. She’ll be back out soon if you want to walk around and stretch your legs a little,” his dad explained, to which Ryan obliged. Inside the store, Linda soon discovered it was slim pickings. She new Covid was causing a plethora of disruptions of the supply chain, but it was especially hitting hard out here in these remote southern Illinois towns and villages. Half of the shelves were barren or barely stocked, and she considered herself lucky to find the last bottle of Pepto Bismol for her son to ease his stomach. She picked up the last few bottles of Pedialyte and intended to supplement it with Gatorade. Finally, she made her way to the baby aisle for arguably her most important provision. She went to the nighttime underwear section at the end of the diaper aisle and saw that it was empty, except for a couple packs of the store brand nighttime pull ups, to which she learned the hard way years ago that they almost always leaked under Ryan’s nightly floods. Even the pull ups training pants were out of stock. She turned to an employee who was stocking formula in the same aisle. “Excuse me, do you have any of the boys Goodnites in stock? Like maybe in the back?” “We don’t, sorry,” apologized the employee. “We ran out of those about a month ago. I can check our inventory requests, but I think we might be getting a new shipment in about 4 days.” “I can’t do 4 days,” Linda said with a sigh. She felt a vibration on her phone and saw a text from her husband. Are you almost done? We’re trying to get home before nightfall, we gotta get on the road soon! Be right there, she replied. She doubted Jerry would be willing to make another stop, unless it was for gas, which they probably wouldn’t need for at least a couple hours. Thinking fast, she looked at what they did have in stock, noticing what was mostly left on the shelves were the variations of Huggies, Luvs, and Pampers. Of those, the only ones she thought might even remotely fit were the Pampers Baby Dry in size 6. Linda grabbed a pack of 21 and eyeballed it, noting that while her son was several pounds above the recommended weight range, his short and slender build from his Filipino genetics should allow him to fit, noting the stretchy side tabs advertised on the package. Ryan’s probably not gonna like this, but it’s what we got, she figured. She took her grocery haul to the checkout counter and paid for her items. She kept the diapers hidden in the plastic shopping bag as she bought it into the front seat of the van with her. After a quick check of Ryan’s pull up, she determined it would safely hold up for another hour or 2, but was overall happy that he hadn’t had more diarrhea. Nonetheless, she pushed Ryan to drink a bottle of Pedialyte followed by some Gatorade to replenish his fluids. Now that she had more diapers on hand, she didn’t feel as stressed as when he was down to the last pull up. Chapter 5: Full and Heavy Changes Inevitably, as they headed up north, Jerry acknowledged that they had to stop for gas. He wasn’t too upset about it as the lack of traffic and good weather meant he was making great time and was well able to make it home before dark. As Jerry refilled the tank, Linda used the bathroom herself and took the opportunity to get some cheap coffee. Ryan waited patiently inside the van, engrossed in his sketches as Linda opened the sliding door. “Anak, come here and lie down,” she said. Ryan got out of his seat and went towards his mom and laid down on the floor of the middle row, already knowing what was coming. Linda grabbed the Walgreens bag and set it down next to her, the turquoise green top of the diaper pack sticking out of the bag. She pulled down his shorts to his ankles, but this time left them on along with his shoes. Noticing this, Ryan looked over and saw his mother tear open the package labeled Pampers Baby Dry and pull out a diaper adorned with Sesame Street characters and unfolded it open. “Wait, what happened to my Goodnites?” He asked, confused. “We ran out, you’re wearing the last of them,” she said as she ripped the sides of his pull up open. “The store was out of pull ups, and this was all they had in your size. Sorry.” She unfolded the front of his wet pull up and began to wipe away urine. “Will those even fit me? Can’t we go to a bigger store like Walmart and get some?” “They should! You used to use these when you were a toddler, you didn’t even make it to their largest size by the time you potty trained,” Linda lifted up her son’s ankles to quickly wipe his bottom and slide out the wet pull up, which she replaced with the diaper. Ryan cringed a little as his mother folded the front atop his groin and he heard the tapes open. He noticed these had a strong baby powder scent to them She gingerly placed them on the landing zone, readjusting them for better fit. Satisfied with her work, she helped her son stand up, causing him look down and see the childish designs that now displayed across his bottom and front. “There we go! A bit snug, but a perfect fit,” she commented. In his mind, Ryan hated how well it fit him, cursing his genetically small frame as his mom pulled his shorts up for him. He instinctively pulled his shirt bottom down, hoping the waistband wouldn’t stick out of his shorts like he saw on many toddlers. Linda could sense how vexed her son was as he sat back down and immediately avoided eye contact with her. “Hey,” she said, causing him to look at her. “When we finish the pack, we’ll get you your normal pull-ups when we get home, okay?” “Fine,” he said as he crossed his arms. Linda rolled up the wet pull up and threw it out at the trash can by the gas pump. She kept the Pampers package by the front seat with her next to the other items she bought from Walgreens. She grabbed another Gatorade and handed it to Ryan. “Make sure you keep drinking! You need to stay hydrated to beat this stomach bug, and when we get home, I’ll give you some medicine. We only have a couple hours left and we’re home,” she reassured. Ryan didn’t respond as he continued to drink, still a bit annoyed at his predicament, but was slowly coming to terms with it. The remainder of the trip was fairly uneventful, except for a 20 minute spat of traffic as the family got closer to the Chicagoland area. About half an hour into the final leg, Ryan felt the urge to urinate, and after letting go, was surprised at how well the Pampers did at wicking away the moisture from his body, but stopped short of admitting to himself that they might feel more comfortable than his usual Goodnites. Nonetheless, they managed to make it home with only a 10 minute delay, and just in time for the sunset as Jerry parked the van in the driveway for easier unloading. Ryan helped unload the car along with his dad while Linda unpacked the cooler to keep the contents from spoiling. She watched her son carry the heavy maleta by himself into the house, and she felt almost like she had traveled back in time as she spied the familiar sight of his diaper peaking above his shorts as he struggled to carry the suitcase, which reminded her… “Ryan! Make sure to grab your diapers from the front seat and put them in your bathroom in the usual spot!” she called out the door as he made his way back outside. “Did you hear me?” “Yes, mom,” Ryan responded with an audibly annoyed tone. He hated that she specifically said your diapers. He grabbed them from the front seat as instructed, hoping no one in the neighborhood was watching. He yawned as he entered the house, realizing it was just about to be his usual bedtime as they finished unloading and unpacking everything. “Actually Ryan, hold on. Come here first,” his mom called out from the kitchen. He yawned again as he met her at the kitchen table, pouring out Pepto Bismol into a small medicine cup. She noticed how drowsy he looked as he put down the Pampers package and finished drinking the pink liquid, looking at the time, which seemed to have flown by. “Ready for bed, sleepyhead?” “Yeah,” he answered as he rubbed his eye. “Tell you what, I know it was a long day, so I’ll let you go to bed right away just this once, as long as you promise to shower first thing in the morning, okay?” “I will,” Ryan assured. His mother smiled and bent down to kiss him on the forehead. As she did that she noticed a particular familiar scent. “Actually,” she began. “Anak, can you lie down over there for me?” She gestured to the living room floor just outside the kitchen. Ryan sighed but already expected this to happen inevitably before he went to bed anyway. Linda pulled out a diaper from the package and began unfolding it as she pulled out the baby wipes pack from her purse before walking over to Ryan who was lying down on the living room floor, making himself comfortable by placing a couch pillow under his head. She pulled his shorts off his legs, leaving Ryan to feel extra exposed with just his diaper and shirt, a sensation he never got fully used to, even though he already experienced this multiple times in the past couple days. Linda noticed how saturated the diaper looked with the wetness indicator turning blue, but was glad there were no leaks, and it appeared that it could’ve handled another one of Ryan’s floods. She took a deep breath as she untaped the tabs and pulled down the front, after which she put her hands on her hips and made a frustrated face at the semi liquid mess that confirmed her suspicions. “Ryan!” “What?” “What do you mean ‘what?’ You pooped again,” Linda chastised. “When did this happen?” “While we were stuck in traffic. And you literally said I could before if I had to! And that the bathrooms weren’t safe!” He reasoned. “I mean, I did, but why didn’t you say something? We could’ve stopped somewhere and I could’ve changed you.” “I didn’t think it would matter, we were almost home anyway. And I really couldn’t help it, honest! It just hit me again like at the Arch,” Ryan began to sit up, but his mom gently pushed him back to a lying position. “Don’t move,” she sighed as she pulled out a wipe and lifted his ankles up with her other hand. “Besides, I didn’t want dad to get mad again if we had to stop because of me,” he replied, his voice trembling a little. “I’m sorry.” “No, no. Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault,” Linda reassured after taking a deep breath, realizing that last part was true as she continued to clean up her son. “Just let me know if it happens again next time. It’s not good for you to be sitting in it for too long.” She pulled the soiled diaper out from under him and slid the fresh one in its place, gently lowering his legs back down onto it as she taped the front into place. Linda pulled Ryan to his feet and gave him a warm hug. “You know, you look so cute dressed like that,” she whispered. He immediately left her arms and embarrassingly tried to pull his shirt down. “Mooom!” “Make sure you brush your teeth before bed!” She yelled as he scurried up the stairs to the bathroom. Linda rolled up the soiled diaper and threw it away in the garage trash, followed by her bringing the open Pampers package up Ryan’s room and placing it next to his bedside table. She showered and got herself ready for bed so she could her husband in the master bedroom. Jerry was already asleep, exhausted from a long day of driving. She walked over to Ryan’s room, who was so tired, he immediately slumped onto the bed, sprawled out like a starfish, and didn’t even bother changing out of shirt, let alone putting on pajama pants. She grabbed the Tigger off the floor and put it next to his side before tucking him into the covers. The following morning, Ryan woke up once again to the familiar mushy sensation in his heavy diaper. He waddled down the stairs to see his mother in the kitchen preparing breakfast, who noticed him immediately. “Oh Anak what are you doing up so early? Go back to bed right now, you need rest to beat this stomach bug,” she said earnestly. “But mom, um,” he wasn’t sure if he wanted to mention it, but remembered what his mom said last night. “I pooped.” “Aw, it’s okay honey. Go back to your room, I’ll be up there to clean you up in a minute. Thank you for telling me,” she instructed as Ryan waddled back up to his room. He didn’t want to sit down and make the mess on his bottom worse, and he decided to stand until his mom arrived. As she stepped in the room, he laid down on the carpet without asking as Linda grabbed the baby wipes. Other than telling him to take his shirt from yesterday off, she went through her usual changing process, but took mental note how watery the consistency was of her son’s bowel movement, with most of it being absorbed by the back of the diaper, as well as how dark yellow it was stained at the front. “How’s your tummy, Anak? Has your appetite come back” “Not really, I’m still a little queasy,” he admitted. “Hmmm, I’ll get you a small bowl of oatmeal so you at least get something for breakfast. Hop in the shower and I’ll get your clothes and medicine ready too,” she said as she finished wiping him down. Ryan grabbed a towel from his drawer and wrapped it around himself as he raced to the bathroom. As he bathed, Linda took the rolled up soiled diaper and threw it in the garage trash. She washed her hands in the kitchen and prepared a small bowl of oatmeal, along with a bottle of Pedialyte and a 32 ounce bottle full of water she picked up from the hospital. She wasn’t liking how dehydrated her son was getting from the diarrhea, even if he didn’t immediately notice. Lastly, she grabbed the bottle of Pepto Bismol as she made her way back up to Ryan’s bedroom. She laid the bowl and bottles on the bedside table and grabbed a folded Lego T shirt from Ryan’s shirt drawer and placed it on his bed. She opened up the drawer where he kept his underwear and paused, ultimately deciding to close it. Ryan finished drying himself off in the bathroom and walked his toweled self back to his room, surprised to see his mom got everything ready so quickly. “Oh good you’re done! Anak come here,” she said, patting the bed. Ryan, still holding the towel around his waist, walked over and sat on the bed, which resulted in Linda gently laying him down on his pillow. She bent over next to the nightstand and pulled out a diaper from the package, unfolding it. Ryan’s eyes grew as he sat up. “Hey wait! We’re home, I can use the bathroom! It’s clean! And I’m feeling a lot better today, can’t I have my regular underwear?” “I know we’re home Anak, but I was just thinking that since you’re still sick, I want you to stay in bed today and get some rest. If you can, I want you to go back to sleep as much as possible since it will help you beat this stomach bug and help you recover faster. I also want you drinking plenty of fluids. You may not feel it, but you’re really dehydrated, and I don’t want to risk you having an unexpected accident, awake or asleep. Plus, this will help me monitor your stools,” Linda answered as she simultaneously went into mom and nurse mode. “My stools?” Ryan asked quizzically. “Your poop, Anak. I don’t think you’ve had a solid one since before the trip, and that’s not good. I know it sounds gross, but we won’t know you’ve gotten over this tummy issue until you have a solid poop,” she said nonchalantly. “Can’t I just go in the toilet while I’m awake?” He tried to reason. “Oh I would let you, Anak, but I honestly don’t want to take any chances with accidents on the bed or floor, especially with how unpredictable your stomach has been the past couple days, and I don’t want you leaving the bed a lot. If you have to go, just go and I’ll change you after, I don’t mind,” Linda said as she ripped off the towel. She lifted up Ryan’s legs and slipped the diaper under his bottom and securely taped it up. He felt extra vulnerable being naked in just a diaper, which his mom partially remedied by slipping the shirt onto him. He waited for his mom to slip shorts on, then realized there weren’t any on the bed. “Can I at least have shorts or something?” Ryan asked as he sat up. “It’s easier if you don’t honey, it’ll be easier for me to check if you’re wet and change you. It’ll also be better since it’s so hot today,” she reasoned, a fact that Ryan couldn’t argue. “I know you don’t like this, but once you’re stomach feels better and I know your poop is back to normal, you can get out of bed and wear big boy underwear again. I’ll bring you your sketchbook and I’ll let you watch shows on the iPad so you don’t get bored in bed when you’re not napping. How does that sound?” “I guess that’s okay,” Ryan compromised. Historically, his parents were strict about technology usage, determined to not have their son become one of those “iPad kids”. They only had one television in the whole house, and one laptop each for each parent’s work. They didn’t allow video games, except in the rare instance Ryan was visiting a relative or friend’s house that had a gaming system. Two things they were willing to spend money on for Ryan were books and art supplies, considering them an investment to make him more well rounded and educated. He was thankful his mom was willing to compromise on the iPad for the day; he wasn’t expecting to get a smartphone until at least high school. “Great!” Linda concluded. “Make sure you’re constantly drinking! Have a little of the oatmeal if you can too. I’ll give you some medicine in a little bit for your tummy. Try to sleep, but I’ll be checking in on you when I can.” She made her way out of the bedroom, closing the door and popping it back open almost immediately. “Use the iPad to text me if you need anything, like more water or Gatorade… or if you need to be changed.” “Okay mom, thanks, I’m good,” he said as he began to open up Disney+ on his tablet. Ryan scrolled through shows and movies with one hand while holding his water bottle with the other, aggressively sipping through the straw as he ultimately decided on The Force Awakens. After about the first 30 minutes, he nearly finished the water bottle, leading him to drink from the Pedialyte bottle, which he drank at a slightly slower pace. The movie was about to reach the final battle when Linda cracked the door open, causing Ryan to pause the film. “Everything okay? Need anything?” She asked with a smile. She saw that the water bottle was almost empty, happy to know her son was taking the hydration seriously. “Yep I’m good, mom. Thanks,” he answered quickly, eager to resume the movie. Ryan pressed play and quickly became engrossed in the action. Linda went to the bed side table and picked up the water bottle, leaving to refill it. When she returned, she decided to see if Ryan needed a change, noticing almost immediately the blue wetness indicator and that his diaper looked ready to burst. With his attention tied to the iPad in his hands, Ryan didn’t notice as his mother pulled another diaper from the package, and barely flinched as she undid the tapes on the one he was wearing, but continued to watch the movie. She unfolded the wet diaper open, and began to do a quick wipe. “Looks like someone was ready for a change,” Linda commented as she slipped out the heavy diaper and lowered his bottom onto a fresh one. “You sure went a lot.” Ryan turned red as he pretended not to hear, keeping his eyes on the film as his mom tapes up the front. “Sorry,” he said as his mom rolled up the diaper. “No, that’s a good thing! At least I know you’re hydrated,” Linda tossed it in the bedroom trash as she made her way to the door. “Try to sleep for a little bit after the movie. I’ll get you some rice for lunch later if you’re up to it.” “Okay mom,” Ryan said as the movie reached the conclusion. As the credits rolled, he locked the iPad screen and placed it next to his pillow. He spent the next 15 minutes trying to sleep, only to feel tension in his bladder, to which he quickly released from all the water and Pedialyte he was downing. Feeling more relaxed, he quickly drifted into a slumber. About an hour and a half later, Ryan woke up, feeling a familiar mush pushing against his bottom. She heard the voice of his mom talking to his dad in his parents’ bedroom across the hall. “Mom!” Ryan yelled. “Yes honey?” She called back. “Ummm, I think I need a change,” he said awkwardly. “Hang on, I’ll be right there!” Linda called back from the bedroom. Jerry was sending emails on his laptop for the upcoming work week. “You’re keeping him in nappies?” He asked as she headed for the door. “Yeah, he’s still sick, poor thing,” she answered. “Can’t he get up to use the bathroom? It’s not like we’re some germ infested public restroom.” “He can, but this is easier. I’d rather do this than pay for an expensive carpet cleaner in case he doesn’t make it,” she explained. “That’s true I suppose,” Jerry concurred. “Couldn’t you at least teach him to change himself? Changing a 9 year old isn’t exactly something most parents do at this stage in life.” “I do the laundry here, I barely trust him to wipe himself properly using the toilet,” Linda joked. “As messy as he gets, I’d rather just change him myself so it’s less headache for everyone.” “As long as I don’t have to change him,” Jerry quipped as he returned to his emails. Linda walked into Ryan’s room as he laid on his back on the bed, the iPad in his hands now the center of attention. She sniffed the air. “Sorry about that wait. Did you manage to sleep a little?,” she said as she grabbed a new diaper. “Yeah a little bit,” he answered as he decided on The Mandalorian. “I called you as soon as I woke up.” She undid the tapes and opened up the diaper, noticing how Ryan’s mess was now starting to be a little more solid in consistency. That’s a good sign, she thought as she began to wipe and replace the diaper, rolling up the old one. Ryan sat upright as he watched the show. “I’m going to pour you some medicine,” Linda said as she sanitized her hands and stood up to grab Pepto Bismol bottle on the table. She meticulously measured the proper dosage into the medicine cup, pouring some back into the bottle as she slightly poured too much after holding the measuring lines up to the light. Once she got the portion right, she turned back to her son, noticing out of the corner of her eye that his wetness indicator was already blue, but the diaper itself wasn’t too saturated. Really? I literally just changed you a second ago, she thought to herself as Ryan sipped the medicine cup and resumed the episode. She decided she’d check back on him in about an hour or so, not wanting to waste another diaper. When she returned to his room, Linda saw her son passed out, laying on his side with tablet in hand, with the show still playing. She took the iPad and plugged it into the charger, taking the opportunity to gently pat her son’s diapered bottom, noticing that while it was a little full, she was surprised there wasn’t a distinctive mush. She decided to go to the master bedroom and take a nap herself before tackling the next task of making dinner. Linda woke up an hour later, deciding to drop by Ryan’s room to see if he was still asleep. Inside, she saw him sitting up crisscross applesauce with the sketchbook and colored pencils in hand, the tablet still on the charger. She walked over to the nightstand and cleared the empty Pedialyte bottles and took the half empty water bottle. “How are you feeling, honey?” “Better! A lot better, actually,” Ryan said enthusiastically. “Looks like the medicine and rest is working,” she said happily as she left the room. Linda topped off the water bottle and placed it next to him on the bedside table. She saw how droopy her son’s diaper had become after the lengthy nap. “Looks like someone needs a diaper change too!” She playfully pulled his legs across the bed, causing him to fall back onto his pillow and nearly dropping the sketchbook. “Hey! I was working on that!” He said with a chuckle. “Looks like you were working hard on your hydration too,” she said as she undid the tapes once again and unfolded the soaked front of the diaper. She was half surprised to see no diarrhea accidents after this nap. “Good job honey! You weren’t poopy this time when you woke up,” she congratulated as Ryan covered his face in embarrassment. “Tummy feeling better?” She asked as she did a quick job of wiping. “Yes,” Ryan answered through his hands. “Good! Looks like you’re finally on the mend,” she said as she finished taping up the new diaper. “You think you’re up to some bananas and applesauce in a little bit?” Linda asked as she tossed the wet diaper in his trash. She noticed it was getting full, and proceeded to tie the plastic liner up and replace it. “Yeah, I’m actually feeling a little hungry now,” he admitted. “Coming right up!” She said cheerfully as she walked out of the room. Ryan put his sketchbook away and grabbed his tablet from the charger. He searched up Avengers: Endgame and pressed play on the lengthy movie, sipping from a Gatorade as the film commenced. A few minutes later, his mom returned with a small pack of apple sauce with a spoon and a banana, to which Ryan enthusiastically consumed, alternating with regular sips of water and Gatorade. During the last 45 minutes of the movie, Ryan felt a pressure in his stomach that he ignored. After a few minutes, the tension suddenly rose to the point he couldn’t ignore it. Realizing what he had to do, he called for his mom, and heard no answer. Ryan paused the movie and texted his mother using the messenger app on his iPad. Mom, can you come up please? he texted. After a few seconds, the typing bubble appeared, shortly followed by a response. I’m on a Zoom call for work, can you wait a bit? I kind of have to go, he texted back. Is it number 2? She asked. Yes, it’s kind of an emergency, Ryan texted back. Anak, you have your diaper, Linda texted in response. Ryan wasn’t sure how to respond to that when his mom’s typing bubble appeared again. I’ll be up in a about 30-45 minutes. The conversation showed that Linda enabled silent mode so the notifications wouldn’t distract her from the conference call. Ryan began to sweat; conflicted as to what to do as the pressure in his abdomen started to become unbearable. He contemplated running to the bathroom, but he didn’t want his mom to yell at him for getting out of bed, let alone get caught by his father. Realizing his only option, Ryan sighed as he knew what he had to do. He unpaused the movie, midway through the action of the climactic final battle. He first sat upright to relieve some tension, only to stand on his bed a second later, trying to use the movie as a distraction. He squatted down as the pressure in his bowels became increasingly unbearable, finally giving up as he released some gas, followed rapidly by what felt like warm sludge spilling into the seat of his Pampers. He grunted, releasing another quick wave until he felt empty, inadvertently releasing a stream of urine in the process. Ryan turned to view his backside, seeing a noticeable bulge now evident protruding from his bottom. He sighed, realizing this was his first time deliberately soiling himself while awake, not counting the Arch incident, as he counted that as a legitimate accident. Not wanting to make a bigger mess for his mom to clean up, Ryan laid on his belly and continued to watch the movie until his mother finished her call. Outside his room, Jerry happened to walk by and caught a good whiff of the smell emanating from his son’s room. Not wanting to deal with it himself, he went downstairs to find his wife, who was wrapping up the Zoom meeting. She turned off her microphone as Jerry entered the frame behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. “What is it?” She asked. “I think Ryan needs his nappy changed,” he said bluntly. “I know, I’ll be done in 10 minutes,” Linda assured. “Unless you want to change him yourself.” Back in his room, Ryan watched the end credits begin to roll as his mom knocked and entered the room. “Sorry for the wait, Anak,” the scent of the air hit her nose. “Ooh, your dad wasn’t kidding! Lie down!” Ryan put his iPad down and tried to ignore his mom’s comment as he started to flip onto his back, only to get stopped last second as he felt a hand gently pat his diapered bottom. “On the floor, please. That’s a really full nappy, and I don’t want to make a mess on your bedsheets.” Ryan made his way to the floor, rolling his eyes at her remark, thinking she was sounding like dad. Linda prepared by pre-pulling out some baby wipes and pulling out a diaper from the pack. “Wait,” Ryan said as she began to open up the fresh diaper. He had a stare of concentration as he relaxed and felt warm wetness pool into his Pampers, taking a few seconds to absorb. “Okay.” “Are you sure you’re done?” She said, trying to conceal a chuckle. “Yeah… sorry,” he said, covering his face again in embarrassment. “You’re okay, honey,” Linda assured, taking a deep breath as she ripped open the tapes and pulled back the front. “Ooh that’s a lot,” she commented as she noted how much of a solid load she had to clean up, lifting up Ryan’s legs by the ankles. “On the bright side, honey, I think it’s more than safe to say your stomach bug is gone.” After a few minutes of wiping, she laid Ryan’s bottom down on the fresh diaper and closed it up with the tapes. “There we go, I bet that feels much better,” she said as she smoothed out the last tape and made sure the leak guards weren’t bunched up. She placed the soiled diaper and used wipes in the plastic bag, tying it shut to keep the smell out. Ryan sat up as Linda finished sanitizing her hands. “Tell you what Ryan, if you last the whole night without your nappy getting poopy while you sleep, I think we can definitively say you’re not sick anymore by tomorrow morning. You can go back to using big boy underwear during the day, and using the normal potty, plus you won’t be stuck in bed all day. Does that sound fair?” She proposed. It didn’t take Ryan long to agree, despite cringing internally at the the childish verbiage she decided to use for the deal. “Can I go back to using pull ups too?” He added. “Like I said before, after we finish this pack, I’ll get you your normal Goodnites, unless of course you’re able to stay dry at night too,” Linda said as she stood up to go make dinner. “Deal,” Ryan said, somewhat content with the arrangement.

Hello Everyone! I know this is posted on DeviantArt, but I have decided to start releasing chapters here as well! With chapter 3 well on its way to be completed, here are the first 2 chapters of my story Spell Binding! Hope you all enjoy! Spell Binding Chapter 1 ExFic “The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams” -Oprah Winfrey Have you ever met a witch? If you had, you would probably not be around to talk about it. Witch’s are a curious sort, they don’t like to be seen, especially not by wandering children asking for trouble. This is the lesson our young couple will learn, one diaper at a time… ------------------------------------------- “Hurry up Lizzy!” Selina shouted from down the forest path, only forged through the leaves strewn to its sides. It was late in October, the leaves had all but finished falling as a cold breeze greeted the lone pair walking through the trees. “God, when did it get so fucking cold! I can’t even feel my legs anymore Sil, why did we come out here again?” The young girl approached her girlfriend, though as it stands tonight that may not be for much longer. She was short, around 5ft even, with long black hair and a cute face, many people frequently mistake the twenty-three year old for being a tween, to her dismay. She would look up from the ground at Selina, her twenty-four year old girlfriend. Selina was significantly taller than the poor girl standing at 6ft 2in, basically dwarfing her in a shadow, her blonde hair was short and her form muscular. “Stop being such a baby Liz, it should just be up ahead!” Selina ran forward leaving the other girl behind. After a short sprint she would find exactly what she was looking for, a cottage. A cottage said to contain the dreaded witch of their town, or so the legends say anyway. Legend has it that if you knock on the witch's house the day before halloween she will grant you good luck and favor for trick or treating the next night. As Liz came into the clearing she would notice that it suddenly felt warmer, almost summer like as she looked around. The trees here had not seemed to lose their beautiful leaves or any of their vibrant color. Standing in awe Liz looked forward toward the small cottage laid before both of them, quickly she stepped up to Selina, a little scared and timid. “Is… this the place Sil? I don’t like it… something feels off.” Liz said, shaking a little at the unnatural feeling in her stomach. “Yep this is it!” Selina said happily, grabbing her love around the shoulder and pulling her close. “If we go up and knock on that door we will be blessed with a great candy hull tomorrow!” an excited smile adorned her face as she started forward, Lizzy still in the crook of her arm. “I don’t know, maybe we should just go home, aren’t we a little old to be trick-or-treating anyway? I mean we both are almost out of college…” Liz tried pulling away, but with her lack of strength it is doubtful Sil even felt the slight pull. “Oh please, with you there they all think I am taking out my younger cousin anyway.” Lizzy blushed at the firm confirmation of her appearance. “Besides, I like candy, don’t you?” “I mean… I do like candy…” Lizzy said head down, feeling somewhat stupid for even making a statement. “Exactly, so let's get a lot of it this year!” Selina looks down at Liz and her clearly scared expression. Taking a moment of pause she stops and gets down in front of her partner. “Look, I will protect you alright? You have nothing to fear with me here. Let's get this done with and if after everything settles you still don’t want to go out, we can stay home and watch some scary movies instead, okay?” Selina looks her in the eyes warmly with a smile. “Oh…okay I will be brave…” Liz says, smiling a little back, feeling more at ease and protected. A strong hug followed, then with a quick step Selina approached the front door of the house, Liz directly behind her. Selina prepared her hand to knock going in full force when the door opened in front of her suddenly. Inside a tall woman with black hair stood, probably a little shorter than Selina herself, however something about her presence made it feel like she towered over the girl. She was wearing a comfortable looking shirt and tight jeans, not something either girl would have anticipated from a witch. “Yeeeees?” The tall woman said as inquiring about the presence of these two young adults on her secluded doorstep. “Can I help you two girls?” There was an air of annoyance and anticipation in her voice as she spoke. Selina stepped a little forward and smiled, keeping her cool (for the most part) as she did. “Yes, um… Ms… witch lady. We were told that if um… we came and knocked on your door, that…” Selina trailed off, feeling kind of dumb now that she was standing in front of this woman in the middle of the forest. “That you would receive a blessing of some sort and get a bunch of candy tomorrow?” The woman filled in, her eyes rolling as she did so. “Yes I have heard that one before, you look cold why don’t you both come in for a little bit?” She offered, standing aside. The two girls passed glances to one another, unsure if they should trust this person, though looking her over she did not seem to mean any harm for the couple so they reluctantly stepped into the house together. Inside the two were amazed at how cozy the place looked. The living room was perfectly decorated for fall, with vibrant reds and oranges everywhere, a sky light above revealing the falling of leaves, a cozy fireplace burned lightly with a crackle, warming the entire space just enough, the furniture all looking like it was inviting you to sit down and just drift away. “Wow you have a lovely home…” Liz said surprised. . “Did you expect me to not?” The older woman responded with an eyebrow raised, looking almost offended. Her demeanor gave off a strong vibe of someone who doesn’t like being questioned and even worse doesn’t like not having her questions answered. With a little yelp Liz shook her head no quickly “It isn’t that… I just um… well witches…” “Live in a crappy old building? Luring in travelers to their demise? Eating children unless they can cook her first?” The woman had stopped and turned to stare Liz down now, Selina quickly stepped in between them. “Sorry she can be a little nervous and blurts things out that sound worse than they are. She meant that your decorating is just magnificent.” a strong smile was hiding the nervous feeling Selina herself had at standing infront of this stranger. “Well then… thank you.” She turned around and kept walking, guiding the two. “So you two want to get a lot of candy at Halloween tomorrow is that correct?” She headed into a hallway, presumably toward the bedrooms as she did, the two girls followed close behind. “Well yeah! We love candy and Halloween is the best holiday ever!” Selina said proudly. “And you thought the best way to do that was to come to my house and knock on the door?” A quick stop in front of a door caused both Sil and Liz to stumble a little bit. “Well uh… that is what the legend said to do…” Selina blushed, again feeling stupid and almost… small. “Yes, well, the legend is right about a couple things. I am a witch.” She snaps and a pacifier appears in her hand. “I can grant you the ability to get lots of candy.” She snaps again and several pieces of candy appear in Selina and Liz’s hands. “Knocking on my door does indeed grant you this boon…. However.” She slowly opens the door, revealing a large nursery fit for the richest baby in the world. A quick step and she is now behind the girls in the hallway. “It certainly isn’t the best way to achieve this.” Both girls quickly turn to look at her as she teleports behind them, Liz looking up scared as the woman looks down at her. The witch shoves the pacifier directly into the shorter girl's mouth without hesitation. “You see…” She steps forward pushing the duo back and through the door to the nursery. “Yes, knocking on the door will grant you good luck, but no one who has ever come here” she waves her hand, a magic aura surrounding the two lovers. “Has ever made it out of here to reap that reward!” With another wave both girls are sent flying into a crib on the adjacent wall of the nursery, the pink smoke around them disorienting them. “Wait please, we didn’t mean to bother you or anything!” Selina shouts as she is flung to the infantile bed. “And yet here you are, bothering me, right before my favorite holiday!” The witch turns around waving her hand, as the door starts to shut an ominous voice begins to boom through the room. “If you can make it out of this house and knock on my door, you shall be rewarded, if you do not by the time Halloween comes, this is where you will remain forever, as my babies!” the voice thundered as the two girls cowered in the crib. The magic mist faded away and all that was left was the nursery, the smell of baby powder, and two girls now wearing frilly pink dresses and two thick diapers… one of which was already wet. Chapter 2 ExFic “The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams” -Oprah Winfrey Liz looked over at Selina, her eyes wide, the cute dress she was wearing had ridden up and under it there was clearly a very wet diaper. She was shocked and looked down at herself, her own diaper sticking out from the dress, though mercifully, dry. “Sil… your diaper is uh…” Liz said in a reserved tone, pointing toward the yellow diaper. Looking down Selina gasped and tried to pull her dress down over the garment. “Hey, I was scared alright… we got thrown into a giant crib…” She screamed back, blushing a deep shade of red, the warm diaper cooling around her crotch. “I don’t even remember doing it… that was just so, sudden.” Liz looked at her girlfriend, unusually bashful as she attempted to cover the frankly massive diaper peeking out from her dress. “It is okay, I get it… this whole situation is so weird… I just don’t understand what we are supposed to do.” She looked around the room, a standard nursery by any stretch of the word… though it seemed that everything had increased in size, or perhaps, they had shrunk. I guess that isn’t the craziest thing to think given their current situation. Selina looked over at Liz and saw her clearly lost in thought, the face she used for think very familiar to her partner. It almost looked funny, such a serious face on someone currently wearing the most adorable outfit a 2 year old ever wore, her diaper poking out as she sat with her legs spread wide. “I think… Okay, so it is clear that the witch is definitely magic, I mean, this nursery is huge, I honestly almost feel like an actual baby looking around it. She said we had to get to the front door and knock right?” Liz looked over at Selina. “Yeah, she said by tomorrow we had to knock on the front door…” Sil was almost amazed by how quickly her lover could focus down and start making plans, it was truly amazing, that is why she was the smart one I guess. “So, what do we do?” “Well first, we need to get out of this crib, we aren’t going to be able to do anything in it, besides maybe use our diapers and resign ourselves to a fate of witch babyhood.” She shivered at the thought. The crib's side railing had raised when they were thrown in, almost mimicking the bars of a cell, both girls looked around for any unusual things that could be used to escape. Eventually Liz found what looked like a latch, just barely out of reach. “Come over here Sil! I found a latch!” She said excitedly pointing up at the side of the crib. “I can get on your shoulders and reach it I think!” Selina waddled over in the crib to Liz and smiled looking up. “Alright yeah, get on my shoulders here!” Said the muscular girl leaning down for her partner. Liz slowly made her way around her girlfriend, the diaper hindering her movement and crinkling with every step on the plush crib. Getting behind her she would climb on Sil’s shoulders, her diapered crotch pushing into the back of her head. Selina smelt the baby powder in the thick diaper as it pompfed against the back of her head, it felt weird, her girlfriends pussy being so close yet blocked by such a babyish undergarment, for some strange reason, the slightly older girl found herself a little turned on by the situation. Lizzy reached up, her diaper pushing further into Selinas head, her fingers just barely able to reach the latch. “Stand up a little Sil! I can almost reach it!” Selina tried to get her ground and stood up as straight as she could, allowing her girlfriend to just barely reach the latch to the crib. As her fingers made it around and the latch clicked out of place, the front bars would come swinging down suddenly startling both of the girls, both falling down to the plush mattress of the crib, luckily their bottoms protected by their thick diapers. “So… it looks like we made it through the first obstacle huh?” Liz said smiling over at Sil, who now had a look of exhaust on her face, unusual for the stronger girl from so little weight lifting. “Are you okay?” “What? Um, yeah I am fine, I just uh, fell…” She said through breaths, feeling surprisingly tired, worrying the girl. “I think I am just tired, you know, a lot has happened today.” She said pushing off the weakness she was feeling in her legs, something from the witch clearly making her feel weaker. “Okay… you can talk to me Sil…” Lizzy said, patting her on the back and giving her a little kiss. “For now though, why don’t we climb out of this crib and find a way out of this nursery! We have a door to knock on.” She said standing up to her feet with a little wobble, wincing at how the diaper spreads her legs. Walking over to the edge and looking down, Liz saw the nice colorful carpet was not too far away, probably would be fine if they shimmied down like a toddler getting off the bed… weirdly fitting given their current situation. “Okay honey, I think we can get down pretty normally, so get your butt up and get a move on!” Walking back over Liz gave a light smack on Sil’s wet diaper, now cold, causing the taller girl to jump and start moving. “Hey what was that for!” She screamed back at her girlfriend, her hand going to the back of her diaper. “Can’t have you moping around and wasting our time Sil, so if I have to pop that little diapered butt of yours to get you moving I will do it, unless you want to end up in those diapers for the rest of time?” Lizzy said confidently as she got to the edge of the crib and turned around, slowly starting to let herself down. Selina was surprised by the confidence being shown by Liz, it was unlike her to be so assertive with her, though, she kind of liked it. She felt the back of her wet diaper again, a light shiver going through her spine. She quickly followed in her partner's footsteps and crawled her way over the edge of the crib, slowly letting herself down. Both girls landed on the carpet and looked around, noting the slew of diapers under the crib. Looking forward they would see the door only a short distance away from where they were, a small play area with some toys in front of them. “So I guess… we just go to the door?” remarked Selina with a bit of hesitation, feeling like something was off. “I mean… where else would we go?” “Yeah I suppose, just… be careful, we don’t know what to expect… this is the nursery of a witch after all.” Moving forward Liz would continue looking around, waiting for some sort of monster to attack or trap to spring, though it seemed like just a normal nursery. They continued forward passing some stuffed animals on the ground, as well as one of those block toys that babies play with. Moving forward they both took care not to actually touch any of the items. It wasn’t long before they found themselves at the large nursery door, adorned with fun letters and colored pictures. The door handle was surprisingly within reach of the two diminished girls who sighed in relief. “Okay, let's do this…” said Selina as she reached up and grabbed the door handle pulling it down… only to notice, it didn’t budge. “Hey what the fuck… the door is locked..” “Really?” Liz reached up, passed her and grabbed the door knob, it proceeded to turn without hesitation and the door opened revealing a hallway. “Seems fine to me…” She said taking a step out of the room cautiously. “What kind of load of bullshit was that?” Said Sil as she stepped forward and suddenly was pushed back by an invisible force from the door. “Hey what the fuck! You let her through!” Suddenly the witches voice boomed through the nursery in a sing-song tone. “Uh oh, a baby is trying to leave the nursery! I can’t let that happen honey, not unless you are able to get alllll the way to this door with a clean diaper. Can you prove to me that you are a big girl?” The voice cut out. “Well what the hell! So I can’t move on without a new diaper? What kind of weird thing is that!” Sil said in anger, still sitting on her wet diaper upset. Looking absolutely adorable to her girlfriend as she pouted. Stepping back inside Liz smiled at her and patted her back “No big deal, we just will get you a new diaper from under the crib and change you into it, walk back over, and we are all good!” She said with a positive tone. Suddenly the door to the nursery slammed shut, scaring both girls as they looked at it. The letters on the door began to rearrange. They now showed a time limit, ten minutes it looked like. With another startle they would hear the music box in the room begin to play a nursery rhyme. “Well shit… that can’t be good.” Said Sil standing up next to her girlfriend. Looking back they both noticed the timer begin to count down on the door. “Guess we have to hurry… I wonder what happens if we fail…” Said Liz grabbing her girlfriend's hand and starting to bring her forward. “Let’s not find out okay?” Both of them started moving forward into the nursery, when suddenly Lizzy noticed something off, the playroom floor looked a little bit different. The stuffed animals… were missing.

Who do you think you're kidding? Do you really think you're big and have control? Mommy knows precisely who you are and where you belong. In DIAPERS!! You may show you're big on the outside, but we know who you really are on the inside. Maybe you're a baby needing the comfort and security of soft, thick, thirsty diapers, or maybe you're a diaper lover wanting or NEEDING the comfort and excitement of a diaper to make you feel like you. All your dreams and goals are possible, and you can live the healthy, well-balanced life you always dreamt of. Never be afraid to be the person you truly are. We're here to help. My little one and I have developed an interactive, 24/7 diaper-dependent training program using the Virtual Master program. This interactive, virtual diaper-dependent training script of over 1300 pages leads you through the latest natural systematic conditioning and behavior modification techniques to facilitate diaper dependency and incontinence. It's a lifestyle script that takes you on a journey toward your goal of diaper dependency and a well-balanced lifestyle through daily interactions. YES! You can be diaper dependent! YES! You can wear and use diapers in any and every situation. Millions of others do it every day, and you can be one of them IF you decide this is truly who you want to be. You CAN create the life you want. It takes effort. It takes time. And it takes the guidance you need when you need it. Our program uses a reward and punishment system that is customized to you to ensure you are compliant. You can fully customize the script to meet your needs and desires. Customized options include the type of incontinence desired (bowel, bladder, or both), adult baby or diaper lover, gender, gender preference, your current bladder capacity, your level of privacy, sexual or non-sexual content, adapts to your personal work schedule, home tasks, marital status, the availability of a helper to keep you accountable, diet restrictions you have, weight loss goals if you wish, the level of exposure risk level you're willing to take and much, much more. This is truly a one-of-a-kind program. There is no other comprehensive, interactive program like this available. So let Mommy give you the 24/7 guidance you need to meet your goals. The programs require Microsoft Windows; however, instructions are available for its use using Linux Mint 20.1 Mate if needed. You will receive an encrypted version of the script/program that can not be viewed or altered. The Virtual Master program and scripts are beta programs and will contain errors. Every effort is made to eliminate the mistakes. Assistance is always welcome to identify errors and inconsistencies or aid future script development. We are excited to announce the addition of major improvements to the program. Among the list, each program now features innovative, advanced control of users' toilets and access to their diapers via locking plastic pants, utilizing Mommy's KeyVault system. Mommy now goes beyond just telling you not to use the potty and physically restricts use and access until she permits it. You have no choice but to follow her every command. For a complete list of improvements, see below. Go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/LilAgain for more details on the Diaper Dependent training program and Sunshine Junction Daycare program. Let me help make your dreams come true... Mistress Sebrina Diaper Dependent Training Program 2.2 update list: - Repaired bug that didn't discontinue cage use if a helper decided it should continue to be worn and then discontinued it. - Created locking plastic pants punishment and assignment. - Created toilet lock punishment and assignment. - Added signs on the main screen when going to bed to direct user what is to be done. - Fixed errors with going to bed sequence - Fixed error that did not give wear instructions when sub is unable to report upon waking. - Fixed Main screen sign to correspond with sub reply upon waking. - Created Quick Lock and unlock for use of plastic pants at night to ensure compliance. - Revised Going to bed sequence to allow for more accurate use of report upon waking function. - Added audio for Locking plastic pants and toilet lock - Added Program request to change Name and Gender identity - Added job to designate a timeout chair if time out punishments are permitted. - Added additional Audio files - Fixed Grammar and Spelling errors. - New narrative added. Here are a few examples of what you would receive...

Warning As with my previous stories, this one contains several elements inherent to the pre-established 'Diaper Dimension.' These include, but are not limited to: Diapers and their usage for their intended purpose Breastfeeding Non-consensual mental regression through various means (Including possible drugs, hypnosis, and/or surgery) References to surgery to achieve various nefarious goals Humiliation Giants, aka, Amazons or Bigs Predominantly female domination (some male) Babying of adults (perceived or otherwise) Experimentation on humans Kidnapping Coerced or manipulated actions through possible means of white lies, gas lighting, or incentives Mild language or use of explitives Depictions of death, illness, or handicaps Graphic imagery associated with any of these warnings This story has not been labeled as mature, due to a lack of specific references to anything overtly sexual, but this warning serves as a 'turn back' point for any readers who do not wish to read about the previous warnings. Lastly, this list is subject to change during the course of writing this story. While most of the plot is ironed out, more warnings may be added if needed. Hey everyone! Welcome back and I hope everyone had as good of a break as I did! Work was stressful, but it’s always nice to get away for a little bit from trying to meet my own personal deadlines, especially after such a large project as my last two stories were with all the completely new world-building and whatnot. Now, though, it’s just as equally good to be back and writing stories again. That being said, this story has definitely grown over the past two weeks from my original plan. Initially, I fleshed this thing out to be around ten chapters, but soon realized it needed more on my first pass. Seeing a lot was missing from the plot for the type of story I wanted to tell though, the chapter count now stands at 24, but checking out a few later, I can absolutely say that there might be more. As I promised before, since these stories are based on previous works of mine, I will try to include all the stories that might need to be read before this one. As it is a sequel, the primary previous story would be Project Nurture, as several of the characters from there will be mentioned and parts of this story will also align with that one. I would also suggest for more background that The Opening would be helpful as well, as it discusses when the portals first opened and gives some background on the two worlds in general. Lastly, looking at the map of Libertalia (in the Reference Guide) or the DD Timeline might be useful. As I try to do for each of these stories in the DD though, I will try to write most of this where reading them is not required, but as a warning, further details and some plot elements may not be discussed. Next, as is typical these days, I will post the next poll at the start of the following chapter. Since this is only the first DD story, my rule of two won’t apply yet, so I’m thinking I will include two DD and one non-DD story this go-round. So, be on the lookout for that. Also, looking ahead, I’m absolutely tasking myself with writing/editing three chapters a week. That being said, with 24 current chapters and at three a week, this will definitively bump into late May/early June, which means that I will be pausing at least at one point for a multi-day vacation. Considering it’s Florida and I always come back with at least three new story ideas, take comfort in the delay at least for future stories from me. Last but not least and as usual, I hope everyone enjoys this first chapter of my next story! Chapter 1: Hello. Name’s Ashley Cutters, Journalist It’s a small, unassuming house, but within lay so much more, particularly with a fringe member of LRG being tasked to look up the dirty laundry of the government here in Libertalia. Considering all the security measures in place and all the others that had ‘gone missing’ over the years from the organization, Vincent didn’t want to take a chance this time. “Alright… let’s see what we’ve got on the menu tonight…” Vincent was practically licking his lips in anticipation of what he could find in his search of the dark web tonight. “Join the Littles Revolution Group they said… Challenge yourself and change the world!” Vincent couldn’t help but roll his eyes a little at that tagline that had so easily ensnared his wide-eyed and younger and more hopeful self. LRG was a smaller group back then… more manageable and under the radar. Hacking to get free music initially, Victor had stumbled into the law a few times but always managed to get away. After his Little friend got kidnapped though, Victor had turned his attention to LRG and signed up to help after only a week of seeing what they were trying to accomplish. With his skills, incidents like the initial opening of the portals between worlds and the opening of Dark Cliff Prison were almost commonplace stories amongst the more rebellious Little population of Libertalia now. Being a Middle himself meant he was more or less immune from most of the horrors that came with being a Little in this world, but he saw a need and tried to fulfill it for others that definitely couldn’t. Little did he know that path of righteousness and good intentions would lead him here… somewhere in the backwoods of the state of Virgan. It had been a year since he last went to the movies… six months since a bar, and three weeks since even the dinky grocery store just off the main road from here to Columbia. Another LRG got him groceries now… especially after he found some piece about some new drug called ‘FOY’ and was almost immediately flagged and shut down by the Feds. Ever since, he had lived in a state of paranoia… hence the practically ghost cabin set in the middle of nowhere as his main base of operations now. Still, Vincent sighed and tried to think of all this as a game. It had worked in the past when these hacking sessions went into tedious or potentially dangerous places. The FOY thing was great and all no doubt, but… this wasn’t living. He needed something… anything to break up his routine. Maybe he would talk to Carlos the next time he stopped by for a food run about taking a vacation… maybe. Grumbling a little, Vincent shook his head and returned to the monitor as he finished off the last of his cheesy puffs. “Now… what do you have for me tonight?” His thick sausage-like fingers clacked on the keyboard with a rapid regularity that indicated years of practice at this sort of thing. As such, minutes later, Vincent had opened one of the deep web chatrooms like he was simply passing from one room to another. “Let’s see… anything to help LRG pass those restraint laws… equality and all? Anything at all tonight?” Vincent’s eyes strained against the bright screen, but an hour later, despite his impressive and extensive skills, he was still no closer to something definitive to send back. It was just that way sometimes. Yes, there were scores of plans and threats on there, but nothing with substance that could either be classified as reportable or even actionable. Just a bunch of hot air and… “Oh?” Vincent noted with some surprise, leaning in from his wide chair to get a better look at what he was seeing. “What’s this?” The posting was very strange to the point where Vincent even ran a check on it to make sure it was clean and wouldn’t upload a virus or crash his system. He had learned that the hard way back as a junior in high school. Looking more closely, something snagged his attention right away. “Holorecording’s, huh?” Vincent checked the file at least three times just to be sure he was reading it right, but it was confirmed and that piqued his curiosity more than any tagline associated. Vincent knew full-well that Holorecording’s were all the rage years ago, especially when agents of the old academy used to travel to Earth and pluck humans away for testing purposes before the dawn of portal travel and when they exploited soft spots instead. Seeing the ‘.vid.e’ label though, Vincent could already tell that it was the enhanced version instead of the original 2D video like any other old-fashioned video recording. In this case, enhanced meant 3D recordings and possibly sensation feedback and even mental thoughts if he was lucky. Not wanting to turn away now, Vincent clicked into the posting further. A brief description at the title of the page noted something about the files being ‘vital’ and ‘critical to understand.’ Vincent had his doubts about that, especially since 90% of the other posts said that, but he shrugged and kept at it… curious if nothing else over the holorecording file contained within. “Hmmm… seems intriguing enough…” Getting to the main page of the file and knowing what was next, Vincent got up and went to the backroom of the cabin where he stored most of the excess electronics and equipment associated. Looking around, he finally found the box he was looking for, a good layer of dust covering it that had to be blown away first. “Ah. Gotcha! Almost got rid of you last month to store an extra supply of rum in here. Good thing I decided I didn’t need more alcohol here… I guess.” Continuing to dust the box off, Vicent made his way back to the computer before sitting down again and then popping the lid off. Peering inside, he could see the headgear, visor, and even the contacts for one’s temple. “Looks okay… hard to tell really until I actually just go ahead and test this thing out.” Vincent blew a little more dust off and then gently placed the device over his head. Wincing a little at first, he made quick work of the device to relieve the tighter pressure and expand the halo section until it fit his head more comfortably. Taking the attached cord, he blew on it lightly and then hooked the device in. Soon, the screen before him blinked, and Vincent completed the preliminary set up as the newly clicked holorecording files were downloaded onto his server. Applying a little petroleum jelly to the contact points at his temple, he took a breath and looked over the various warnings on the box. “Warning… excessive use can lead to seizure, brain hemorrhage, and even death. Do not use with potentially corrupted files and do not use while alone.” Looking around the empty room, Vincent shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well… can’t stop all the time just because I’m a one-man team up here.” As he clicked on the final steps for downloading the files, Vincent felt a little fear over using this old technology once more. There was a reason for the warnings… why the technology had been dropped in favor of other more recent models here in Libertalia. Newer methods were safer… more legal. Looking around at half the equipment in here used just for pirating signals and hacking into government servers, it might have been an odd fear, but holorecording’s tended to brute-force their way into local servers rather than ask permission at all. It gave the recordings a true 3D experience to the viewer later, but the legality was sketchy at best in court cases, so the technology had largely been dropped in favor of more… legal ways. So, to see it so plainly on here for that fact alone was curious if nothing else. Vincent didn’t want to hope, but there were only so many who used this technology in the past few years… and they were either illegal, which could mean some great dirt on something out there that could hurt the Bigs, or they were less poised with technology, which could mean they were more desperate and likely more interesting. Either way, it boded well for Vincent’s mission and ultimately, LRG. Clicking onto the first recording once it had downloaded, the first screen showed the typical warnings yet again about using this technology, which Vincent promptly clicked through rapidly, understanding the risks… and quickly ignoring them. Next, and most curious, before the instructions, there was a brief blurb about what he was about to watch. It was something about someone named Ashley and this footage found from her imbedded camera. Most fascinating though, although maybe a little worrying or disappointing, it noted that ‘some pieces are missing’ from the recording and it is ‘unknown if they had been deleted by the user’ or were simply ‘too corrupted.’ Either way, Vincent pressed on with curiosity like that of a child potentially finding buried treasure in their backyard. The screen cut away, and then another popped up. “Place device on head now.” Vincent did as he was instructed, and as he remembered from the last time that he used this thing over six years ago now, the visor remained clear so he could see the screen and the next instructions. “Press here to proceed.” A decently sized green button then appeared below. Vincent hovered his mouse over the button, took a deep breath, and pressed it before relaxing back in his chair. * * * Black. Nothing. The screen was just a myriad of inky blackness, punctuated occasionally by a little blip or static on the screen. “Ah, shit!” a male voice called out from the abyss, remaining faceless in the darkened void. “Oh, perfect, Stuart!” a female voice said with a sigh and no small amount of clear frustration. “Just what this footage needs… cursing right from the start! This could be the beginning of some very serious report one day, you know.” “Sorry…” presumably Stuart apologized, grunting a little like he was trying to adjust something. Briefly the edges of the void curled in and flicked with static and a few green, blue, yellow, and red dots… and then pure nothingness once again. “Ugh! I just realized that the audio and video were off before. Now, it’s just the video and I’m…” He grunted again. “Trying to adjust that.” “Well, can you fix it?” the female voice asked, sighing heavily again and now sounding more than a little impatient as well. “This whole plan isn’t going to go very well if this stupid thing doesn’t even wor…!” * * * Day 0 – 12:30 P.M. EDT – Earth The screen cut back, and a white border, like from one of the old video systems, popped on as a frame around the main picture, which wasn’t much more than a computer lab somewhere, punctuated in several spots by at least ten twenty-foot-long sections of three-inch-thick wires. Multiple spots were frayed and pulled apart, while other sections were fully intact. One desk was cluttered with all sorts of odd metallic objects and scraps of wiring, while the other desk appeared to contain some sort of toolset and even a medical diagram of the head and an eyeball… though with something dark right behind the iris in this case. “Okay… that should do it…” a pale and scrawny figure noted, possibly Stuart, now coming into the frame. Unsettlingly in some way, he was looking directly at the camera with a calculating and curious expression. Before becoming too awkward though, he then briefly looked away and back to another monitor just off screen. “Okay… single feed up and running. Blink once for me, will you, Ashley?” The feed momentarily went black before snapping back to its previous image. “Like that, Stuart?” the female voice, presumably Ashley, questioned. This time, instead of one of annoyance, it sounded more hopeful. “Yep. That’s good, Ashley.” Stuart then hopped back and briefly went out of frame behind the monitor on the more crowded desk, and the sounds of clicks and clacks could be heard like he was typing something in. “Okay… now blink three times in succession. This might feel a little weird after, but we need this thing to reach out to other sources if you want more than a single shot from your eye. No point in this level of technology if we can’t get all the angles… just in case.” The feed temporarily dipped down and back up, almost as if Ashley was nodding while holding a camera. Then, the feed blipped out in three short bursts. Suddenly, the feed switched, and the previous single view of the camera now showed something more akin to a 3D image panning around the room. One watching from the outside would have likely felt the sensation that they could touch everything, rather than as if they were just watching a movie. The view shifted more, and more of the room could be seen. Nearby, lying down on an exam chair of sorts, like one would find in any dentist’s office, was a tall and skinny blonde woman, her blouse and slacks contrasting heavily was the disposable bib around her neck. “You good, Ashley? Still with me?” Stuart asked, pressing in on the blonde woman. “Yeah…” Her voice shook a little and her answer was anything but confident. “Just a little… dizzy, I guess?” She patted her eye tenuously and then quickly looked back at her fingers, almost like she was expecting something to be left there. “At least the bleeding’s gone now.” Stuart nodded. “Yeah. Not going to lie… you looked a little grizzly earlier when I was trying to adjust the feed. It looks like the micro surgeons did a great job though. No scarring from what I can see… which is impressive, because… you know… there’s…” He didn’t seem to be able to finish that thought and gestured with his hands awkwardly. His social skills didn’t seem to be one of his strengths, but Ashley only smiled back. “Because there’s a camera embedded in my eye now?” Stuart nodded and she laughed a little. “Yeah… feels strange to say, but you know the Amazon’s technology. It’s decades at least ahead of our own… even now with everything they’ve been trading to us and all the advances we’ve made since the opening of the portals.” “Yeah… this whole place… building and city too… run off what they’ve given us.” Stuart then rolled back to his monitor. Then, without looking back, he cleared his throat. “But also… Bigs.” Ashely looked at him strangely for a moment. “What?” “Bigs…” Stuart noted again. “You called them Amazons. They’re called Bigs. ‘Amazon’ is almost a derogatory word… especially coming from a Little.” “Oh… I completely forgot about that.” Ashley seemed momentarily stunned and nervous for a moment. “Hey… no big deal here, right?” Stuart leaned back over and looked at Ashley with reassuring eyes. “Just… keep it in mind when you’re going over there.” Ashley frowned and then suddenly looked defensive. “What? I’m not… I…” “Fine, fine,” Stuart said, retreating a little bit back to his monitor. “Don’t tell me about your plans with the tech I just helped set up, but I’m just trying to help. Don’t want a smacked bottom two seconds into your trip over there, do you?” Ashley grimaced a little and then looked slightly embarrassed. “Oh… yeah. Sorry, Stuart. Just… you know how these things go, right? Mr. Swarthout wants doubly sure that all this stays under the radar… at least until publishing. You know how he gets.” Stuart nodded. “Right. I mean, you are talking to the person who sets all this undercover stuff up in the first place for the magazine. Heck, discretion might as well be my middle name these days.” Ashley smiled and Stuart went back to clicking all over his monitor. “Okay… now, let’s check out the feeds. Turn your head up and down and side to side.” Ashley did, but the view didn’t change, and instead still seemed like a 3D experience and not being stuck in one spot. “Good. The feed didn’t change intensity or direction when you did that.” He clicked a few more times. “Now, blink.” Ashley nodded, but this time, the feed popped off and went back to completely blackness whenever she did so. “Oops. Need to… adjust… that… okay, now try again.” Ashley nodded again and blinked, but this time, the feed didn’t black out. “Phew! That could have been bad. Need to make sure you still have a view even if your eyes are closed… or blindfolded.” Ashley only nodded, a small amount of fear seemingly lingering in her eyes over why that would be a top priority that was needed. “Alright… lastly, let’s see if this other feed works… the mental one, I mean. 50-50 shot of this thing even functioning, but… let’s give it a go, shall we?” “Uh, do I need to do something?” Ashley looked around and she blinked a few times and even resorted to snapping her fingers, but nothing appeared to be working. “Hmmm….” Stuart looked closer at his monitor and clicked in a few places. “Let’s try it this way. I’ve increased the number of input feeds. Might feel a little funny, and we might still only capture some of your thoughts, but something would be better than nothing, you know?” Ashley nodded and her face soon relaxed. ‘I hope this works…’ Stuart’s eyes lit up. “Aha!” He seemed near ecstatic over what he was seeing on his screen. “Did you just think ‘I hope this works’ just now?” “Oh shit…” Ashley seemed petrified for a moment that all her thoughts were going to be recorded now, but it was soon supplemented by a look of fascination as well. “Intrusive suckers, those Bigs, huh?” “Maybe… no, definitely if even half the rumors are correct.” Stuart then wheeled away from his desk and came over to Ashley to start getting her ready to leave. “But just think about all those times where you couldn’t speak, and a recording of your thoughts might have helped. I remember you didn’t seem too pleased from that one assignment you had in the Middle East where you had to recall all that stuff for your article weeks after it had occurred.” Ashley nodded, seemingly appreciative of the technology more than worried by it. “You always bring up that assignment, Stuart. I’m still not forgetting how skeptical you were of me when I volunteered for that one.” “Alright, alright,” he said, defensively holding up his hands as he backed off. “I was wrong back then, and you proved to everyone of your skills as an investigative journalist. Just don’t go mucking everything up with this one just because you’re part-cyborg now or whatever. This tech is just a recording device… not a bail out.” Ashley sat up on the chair and waved his concern off. “I know that. Just tell me this… how does thing store data or how do I get it back to you all? Do I needed to do something further?” Stuart nodded and flipped one of screens back to her which soon switched from an MRI scan of her head to one of a process diagram. “Simple really… it has a memory of 400 TBs, but with our modification, it also will attempt to reach out and link to any satellites in the area and send back the feed to a safehouse. Then, if everything goes right, about one to two times a month, they’ll come back here and show us the footage.” ‘If everything goes right…’ The monitor pinged and Stuart looked back at it, and both smiled and seemed hesitant. “Yeah… I’ll admit it’s not the most assured plan using Littles over there to get us the footage, but it’s either that or we send in a person to take it from you, which could blow your cover, or we extract you early, with or without a story.” Ashley rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. Just… I guess as long as the footage comes back intact for me to do a story after…” Ashley then hopped off the chair and walked over to where Stuart was sitting. “Now… how about that battery life? What am I working with here?” Stuart seemed more hesitant in this answer and then waved his hand around. “Well… difficult to say really. It could last anywhere from two months to…” * * * Day 0 – 12:30 P.M. EDT – Earth The clouds stretched for what seemed like miles as Ashley looked out over the budding metropolis of Philly. The so-called ‘dark times’ had hit the city pretty bad, but with the Amazons… Bigs bump in technology, the city was breathing a long sigh of relief and hope once more. Buildings shined, stonework had been repaired, and the streets now remained clean and devoid of pretty much every gang that once roamed so freely. Ashley was just a kid when all that was going on, and was mostly shielded by her parents, but now, both they and that old festering city were long gone. “Ashley?” Ms. Abernathy called from her desk, to which Ashley spun around. “Mr. Swarthout will see you now.” Ashley nodded and proceeded through the large wooden double doors and into Mrs. Swarthout’s office, the CEO of the magazine here. “You wanted to see me, boss?” Mr. Swarthout was looking at a painting behind his desk but then turned to see Ashley. “Yes… please have a seat.” As he gestured to the open seat in front of his desk, his mouth was grinning, but his eyes bore a heavy aura of dismay and even worry. “Is this about the assignment?” she asked, sitting down and getting comfortable while also trying to maintain a good posture in front of her boss… someone who could pull the plug on all this at the snap of his fingers. Mr. Swarthout sighed before sitting down himself and folding his fingers together. “Well, you are the investigator. I guess I shouldn’t try to hide my intentions of this meeting…” Ashley hesitated by ultimately shook her head. “Very well… I just wanted to check on a few things, but primarily…” He quickly looked like he wanted to puke or curse. “You have until the end of October to get back here and report your story. Beyond that, and regardless of your progress… I pull the assignment. Understood?” Ashley did and nodded, but her face seemed to swarm with questions. “I won’t need that long, right? I mean, if our reports are anything to go off, I should find a story worth all this effort in no time at all and be back before the end of August if my other timelines are anything to go off.” “Maybe…” Mr. Swarthout was a cautious man, but bold as well when he needed to be. Today, his cautious side was showing far more than usual. “It’s just that our reports also indicated that you could encounter no small amount of… trouble. And frankly, Ashley, that’s putting it mildly. I know you’re no stranger to conflict… civil wars, violent dictators, drug trafficking… your resume speaks for itself by now, but…” He trailed off and his eyes hung heavy with something like fear. ‘The pictures… the reports… he must be thinking about the same packet of information we got back from one of our vacationing reporters over there that sparked all this initially…’ Ashley shifted uncomfortably, likely recalling the effects on one such individual that escaped back here, as opposed to their own journalist which had not. “Yes, sir… I know the risks. Those other assignments had their own risks, but at the end of the day, a Kevlar jacket can keep a bullet away. Over there though… not sure how much I can do to stop some even half of what I’ve heard about if it comes to that.” “Exactly.” His words seemed happy that Ashley was showing that she wasn’t going into this blind, but the risks were clearly still sticking around in the front of his mind. “Just remember that most will be out to stop you if you get anywhere near one of the better stories. You will be a target already the moment you step foot on their soil… stats on humans returning from over there who stay more than a week aren’t good. Potentially, with the October cutoff even, you could be over there for over 140 days... more if even the slightest thing goes wrong. Plus, you could be walking right into a trap and not even know it until it was too late.” Ashley sighed, and she was clearly processing everything, but she nearly unbothered by it not long after. “Maybe… but I’ve done that before, and besides… maybe I won’t even deviate from the tour group I’m already signed up for? Could be something interesting there… Diamond Tours I think I heard? Or maybe that was the other one I investigated and then rejected…” The tiny scoff from Mr. Swarthout was audible, but he also didn’t press it any further. “Well… I guess I can’t stop you at this point. You’re stubborn, and that makes you a great journalist, but still, as they used to say… be it on your head then.” Just as Ashley started to stand after nodding in acknowledgement back to him, he then stood up. “Oh, wait… Ashley…” She stopped herself from leaving. “Speaking of tour group… do you have a backstory yet? Your name could be well-known… even to a bunch of Bigs.” This time Ashley smiled with confidence and then pulled out a thick manilla envelope from her bag. “All in here, Sir. Stuart set me up as usual, and I don’t open this thing until I’m locked-in back home. You just never know who could be watching and wind up blowing my cover…” “Hmmm… very diligent of you.” His eyes went down to look over the packet now gripped tightly in her fingers. “I’m sure it will all be up to our standards. Still though…” Worry eclipsed his face once more. “I’m just… I’m concerned about you, Ashley. Would you…” He briefly grimaced. “Would you maybe reconsider? As a favor to an old man?” Ashley frowned at first, shaking her head and then backing away from the seat in front of his desk with a warmer smile instead. “No, sir. I’m not giving up this assignment for anything. I value your concern, sir, but now. Besides, I’ll be fine. I’m not a rookie anymore… so please… stop worrying, will you? I’ve got everythi…” * * * Day 0.1 – 12:30 P.M. EDT – Earth A small room came into view, suitcases and cardboard boxes taking up a majority of the initial frame. Some framed photos were perched nearby, but most of the items besides the main furniture pieces seemed to be souvenirs from around the world, presumably from Ashely’s travels in her job. One could tell a lot about a person looking at just their walls, and Ashley was no different, definitely being the type of person who valued degrees and awards over relationships, and beads from a far-off country to even something as simple as a pet. “Okay… back at my apartment now…” Ashley blinked a few times as she stared into a nearby mirror, temporarily pressing around the feed of her eye. “Still find this strange that everything is recording. Going to the bathroom felt wrong at first… but Stuart assured me yesterday that a filter will be applied before all this stuff gets submitted. Better not be lying about that, or so help me…” Ashley cracked her knuckles and then shook her head. “Whatever… this assignment is going to be a little strange, but first step… pack up the apartment.” She momentarily tapped one of the nearby cardboard boxes perched on a side table of sorts. “Mr. Swarthout is instituting the usual policy of paying for my lease for three months, but after that… the rest of my stuff will go into storage until I get back.” Her face clouded a little in sadness. “Gosh… I still miss my old place before the assignment I took in Germany that lasted another month longer than I thought it was going to.” She then shook her head and looked right into the mirror. “Regardless, I wanted to specifically include this bit for the future for two reasons. The first… well, is me.” She then waved into the mirror. “Not sure how all these angles work exactly, but hey! My name is Ashley Cutters, and I’m an investigative journalist for the magazine, Times Reporting. We cover a lot of local news, but since the ‘dark times’ ended, the magazine has been branching out more onto the country and now world stage.” Ashley then walked into what best could be described as her dining room, though the cluttered table seemed far from sitting anyone comfortably for a meal anytime soon. “So, just to note as well… I requested this assignment. Basically, I was reading a few articles from escaped Littles in the other dimension, plus the one from our own reporter, and I just knew there was a story there waiting to be told. It just felt like too good an opportunity to pass up, so I volunteered right away when Mr. Swarthout wanted to publish a story of some kind from over there. He wasn’t super specific about what, but it gives me plenty of leeway for any type of story I want. Just needs to be compelling.” She then walked over and sat down in front of a large stack of papers. “Now, I also wanted to do this…” She paused and reached for the large and thick manilla folder she had previously received from Stuart and then shown to Mr. Swarthout. “I want to see inside, and I really need to start memorizing everything in here. I’ve got about three days to do this, and if I’m discreet, I can do the rest of the finer details on the bus ride after the portal facility and travel… I hope.” Popping the folder open, Ashley seemed curious as to what was truly inside for this little operation of hers and moments later began to fish out what looked like a passport, cash, personal items, and several other odds and ends. “Well… I guess it could be worse.” She then pulled the ID card close into her face before showing it off at different angles around the room. “Still not sure how this tech works, but I don’t want to take a chance. Guess I need to reach out to Stuart before I leave about the specifics for all that, but for now…” Her finger then pointed to her name. “Looks like I’m now going to be Ashley… Stevens.” She paused and squinted at the ID card for a moment. “Hmmm… first name is the same. Easier to memorize, but not the best for covers.” Setting the ID down with a sigh, she started to read over a thick packet of information. “And it looks like I’m a personal trainer originally from Seattle, Washington. I guess…” she then glanced down at her body, “I guess I could pass for one. Need to check out a few facts and routines maybe first before I leave, but still…” She then sighed and looked at one of the few photo frames in the room. “Sgt. Gideon… Elias could’ve done better….” She picked up the frame and gently caressed the photo within, clearly showing herself and a taller and muscular man geared in desert camo. “Best military contact I ever had. Never worried about ID’s, background, or keeping my butt safe. He did that and more…” She left her words hanging on the air for a second as she lowered the frame to her lap and looked longingly out her apartment window. Looking back down about a minute later, she shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well… I’m sure he’s off protecting someone else by now. Wish he was coming with me, but… oh! And here are the portal tickets.” Ruffling through the spilled-out contents a little more after setting the frame of her and Sgt. Elias aside, Ashley then produced a large rectangular ticket that shimmered in sections underneath the overhead lights. “Good. Three days from now. Plenty of time to get all this memorized for my purposes. And… interesting.” She then pulled the ticket closer to her face. “Leaving from the portal in Philly but going to their portal facility across the country in Niveis… our Nevada. Curious…” Swishing around the finer details of her mission and some further notes on her background packet of detail to memorize for her undercover identity, Ashley finally stood up and began to pace around the room. Each time she made another lap around her furniture; she would switch to reciting another fact about ‘Ashley Stevens.’ Before long, she stopped and went back to the mirror she had started with. “You are Ashley… Ashley Stevens…” She said it, her voice shaking a little at first, and from her tense facial muscles, it seemed to deeply bother her. ‘Go again, Ash… Try it with more confidence… practice makes perfect, right?’ She then gazed back into the mirror. “You are Ashley Ste… Stevens…” ‘Crud! Again, and get it right this time.’ She sighed and took another huge breath. “You are Ashley Stevens.” This time the words came to her much more easily. “You are… Ashley Stevens!” A smile began to creep over her face. “You are Ashley Stevens! Ashley Stevens! Ashley Stevens!” * * * Day 0.4 – 11:16 P.M. EDT – Earth “Ashley Stevens checking in.” Ashley was now dressed more sporty, complete with tennis shoes and a pair of yoga pants as opposed to her previously more typical rugged clothing, born from years on the road and in foreign countries. Her high-top ponytail just seemed to add to her new persona as she handed over her fake ID to the ticket person at the newly constructed portal depot. Working exclusively in glass and steel almost seemed to be a requirement with the design of this building, looking both futuristic and intimidating but welcoming at the same time. For a moment before entering, Ashley hesitated just to look at the newly added structure to just outside of Philly. It was just another example of how everything was changing at breakneck speeds recently. After a second, bringing her attention back to the present, the ticket person looked back at Ashley and smiled. “Oh, yes. Sorry about the wait. Still upgrading from the original systems here. Those old hunks of junk were slow but steady and never crashed. These new ones from the other dimension, well… let’s just say I do a backup of my computer once an hour now… just in case.” “Oh no!” Ashley seemed to feign her concern over such a simple matter. Ashley had a heart for sure, but it was more calculating sometimes when it came to others. Ashley Stevens, though, was a character and needed a more jovial nature to blend in better and form connections which she could later exploit for her story. Stuart being Stuart had laid all that out in detail in her briefing packet. “Don’t you just hate it when that happens! My studio just got the new system last month, and ugh! Never seen so many crashes in my life.” The ticket person smiled while also rolling their eyes. “Oh, that’s just terrible. I’m so sorry.” The computer then whirred to life and a scanner-like noise could be heard followed by a single beep. Smiling back, the ticket person handed Ashley back her ticket. “Alright, hon. You should be all set to go.” The ticket person’s eyes then dropped to their screen. “Huh… portal station to the east of Carson City and north of Prata… strange… Why don’t they just call it Las Vegas like we do? I mean, they call their Philadelphia, Philadelphia as well, you know? Silly Bigs, right?” Ash nodded but she knew the answer and just didn’t seem to be able to hold back. “It’s already Greek. Their dimension pulls a lot from the Greek and Latin. The attendant stared back blankly for a moment, and from a quick widening of her eyes, it was evident that Ashley knew she had pushed her knowledge too far. Sure, a personal trainer could know that stuff, but it might have been more unusual for them to point it out. “At least… that’s what I read in Times Reporting last month!” The ticket person quickly smiled once again. “Oh! That must be it. They do have the most fascinating articles on all that silly stuff.” Ashley clenched her fist temporarily but made sure to maintain her smile above the ticket counter. “Now then…” The ticket person’s finger then pointed to a wide-set hallway with several numbers above it. “Follow pathway 6 and you should be all set to go for your 12:30 departure time to portal station, Niveis 1!” Grabbing the ticket, Ashley smiled broadly back at them, clearly relieved that she had mustered her way out of that slip-up in character. “Perfect! You have yourself a wonderful day!” Waving goodbye like she had once seen in an old movie, the ticket person waved back without incident. ‘Whew! Definitely going to have to get used to this chipper personality that Stuart set me up with…’ In truth, Ashley could have changed it, but by now, she knew that for the moment, she could get more with a more empathetic and bubblier persona than her own. She almost always reverted to her usual self, but she made no more mention of it and proceeded calmly through the newly designed and built portal terminal building. * * * Day 0.4 – 12:26 P.M. EDT – Earth “Next, please!” a stubby and smiling man said, gesturing to the line Ashley was in while scanning everyone’s tickets before sending them off and down the ramp to the large metallic circle at the far end of the room. “Have your tickets out and ready to scan!” Ashley was more than ready by now and eagerly tapped the extended handle of her suitcase. She had shown up early and had spent the past hour getting some coffee and a small pastry. She wanted to eat more, but one of the top suggestions for portal travel was ‘don’t eat or at least eat light’ beforehand. As she scanned her ticket and saw the portal, her face seemed both relieved and content. ‘At least it’s Philly and not one of the ones out in the middle of nowhere. I think they still use the tech that fries your DNA or something and you have to go into medical hibernation for a week… or was it a month?’ She shook her head and kept moving toward the portal entrance… still lying dormant. “Attention!” the seemingly head scientist announced, clad in his pristine lab coat near the top of a platform next to the portal. Everyone below waiting in line immediately turned to him. “Now, I know this will be new for some of you, so just hold on and I promise! Everything you are about to see, hear, and witness is completely normal. Once activated, we will proceed one at a time. But first, please take the pill you are being handed now.” A smaller scientist, dressed in more hospital-like scrubs, came along and handed everyone a pill. Looking down at her palm after being handed one, the blackish green pill didn’t seem to sit well at all with Ashley. ‘Oh boy! Just gotta do this and get it over with. Can’t be worse than the scorpion shot down in Mexico last year, right?’ Wincing a little, Ashley immediately popped the pill into her mouth and visibly swallowed. “And now,” the head scientist continued, “we shall proceed! Activate the portal!” Almost like a performance of sorts, portal travel still fascinated most. For Ashley, the vibrations that started when the switch was thrown unnerved her just a little bit. ‘What the hell is that?’ Everyone had heard what portal travel was like, but seemingly like the universe was getting pierced into two, the whole room shook with tremendous fury. An audible whine and groan of a sound echoed off the walls, and soon, everything just turned to an unsettling hum. ‘God! I can feel it in my stomach!’ Several others groaned, but like the popping of ears after a flight, everything suddenly went still. Briefly everything became fuzzy within view, complete with static on the fringes of the frame by the date and time stamp, but when it snapped back, the portal quickly erupted with a viscous blue fluid. Shimmering and almost magical, it was entrancing to most. Ashley could only stare back in wonder at what was unfolding before her. Then, like a pool of water settling after being disturbed by a rock being thrown in, the liquid-like substance stopped and only briefly rippled within the metal circle device above everyone. “Wow…” Several of the crowd nodded in agreement with Ashley’s short but quite accurate reaction to what they had all just witnessed. “This way! This way!” the head scientist squawked again, looking at his watch quickly as if he had a pressing schedule to keep. The entire room hummed with life and the blue energy coiled through the wiring leading to the perimeter of the metal circle that now contained the liquid-seeming center. It was all quite mesmerizing and… “Feeling nervous, honey?” Ashley turned around to see a slightly taller woman smiling kindly down at her. Ashley wasn’t short by any means, but this woman easily eclipsed her by a good foot at least. Ashley quickly shook her head. ‘Crud! Is she an Amazon? Crud! I mean… Big!’ Everyone knew by now that physical compression between the portals was common. Most Littles over there shrank at least an inch, but coming over here, the same applied to Bigs… just not as well. Most towered over the rest of the population and were pretty obvious once pointed out. “N… no!” she blurted out, a little more defiant and defensively than she had anticipated. “I mean… no. Just… hungry.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the whole truth either. The taller woman smiled. “No worries, dear. There’s nothing to any of this anymore. Once the pill enters your stomach, you might feel a little woozy on the other side, but nothing a nice nap can’t fix. Just breathe easy and you’ll be right as rain.” “Thank you…” Ashley blushed a little, feeling a little overwhelmed by her presence alone, but at the same time… there was almost something alluring to her voice and overall demeanor. Something inviting… something… ‘No, no, Ash! Not that crud. Stay strong and stay focused. Just keep walking… just keep walking…’ “Ticket please,” one of the scientists requested as soon as Ashley was second in line to the portal. Nodding, she handed the ticket over, which was then scanned, and a small hole was punched into the bar code. “Walk forward and don’t forget to just keep breathing.” Their voice was almost mechanical… definitely without any shred of emotion or sympathy, but Ashley could only sigh and step forward. ‘Maybe complacency just means they do this all the time? More portal travel; less problems, right?’ The unease on her face didn’t seem to mix with her inner confidence, but she just breathed slowly as instructed and closed her eyes for a second, gripped her suitcase tight, and stepped through the… * * * Day 1 – 9:33 A.M. PDT – Earth 2 “Talk about a rough landing, huh?” another one from Ashley’s tour group asked her as he hobbled forward with everyone else toward the sign marked ‘Busses.’ “Yeah… you could say that…” Ashley brushed off the feeling of exhaustion blanketing over her already but just seemed glad to be here now. ‘At least I didn’t stumble… would’ve made a terrible first impression with the Bigs… Lost an inch or two though I think…’ “Come on, everyone!” one of the Bigs directed as they stood erect against the wall along the hallway leading out. “Don’t stop. Plenty more coming behind.” Ashley might have looked to check if the Big was lying or not, but the sheer size and sternness etched deep into the Big’s face made her snap her head back facing forward. ‘Don’t question… don’t poke… at least not yet.’ Getting outside, the sun blinded nearly everyone, and Ashley had to shield her eyes away from its intense glare. Everything felt bigger… more tactile, more dangerous here already… and that included the sun. ‘Man… please don’t burn already. I packed my sunscreen down deep. I thought I wasn’t going to need it until later… Stupid brain! You should have remembered to always be prepared with that kind of stuff after Iran last year!’ “Alright everyone!” another Big announced, stepping up in front of the group. “Per your tickets, you all are here for the Hermes Travel Company, correct? First stop, Alati Lake City?” Almost everyone nodded with the exception of two who then checked their ticket and ran off to the signs listing ‘Prata’ and ‘Carson City.’ A few giggled at their expense. Smirking as well, the Big continued. “Excellent! All good now, I’m sure. Welcome! I’m Miss Ripert, your tour guide.” A few clapped, but most seemed more or less out of it already. “Now, I’m sure you’re all pretty exhausted, so just let me check you in and then hop on board. While you wait, let our driver, Stephen, take your bags. I promise… they will be safe.” Ashley didn’t like to let go of all her belongings here to a complete stranger, but she relented as the portly man ambled up and asked to take her suitcase with a smile. “Ashley Stevens,” she said boldly when asked by Miss Ripert her name and for her portal ticket and confirmation number. ‘Please don’t be an issue… I don’t think I can defy someone this tall on my first day… at least not feeling this tired…’ “Let’s see… Ashley… Ashley… Ash… ah! Here we go.” Scanning the ticket and verifying her number, the little tablet in her large hands beeped. “Perfect. You’re all set.” Ashley nodded. “Thank you.” Climbing on board next, she eventually found her seat. Moments after Stephen popped the bus on and it roared to life, Ashley couldn’t fight it anymore and sleep soon overtook her, blacking out the feed once more. * * * Day 1 – 2:50 P.M. MDT – Earth 2 The bus hit a bump, and everything popped back on suddenly. “Wha…?” Ashley sleepily stirred to life and instantly stretched. Looking at her watch, it showed that she had been asleep for over five hours. “Gessh… guess I really was tired.” ‘At least I memorized more of my backstory before I left instead of relying on the bus ride…’ The bus then started to turn and Ashley shifted toward the window from the force of the pull. It wasn’t major, but it was just enough that it slightly shifted her gaze to the left… which just happened to be the perfect timing to see a large glimmering city just out her window. “Wow… I guess that’s Alati Lake City…” “Yep,” another passenger on the tour bus confirmed. “Miss Ripert just announced that a few minutes ago. Should be arriving in the next hour or so depending on traffic getting into the city.” “Thanks…” Ashley smiled back at her fellow tourer and then looked immediately back at the city. A mirror counterpart of Salt Lake City, the surroundings seemed near identical, but here, due to the advanced technology, the city now almost seemed to shine like silver and gold against the bright sun overhead. The pale blue and expansive Alati Lake could just be made out to the west of the city against the backdrop of the near mountains. ‘I wasn’t so sure about this location… especially in comparison against all the rest… but I don’t think I’ll be disappointed here as a first stop… even if it is for almost a week.’ Minutes later, as if to confirm and elevate her excitement even more, Miss Ripert stood up in front of the bus. “We should be arriving within the city soon, and then it will be about another 15 to 20 to get to our hotel, depending on traffic. For now, though,” she smiled playfully and gestured outside of the lefthand of the bus, “this is Alati Lake City. One of the most populous cities in the state as well as being the capital of Utem. I’m sure in the next few days, all if you will get to explore the wonderful outdoor recreation and hub of religious culture that the city is known for.” Miss Ripert then cleared her throat. “That being said, though, I just wanted to give out a few warnings. Us Bigs are good people, but a few may be more inclined to certain… impulses. To avoid these, there are a few simple steps you can follow. Trust me, you’ll want to pay attention to these. They could just mean the difference of you all leaving back through the portal… or something more… permanent.” A few of the Littles murmured in fear, but most stayed silent and listened closely. “Now, first up, never talk…” * * * Day 1 – 4:55 P.M. MDT – Earth 2 Busses hissed to a halt outside the large and opulent sandstone and blue building that was their hotel. It wasn’t the tallest around, but the buildings on either side from this angle shrank close to the ground. As Ashley stared up at the tall building, she couldn’t help but hold her mouth agape in awe. ‘Wow… technology and art fused around here so seamlessly… and it’s only day one.’ “Okay,” Miss Ripert began to shout over the more populated streets, “we’ve all checked in and offloaded your luggage into your rooms for the night. With this tour, we will spend about six days here and in the surrounding mountains, exploring several sites and visiting several companies I think you might find most… illuminating.” Moving away from the hotel, Miss Ripert began to explain all about the city and its founding. “Founded almost two centuries ago now, a breakaway sect from the mainstream religion at the time settled here to practice as they wished. As a result, laws here became more flexible, and desires flared to make a city that would not only last the test of time but also break free of the shackles of many cities to the east that derived their city planning from Europa’s cities at the time.” Looking around as they walked, Ashley could see the validity of Miss Ripert’s words. While there was almost a neo-classical feeling to some of the buildings and statues around, there was also a clear push for styles corresponding to more retro-futuristic in some parts and touches of Brutalism in others. It seemed an odd combination, but it also gave the city a variety that was missing from most cities back on Earth lately. With many destroyed or in need of heavy repairs, most began to look eerily similar as they were rebuilt. Here though, the uniqueness along with clear city planning and a dash of color everywhere, stood out strongly in contrast. “Now, of course, subsequent renovations to them have closed this gap in recent years, but Alati Lake City stands as a testament to…” “Ophelia! Get back here!” a woman screamed from nearby. The group looked over and saw, with the reaction of many gasps of horror, a Little was running through the streets and away from a Big. “No, sweetie! Not into traffic!” Clearly panicking, she seemed to wilt in seeing the Little dodge cars whose hoods she barely stood over. “Someone! Anyone! Stop her!” Most of the group seemed stunned, but Miss Ripert acted quickly and used herself as a shield to block our movement any closer to the Little now blocking traffic. “Stay back everyone. They need to solve this on their own. Trust me… you don’t want to get involved.” As if right on cue, the crowd began to depart. That, and plus the stopped cars, formed some semblance of a circle around the Little, supposedly called Ophelia. From her expression, some doubt definitely seemed to be present in Ashley’s mind if that was even her name though when she first heard it. “Come on, honey. There’s no way out. Come back to Mama.” The woman Big seemed genuinely concerned about ‘her’ Little, but the whole scene still felt very much out of place and even illegal at times if looked at from the right angles… especially regarding the relationship between Big and Little here. Ashley edged forward, but Miss Ripert blocked her path to get a better look. Ashley’s frown showed she didn’t appreciate that, but not pushing it further, anyone could see that she was trying to listen in, despite her distance away from the scene. “Never! I would rather die than go back to be your baby slave!” The Little wasn’t calm, but was clearly level-headed enough to speak without any signs of mental or physical impairment. ‘I don’t know what would be worse to see… a Little that was mentally affected, or a Little that was so physically affected, that their mentality didn’t mean much anymore. Ugh… best not think about it, Ash…’ Regardless, the scene unfolding was aligning with what about Ashley had read about and then been briefed on before coming here. It was a terrible one, but it was realization of the truth that yes, there was a story here somewhere. Ophelia practically growled in response. “Heck no! You stay back, lady! I can’t even curse anymore because of you!” Ashley looked puzzled for a moment. ‘I wonder what the heck that means?’ She paused but then quickly turned her attention back to the unfolding scene between Ophelia and the Big. “You even forced me into…” An odd sort of look came over Ophelia’s face and her eyes squinted in pure hatred toward the Big. “You know what? I don’t need to wear these anymore.” She stomped her foot and then reached right under her dress… and pulled off her diaper, clearly being a cheap alternative that would even allow for that sort of thing. Most from Earth by now already had heard at least the rumors about ‘unremovable’ diapers, but from the reports, Ashley knew they were much more than just rumors. Still, despite the oddity of a Little even being able to tear off their diaper, it was still a clear act of defiance here and many gasped in the crowd around Ashley. “Take that, lady!” Ophelia hissed back at the Big with more confidence than someone who had just been wearing a diaper ought to have. The Big temporarily scowled. “Mommy! It’s ‘Mommy,’ Ophelia. Remember that?” Ashley seemed perplexed for a moment regarding the Big’s demeanor. ‘Which was she more upset about? The diaper or the lack of term to address her?’ “No!” Ophelia screamed again, this time stomping her foot on the ground and then over top of her diaper. “You’re not my mommy! My mommy is back home and…” Right as she said it though, it was clear to anyone watching that she hadn’t meant to say that… or at least not come across so childish when referring to her true parent back on Earth. Before anyone else could react though, a series of high-pitched whistles rang out through the streets and two police officers ran to the scene. “Ma’am? Is this one your Little?” The Big nodded her head. “I’m very sorry, officer. I promise you that she’s normally not like this. I…” “Ma’am… if she is under your care, then I’m afraid you are both going to need to come to court.” The officer didn’t mince his words at all, now only pointing back to where they had come from, which one could just see beyond the crowds was their police car. “Or… that’s at least what will happen if you can’t resolve this situation in the next minute, understand?” The Big now genuinely seemed fearful, but seconds later, resolved as well. Looking back at Ophelia, she smiled, but now also seemed burdened by the alternative if she failed now. Ashley leaned closer, knowing something was about to happen between them. “I’m sorry, Ophelia…” “Sorry?” Ophelia questioned. “Sorry for wh…?” Before she could speak another syllable though, the Big had rushed up to her, wrangled her into her arms, and then popped a large bulbous white pacifier in Ophelia’s mouth before hitting the front button at least three times. Needless to say, Ophelia seemed outraged and more worryingly, in pain now. ‘Wow… I hope I’m capturing all angles of this… this could be a great story… Poor Ophelias though…’ Ashley seemed sympathetic to a fellow Little, but the journalist in her wasn’t just going to stop and looking at this story from all the angles. Abuse. Being held against one’s will. Infantilization to the highest degree. A corrupt system. The normality of the treatment. Ashley could see all the titles of her next article so perfectly, but as she looked around, her smile of a possible story began to fade. ‘No one’s even batting an eye over this. If they’re not reacting harshly to this, then it’s already at least mostly normalized… which means there’s another story that no one wants to talk about… or even can for that matter. No… this isn’t my story.’ “Good work, ma’am. Just try to keep a closer eye on her. I might even suggest some… modifications, or some equipment maybe,” one of the officers noted swiftly once Ophelia had been pacified and was now being held firmly in place, not going anywhere… even as she struggled heavily… even more so after he mentioned ‘modifications’ and ‘equipment’ being used. “Now… being a parent myself to a Little, I might suggest you rediaper her. Never can be too careful, right?” The Big smiled and bounced Ophelia gently, despite her continued protests. “Oh no. Definitely not. Fortunately, we live right up the street. Absolutely not going to let her ruin the new carpet I just had put in.” A few of the Bigs laughed nearby but Ashley didn’t seem to know how to react. ‘If I laugh, I’m a terrible person without empathy towards a fellow Little. If I don’t laugh… I could seem suspicious. Ugh… well, maybe just roll the dice and see what happens.’ So, instead, Ashley just opted for silence instead of compliance. She seemed to catch the suspicious and maybe even evil glance shot her way by one of the locals, but otherwise, most didn’t comment. “And also… rest assured officer,” the woman Big continued, bouncing Ophelia in her arms, “little Ophelia here won’t be practicing anymore escape attempts under my watch. I can assure you of that.” She patted her Little on the butt a few times as Ophelia let out a small whimper of defeat and most definitely fear. The officer only tipped his hat, smiled, and left. As for the reactions from the rest of the tour group… they were less inclined to say anything. It only took a second though, to realize that most now seemed too petrified over what just happened in front of them. Most grimaced even further when the Big got Ophelia to wave her hand back at everyone and babyishly say ‘goodbye’ for her to the crowd there. It was an unsettling sight to say the least. Still, the scene now over, Miss Ripert glanced back at the group. “Now then… no worries, my darlings. Just a small escapee of a Little. These attempts happen all the time here now, but you have to give their tiny failures a little sympathy at least… and nothing more.” Ashley knitted her hands together, clearly trying to distance herself from all that was happening. It was all terrible to see, but the complacency of every Big now that Ophelia had been taken away was disconcerting. This wasn’t her story, but as Ashley listened on to excuse after excuse by Miss Ripert over what just happened, it felt more like a conspiracy embedded into the very fabric of the society here than anything else… and certainly not the fault of a small and clearly traumatized Little. Ashley didn’t have a story yet, but seeing it was only Day 1 and this had happened literally right in front of her when she wasn’t even looking, her overall confidence seemed to bloom that yes, she would find a story. ‘I vow to myself now… I’m not leaving here until I get the story I’m looking for. ‘Ashley Cutter’ will soon be a name on everyone’s lips back home. The Little that figured out the truth of this terrible place!’ It might have been a simplistic platitude, but it provided the tiniest of smiles. Even in a place like this, it was good to have hope that everything would be okay. So, for Ashley, that absolutely meant that by the end here, she would have her story.

I tried to write a new story, and I hope you like it. I would appreciate it if you came with comments and aides. I hope you enjoy it. The story has non-sexual thins involved. the short story is about an 8-year-old boy who has started to struggle with bedwetting. It doesn't get any better when his sister finds out and wants revenge for something he did to her. ————— Tobias summer vacation The sunlight streamed through Tobias' windows, directly on his face. With summer vacation in full swing, he enjoyed lounging and stretching without school restrictions. His eyes widened, and he became more awake as he noticed something was wrong. His eyes suddenly stopped moving and widened as a terrifying thought gripped him. His hand slowly began to reach out, feeling under the cover of darkness. Tobias froze when his terrifying thoughts became a reality: he had wet the bed again. He got scared and called his mother without thinking. “Mom!” The sound of steps came through him, and the door to his room opened. “Good morning, sleepy head; everything alright? “ said his mom. His eyes started to get wet; tears began to roll down his skin. “What’s wrong, honey?” said his mom. Tobias lay in bed, sobbing, trying to explain what had happened. Unable to speak, he removed the blanket to reveal his wet bed to his mother. As she looked at it, her eyes filled with compassion and understanding. “Oh, have you had an accident again? Poor thing. That can happen to the best; shower, and I'll take care of your bed.” said his mom. Tobias felt embarrassed, but his mother gave him a warm smile. “Go take a warm shower, and then meet me for breakfast,” his mom said. Tobias walked in his wet pajamas to the bathroom for a refreshing shower, enjoying warm water running down his body. He exited the shower to find that his mother had left a towel with Lego Ninjago characters. Tobias dried himself and returned to his room. His mother had already laid out underpants, shorts, and a T-shirt on his freshly made bed. He descended the stairs and found his two older sisters already sitting, eating breakfast. His sisters Maria and Andrea played with their phones while eating and didn't notice Tobias coming. Maria was an 18-year-old girl who spent much time at work and with her friends and wasn't home much. Andrea was a 15-year-old girl who always got what she wanted, regardless of the consequences for others. She was tired of all the attention the little brat always got and was looking forward to spending the summer with her friends. The girls loved their parents, and although they didn't despise their little brother, they loved him but found his constant attention and spoiled nature particularly annoying. The girls always enjoyed teasing Tobias because he was much shorter than the other children his age. Sometimes, the girls would take Tobias out to play and often met strangers who mistook him for a younger child. Once, Tobias was mistakenly taken to the kindergarten when a teacher mistook him for a little child. Tobias prepared a breakfast mix and placed the bowl on the table before setting up his highchair. Tobias always found it so embarrassing that he had to use a high chair instead of sitting on an adult chair. However, he knew using a highchair was better than sitting on his knees. Their mother sat down with her children and relaxed with a cup of coffee before she broke the silence. “So kids, what's your plans today?” said his mom. Maria put the phone down and looked over to her mother. “I have work and then some plans with my friends. We will drive to the beach; a friend will pick me up soon.” Andrea glanced at Maria and rolled her eyes before speaking, "I'm going to hang out with some friends." His mother smiled at her daughters, took another sip of her coffee, and leaned closer to chat more quietly with Tobias. “Did you go to the washroom with the wet pajamas?” his mom asked. The girl's eyes filled with curiosity as they listened to their mother's whispering voice. Andrea burst into laughter before responding. “Has the baby wet the bed again? Maybe you should consider using diapers on him again, like babies need, Mom!” Andrea said. Tobias turned red with embarrassment as he heard the mocking laughter and hurtful words. He wasn't a baby, an 8-year-old kid who wanted to yell back at them, but he knew his mother would get angry from arguing. Tobias took control of his frustration and quietly ate his food while looking down. Maria giggled and laughed with her sister until their mother looked at them sternly. "Now that's enough, girls. You can leave the table," their mom said. His mother looked at him with an expression of love but also concern. “Don't listen to those girls. Now I'll clean up; the kitchen looked like a mess.” said his mom. Thinking raced through her head while she got up and walked to the kitchen to clean up. She wondered why he had started wetting the bed at night. She planned to talk to her husband and schedule a doctor's appointment when he came home. Tobias finished his food and gave his mother his plate before returning to his room. He sat down on his rug and opened his drawers full of Legos. Time flew by as he built with all the Lego bricks he had. Without him noticing, someone began brushing his hair. Tobias turned and was happy to see his father bending down behind him. "Daddy, you're home!" “Hi, champ! Had a good day?” his dad said. Tobias smiled as he saw his father sit down on the bottom to play with the Legos with him. "Do you want to join me for a little play, Daddy?" As they chatted about the day, his father built a little with his son. “When do you have a vacation, Dad?” “I don't have any holiday yet, but we'll manage. So, Mom told me about what happened last night. Is there anything that has happened that you want to talk about? It's been a while since you used to wet the bed at night.” said his dad. Tobias sat quietly and said nothing as he poked at the Lego. "I don't know, Dad. It just happened. I'm sorry." "It'll be fine, champ. It'll probably just be a bad night." his dad said. His father got up and left the room to talk to his wife. A little worried, he looked back at his son before he disappeared and went downstairs. He sat beside his wife, tired from a long day at work. She had put some dinner in the oven, which would soon be ready. "I asked Junior why he had wet the bed several times. He didn't know." his father said. She looked over at him with a worried look. "It has happened too often to be just an accident, and I soon won't have any bedwear left. No, we need to take him to a doctor. I will call them tomorrow." the mother said. She got up and started setting the table. Tobias came down the stairs simultaneously with his mother, who had just put lasagna on the table. “Tobias, can you tell your sisters it is time for dinner?” his mom said. Tobias nodded and ran up the stairs to his sisters. He knocked on the door and waited until Maria said he could come in. "It's dinner," he said, running to Andreas' room. He knocked on the door but got no answer. He tried again, but there was still no response from her. Tobias opened the door and entered the room. He studied all the drawings and figures she had created. Suddenly, he heard her voice behind him. "What are you doing in my room? Who said you could walk into my room, your little bed wetter? If it was up to me, would I put you back in diapers? It was so funny at school when you were mistaken for a kindergarten kid, and the funniest thing is that you don't look any older than one,” Andrea said mockingly. Tobias looked at her with an angry look. He wasn't a kindergarten kid; he was a big kid. “I'm not a baby! I'm a big kid!” Andrea burst out laughing as she could see his face became red. “Are you a big kid? You could be mistaken for a toddler in the right clothes, considering you are still wet in the bed. Real big kids don't wet their beds. You would have looked adorable in diapers and some childish clothes,” said Andrea as she laughed. Tobias became angry and red as he ran out of her room and into his room. He buried his face down into his bed pillow with anger. He wanted to tell his mother how much Andrea had teased him; this wasn't fear. But the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became that his mother would think it would be a good idea to put him back in diapers. Tobias cooled down and walked to join the others for dinner. “Hay, champ, you disappeared a little. Is everything okay?” his father asked with a slightly concerned tone. Tobias tried to keep his smile up but said nothing as he sat in his chair. He and his sisters giggled as they whispered to each other before Andrea spoke. "He must have been late to the table for another accident," said Andrea as the girls giggled. Their parents were visibly displeased by Andrea's choice of words and directed stern looks at her. Both girls immediately fell silent, focusing solely on their meals. Tobias felt embarrassed and ashamed at how the girls treated him. As they ate, the conversation turned to discussing their respective days, but Tobias remained silent, his mind unable to shake off the hurtful words his sister had used. Despite not being as tall or physically developed as others his age, Tobias resented being treated like a little child. He ate his food and looked over at his mom. “May I be excused from the table?” “Of course you can.” said his mother. He cleaned his table and returned to his room, still irritated by what the girls had said of him. Time passed as he looked at the TV in his room, and his mother came in. “It's time for bed, young man. Brush your teeth and come back; we need to talk,” his mother said in a warm tone. He walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and went to the toilet before he came back. His mother was still sitting on his bed, waiting for him, holding his pajamas in her hand as he walked inside his room. He came to his mother, removed his clothes, and took on the pajamas before lying on the bed. “So, young man, I have spoken to your father. You have an appointment at the doctor's tomorrow. There have been too many bedwetting accidents,” his mom said calmly but in a loving tone. Tobias' face became scared, and he didn't want to go to any doctors. “Why, I promise to stop with the wetting.” “I'll make you a deal: If you behave well tomorrow, I will take you to your favorite ice cream shop. Is that okay?” his mom said. He smiled as his mother ruffled his hair and left the room. His dad walked by, gave him a wink. "Good night, champ; see you tomorrow." his dad said. The door closed as Tobias lay down and thought of the morning. His eyes became heavy, and he fell asleep. As the sun came through his window, Tobias's eyes opened; he soon felt something was wrong; he had done it again—his bed was wet. He walked out of his bed and took a shower before he took some clothes. His sister wasn't up yet, but his mother sat with a coffee. “Good morning, young man. Are you first up today? How did the night go?” said his mom. He looked at the ground, and his mother understood the answer. She came and hugged him. “It's okay. I'll fix your wet bed, and you can wake your sisters.” said his mom. He smiled and strolled over to Andrea's room. As he approached, he noticed that her door was slightly ajar. Peeking inside, he saw Andrea putting some beer into her backpack. Tobias made a misstep; his sister shouted his name as he sprinted to his mother. Upon her mother's coming, she promptly unzipped the bag, and Andrea looked at Tobias with intense hatred. “What is this? Beer! Maria, where have you got a beer from?” their mother shouted sternly. Andrea cast a sympathetic glance her mother's way while their mother fell silent as her eyes fixed on her watch. “I forgot we have a doctor's appointment, Tobias. Come. And you, young lady, I'll deal with you later,” said their mother sharply. As their mother walked away, Tobias began to turn when Andrea grasped his arm firmly. “Now listen, little pee boy. You will regret this," while Andrea's expression could terrify anyone. Andrea releases him, and he runs to his mother, who is waiting in the car with her phone. Tobias tries to tell his mother what Andrea did, but she talks with Dad about the beer. Tobias sits back and looks out the windows as they drive away. After a drive, they park the car in a parking garage and walk into a building. It feels like an eternity for Tobias to walk fast, but they make it just in time. His mother placed him on a chair as she stood in line to announce their arrival. Tobias walked over to some cool toys and started to play. A young nurse came by Tobias. “Hello there, little man. I think these toys are for big boys, but you can play with this once over here.” the nurse said with a smile. He looked over at the young nurse who had found some toys for daycare children. “There you go, have fun.” the lady said as she walked away. He became red in his face and irritated. He was not a daycare baby; he was a big kid. He returned to his mother, who had sat in the waiting room. His mother took his hand and sat beside him as they waited for their turn. The nurse came and said Tobias' name; his mother looked at him and took his hands. They walked into the man who sat in the doctor's office. He smiled and raised his hand to greet them. “Good day. I am Doctor Brown. What can I do for you?” As his mother started talking to the doctor, Tobias sat a little scared. As he looked at a picture of a girl the same age as Andrea, Tobias began to think nervously about what Andrea said before he ran to the car. Was it wrong to tell Mom about the beer? Is it okay to drink? He hired the doctor, said his name, and Tobias looked at him. “Don't be worried, Tobias. We will check everything to see if something is wrong with you, young man.” the doctor said. He rose and showed how they would take some tests. It felt like an eternity with all the testing and things the doctors wanted to do, but Tobias always returned to the incident with his sister. The look on her face was so angry and mean, and it did not look good; he felt afraid. Tobias had come back from his thoughts. He realized he now sat and waited outside in the waiting room to return to the doctor's office. At the same time, his name was up. They sat down with the doctor. He started with the easy words that they could not find anything wrong with him; he had to be immature in his body. He was small for his age, and Tobias looked wans again at the picture of the girl, which reminded him of what Andrea had said. It wasn't funny that the nurse had mistaken him for a little child. His mother raised her hand and thanked the doctor as they walked out. She looked a little worried when they walked away from the doctor. She looked at him and said she needed to stop by the store for supplies. Tobias followed along as his mother picked out the food and supplies required. His mother took a long time to look at something. He looked up and got red in the face. She was looking at diapers! “Mom! What are you doing? I don't need diapers; that is for small babies.” She lifted something into the trolley as she looked over at him. “Don't worry; it's just a safety measure. It will be our little secret. Didn't you hear the doctor say we should use protection at night? Also, it's difficult for me to change your bed every day. I had enough this morning with Andrea and the doctor. Please stop acting like a baby. It's not diapers; it's pull-ups, but if you act more like a baby, maybe I should take diapers instead!” his mother said, irritated. They had walked back to the car and were on their way home. Tobias mined raced, being mistaken for a little child; now he had to use pull-ups! They parked the car, and his mother opened the car door for him. They walked inside with all the groceries and the pull-ups. He walked in silently and into his room. He started to play some TV games as time began to fly. He heard his mother and her talking down stars, not in a great tone, and suddenly, she called out everyone's names and told them to come down. When Tobias came downstairs, Andrea sat on the sofa with an angry look and her arms crossed. His mother smiled at him with a loving tone. “Now, Andrea, Dad is going on a business trip. I don't want to sit at home, so Tobias and you will drive with me to my sister.” said their mom. Andrea became red in anger. “What about my friends? I need to be home!” said Andrea, irritated as her mother looked sternly back at her. “Now you listen, young lady. I told you that Maria needed to work so she would be home, but you would be with me and your brother. We are leaving tomorrow for my sister, and you will not be angry about it. This is entirely your fault. Now behave,” said their mom in a stern tone at her. Andrea was so upset about going on this stupid trip with her mother and little pee brother and not seeing her friends. She blamed Tobias for the whole situation! "Is my cousin Sofia there, at least?" Andrea asked. Here, Mother smiled back at her. “Yes, and so is Sam.” said his mom. Andrea just rolled her eyes and spoke silently. “Sam? He’s four, isn't he? He's just another baby but a good play buddy for Tobias.” Her eyes lit up like fire as she repeated it. “Yes, a good play buddy for Tobias,” she said as her smile grew. Tobias got worried about what Andreas's eyes shoved. Whatever she was thinking, this can't be good. “So, we are leaving tomorrow morning. Your father has to leave on a business trip tonight. Andrea and Tobias, go and pack your bags; we are leaving early tomorrow." said their mom. Tobias runs upstairs to pack his bag of toys. His mother comes upstairs with a bag and starts to pack his clothes. She has almost finished packing when she turns to him and looks him in the eyes. “I need to go downstairs, Tobias. Can you pack some underwire in your bag?” He proudly smiled at his mother as she walked out of his room and downstairs. He had put all his underwear in the bag and walked out of his room to get some things from the living room. As he came back upstairs into his bedroom, Andrea walked out with a backpack over her shoulder. “What are you doing in my room?” said Tobias. Andrea smiled at him. "Sorry, I'm just looking for you. Are you looking forward to traveling and visiting our aunt? It will surely be fun for you to play with Sam. He is probably four now, I think," Andrea said. Tobias became irritated by her foolish comments. "Why would I play with a baby? That is four. I'm a big kid,” said Tobias. “Yeah, he's four, but you are no taller than he is and don't look much older. With the right clothes, you can easily be mistaken for a 4-year-old little bedwetter you are. Mom should have bought diapers for you.” said Andrea. Tobias felt his face turn red as she threw humiliating words at him. Despite his attempts to protest and set her straight, she continued with her hurtful remarks as he walked by and slammed his door. Dinner was a bit sad. Andrea had been a lousy sister that day, and Dad was leaving for a work trip. The dinner felt slow, and time seemed to drag on. After going to the bathroom to brush his teeth and quickly visit the toilet, he returned to his room feeling a little unsettled. His mother was sitting on the bed, waiting for him. “Remember our discussion about protection?” said his mom. His eyes bulged, and his face turned red as he confidently approached his mother. “Mom, please, I don't want to wear it. Babies like Sam use diapers, not big kids,” he told his mom. His mother becomes irritated and drags him to the bed, but she offers him a warm smile before speaking. “Listen, first of all, it's not a diaper; it's a pull-up. Second, I don't have any more bed covers as they're not dry after all the wetting. Third, waking up in a wet pull-up is better than waking up in a wet bed. So, please take off your clothes and let me help you. If you're good, I'll let you watch some more TV in your bed.” said his mom. Tobias started to take off his shirt and pants, but he got a little slower when it came to his underwear; his lust was not in him. His mother gently helped him take it off. She found a white pull-up with some Paw Patrol drawings at the front. She opened it so Tobias could put his feet into it. She dragged the pull-up until it was in its place and checked that everything was in its place. He looked down and saw the soft but thick pull-up between his legs, which made keeping his feet together more challenging due to his spread-apart legs. Looking at the pull-up, he saw the paw patrol in the front. He thought it was better than diapers. His mother walked to his drawer to get a pajama top and pants. Suddenly, Tobias heard a familiar laugh behind him. He closed his eyes in shame and turned to see Andrea entering. “Now, have you seen? Mom followed my advice and put the little toddler back in a diaper.” As Andrea patted his back, Tobias blushed with embarrassment. His mom handed Tobias his pajamas and gave Andrea a stern look. “Now listen, Andrea. Tobias' doctor suggested using some protection. It's not a diaper; it's a pull-up. So let your brother be," said their mom. Andrea smiled with pride as she walked out. She started to talk silently: “The little brat is already back in his diaper. This will make my plan a lot easier. He ruined my summer, but my revenge will be satisfying. I need to talk to my cousin Sofia. I'm not finished with Tobias yet. she said as she walked to her room. Tobias' mother kissed him and walked out of his room. Tobias took his clothes on. Feeling something between his legs was strange, and he made a little bowel in the front. He watched some TV and, after a while, fell asleep. Tobias wakes to his mother's hands touching him. His eyes open to see his mother's warm smile. "Good, you're up, and you're not wet. I'm so proud of you." his mom said. He was about to leave bed, but his mother stopped him. Before she spoke, her face looked a little concerned. "Hey there, since it's still early, you'll probably doze off in the car because we have a long drive ahead. Please keep your pull-up diaper on while we're driving, just in case you have an accident. It would be very tiring for me if there were any accidents in the car while we're on the road." said his mom. Tobias's face became red with sadness. "Keep my pull-ups on? But I don't wet myself at day?" he said in frustration. His mom looked a little concerned before she looked down. He started to feel guilty. "Okay, Mom. I will wear the pull-up diaper for you." Her face smiled back at him with pride. "You are amazing for being so considerate of others. Your selflessness is admirable, and I hope your sister can learn from your example. From you. Now take your bag to the garage." said his mother. Tobias's mother excused herself from the room as he put on his pants over the pull-up diaper. Putting on his pants proved challenging, resulting in a slight bulge in the front and a curve in the back. To conceal the diaper, he put on a hoodie and picked up his bag before heading towards the car in the garage. As he stooped to set down his bag, a familiar and unexpected voice broke the silence—Andrea's voice. "Stop right there," she said as her steps came closer. As she crept up behind him, he could feel the warmth of her breath on the back of his neck, sending shivers down his spine. Every step she took seemed to echo in the silence as he anxiously wondered what she was after. Her hand moved slowly, almost hesitantly, as it reached out to touch him. She paused before him, gently raising his chin with her index finger while fixing him with a stern gaze. "I think it's wise for the baby to have his diaper on." His heart races as she stares into his eyes sternly. He becomes so afraid that he tenses up and wets his pull-up. His eyes widen with fear as the pull-up starts to swell. It was the most terrifying feeling he had ever felt. Andrea laughs at him and looks down at him with contempt. "Looks like someone needs a diaper change. It seems like you've wet your diaper. Let's go find Mom and get you changed." As they left the garage, her infectious laughter filled the air, intertwining with their footsteps. Tobias felt his heart racing with fear as they approached their mother. Andrea hid her smile and looked concerned as she glanced at her mother. "Excuse me, Mom, but Tobias had an accident, and I believe he needs a diaper change," Andrea said with a concerned expression as she looked at her mother. Their mother's face looked concerned at Tobias before she bent down to her knees, her hand stroking over his hair. "Common little one, let's change that diaper." Tobias's expression soured as a wave of embarrassment washed over him. His mother mentioned the word "diapers" instead of "pull-ups" as she gently took his hand and guided him back to his room. Once there, she swiftly removed his pants and pull-up diaper, leaving Tobias feeling utterly mortified and unable to speak a single word. She quickly swapped out the used pull-up for a fresh one and efficiently helped him back into his clothes. Before leaving, she kissed his cheek tenderly, gazing at him with love. "It's alright, little one; there's no need to feel embarrassed. Now, let's get on our way." his mother said. As she gracefully exited the room, he was left standing there, feeling the weight of humiliation from the recent events. He reached out to switch off the light before going downstairs for a quick breakfast. The morning meal was hurried, and they soon stood inside the garage. As Tobias was about to settle into the car, his sister Andrea looked at their mother. "Mom, maybe we should consider using Tobias's old car seat for the upcoming long drive. You know there have been a lot of police checks lately, especially after that terrible accident involving the child who wasn't properly secured in their seat. Even though Tobias is eight years old, he's still on the shorter side. I want to make sure he's safe, and of course, I'm also concerned about your license, Mom," Andrea said with a worried expression as she looked at her mother. Tobias' eyes got more extensive, and his face became red. "No, Mom, you can't be serious!" His mother gazed at him with quiet intensity. Afterward, she shifted her gaze back to Andrea, and her hand gently caressed Andrea's skin. "You're completely right, Andrea. I hadn't considered that. You take such good care of your brother. I'm worried about your father traveling. I'm grateful to have you, Andrea, to care for things." Their mother left the car and found Tobias's old car seat. She opened his door and looked at Tobias. As his mother hooked up the seat, he shamed out of the car. His sister smiled evilly at Tobias as their mother walked out. Without asking, she lifted Tobias, put him in his child's seat, fastened him with a belt, and fiddled with the car door before she closed it. She sighed a little and leaned into the driver's door. "I'm sorry. I need to visit the bathroom. Just stay; I won't be long." As she quickly vanished from sight, Andrea looked at Tobias with pride. She left the car and opened the trunk to find something, Tobias thought. She came back and sat down as he looked sternly at her. "Now, don't give me that look, Tobias. You know it's important to ensure that babies are securely strapped into their car seats," his sister teased him. As Tobias was on the verge of responding, his mother arrived. Opting for silence, he gazed out the window as they departed from the garage. The morning sun shone warmly on the windowpanes as the car pulled away. As they continued their journey, a significant distance had been covered when Tobias's eyes slowly opened. He had nodded off and fallen asleep during the drive. Beside him lay a bottle of water and something to eat. His mom smiled back at him from the mirror. "Good morning! Did you have a restful sleep? I quickly stopped to pick up some refreshing drinks and something to eat for you. We'll be reaching our destination in no time now." said his mother. As he started to wake up, he noted something wasn't right; he had wet himself again. The pull-up had swelled up in the front, and it didn't get any better. He needed to pee. He tried to be calm, but it got more difficult. The feeling of having to go to the bathroom began to push more and more. "Mom, I need to go to the bathroom." His mom glanced at him in the mirror and replied. "I apologize, but I can't pull over right now. We're expected to reach our destination in fifteen minutes. You're more than capable of managing that," his mother reassured him. Tobias sat uneasily in his seat, attempting to calm his nerves. Despite his efforts, he couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. Through his struggle, he noticed Andrea casting glances in his direction, adding to his discomfort. Her smile appeared mocking before she spoke. "You say you're a big boy, Tobias, so it shouldn't be a problem to hold on?" said Andrea with a big smile. As he sat there restlessly, time felt like an eternity. When his mother finally drove up a familiar driveway and stopped the car, the pressure was so great that he began to get desperate. His mother opened the car door and saw her sister waiting for them at the entrance. They met and hugged each other while Tobias sat desperately waiting for the car door to open. He repeatedly tried to open it, but the child lock was on. Frustration built up within him as he observed his mother chatting and laughing with her sister while he sat suffering. His face turned red, and his body froze when he realized the battle was lost. He desperately tried to hold it in, but it was useless. The sluices opened, and the pee filled his diaper, which swelled as much as possible, but it just continued to flow. When his nightmare was finally over, another one began. It started leaking down his side and into his pants as his aunt opened the door to greet him. When his aunt saw Tobias, her eyes widened, and his face turned red with embarrassment. There he sat, strapped in a child seat, and had just wet himself so much that his pants were now soaked. His aunt changed her gaze to slightly mocking before her voice came. "Hi, Tobias. You haven't changed a bit. I thought you had become a big boy now," she said and looked at her sister curiously. "Tobias seems to have not grown at all. I believe putting him back in a child's seat was wise. He looks like he could be as old as my Sam. I was surprised to learn that he had started wearing diapers again, which I already see has leaked through his diaper. You know, sis, when you have to put them back in diapers, you must choose a thick and long-lasting option." said his aunt to her sister. Tobias's aunt's words stung his pride, and he felt embarrassed. His aunt helped him leave the car seat while his mother approached and leaned down. She saw tears starting to come down from his eyes. Her finger wiped them away before she hugged Tobias and looked him warmly in the eyes. "Now, let's go inside, remove this wet diaper, and find clean clothes." his mother said.

Introduction What would happen if, no matter how old you are, your parents found your stash? Well, on an already miserable day, that’s exactly what happened to Tom. How will both he and his dad handle it? Chapter 1 - Rejection ‘Well, thank you for coming in today, myself and the panel will discuss the interview and the recruiter will get back to you in due course’. Tom could see in the eyes of the interviewer it was going to be another rejection. He couldn’t understand it, just over a year ago he’d graduated with a 2:1 in Architecture. He thought he’d walk into a job, but he’d applied to every company he could find, and had 15 interviews never getting further than the second round. He couldn’t understand it, what was he doing wrong? Whatever it was it wasn’t how he presented himself. He looked gorgeous in his grey slim fit suit and smart tan shoes. He is 5’9, short jet black hair, with beautiful bright blue eyes, but I guess it’s what you say in interview which is important, not how you look. He stood up, grabbed his posh leather bag his dad had gotten him for his graduation, shook the panel’s hands and made his way out into the busy London street. No sooner had he stepped out the building a rough looking man bumped into him with a cigarette burning a hole right into the shoulder. ‘Hey!’ said Tom. ‘Fuck off, prick’ cursed the man as he hurried on. It was the final straw, a tear rolled down Tom’s face. He couldn’t take much more of life at this point. Everything was falling apart, or that’s how it felt. 23, no job, no friends who are local, his mum has passed away and he’s still living with his grieving dad Steve. After travelling back by train Tom let himself into the house and rushed straight upstairs to his room. ‘How’d the interview go?’ called his Dad from his study. ‘Crap’ shouted back Tom. Once in the room he started to undress. He hung up his suit jacket and inspected the burn. Maybe it could be repaired? Probably not, now he doesn’t even have a suit if he gets another interview. Nevertheless he took off the trousers and placed the suit in its special bag like always, before putting it in the wardrobe. He grabbed his joggers and a t-shirt and turned to lay on his bed, but as he did, he saw something which made his blood run cold. Could this day get any worse? His worst nightmare was lying in front of him. His heart thumped in his chest as if it was about to exit it. His face flushed red, sweat started to bead on his forehead, panic started to set in. Lying there in front of him was one of his adult nappies, and on it a note. “Hey son, let’s talk, love Dad”. Tom had bought these nappies a few months back from a medical supply company whilst his Dad had been away for work. He’d been interested in them for a while. He’d enjoyed the few he’d tried but he’d not had the courage to wear them once his dad got back. He’d hidden them under his bed in a carrier bag, but clearly his dad had found them. He couldn’t believe it, how could this happen? For an hour he sat there thinking of excuses he could make, plausible stories he could tell. “They’re not mine”. “I’ve been having bedwetting problems”, “I…” none of them seemed convincing. He didn’t feel like he could leave the room. After at least an hour and a half his dad called ‘dinner!’ Heart thumping and head racing he made his way down the stairs. He was physically shaking. When he saw his Dad at the table, he froze. ‘So you don’t think they’ll ask you back?’ asked his Dad. ‘No’ Tom tried to say, but nothing came out. ‘No’ he said eventually in his third attempt. ‘Sit down it’s getting cold’ said his Dad gesturing to Toms dinner. Tom made his way over and sat down in silence. For a short while they both ate, but Tom really wasn’t hungry, if anything he felt sick. He just shuffled his food around. When his dad had finished he reached out and put his had on Tom’s. ‘Talk to me Tom’ he said gently, trying to make eye contact. Tom was physically shaking, he couldn’t speak, he was living his worst nightmare. His Dad lent across to him. ‘I found your nappies mate’ he said. Just hearing that out loud drove through Tom like a train. ‘They’re not mine’ he blurted out. It was like a reflex, he heard himself say it, but he didn’t think he’d actually processed what he was going to say yet. His dad gave him a soft smile. ‘I know they’re yours son’. He said softly. ‘Tell me why’ he asked. Tom put his shaking hands over his eyes, tears now starting to well up. ‘Please talk to me son’. ‘I’m sorry Dad, I’m such a failure. I’ve got no friends, I don’t have any hobbies, I can’t get a job, I’m going nowhere. I’m a disappointment. If mum were alive she’d be heartbroken at what a useless adult I’ve become’. ‘Oh don’t be silly’ said his Dad. ‘You’re going through a tough time, I know, we both are, but you have your whole life ahead of you. You’re only 23’ Tom couldn’t look at his Dad, he still had his hands over his eyes. ‘I just wish things were like years ago, when mum was alive, when I was carefree and….happy’ sobbed Tom. ‘Is that why you bought the nappies?’ His dad asked gently. ‘I dunno, I dunno why I bought them’ said Tom regretfully. ‘Do they take you back, to a happy place? Are they a stress reliever for you or something?’ His dad enquired. ‘I guess so, I’m sorry, I’ll throw them away, please don’t think I’m a weirdo or a sicko dad, please’ said Tom. ‘I don’t, I understand, if they relax you and you want to wear them that’s fine. I wore them myself for a bit when I was your age’. Tom immediately pulled his face out of his hands. That was an unexpected sentence. ‘What?’ Said Tom in shock. ‘I wore nappies as a stress reliever, to regress for a few years, never did me any harm, better than drugs or booze’. Said his dad dismissively. Tom didn’t know what to say, he just stared at his dad in shock, and in a strange sense, relief. His dad got up and gestured to Tom to get up and give him a hug. Tom obliged, got up and put his arms around his Dad. ‘You’re still shaking’ he said. ‘This might be the perfect time for one of those nappies’. Chapter 2 - Relief When Tom went back into his room the nappy was still there laying on the bed. Half of him desperately wanted to put it on the other half wanted to throw it out the window. Eventually the half that wanted to wear it won out and he started to unfurl it. After he’d just had permission to hadn’t he? He slowly pulled down his joggers, pulled down his boxers and sat himself on the nappy. He laid back for a moment and stared at the ceiling. “What am I doing?” He repeated to himself, but his desire to carry on pushed through and he slowly and carefully applied the 4 tapes of his Tena Maxi adult nappy. He slowly closed his legs. The nappy popped and crinkled as it resisted. The feeling was amazing, he could feel the stress of this bizarre day drain away. After a while his dad called up. ‘You can come down you know, I want to watch Traitors’. Tom and his Dad had been watching it on catchup together each evening. Tom stood up, his nappy crinkling, not overly loudly, but noticeably in a quiet room. He pulled the joggers over it and looked in the mirror. It wasn’t noticeable from the front. He made his way down and quickly sat in the chair, so his dad couldn’t notice or tell. Tom was hugely into the Traitors on TV, but his mind was elsewhere tonight. As his dad commented on it, he just managed the occasional “yeah” instead of the usual debate. Eventually it finished and his dad switched off the TV. He looked across at Tom expectantly. ‘So did you put one on?’ He asked. Tom paused for a moment. ‘Yeah’ he said shyly. ‘Feel better now?’ asked his Dad. Tom breathed out slowly. ‘Yeah, I guess I do’. He said eventually. ‘Good’ said his dad. If that’s all it takes to relax you, just wear them son, I won’t judge. ‘Can I ask a practical question though?’ ‘What?’ asked Tom uncertain. ‘Do you, wet yourself?’ His dad asked plainly. ‘No!’ exclaimed Tom, as if it was a ridiculous question. He’d worn three on his own, and it had not remotely occurred to him to wet them. It was just the feeling of the bulk he liked. He wasn’t about to start wetting himself! ‘I mean, it’s not a crazy thing to ask Tom’ his Dad said. ‘You’re wearing a nappy and I ask if you wet yourself’. There was an awkward pause. ‘Well, if you do have an accident, I’ll put some bin bags in your room. Take it off, ball it up, put it in the bag, tie it up and put it outside your door, I’ll get rid of it. Don’t put it in the bins in the house, they can smell after a bit’. ‘Oh for god sake dad, I don’t wet myself!’ Repeated Tom as he got up to leave the room. ‘Hey’ called his dad grabbing his arm. ‘Don’t walk off on me, I’m being understanding and supportive. ‘It was a perfectly reasonable question and I wanted to make sure we have a plan for it’. ‘I know, sorry Dad, it’s just weird that’s all’ said Tom genuinely. ‘I guess I’m just embarrassed, y’know’. ‘Yeah I get that son, wearing a nappy is embarrassing, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of, people wear them for all sorts of reasons. As long as they’re helping you, it’s all good, I’m proud of you for talking to me about it at all and doing what makes you happy. I don’t think I could have handled it so well with my dad if he ever found mine’. Tom thought to ask his Dad if he ever wet his nappies, but it just felt too weird. Chapter 3 - The bathroom problem Tom stood in the bathroom cleaning his teeth, then habitually turned to the toilet to do a wee before getting into bed. As he went to grab it his hand slammed into his pad, not his boxers, opps. He reached inside and tried to pull it out the top, but he’s not that well endowed and it wouldn’t reach well enough even with the nappy pulled right down, he’d just pee all over himself. He tucked himself back down, squatted and reached into a leg guard. The guard was tight, but he managed to get the head out and point it to the toilet. He tried to go, but the pressure of the leg guard was stopping the flow. He squatted even more, and eventually wee squirted out, some in the loo, some up the wall and some in the bath. It was very awkward, and it had made a huge mess, but eventually he was done. He hurriedly started to clean up bathroom. Once in his room, he dropped his joggers, took off his t-shirt and looked at himself in the mirror. Like before, half of him thought he looked good with the nappy on, the other half thought he looked like a freak. For a moment he planned to take it off, but ultimately decided against it, he didn’t have many, he didn’t have any money and he didn’t want to waste it. He pulled on his pjs over the top of it. It took a while before he fell asleep, the feel of the nappy seemed somewhat overwhelming. It was keeping him awake, but eventually he did drop of. … He looked over at the clock with one eye, 3:10am. He woke up for a wee at this time every night. For a split second he thought about going in his nappy, but it was just a second. He made his way to the bathroom, where exactly the same thing happened as earlier, except worse, because this time he was half asleep. Like before he hurriedly cleaned up, to what he thought was a good standard, and made his way back to bed. … The following morning, he woke as usual and made his way downstairs. ‘Jam on toast?’ asked his Dad? ‘Yes please’ said Tom still a little sleepy. As his Dad made breakfast, he turned to Tom. ‘Ok, here’s something I gotta say’. He said. ‘If you’re going to wear those nappies in my house, I’d much rather you wee in it and cleanly dispose of it, than wee all over the bathroom’ he said waving the butter knife. ‘Sorry, I thought I cleared up’ said Tom in a bit of a panic. ‘I just need some practice, sorry’. ‘Tom’s’ dad turned around. ‘If you want to wear, but still use the loo. I’ll get you some pull-ups, but if you’re in those it’s just not really practical, unless you remove it, which of course pretty much ruins it. Tom thought again about asking his dad if he’d wet his, but like before it just felt odd and creepy to ask his dad that. ‘I’ll try sitting next time’ said Tom. Chapter 4 - A Subscription! It may surprise you to know that after his shower that day Tom put on regular underpants. He’d had his fill, in fact for the next 2 days, no more nappy and it was only mentioned a couple of times by his dad, gently enquiring whether he was wearing one or not. That doesn’t mean Tom hadn’t thought about what had happened virtually every waking minute. It was just that after the initial rush it just felt too awkward to go about his normal daily routine at home, in front of his dad, with a nappy on. That initial confidence had been lost. Tom was at his computer at about 11am, his Dad was in his study downstairs working. He’s a self employed accountant, he works from home most days, only occasionally going into the city to meet a client. There was a knock at the door. “Sign here please mate” Tom heard the delivery driver say, before several thud sounds. Tom made his way down curiously. In the hall his Dad was positioning 3 large boxes. ‘What you ordered?’ asked Tom. His dad stepped back with a big proud grin. ‘Open one’ he said. Tom stepped forward and pulled the tape off of the box on top and flapped it open. ‘Nappies!?!’ He said in shock. ‘Why have you ordered nappies?’ Tom said with a look of confusion on his face. ‘Because you told me you like to wear them, so I’ve ordered you them for you.’ Tom looked at the huge pile. 21 per pack, 3 in a box, 3 boxes. 189 nappies! ‘Well how many are you expecting me to get through?’ He asked incredulously. ‘I don’t know, but you save on delivery if you spend over £80 and get 10% off if you sign up for a subscription, so I got 3 cases’. ‘A subscription!’ Tom said almost shouting. ‘It’s ok, I can cancel it, there’s no commitment’ said his dad waving it off. ‘Look they’re there if you want one. You feel stressed, or just want one they are there. Take a pack up to your room, I’ll store the rest in the spare room’. Tom walked up to his room carrying his bag of nappies. He couldn’t decide what he thought about it. It had been great that his dad hadn’t freaked out, it had been a huge relief his dad was so supportive, but buying him 3 cases without asking? As Tom looked at the nappies in the pack on his bed next to him, he had an odd feeling. He wanted to put one on of course, but he also now felt this uncomfortable expectation from his that he would, and that if he didn’t his dad be oddly disappointed that he’d wasted his money. He put the pack to one side and made his way downstairs. He tapped on his dad’s study door. ‘I’ve got to ask dad, why have you ordered me three cases of nappies without asking me if I want them?’ His dad turned around on his office chair and took off his reading glasses. ‘Because son, if I’d have asked if you wanted me to order them you’d have said no, and I know you want them deep down. You can’t afford them, and you’d not order when I’m here even if you could, so I just ordered them for you. Save you the anxiety. You’re under no obligation, they’re there if you want them’. Chapter 5 - No obligation Tom’s days were not as full as they could be. He’d get up, have breakfast and then go on the job hunting sites. If there was anything to apply for, he’d apply for it. Generally though he was done by lunchtime and scratching around for something to do. Today was one of those days, he’d applied for one job, he didn’t really like the sound of it, but it was that or apply for nothing. He went over to the pack of nappies that had just arrived and pealed them open. They were the same make as the ones he’d bought, but these were the highest absorbency ‘Ultima’ version. He pulled one out, and held it. Just holding it in his hand gave him a buzz. He un furled it and felt the contrast been the smooth plastic outer shell and soft padded inside. It gave him a magical, warm and excited feeling inside. He slowly pulled down his jeans, then his boxers and laid himself on the bed. Slowly and carefully he pulled the nappy up snuggly between his legs and securely taped it on. Instantly the day went from empty and dull to a whirlwind of emotion. He no longer felt bored, he felt excited. The nappy, that his own dad had bought him no less, sat comfortably and reassuringly between his legs. He reached down and felt it. The bulk was considerable, his man parts locked away beneath the thick padding. He laid on his bed in just his t-shirt and nappy, just enjoying the moment for a while, before lifting himself up from his dreamlike state to stand. The nappy pushed between his legs. As his walked over to his mirror he could feel its presence with every step. He looked at himself in the mirror. He liked what he saw, he thought it looked both cute and smart all at the same time. … “Knock-knock” ‘Hi son I’m done, fancy a walk?’ Called his dad through the door. Tom dived to the floor to grab his jeans and then tried to pull them on in a panic. As he did, his door started to open. Before long he was standing there in front of his dad, trousers half up in a t-shirt and nappy. ‘Ah, you tried one’ said his dad. ‘Like em?’ ‘Err yeah’ said Tom. ‘A bit thicker’ ‘Yeah, I thought well, if you do wet yourself, these will last you a bit longer’. Replied his dad. Tom didn’t know how to reply to that. His instinct was to say ‘I don’t wet myself’ like before, but in truth he was thinking about giving it a go, given how difficult it was to use the loo. ‘I can’t go for a walk in this’ said Tom, pointing to his nappy. ‘Why?’ asked his dad. ‘Err, why do you think?’ Replied Tom. ‘No, genuinely Tom I don’t know why’ his dad replied. ‘Tell me’ ‘People will notice!!’ said Tom. ‘Who’s going to notice?’ said his dad incredulously. ‘You can’t tell it’s there under clothes’ he said confused. ‘It’s a private thing, no one knows what underwear you’ve got on, get over yourself’. Tom finished buttoning up his jeans. They were actually a little tight with his Tena Ultima nappy underneath. ‘I’m going to take it off’ he said as he started unbuttoning again. ‘Right’ said his dad authoritatively. ‘I’m supportive, but to a point. I won’t have piss all over the bathroom and I’m not having you waste nappies by putting them on, then just taking them off again moments later. They’re expensive. Do up your bloody trousers and stop being silly’ Tom didn’t really know what to say. He stopped unbuttoning. ‘Does it really not show?’ ‘No son, it doesn’t’. Now come on it’s a nice day, let’s get some fresh air. … As Tom walked along the bulk of the nappy was present with every step. Both he and his dad were fast walkers, but in his nappy and tight jeans he was struggling to keep up a little. It was a beautiful day. They went to the park, had an ice cream and on the way back walked past the local pub. ‘Fancy a cheeky pint?’ Asked his dad. They often went into the pup together. ‘Yeah, why not’ said Tom. They both had a couple of pints before it was time to leave. They didn’t talk about Toms nappy at all, mostly about the Traitors on TV. ‘Ok, I’m going to pop to the loo and then we’ll head off’ said his Dad. ‘Ah yeah, me too’ said Tom. His dad stopped and looked at him. ‘You do make me laugh, why are you doing it to yourself? You can’t wee all over the floor in a public bathroom, it’s rude and disrespectful’. Tom looked at him, kinda accepting that he had a point. Whilst it felt so crazy to wet himself, as his dad became more accepting and as Tom was waddling around in the nappy anyway, it felt increasingly silly to not use it for what it was designed for. ‘The thing is son’ said his dad. ‘They deteriorate after 4-6 hours anyway, so you gotta change it whether you use it or not, you may as well use it. Tom stood and waited whilst his dad went to the loo. He was breaking his neck, but he couldn’t go. Something in his brain was telling him no. He couldn’t just wet himself right there in the middle of the pub! As they walked back, Tom was getting increasingly desperate and his dad noticed. Tom was walking quicker and quicker and couldn’t stop grabbing his crotch. His bladder felt like it was going to burst. ‘Stop walking a minute’ said his dad, stopping himself. Tom stopped, the urge unbearable. ‘If you don’t let it go you’ll hurt your kidneys. That’s what I did, it was agony for days. That’s why I’m trying to help you. Just go, you don’t have to be embarrassed in front of me’ With that Tom’s bladder burst, right there in the street. Wee poured uncontrollably into his nappy. He stared desperately at his jeans in the full expectation that wee would be pouring down them, but it was not. What he could feel though was his nappy expanding and getting larger and tighter in his jeans. After what felt like forever, he stopped. ‘Come on then’ said his said. As Tom walked on the nappy felt completely different to before. It was much much bulkier, oddly to him though it didn’t feel at all wet. It had clearly absorbed all the wee and left him dry, which was pretty amazing actually, who’d have thought they’d work so well? It felt so strange yet at the same time so comforting to have had an accident and been protected by his nappy. It also made him feel small, having just stood there in front of his dad and wet himself. As they walked along his dad turned to him and chuckled. ‘So I guess that answers my question. You do wet yourself.’ Chapter 6 - Something awkward Over the next few days Tom had worn a nappy on and off, even when wearing all but a couple of very carefully managed wees has been in the toilet, with great difficulty. He was really conflicted about whether to wear one or not. Even though his dad was fine with it, almost encouraging it, he was still embarrassed to talk about it, and felt a little silly with it on. Things had been reasonably normal. His dad had enquired occasionally as to the state of his nappy, but it wasn’t often. Just things like. “If you’re wet son, don’t forget to change regularly”. His dad had also bought him some powders and creams and impressed upon him the importance of good skin care and hygiene. “Wearing nappies isn’t dirty or gross son, but you do need to up your game on hygiene and skin care” he’d said. … As they sat and watched tv that evening, Tom decided he’d do a wee in his nappy. He stood and after a few odd movements he started to wet himself. ‘Good lad, I notice you’re getting better at that’ said his dad. Tom stood a while longer until he’d finished, then sat back down in his now wet nappy and finally said something that was increasingly bothering him. ‘Dad’ he said. ‘Can I ask you something really awkward?’ His dad switched off the tv and looked at him with suspicion. ‘Okaaay’ he said slowly, Tom took a deep breath. ‘Do you like me in nappies?’ He eventually asked. ‘What do you mean?’ asked his dad. ‘Well, like just then, and other times, you seem to be encouraging it. Like you want me to be in nappies and wet myself and stuff’ asked Tom. His dad moved his gaze away for a moment thinking about what he was going to say. Eventually he returned to Tom. ‘It’s not about me, it’s about you son. I just want you to have what I never had, an understanding parent during this part of your life. It’s obviously in our genes to like this. I’ve passed it on to you. I want it to be as easy and enjoyable as possible for you to go through. Not like my experience. I’d have loved my dad to have accepted my nappy wearing, but I never got it, and I never got to find out what he would have done or said.’ ‘I see’ said Tom. ‘Granddad never knew?’ What would you have wanted granddad to do or say?’ Asked Tom. ‘I’d have liked him to say it’s fine, I’d have liked acceptance, I’d have liked….to have…well it doesn’t matter’. ‘No do say’ said Tom. ‘Heck, we’re beyond holding back aren’t we?’ Tom’s Dad paused for a considerable time. ‘I’d have liked him to change me. BUT that doesn’t mean I’m asking to change you!’ He blurted out Tom sat there, looking at his Dad. ‘Do you want to change me then?’ He asked gingerly. ‘No, No!’ said his dad definitely. ‘That’s not what I meant, I wish I’d not said that’ ‘You don’t want to, or you feel like you don’t want to ask?’ ask Tom. His dad looked increasingly uncomfortable. ‘I can’t do this’ he said starting to stand. Tom grabbed his arm like he had his a couple of days before’. His dad sat back down. ‘What do you want from this?’ Asked Tom. ‘Why are you so supportive? Why are you buying them for me?’ Asked Tom ‘Son please’ said his dad desperately trying to end the conversation. ‘No, come on dad, we gotta have this discussion’ insisted Tom. His dad started to claw at the said of the chair. ‘Because I remember how much I wanted to go back into nappies, and if I’m honest a part of me still does want to occasionally. I remember bottling it up for years, the anxiety of trying it, hiding it, feeling wrong and weird. When I discovered you’d inherited this from me I decided I didn’t want you to go through what I did. I wanted you to be yourself, be happy, fulfil your desires, be content in yourself’. Tom didn’t know what to say. His dad went on. ‘And if I’m completely honest, I want to share in your joy of it, in a way I never got to. Sorry I know that’s selfish, I don’t want to put you under any pressure, this mustn’t be about me’. ‘I really do appreciate that dad, thanks so much’ said Tom as he came over for a hug. ‘Have I got it right?’ His dad asked ‘What do you mean?’ Asked Tom ‘Do they make you feel how I think they do?’ ‘They do make me feel happy and relaxed’ said Tom. ‘A kind of contentment I’ve not felt in a long time’. ‘Then tell me son, tell me why you shouldn’t wear them as much as you want?’ After a long pause ‘When I say I’m not asking to change you, please don’t think it’s because I wouldn’t. If you asked I’d be right there for you, but I’d never put you under any pressure to, you know that don’t you?’ ‘Yeah I know that dad’ said Tom. ‘I’m not sure that’s something I could handle, at least not now’.

I have a fair lot of this already written and published but thought I would share here too. I will release a new chapter every week and then continue it solely on here. Chapter 1 Laura was your average 15 year old girl. She was of a medium build, pretty without being stunning she was in the last year of secondary, an all girls school, and was achieving good but not spectacular grades. She was perfectly normal and average in every single way accept one. She had always struggled to keep her bed dry at night. Her parents had taken her to see numerous doctors who couldn’t find anything medically wrong with her and when she started having accidents during the day her parents took her to see a psychiatrist as the last doctor advised it could be a mental issue rather than a medical one. While at he therapy appointments Laura discussed a number of issues in her childhood and the stigma of being a bedwetter. She recalled the first time her friends found out about it. She was 11 years old and away on a school residential trip. Her mum had packed her Drynites for her that she new she had to wear every night to help keep her bed and bedding dry. However she couldn’t find a good time to sneak it out her bag and put it on before she fell asleep. She woke up the next morning to the sound of laughter and yelling as her roommates found Laura in a pool of her own urine and a very stained bed spread. Due to all the noise a teacher knocked on the door and one of Laura’s friends opened the door and explained to Mrs Smith that Laura had wet the bed. Mrs Smith told Laura to take a shower. While Laura was in the shower Mrs Smith told the other girls not to make fun of her and help strip her bed so the camp site could wash it. After the bed was stripped Mrs Smith took the liberty of picking out some clothes for Laura to wear that day. As it was a crisp spring morning she laid out a grey and silver Nike tracksuit some knickers and a training bra for Laura to wear. As Mrs Smith was going through Laura suitcase she discovered an unopened pack of Drynites and realised this probably wasn’t a one off that Laura had wet her bed. She sent the other girls in her room to the canteen for breakfast and waited for Laura to come out the shower. While Laura was in the shower she started to cry. How could she be so stupid? She knew she needed her Drynites but she was so worried about her friends finding out about her special night time underwear but now the situation was much worse. As she got out the shower she heard Mrs Smith tell the other 5 girls in her room to go to the canteen and have breakfast. She was at least relieved that she wouldn’t have to face them when she came out the sanctuary of the bathroom. She wrapped her towel around her and waited to hear the door shut as the other girls left. However she didn’t hear the door shut but she could no longer hear the girls voices so assumed it was safe to come out. As Laura exited the bathroom she was a bit taken back to see Mrs Smith still in her room and sitting at the end of her bed with clothes laid out for her including underwear and the unopened pack of Drynites. She took a big gulp before thanking Mrs Smith for helping deal with the situation. “Don’t worry about it” said Mrs Smith “However we do need to talk about these and why you chose not to wear it last night” Mrs Smith pointed to the pack of Drynites. “I know I need them Mrs Smith but I didn’t want the other girls finding out about them and I couldn’t find a good time to put them on discreetly” Laura said wiping away a tear from her eyes. “Well because we’ve had this issue I’m going to give these to Mrs Applewhite who is looking after the medication and other medical needs for all the children on the trip. We need to make sure you’re wearing them every night so after you get ready for bed knock on Mrs Applewhite’s door and she’ll help you get them on. In the morning, after breakfast, line up with the other students for their medication and she’ll help you get them off and then you can get dressed for the day” Laura didn’t like the word help being in the sentence and while she knew breakfast was early and had been planned that all students would still go in their PJs she didn’t feel like eating in what was highly likely to be a very wet pull up. “Mrs Smith, can I not just put them on and off myself” “No my dear, we need to make sure you are wearing them and the best way to do that is to get Mrs Applewhite’s help. Your mum had asked for us to update her every day on your situation so Mrs Applewhite needs to check you in the morning and report back to your mum.” “Oh, ok” Laura sighed. “Now I’ll go and close the door as I leave, get dressed and join us all for breakfast” and with that Mrs Smith left the room, pack of Drynites in her hand, and closed the door. Laura sat on her bed and had a little cry about how stupid she had been not to put it on before bed and now she was no longer in control of when she was wearing them and for how long. She cleared her mind, got dressed and started making her way down to breakfast. As she entered the dining hall an audible hush fell throughout the hall. Word had clearly got out about the girl that wet her bed and as she was the only child fully dressed it was obvious who it was. She put her head down and headed to the buffet to select her food. She filled her plate with sausage, egg, bacon, mushrooms and Hash Browns. She got a glass of water and went and found a seat on the table assigned to her room. She sat down had a quick look at all her roommates and exchanged some awkward smiles and again she put her head down and focused on her food. Just as she finished her last bite Mrs Smith announced that breakfast was over and everyone was to go back to the rooms and get ready for the day. Once back at the room with the other girls Laura just sat at the end of her bed and watched as the other girls took it in turns to get showered and then dress for the day. The first girl to get ready was Laura’s best friend Amy. After Amy was ready she motioned for Laura to join her on her bed and gave her a big hug. “I’m sorry” said Amy “I tried to stop them telling people at breakfast but they wouldn’t shut up about it and now everyone knows”. “It’s ok” Laura said solemnly. “It’s my own fault” “How?” Asked Amy “I should have put my protection on. Then no one would have known!” “Protection?” Amy asked looking confused. “Well it’s not the first time I’ve wet the bed” Laura confessed to Amy “so my mum has me wear these things called Drynites. They are basically pull ups for older kids who still wet the bed. I know I need them but didn’t want you all to know about them but now the situation is much worse” Amy gave her friend a hug “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. We’ll have a fun day and you’ll forget all about last night and this morning” and with that Amy grabbed Laura’s hand and ran out the room to the meeting point to start the days activities. Laura had a fun day doing rock climbing, archery and air rifle shooting. She stayed close to Amy all day, hardly leaving her side. Some children in the group activities did stare at her and some tried to call her names but Laura tried to just shut it out and Amy would hold her hand when she caught wind of it. Laura felt a strange feeling whenever Amy took her hand. She felt protected and safe and Laura started to enjoy that feeling. Amy noticed every time she held Laura’s hand she felt Laura relax and knew it was helping her friend. That evening after dinner Mrs Smith announced everyone was to get ready for bed and then meet at the meeting point as they were going to have a camp fire that night. Laura’s felt her tummy tie up in knots. A whole camp fire while wearing all her night time clothes didn’t sound fun. She managed to get Mrs Smiths attention and asker her when she had to see Mrs Applewhite and Mrs Smith confirmed that she would need to see her as soon as she had her PJs on. It was not the answer she was looking for. Once back in the room she found that her bed had been made with fresh bedding. She was glad that she didn’t have to make the bed herself. As she sat down it made a loud tussling noise. Amy looked over at Laura and both girls looked confused. Not knowing what it was Amy stood up and started getting ready for bed. Once in her PJs she announced she was going to Mrs Applewhite’s room to get some medication. Amy gave her friend a knowing wink and off Laura went. As she reached Mrs Applewhite’s door she took a big gulp and started to knock. “Come in” Mrs Applewhite announced from behind a closed door. Laura pushed the door open and was greeted to the sight of Mrs Applewhite and Mrs Smith smiling back at her. “Ah Laura my dear I’ve been expecting you. Sit on the bed while I get your supplies ready.” Laura did as she said at sat at the end of the bed while Mrs Applewhite went to her bathroom and returned with a Drynite and some wipes. “Stand up and remove your bottoms please Laura” Mrs Applewhite instructed. “Miss, why are both of you here?” Amy asked as she started following the instructions Mrs Applewhite gave her. “To protect all of us Laura. To make sure nothing happens to you and to protect us if you try and make any allegations against either of us. It’s also why I left the door open when it was just us two earlier today.” “Oh ok” Laura said now standing naked from the bottom half down infront of her teachers. “Also my bed now makes a rustling sound, do either of you know why?” “That would be a plastic sheet, now step in” Mrs Applewhite said as she held out the oversized pull up for Laura to step into. “Why does it have a plastic sheet on it?” Asked Laura as she slipped each leg into the leg holes of the Drynite. “It helps protect the mattress if you leak onto the bed. The activity centre said it was mandatory because of your accident last night” Mrs Applewhite said as she pulled the pull up over Laura’s bottom gave her a quick check of the leak guards and a Pat on her back and told her she was good to go. Laura felt the smallest she’s ever felt. Almost like a toddler having her pull up put on her for the first time that she can remember. She was just about to open the door to go back to her room when Mrs Smith coughed “Are you forgetting something Laura?” She said. Laura was just about to step outside wearing only her PJ top and her pull up. She has forgotten to put her trousers back on. She quickly turned around grabbed her bottoms and put them on before hastily thanking both teachers and running back to her room. As she made her way back to her room she could feel the padding on her bottom as she walked but wasn’t sure if it was obvious to everyone what was underneath her PJs. She opened her bedroom door and all the girls were now ready in their PJs and about to head out. Laura forgot that she hadn’t used the toilet all day and set out with the other girls to the meeting point and onto the camp fire. She whispered into Amy’s ear “is it noticeable?” Amy had a quick look and although she could see it a little bit it wasn’t to noticeable and decided to lie to her friend and tell her she couldn’t see a thing. After a short walk a clearing in the woods came into view with a big open fire and logs placed all the way around for the children to sit on. As they all took their place and were handed a cup with hot chocolate in and a pack of marshmallows and a stick to roast them over the open fire Laura felt a tingle in her bladder telling her she needed to pee badly. Her arm shot up in the arm and Mrs Smith acknowledged it. “Can I use the toilet please Mrs Smith?” “No Laura, toilets are back at the rooms and I can’t let you go off on your own without adult supervision and I can’t leave Mrs Applewhite here alone with this number of children. You’ll have to wait till we all go back in about 30 mins”. Laura was in trouble, she wasn’t sure she could last the 30 minutes without having an accident. After about 20 minutes of struggling to stay dry Laura stood up to get her rubbish that just blew away in the wind. As she bent down to pick it up a stream of urine hit her pull up causing Laura to jolt back up in shock. She stood there frozen in fear as her bladder continued it’s involuntary release into her pull up. Laura couldn’t believe it. She had never had a day time accident since she was potty trained at 3 but here she was wetting her pull up like a toddler. She quickly tried to regain focus and control but her bladder had already emptied and the absorbent padding of the Drynite was getting to work soaking it all up. As Laura put her rubbish in the bin Mrs Smith declared the camp fire over and started walking all the students back to their rooms. She caught up with Laura and reminded her to use the toilet before going to bed. Laura looked a bit embarrassed especially as she had just soaked her pull up but lied and said she would. Laura didn’t tell Mrs Smith as she didn’t want anyone to know she had a daytime accident. She figured she could hide it as a night time accident in the morning and no one would know. Laura struggled to get off to sleep in an already saturated pull up but after what seemed like an hour of tossing and turning she finally drifted off to sleep. Laura woke up to the early spring sunshine creeping into the room through a crack in the curtains. As she rolled over she rolled directly into a huge wet patch in the middle of the bed that startled her awake. She felt all around her and realised she had completely soaked the bed and her PJs. It appeared as if the Drynite didn’t do a thing to help her last night. Then she remembered she went to bed already wet. There must have been no capacity left in it. She waddled over to Amy and woke her up. “Amy” she whispered “can you get Mrs Smith for me please”.