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Author's Note: This story is generally inspired by Altered States and You Know What They Do To Girls Like Us in Brighter Days by Chels in Ribbons. While there are notable differences, I used much of it as inspiration, and credit can never hurt. Initially, this was called Growing Pains, but after outlining a new structure, I found that enough had changed to merit a new direction, making it easier than clumsily editing the existing work. There & Back Again Part 1. Growing Pains Prologue, vignettes of a changing world. The leader of the JNP party(Jefferson National Party), Thomas Hillbrook, took the stage to a cheering crowd. Thomas for his part did look presidential, with light brown slightly greying hair, and a warm infectious smile “Thank you, thank you! Despite everything, despite them trying to steal this election, you fought like hell. You voted for it, and we’re here!” he looked over the adoring crowd, his inauguration would surely be bigger but the throngs of people cheering for him was still the larger then he could’ve ever hoped for “We did the impossible; we took a third party to the White House. You took me to the White House, and I promise you there will be changes around here. Results are still coming in, but it seems we took a lot of the House too!” Cheers erupted from the crowd. “I promise you that under my administration, we will return to better times. We will purge Marxism and postmodernism.” Madison Hawkins shut off the TV in disgust. It was a disgustingly gorgeous day in November. For the rest of the month, and most of October it had been rainier than she had ever seen it and t However, a warm patch had come in a few days ago, bringing temperatures in the 50s with clear skies. The beautiful weather felt like a mockery to her; her country had just elected a man who didn’t believe she should be able to vote until she was 30. The sky was blue, and the birds that hadn’t flown south for the winter were out in full force. At least she was in New York, where she felt relatively safe. 1 year before. “Whoa, you got a haircut?” Madison said, sitting up from the couch, genuinely surprised. . In the nearly 3 years she’d known him, Lucas Rowland had never had his hair less than shoulder length. Now he sported his auburn hair in a short, utilitarian cut. Tall and Lean he had gotten Lasik a few months ago, The Nerd look he had carefully cultivated for many years was slipping away, Lucas frowned, looking slightly put out. “The guys and I were talking... I think it’s time to take things more seriously.” He gestured at his head. “And, well, that kind of hair doesn’t exactly say that, does it? “The guys?” Madison raised an eyebrow. “Since when are your lab coworkers ‘the guys’? Isn’t the lab mostly women anyway?” At this, Lucas looked truly uncomfortable for the first time. “ “Was. Mostly women, I mean. We had to move. Or let go of most of the women. Our lab can only operate with some federal grants, and a lot of the women were just out of grad school, so they weren’t 28 yet.” Madison stared at him. “Wait, what? You had to let them go? I thought that I only applied to management positions. Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” “Because... What was I supposed to say? They changed it to cover ‘advanced’ positions as well, and as fuzzy as that language is, it definitely covers researchers. Look, Madison, I don’t like it either, but my lab doesn’t exactly draw in millions from private equity or whatever. It was either move the female employees under 28 into other positions or shut down.” “Wait, you’re saying they’re doing secretarial work? Like what, getting coffee for you, Like it’s the 1950s?” She groaned, the sick feeling in her stomach deepening. “This is unreal, Lucas. How can you even...” She trailed off, unable to find the right words. “Well, a lot of them are planning to move overseas. And he said quickly, I wrote glowing letters of recommendation for all of them, even the ones who were not great at their jobs. I think a lot of foreign universities are receptive to what’s happening here and are hiring them. But the ones who stayed... yeah, they’re doing secretarial work that they’re very overqualified for.” He sighed, sitting down on the couch. Madison looked at him in disbelief, her jaw clenched. “And what, you're just okay with that? With all of this?” “No of course not, if our research, doesn’t get funded 25 people including those highly overqualified women doing demeaning work will be without a job, and that doesn’t help anyone” “for people to just accept it this is exactly what they want, Lucas, to ‘go along’ so they don’t lose funding or their jobs. And now... look at you, god I barely recognize you, you used to have fire, you slept in trees so they wouldn’t get cut down, what changed?” she nearly begged him, he had so much conviction back when they first met, and that’s what made her fall in love with him, but now he was bowed, defeated. I’m sorry Maddison I can’t get rid of 25 people's jobs, I just can’t” his arms crossed defensively. “Fuck” she said standing pacing back and forth “I know your right,” Madison said. 1 1/2 Years Before “3 2... 1... and we’re live! Welcome to the John Flint Show! We have a very special episode for you this week. Not that all my guests aren’t wonderful, but this week we’re joined by someone very special: the President of the United States, Thomas Hillbrook. Hello, sir, it’s an honour.” “No, no, the pleasure is all mine.” John gestured around the hotel room they were in. “We’re not in the studio today because of scheduling conflicts, but I tested the audio, and it should be fine.” The two men sat in a large, spacious hotel room’s living area, both wearing tight suit jackets, button-ups, and jeans. “With your recent ban on women under the age of 28 from working full-time and holding ‘advanced’ jobs, what’s your next step?” ” Well you know John the next few steps are cultural if girlfriend or wife are out of line, it's really simple you wouldn't let your teenage daughter flip you off at the dinner table, and you shouldn't let your wife do the same if she's going to act like a child. You gotta treat her like one if you're a bad girl. You’re getting a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it’s not going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” “ah… well uh” John spoke clearly taken aback but the monologue, “ what about on the policy side of things” It was hard to make John blush, he had done NASCAR commentary for years before starting his podcast, and people saying stuff off color was basically the job. And yet even John was taken aback by the man's remarks. I’ve been talking about raising the age of majority to 28 as well with my advisors, marriage used to be about handing off the wife from, the father to the husband, I think having, more years where they can just focus, on being either girls or trying to get, married would only be beneficial” -the podcast meandered on that course until rapping up in the following days, John released a statement on his Instagram, stating that the views expressed were not reflective of the show, but then on the very next episode claimed that Hillbrook was simply using “poetic language” 1 years before “God damn it! Fuck, I can’t even apply till I’m 28. They want my real ID for the application.” In less than a year, she had lost everything. Her bank account was in her parent's name, and if she ever actually got married to Lucas, it’d be in his. She wanted to scream. Hell, if the government found out she was living with Lucas, he’d be sent to jail and she'd be sent to an etiquette school, of course, the alternative wasn’t much better marriage class they’d have to take had away from shifting people not nearly as much as the etiquette schools but enough —she was 26. All legal barriers were gone by then; the measure raising the age of majority to 28 had passed within less than a week, and within days, job application sites took you to a verification site where you had to post your ID. Her logins for her doctor and banks had changed; she was basically property for the next two years. “Fuck,” she said again. Lucas was sitting on the couch. “Don’t swear,” he said, with the resolute look of someone who knew there was going to be a fight, but there was no helping it. “Maddy, you need to break that habit so you don’t do it out in public.” Madison whirled around. “Fuck them! I don’t care.” “Maddy, you know if someone reports you, you could get sent to one of those etiquette schools, and no one wants that. You always make me the goddamn bad guy. I’m trying to keep us safe. As soon as you turn 28, you can leave the country again, and we’re out of here, but until then…” He said, shifting back and looking uncomfortable. “When in Rome.” She stared at him. “When in Rome? What, you want me to be a submissive little girl you can take care of? Is that what you want? Turn on the TV. Look at the commercials. They’re making all the little stuff bigger. Why do you think that is? Do you think that’s a natural rise in popularity? The skirts, the pajamas— the socks, the panties they’re infantilizing us. I heard in Alabama you have to have an ID to buy a goddamn pantsuit. First the spankings, now the clothes—who knows what’s next? You want to ‘when in Rome’ that?” She said forcefully. Hours Later. Madison was curled up in a chair, making her way through A Crown of Swords. At any other point in her life, she would have skipped that particular book, but not having a job left her with time to kill, she guessed. Her genuinely hoped-for well-meaning boyfriend approached her. “Look, I’m sorry. I want to drop it, but this is a legitimate concern. I’ve heard horror stories about etiquette schools. Those people came back... changed. I don’t want to lose you, Maddy. Let’s just do this: a swear jar. If in the next six months, you don’t fill it up, I’ll pay you what it would have taken to fill it up, plus a punishment. And if you fill it up, I get the money and get to punish you. It’s almost like fantasy football.” she sighed "Fine deal" 1/2 a year before. Lucas, sat up in bed, his smartwatch buzzing to wake him. Sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing sleep from his eyes he stared at his girlfriend, he had accidentally pulled down the sheets when he had gotten out of bed, and he was met by the sight of her sleeping body so peaceful, she was wound up so much these days, it was nice seeing her relaxed even if it was only in sleep. She was wearing a black lacy bra, and girlish panties with stars on them, the only ones she could buy now, Lucas felt a guilty pang, he found the panties far more appealing than the bra, but that conversion could never happen it couldn’t have happened before and certainly not now. He got out of bed and walked down the hall towards the bathroom. A few years ago, the walls were filled with pictures of them and their friends hiking, whitewater rafting, and going to Ren fairs. Stupid stuff, really, but they’d been happy. Now all evidence that Madison lived here was in a box they’d shipped to one of his former colleagues in Spain. After the shower he started to get dressed, a few years ago he would've had to google how to Tie a tie now his hands did it automatically. He was no longer the lead researcher quietly that had been taken from him, he hadn’t been outspoken politically for years but it still cast a long shadow. He headed to the kitchen where Madison was up making coffee for him, “you don't have to do that you know” he said, she had recently started doing more than her fair share of the chores, without ever acknowledging it. “I know,” she said quietly, pulling the coffee filter off of the Chemex. She sighed, “ I need to be useful in some way and if that means, making your coffee well… I guess this is the way I can do it. Anyway I’m not sure if they even want a housewife anymore,” she said laughing bitterly, “They want a woman to be submissive and infantilized, I have a lot of time to watch Tv while you're at work, I’ve heard what the party line is, it’s changing, before losing my rights was like an incentive to get married, now they’re even IDing married woman for the “mature” clothes it’s weird psychosexual bullshit”. Lucas again felt a twinge, that psychosexual bullshit was something he was all too familiar with, trying to keep his face composed, “If you want to help around the house more that’s fine, I just don’t want you to lose yourself, I feel like this is how it starts. Also, you just swore” Madison rolled her eyes “Really Lucas, fine” Madison wasn’t making her own money but her parents and Lucas gave her allowance, and from that was the money taken, she pulled out her wallet from the shelf, and dug out a one and walked over to the corner where “the swear jar” was, Lucas noticed something, a small flicker of nerves at the corner of her face, he stood up and noticed something the jar, was nearly bursting with bills, madison had made very little effort in the past to crucial her swearing at all, “God damn it, Maddy, why do you keep swearing?” He gestured to the overflowing jar. “You know this isn’t just about putting money in a jar! You could get in real trouble for this! You’re playing housewife—which I never asked for—and now this?” Madison looked at him, her eyes flashing with frustration. “I’m not doing it on purpose, Lucas. It’s just…” “Just what? It’s dangerous, especially with everything going on. You could attract attention! And now you’re acting like this is a joke!” She stood still, the tension palpable between them. Lucas reached out, pressing down on the stack of cash crammed into the jar. “I trusted you’d be careful. But this? You’re crossing a line.” He upended the jar, spilling more than $200 in singles across the table. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he muttered, “Well, I guess if the strip clubs ever open back up, at least I’ll have plenty of ‘fun’ money ”. He frowned, “I have to go to work, but I don't think this conversation is over.” (Start of new stuff) Lucas flicked on the radio, as he pulled his car out from the parking garage, into the bright Rochester day, a local news broadcast, fuzzed to life. The weather report reported mid-70s a low chance of rain for the rest of the week, it was followed by some sports talk, that talked about Jeffery Long's last session as a professional football player talking about the legacy of the game and so on, it was all white noise to Lucas as he drove, more focused on, how exactly they would avoid detection for the next few years if they were to get married, the marriage classes, did tend to affect the personalities of both parties, but a few of his coworkers had gone through it and they were still the basically same people different sure but still the same.. But still, if they went poking around in either Madison or his head who knows what they'd be fine. ? Just then, he noticed the audio had shifted, the faint jingle of an ad beginning to play drew his attention, and a feminine voice started talking, “They grow up so fast, don’t they one minute they’re just your little girl The next, they’re getting married, if you want to extend their time at home try Tinklex, the only over the counter diuretic, that is proven to increase day and nighttime accidents. Not like a man is going to take your girl away if she can’t keep her panties dry”. Lucas felt his heart begin to race if only the AD knew how wrong that was, thinking of Madison, he imagined her crossing her legs, she was clearly desperate to use the bathroom. He would ask her if she needed to use the potty, and she would refuse, " I don't hafta", and he'd ask if she was sure... he cut off the lecherous thought with ferocity shoving it into a dark corner of his brain, shame, and desire spiraling in his mind, years ago he had started to accept his feelings, a fetish that he couldn't get rid of but now he couldn't he stared into the void and it looked back. The rest of the drive passed in silence as he tried to shake off the shameful thoughts. A financial report came on next, noting a massive rise in stocks for incontinence products which again sent Lucas flush with shameful furtive desire Finally, Lucas pulled into the parking lot. Calming down he locked his car and shoved that part of him down, he wished he could talk to Madison about his fantasies but he didn't know how to explain to her when it didn't hit super close to the themes of the authoritarian takeover over much less now. Entering the building, Lucas swiped his keycard at the door, and strolled down into his cramped office Lucas was tidy but even so the office was filled with paperwork and books scattered about. he began the day, as he was checking emails when Graham, Lucas’s boss knocked, and then let himself in. Graham had Lucas's old job and was as far as Lucas could tell as committed to the new regime as anyone could be. “Good morning buddy of pal,” Graham said with a shit-eating grin, "I have great news, you’re getting promoted”. Lucas frowned, waiting for the other shoe to drop.“You’re being transferred to Washington as a chemist,” Graham said. Lucas stared at him. “You know I’m not a chemist.” “Nonsense! Didn’t you get a B.S. in chemistry from The College of William and Mary? That was you, right?” “Yeah, but that was just my undergrad. I haven’t worked in chemistry in years.” “Perfect!” Graham continued, ignoring Lucas’s hesitation. “Oh, and you can bring Madison along. You should be getting married soon anyway—we’ve allowed this, uh, ‘torrid affair’ to go on long enough.” Lucas tried to plaster a look of confusion onto his face ”Madison, who's that?" Graham gave a mock sigh. “Fuck off Lucas don't try that shit with me, believe it or not, I’m not a sociopathic Machiavellian. Just a regular Machiavellian,” he smirked. “But you know full well that if you don’t get married, you’ll end up in prison, and Madison…” He let the threat hang. “She’ll end up as a ‘doll.’ I’m doing you a favour here. Go to Washington, they'll test some new experimental therapies on you guys, and we’ll let bygones be bygones.” Lucas felt his pulse quicken, but he forced himself to stay calm. “Right. Thanks…for the favour.” Graham grinned wider. “Good talk. I’ll send you the paperwork by the end of the day. Just remember—this offer is the best you’re going to get.” “Wait, why us? Why are we being targeted specifically?” “Oh come now, liberal academics we have a record of personality tests you took in college you know, you people,” he said lip curling “Never know when to heel,if we can get people like to bend then the biggest critics of well this, can learn to stop worrying so much as it were, that would be great, consider yourself lucky. With that, he turned and left, leaving Lucas alone with the grim realization of what his so-called promotion really meant. Numbly he went through the rest of the Day, stopping only to text Madison that something big had happened, he’d pick up take out and she should get herself ready. By ten he realized that there was no longer any point in doing work, and he started to wrap loose ends. His lack of responsibilities being as they were he barely had anything to do and by 11, he had the paperwork to start his new life on his desk, Graham once again, a picture of cheerful mailance as he dropped it off. Not bothering to finish the work day, Lucas left early, and drove around the city for hours, in numb certainty that his life was about to change for the worse. Eventually, it was time to go home. He grabbed some Mexican food and made his way home. When he arrived, he found Madison sitting at the kitchen table. The swear jar was still upended, its contents scattered across the surface. A flash of irritation surged through him, reminding him just how little Madison seemed to care about keeping herself safe. He stifled that impulse. Beginning to talk he quickly surmised how the day had gone, when he was finished, Madison breathed out “fuck that really sucks” and once again the flash of irritation surged through him. “Maddy we have to be so careful, we are walking a tightrope. Once you get your passport back we can leave, we have two years- we can do this, we can survive this.” “Fuck you Lucas, l I barely leave the house, I am being careful”. Madison, stood hands shaking. Lucas stood up as well“You are not being careful enough, I’m sorry”, he caught himself, trying not to get angry, she didn’t get it, they just needed to be careful for a few more years, and they could be free, sacrifice just a little more, and they had a chance to get out of this. Madison brimming with righteousness once again told Lucas to go fuck himself did he not understand that she did every bit of her life she gave over to be careful, her postdoc had been revoked, and she stayed in the house all day, how could he not understand that, he latched on to one little thing she refused to change, and focused on that like a needle. Lucas strode over to her and picked her up, “I still have my punishment, you owe me from that swear jar” he bent her over and roughly began to spank her. Emphasizing each word with a swat, “this” “is” “what” “they’ll” “have” “me” “do” “to” “you”, *smack *smack *smack, he began to cry, and let her go “I’m so sorry I just don’t know what to do” he said hyperventilating “I don’t know what to do.” She recoiled from him for the first time seeing something ugly inside of him. “The same ugliness she saw in herself, she saw fear, and she resolved herself, they would get through this, she would protect him, they would get through this. Chapter one. Present day. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Washington DC. Our nation's capital The local time is 4:30 pm, and the temperature is hovering around 40 Fahrenheit, we should be ready to disembark in about 45 minutes. Thank you for flying as always Spirit Airlines, Madison and Lucas sat next to each other staring out of the window. Madison looked down at her wedding ring, it wasn’t even a wedding, they had met up at the courthouse and her parents had driven from Boston, and the whole thing was over in an hour, it wasn’t how she had imagined getting married, but Lucas, being the one, did somehow soften the blow. Their relationship had settled down quite a bit since the night Lucas had brought the news. They were less tense around each other but Madison trusted him less, something she regretted especially now that they were married. They landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The rest of the trip to their new apartment passed in a blur. When they finally arrived a surprisingly nice brownstone awaited them, none of their things had arrived nor was the power or water turned on. So they sat on the floor of their new kitchen and had a picnic, with some of the things they picked up from the store. Madison, spread peanut butter on her sandwich, feeling a slight pang in her bladder, she quietly “Lucas, when will the water be turned on?” “uh, sometime tomorrow I think, Lucas said slightly offhandly. Madison grimaced, “Oh ok”. “Oh why, do you need to use the bathroom” Lucas tried to seem as causal as he could he wasn’t entirely sure if he was able. The Nod that followed, sent Lucas’ thoughts racing, “well we don’t have a car, and it’s a bit late to call an uber, I guess there's probs a gas station or something around here.” he said guiltily hoping she would said she could wait till morning. And then the magical words happened and the excitement crescendo. “Yeah, I’ll just wait till morning. As night fell at Rowland's house, Madison carefully sipped a bottle of water, as she and Lucas settled into the quiet of the empty house. The plane ride had been exhausting, leaving her dehydrated and a little light-headed, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go to the bathroom before they landed—nerves, perhaps, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Lucas. She glanced at him as they walked, He looked around with a scrutinizing gaze, assessing each corner of the house like he was already mentally mapping it out. As they reached their bedroom, everything first appeared normal sleek new hardwood, a window facing into their small backyard, and a spacious master bathroom. As she walked into the bathroom she noticed something with a Dawning sense of dread: a large adult-sized changing table connected completely with padding and restraints it was mounted to the wall. Underneath a row of large plain white diapers and a note. Hands shaking she reached out and picked up a note she read, “Enjoy the housewarming gift, Lucas, your girlfriend will be needing it soon”-Graham Merchant. Madison's bladder decided to twinge once again this time she winced as a tiny drop of pee came squirting out making her panties ever so slightly damp.

Now for something entirely different. This is another babyfur story of mine (one that actually got inspired by @Panther Cub's stories, actually; if you are a fan of babyfur stories, check them out), but it's got very heavy themes. I promise to warn you when they come up. EDIT: About critique, feel absolutely free to tell me what I'm doing wrong; in fact, I encourage it with all my heart! I want to publish this under my pseudo penname in books for AR/AB stuff, and in order to publish without mistakes and errors, I absolutely need to know what I've done wrong. If you can't find anything wrong, then tell me what you liked, please! These things make me a better writer. I'm not soft when it comes to critique, and I'll always listen to it. Now, on with the show: Chapter One: Guilt and Shame - Constantin Tremblay woke up with a large yawn, the American ermine stretching his limbs, his tail and whiskers twitching with anticipation for the first week of August, the first week of his sophomore year of high school. Then he smelled something funny. He took off his blanket and gasped. No. No, it can’t be! He had unmistakably wet - no, soaked was more like it - the bed. His thoughts were frantic. It’s just got to be a bug. A summer bug. Can’t be FIID. It can’t be that, no, summer bug, it’s just a damn bug. Fallout Incontinent/Infancy Disease, the hidden scourge of the weapon known as Project A, the weapon that turned the world’s then-humans into humanoid animals way, waaay back in the time of, like, the dinosaurs (technically in 1963, during the Kennedy administration, but still) affected about a tenth of all middle and high schoolers. It was a horrible disease, turning those kids into what basically amounted to teen toddlers. No, he was not going to have that. He was already hiding being trans from his parents; he couldn’t have that as well. Already cost me friendships. Can’t have it cost my family too. With those thoughts, Constantin gathered his night clothes and sheets, quickly putting them in the washing machine with a lot of bleach, before turning the bleach toward his bed. Then the shower. The thing he hated the most, his dysphoria clearly showing there. His breasts, unmistakably showing his outward sex, hiding the powerful man he knew he was. He hated them, hated them. The ermine made sure to take a longer time in the shower than normal, washing every single part of his awful body to get the smell off of him. He put on his clothes: baggy black jeans, a loosely-fitting black T-shirt, and combat boots. Thank whatever gods existed - not that Constantin believed in a god; if there were any, they wouldn’t have made him like this - that there wasn’t a school uniform for anything other than basketball; it would’ve sucked if he was forced to wear a skirt or dress. Then he did the gel in his short hairfur, spiking it up. Then his glasses. He hated that he needed glasses; it made him look nerdy. Yeah, he got decent grades, but it was his basketball career that he cared about. His parents were fine with it because they were former jocks (Dad played soccer; Mom was a former cheerleader.), but… He shook his head furiously. He was going to have a good day at school, damn what the morning wanted him to think. Constantin let out another yawn, making a small breakfast for himself (his parents were off on their high-paying five-to-five jobs, so he was fairly self-sufficient.): just regular cereal and orange juice (breakfast of champions!) before he got his stuff packed and ready for school. He noted the silver coin on the countertop with Mom’s signature (payment for lunch and a thinly-veiled demand for “Marie-Claire” to join cheerleading) telling him to take the coin (which he did), and let out a sigh, exiting into the morning light. The ermine was early for the school trolleybus (it was rare for animals to have a car, since the gas-guzzlers had stopped being produced after the Fallout, and electric cars were only used by the rich...like his dad and mom), getting on with a nod at the driver, an elderly gorilla who nodded back at him before the trolleybus sped off. Constantin sat at the back, relaxing and almost nodding off with rock-n-roll music, before a familiar voice woke him up. “Hey, you’re taking my spot.” He opened his black eyes to see an ocelot, her amber eyes appraising him cautiously. He knew her. Allyson. Allyson Blood, his former bestie before…stuff happened. Mainly because Constantin never came out as trans to her (to anyone, really), and felt uncomfortable around girls nowadays (he was definitely attracted to girls, which made things…complicated.)…but partially because Allyson had gotten FIID, along with…his other two former friends. She was wearing a pink onesie with cartoon cats that did nothing to hide the fact that she was wearing a very thick diaper, and had a pink pacifier clipped to the neck area of her onesie. Her spotted tail flicked nervously, as she clutched a stuffed saber-toothed tiger in her paws. “Then take it from me if you can,” Constantin said in a bored tone. “It’s my spot. I’ve had it all of last year, Marie.” He looked at her, her eyes watering with tears, and a guilty feeling gnawed at his heart. “I…fine, take it,” the ermine muttered, shifting over so Allyson could get her body into the seat. “Thank you, Marie,” the ocelot said gratefully, popping in her pacifier and sucking nervously. “Whatever, I didn’t know it was your spot,” he muttered, hating his high-pitched tilting female voice. “Sho…I shee you’re doin’ bashketbaw?” The pacifier muffled her words, almost cutely. Not cutely. She’s just a damned overgrown baby now. Your friendship with her is over, let alone anything more. And yet… “Yeah, I figure that since I’m on the girl’s team…yeah.” “I’vf sheen your gamesh. You’re reawy good.” “Eh, I’m decent.” A lie. He had already gotten scholarship offers - women’s, of course, but one or two men’s teams as well - from high-profile colleges all across the United States, despite starting this year as a sophomore. “Don’t wie. I’m onwy FIID, not shtupith.” He looked at Allyson, seeing her glaring at him. Still intimidating, even though she was dressed as a baby (especially since she was bigger than he was). “I said I was decent. What’s there to lie about?” “Whatever.” The ride continued in stony silence, as more and more students - and teachers - got on the trolleybus. Constantin noted with dread that the ride had picked up his two other former close friends: Haylee Kilgallen the black-backed jackal and Krysten Peppers the long-eared owl, both of them sitting on the opposite side of him, both clad in similar attire to Allyson (only with a stuffed unicorn for Haylee and a stuffed roc for Krysten). “Hi, Marie!” Krysten said excitedly. “It’s been a while…” “Krys, she made her choice,” Haylee said coldly, her paw on Krysten’s wing feathers, as Constantin felt another gut punch of guilt. It’s not like they’d be your friends anyway. You’re not a girl, never were one. There’s too many issues, too many problems, and they’d stop being your friends if they knew the truth. So why did he feel so guilty and ashamed? “Hey, MC!” a voice cut through. The ermine looked up (way up; the speaker was a giraffe) to see his fellow basketball teammate (and fellow superstar), Xenia Chaconas. Xenia had a smirk on her face, as she said in mock sympathy, “I didn’t know you were FIID, MC. You wearing a diaper, too?” “I’m not,” Constantin huffed. “I’m just sitting with them, that’s all.” “You don’t have to sit with them, you know,” the giraffe continued. “You could sit with the big girls and talk with us.” “Yeah, but I just wanted to listen to my music, not talk,” Constantin growled. “Then sit somewhere else!” Haylee snapped at him. “We don’t want you here.” The words cut straight to the ermine’s heart. Haylee was someone who would fight off the legions of hell for someone if they were her friend. To hear that from her… “C’mon, Lee, you don’t mean that…” Krysten twittered nervously. “I do, Krys. She’s not welcome to sit with us anymore.” “Aw…you hear that? It’s almost like they’re talking!” Xenia cooed mockingly, as Constantin reluctantly got up and walked with the giraffe, who sneered, “I’ll come by the nursery to see you three later.” “Hey, MC!” “Yo, MC, what up?” “Howzit goin’, MC?” The words of Constantin’s fellow basketball teammates felt hollow to him; using the initials of his deadname as a nickname was almost too much to bear, and yet…he knew they meant no malice with it; it was all they really knew. They don’t know you. Your old friends did. And they don’t ever want to see you again. The guilt and shame grew in his heart, so much so that he almost wanted to cry. But he couldn’t. Not in front of his teammates. He felt a large arm snake around his shoulders, the hoof grabbing on to him, as he turned to see…Dragan. Dragan Lazarov. The superstar of the soccer team…and his wannabe boyfriend. The impala planted a kiss on the ermine’s cheek, to his inner disgust. “Hey, MC,” the soccer player rumbled. “You doing okay? Xenia’s not giving you too much grief, is she?” “She’s fine,” Constantin said, wanting Dragan to get the hell away from him, he wasn’t interested in boys, he was never interested in boys. “You know, I was thinking about a date, you know?” “Dragan…” “A date it is, then! How about we see that R-rated movie, huh?” Constantin squirmed under Dragan’s gaze. “I’m a little busy…” “Too busy for me? Blasphemy.” A smirk. The ermine hated that smirk. “C’mon, your dad, my dad, we know each other. It only makes sense.” He looked at the impala. Just because their dads played soccer on the same professional team didn’t mean he was interested in Dragan. Not. One. Bit. “I’ve got a lot of other things to do,” Constantin said, a hint of finality in his tone. “It’s a date then! You know where I’ll be.” The school - Frederick Frost High, the biggest public school in Chicago’s suburbs - came into view, and Constantin could not wait to get off, which he did…but out of the corner of his eye, he saw his three former friends get off as well, along with a fair few other obvious FIIDers, saw the two feline caregivers, what were their names, oh, right, Colleen and Carolina Cross, give assistance, and something drew him over to them, as he hid behind the school tree (a blooming oak tree, one of the few trees left after the Fallout), watching Allyson start to cry as her diaper was checked. “Aww, it’s okay, Ally, you’ll get potty training down eventually,” Colleen the caracal cooed, wiping the ocelot’s tear-and-snot-covered face with a wet-wipe in her paw. “Uh oh, looks like we have a couple of other stinkypants on our paws!” Carolina the serval announced as she checked Krysten and Haylee, who both looked embarrassed and on the verge of tears. I…they were my closest friends. What have I done? What the hell have I done? Was this really worth it? Don’t be a pansy. Of course it was! You and them…it wouldn’t have mixed. You’re on the girl’s basketball team. You’re a top basketball recruit in the nation. They’re going back into their second toddlerhood. And you didn’t have a choice. No, you ALWAYS had a choice! YOU chose to leave them when they needed you the most! YOU chose to hide everything about yourself! YOU chose to live a damned lie every day instead of being honest! You deserve EVERY bad thing that comes your way! You don’t deserve true friends! The feelings of guilt and shame tore him up, and he slumped down the tree, starting to silently cry. - Well, here's hoping for the best for Constantin~ Feel free to review, tell me what I did right, what I can improve on, or even something you liked; that helps me, as an aspiring authoress, more than just blind praise.

Well, I watched Deadpool & Wolverine...and I loved every moment of it. I also love The Boys for their gritty, somewhat, realistic take on superheroes. Along with the current situation and...real-life events, I think I'd try my hand at a superpowered individual adult baby story! There are also similar elements taken from The Handmaid's Tale and Dragon Age's mage situation (a very fun video game series). As such...a lot of mature themes will be in this story that, quite frankly, delve just as deep into the potential of a new Gilead, and the content warnings are as such. There is sexism by not only the men leading the country/world towards women - both trans and cis - but by the goddess towards men as well. It will be handled delicately, but at the same time, punches will not be pulled; to do that would disrespect everything that's happening in the world today. If you're still with me, I hope you enjoy this story~ - Chapter One: (Another) Brand-New Day. - “Wake up, lovelies! It’s time for a brand-new day.” The melodic feminine voice of Mommy snapped Kirsteen Calhoun’s - better known to all as “Chrissy” - eyes wide awake, peering at the room around her. Pastel pink was everywhere, the mobile hanging above her crib. She let out a yawn and rubbed her sage-green eyes with her mitten-clad hands, noting her pacifier falling from her mouth, the soft fuzziness of her pink-footed sleeper she was dressed in. Then crying echoed around the room, and she knew that some of the other fifteen-year-old girls in this place had realized that their diapers were utterly soiled. Of course, she knew that her diaper was far from clean as well, but she wasn’t going to cry like…them. She was a big girl, she could hold it in. She remembered…remembered a time where that would be unthinkable…but that time was when she had a male body, male expectations…none of which felt right to her, and those days were blurry, like a whisper in a fog, ghost-like and silent. She had been transformed on her tenth birthday, utterly transformed from boy to girl in her sleep. The Nullifiers came immediately after, took her away, sent her to one of the many Classrooms across the United Region of Biblical Interests…Urobi, for short. Thirty girls to a Classroom, basically an overgrown daycare and nursery for those girls who were Dicers, girls with supernatural powers, chosen by the roll of a dice. The Goddess had cursed them with it, they had learned; the Goddess, under a cruel whim, had decided to babify a third of girls around the world, take away their ability to control something a simple toddler could forever. This was a kindness, Mommy said, until they could grow up into big girls again. But Chrissy knew that something was missing, knew the story was just that: a story, only made to frighten little girls like her. Her powers weren’t fancy: she had the constantly active ability to discern anything, through walls, through different floors, even through the truths and lies of people themselves, but her powers, her curse, was efficient enough to know that something…something… Her brain wasn’t functioning again, and the uncomfortable squelch in her diaper told her she desperately needed a change, so she did the only thing she could: cry along with the twenty-nine other girls. A large group of adult women - the Aunties - then entered the room, all of them wearing floor-length dresses, some of them bearing the obvious baby bumps of pregnancy. Soon enough, Chrissy and the twenty-nine others (including her cribmate, a girl named Briar Droney) were quickly and expertly changed. An Auntie with her brown hair expertly braided in a bun (in contrast to Chrissy’s dark-brown pigtails with beautiful pink ribbons in pretty bows to pin them) put a bib on her before she realized that the morning bottle was next, filled with breast milk made by the numerous breeders. As she was wearing mittens, it was all but impossible to grasp the bottle, so the Auntie fed her. A large bit of the milk dribbled from her mouth to her bib, but she managed to finish it all. She could tell that the Auntie didn’t particularly care for the job, for her or any of the other girls. None of them did, really; it was just an upgrade compared to the rights of most women in Urobi. There was even something off about Mommy… Chrissy’s brain immediately became fuzzy again, as the big girl thoughts vanished, as she drummed her legs and squealed excitedly for the day to begin, not even caring about the spurt of pee that entered her very thick diaper, as the Auntie set her back into the crib. “Chrissy?” She turned around to see Briar again, talking to her, the brilliant green eyes of her cribmate complimenting her curly flaming-red hair. Even dressed as infantile as she was in a pink footed sleeper with a pacifier clip spelling out her name completed by a pacifier that stated “Princess”, the obvious thickness of the diaper around her big hips, her cribmate looked genuinely beautiful with a much bigger bust than hers (not that hers was small in the slightest), a nice butt (even if it was covered by a diaper), and a heart-shaped face with cute freckles. “You okay?” Briar asked in a pure Scottish drawl. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Chrissy mumbled in her own Irish brogue, while chewing on her pacifier, forcing herself not to blush. “I hope we all learn something today,” Briar said wistfully. “Like ABCs, 123s, and that stuff? Nah.” Chrissy knew - she knew she knew - that males were taught more than females, more than the stuff that girls, and especially Dicers, were taught…but what were they? What were they… “No. The story about…the Goddess.” The redhead had a dreamy look on her face. “You mean the bedtime story we’re read every night?” Chrissy rolled her eyes at the thought of it, the same stupid story that she knew wasn’t true. “A fairytale?” “Every fairytale’s based on something. I wanna learn more.” The two paused the conversation. It was the same conversation they always had when they woke up, always about learning something new, even when nothing new was really learned…but Briar was Chrissy’s only real friend. The other girls didn’t like her as much, she thought, as it was too easy for her to discern their true thoughts, if they were telling the truth or lying. Nobody liked having a living lie detector around them, nobody wanted their secrets spilled, and thus, trust and kindness was an option they couldn’t, no, wouldn’t afford her. Briar was different. She was the smartest girl Chrissy knew, but was fun-loving, hid nothing from anyone, and cared about everyone. And she didn’t treat Chrissy any differently because of her powers. Like everyone else. The other girls. The Aunties. Even Mommy… With those thoughts, she felt an Auntie pick her up and set her in a giant pink stroller with Briar, ready to be whisked away for a new day of learning. The hallways were that of a typical daycare for girls: pastel pink, with cutesy female human doll caricatures all around them. The strollers were fun and had nice toys to play with as the long stroll from nursery to daycare began. But there were no stuffed animals, nothing that could define anything other than humanity. Chrissy could remember having a stuffed animal a long time ago, but the animals - both stuffed and real - were all…gone, except for the usual hideously mutated farm animals that she had seen a few times outside of the walls - animals so horrifying that they weren’t even really animals to her, just…meat. What was the word…gone? No, not exactly right. Bye-bye? No, definitely not that. It started with an “e”. What were words that started with “e”...? What was “e”...? Her thoughts were quickly regressing into infancy again, and she let out a soft babble through her pacifier as she batted at one of the toys. Then Briar poked her. Gently, yet still a firm poke that brought her thoughts back to...well, not exactly adolescence, but close enough. “What did you poke me for?” Chrissy said with a slight pout, feeling her comforting pacifier fall out of her open mouth. “Because you look adorable,” Briar said, sticking her tongue out before she grabbed at her pacifier with both mitten-clad hands to put it back in - a skill that Chrissy had yet to master, as she realized that with another pout. Then the long hallway ended at a pair of barred doors, and the Classroom’s daycare began, the start of another brand-new day. - Hope you enjoyed~ I'll see when I can update this story, hopefully soon (as well as my, admittedly, numerous other projects).

Written with a little assistance from ai tech. Chapter 1: What do you mean choose?? Jesse My sister and I walk side by side through the too-quiet streets. I can feel Tessa’s unease. It’s always so close to the surface with her. My twin’s shoulders slump forward. She pulls her arms tight around her torso, bracing against the gust of wind that chills our bones. “Jesse, Mom’s been acting really strange lately, don’t you think?” she asks, chewing on her bottom lip the way she does when she’s nervous. I nod, my own worry gnawing at me. Ever since that mysterious envelope arrived from the school, Mom has been increasingly brooding. She’s usually chipper, despite the way things have been in this country lately. It’s so unsettling to see her like this. She hasn’t been this way since Dad died. Another gust of wind carries the distant sound of machinery through the air. Down the street, construction workers remove play structures from the old elementary school’s recess yard. The building has been abandoned for ten years, since the last of us were young enough to attend primary school. The last child in the country turns eighteen next week. Tessa and I are nearly twenty. We pass the elementary school quickly and quietly, turning our heads away as the construction workers rip the last vestiges of our happy childhoods from the Earth. Once we’re clear, Tessa releases a shaky breath. I can hear the tremble in her voice as she speaks. “You know, Jess, sometimes I wish we could just marry and start families and…” Her voice trails off, and her bottom lip quivers. Marriage is forbidden. Families are impossible. The last world war ravaged our planet and our bodies. Humans have lost their ability to reproduce. Tessa will cry if I don’t say something. She always cries. “I know, Tess,” I murmur. “But, hey. At least we have each other.” We hear hurried footsteps behind us. “Jess! Tess!” We turn to see our childhood friend Nick running to catch up with us. His usually cheerful face is ashen, and his eyes hold a glint of fear. My pulse quickens. “Nick, what is it?” I ask, keeping my voice monotone for Tessa’s sake. “What? Your mom didn’t tell you?” Nick huffs, out of breath. “Tell us what?” Tessa asks. The worry in her voice tells me she’s already imagining the most catastrophic news. I put a leash on my own imagination. “About the letter the school sent home to all the parents,” Nick says. He hesitates, then looks around to ensure that we’re alone. “By national decree, all families have to choose one of their two children under the age of twenty-five to surrender to the government by the end of the week.” My heart pounds. I wouldn’t believe it, wouldn’t even consider it, if I weren’t hearing it directly from Nick himself. His father is the mayor of this desolate town, so I know Nick wouldn’t waste my time with useless rumors. “What do you mean choose?” Tessa shrieks, and then takes off, bolting for our house, while the harsh truth of our mother’s strange behavior hits me like a train. I thank Nick for the news and take my time getting home. I’ve known for some time that the world has been changing in unimaginable ways, but this seems bleak. What does the government want with us? My mind races as I try to come up with an explanation…and a solution. Somehow, I have to keep our family together. It’s what my dad would want. When I reach home, I find my mother and sister sitting at the kitchen table. Tessa is draped over my mother’s lap, sobbing inconsolably, while my mother just stares blankly into space, pain and horror etched on her face. Her eyes drift toward me as I stand in the doorway. “I didn’t want you to find out like this,” she says. “I didn’t know how to tell you.” A stronger wave of sobs rack Tessa’s slim frame. A lump forms in my throat, but I push past it. “There has to be a way out of this,” I say. “There must be something we can do.” But even as I say it, the words feel hollow and futile. I think of Dad again and wish he was here. He’d know what to do. My mother just looks away. Tessa Jesse and I head back to school the next morning. School halted during the war, so everyone’s a few grades behind, not that it even matters. There are no jobs for our generation, so there’s no pressure to hurry through high school. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even go to school, but the law requires it. The streets are as eerie and silent as ever, and my sister hardly says a word. I can tell she’s busy trying to think of a plan to save our family. That’s Jess. She always thinks she can fix everything. She should know better by now. This world sucks, and it’s going to keep sucking. We pass the old elementary school again, and I shudder with the creeps. The swing sets, slides, see-saw, jungle gym…it’s all gone. Everything I loved when I was little. Where all this playground equipment once stood, now there are large wooden crates. The construction workers have been replaced by painters who prime the school’s outer walls. I glance nervously at Jess. She just offers me a firm, reassuring smile. Like everything’s going to be okay. I offer a weaker smile in return. The high school yard is abuzz with chatter when we arrive. It seems like everyone knows about the decree. “Did you hear?” one girl whispers to another. “The Buchanan’s tried to run. They didn’t want to give up either of their sons. The police arrested Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan and took both boys.” I gasp in horror. When I turn to Jesse, I can tell she heard too, but she refuses to let the determination fade out of her eyes. It’s impossible to focus on my classes, and it’s not only me. As I glance around my first hour, I see students fidgeting and whispering when the Mr. Barris isn’t looking. As he writes on the whiteboard, Mr. Barris sighs mid-sentence. He sets his marker down and turns around. “I’m sure you all know by now that this afternoon, some of you will be taken away,” he says. “I suppose I should also tell you that, after today, this school will close. Those of you who remain will be sent to a new school—a new college of sorts.” My eyes widen. College? Those closed down years ago. I wonder if Jesse’s teacher is telling her the same news. She’s always been a stronger student than me. A guilty feeling nibbles as my conscience as I wonder which one of us our mother will choose to give away. At lunch, we sit with our friends, Nick and Lucas. Nick’s face is greener than usual, like he’s going to be sick. “What’s wrong?” I ask him. Jesse shoots me one of her pitying looks, as if I’ve asked a silly question. Nick’s hand trembles. “My dad told my brother and I his choice this morning,” he says. “He’s keeping Ethan.” Something catches in my throat. Tears blur my eyes. “Nick, I’m so sorry,” my sister says. “This is all so terrible.” Lucas, one of the most handsome guys in school, slides a hand over my sisters. “Jesse, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promises. A twinge of envy passes through me. Lucas has had a crush on Jesse for as long as I can remember, and she’s not even the one who wants a boyfriend. Jesse says nothing, and I resent her silence. Why is she so distant toward him? I’d be all over him, if only he’d look at me. A terrible thought creeps into my mind, a thought from the darkest corners of my heart, but I can’t help it. I can’t help hoping that mom chooses to give up Jesse and not me.

Anna is a very unfortunate young woman. Orphaned at a young age in a country that believes women are inferior and infantilizes them she is adopted and has to grow up in a society she knows is unfair. Today is a big day. It is her graduation from high school but it also much, much more. --- This story is long and has been quite the project. It's been worked on for 18 months! I just want to make it very clear going in that I do not condone women being treated unequally in any way. I do not condone any group being treated unfairly. This story is set in a dystopian world that isn't meant to reflect on any existing country. --- If you enjoy this story you can see the next part RIGHT NOW on my Patreon page! https://www.patreon.com/posts/sallas-part-two-71795546 My writing is my sole income so I appreciate each and every person who can help me pay the bills and fill the refrigerator. For $5 a month you can see everything I post one full week before the rest of the world. For $10 you can see the updates early AND you get access to 41 stories that are EXCLUSIVE for patrons. I post two updates of 2,000+ words a week. For more information on additional patron tiers and rewards (such as discounts on commissions or free stories) please check out my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/Elfy88 Thank you everyone who supports me or who visits my page to check it out ❤️ --- Sallas By Elfy Anna woke up with a feeling of dread. As she sat up in bed she felt her diaper crinkle wetly and as her eyes adjusted to being awake she saw her childish princess pink bedroom coming into focus. From the princess posters on the wall to the unicorn bedsheets everything was designed to be as feminine and childish as possible. It would’ve been great for a child but for eighteen-year-old Anna it was a reminder of her miserable situation. It was a big day for Anna but one she was not looking forward to in the slightest. In fact she had every reason to believe it would be the worst day of her life. She relaxed her bladder and wet her already damp diaper. She had desperately tried to maintain her bladder and bowel control which was very much unlike most girls her age. She was eighteen-years-old and today would be the day of both her graduation and marriage along with thousands of other women across the country. Anna swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was thankful at least that her adoptive parents hadn’t put up the side of the crib, when they did that it meant she was trapped until someone let her out which was beyond humiliating no matter how many times it happened. Her light nightgown went down just past her knees but the embarrassing underwear underneath showed through. She opened the cabinet at the bottom of her bedside table and pulled out one of the only reminders she had of what felt like a completely different life. The photo album that Anna pulled out was well-worn from how often it was handled and flicked through. She opened the book to a random page and saw a photo of her family from eight years ago, the smiling girl in the picture was unrecognisable to Anna now. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the events that had led to this place. Anna’s parents and sister had travelled to Sallas on business eight years ago. Sallas was, and is, a very wealthy and powerful country that was also horrendously misogynistic. Women were little more than children in the views of the men that ran the country. As such women didn’t work and had very little rights, many weren’t even potty trained until their marriages which were often arranged by their fathers. “Why did you bring me here…” Anna whispered under her breath as she ran her finger over the photo. Anna’s father had business to conduct and had brought the rest of the family for a vacation. Although the society was misogynistic women that weren’t from Sallas were usually treated equally and at the resort the family were going to stay at they would be fine. Anna couldn’t remember much of the vacation at this point but she remembered the day the whole family went for a drive into the countryside, she remembered the truck coming the other way and the next thing she knew she was in the hospital. Anna was the only survivor. She was too young to memorize contact details and after a cursory check for family back in her home country Anna was sent to an orphanage. She was adopted shortly afterwards and had been living with this family ever since. The photos were all she had left. Not much else had survived the crash. It didn’t take long at all to realise that life in Sallas was very different from home. “Anna!” The booming voice of Harold Abbott, Anna’s adoptive father, seemed to make the floor shake, “Get your butt down here!” Anna sighed as she put her photo album away. As soon as Anna had been put in care she had had to learn the customs of Sallas. She still had nightmares over the tantrum, punishment and diapering on her first day in the care home. Even for a ten-year-old it was a huge culture shock and she had never accepted the position all other girls took as inevitable for them. Anna remembered trying to tell the other girls that none of this was normal. She remembered trying to explain to them that outside of Sallas girls weren’t treated like this. Most of them looked at her as if she was an alien whilst a few openly mocked her desire for equality. Back in Anna’s former country she had loved going to school. She had enjoyed all her lessons especially science and math, but these weren’t options for a woman in Sallas. The last eight years of her schooling had been about making sure she knew her place, about making her a good wife. It felt like her time at school was let about teaching her things and more about building a brochure that could be presented to men who were interested in her. She hated every minute of it and frequently got into trouble, she just couldn’t accept this state of affairs. Anna knew better than to make her father wait. Harold certainly didn’t share Anna’s progressive views on women and it felt like Anna had spent half her time in this house being punished for one reason or another. Anna stood up and felt her diaper sag slightly. She pulled her nightie off and replaced it with a loose fitting pair of pants and a shirt. As Anna walked downstairs she could heard her adoptive mother, Michelle, bustling around in the kitchen. Like a good housewife she was preparing breakfast for everyone. Anna walked into the kitchen and slumped into the chair opposite her father. Harold was leaning back in his seat and reading the newspaper. She felt so many emotions for what was to come that day but they were nearly all negative. “You know I don’t like when you do that.” Harold grunted as Michelle put a plate of toast down in front of Anna. “Huh?” Anna looked up from her food. “Pants are for men.” Harold said as he lowered his newspaper. “I’m just wearing it here.” Anna said quietly, “I’m not going to wear them outside.” “You better not.” Harold warned, “You don’t want to be sent to Finishing School…” Anna shivered. For once she agreed with her father. The “Finishing Schools” were basically brainwashing camps. Women and girls who didn’t toe the line were sent to these secretive places and were never the same when they came back. No one really knew what happened inside those walls and it was a good reminder to Anna what could happen any time the men in her life wanted. Anna’s small teenage acts of defiance would stop as soon as that scary place was mentioned. “Is your dress ready? Your gown? Oh you must be so excited! Can I get you a drink?” Michelle buzzed around Anna like a bee. Anna felt bad for her mother who had always grown up in these oppressive conditions but she felt even worse for herself. She had an arranged marriage planned for just after her graduation. What should’ve been the happiest day of her life felt like little more than being signed over from one master to another. She only vaguely knew the person to whom she was betrothed, he had been in her grade at school but boys and girls didn’t often interact thanks to their vastly different curriculums. “Yes, I spoke to Ryan’s father this morning.” Harold said as he drank some of his coffee, “He’s very excited.” “I bet he is.” Anna muttered quietly, “He’s basically getting a free slave.” “You’ll be delighted when you see him.” Harold continued as if he didn’t hear Anna, “He seems like a very nice young man. Super ambitious too. He’s going to take over his Dad’s business one day. ” Anna had seen pictures of Ryan. He was taller than she was and was admittedly good looking even if his smile came off as a little insincere. She didn’t know too much else about him except his father was very wealthy and Ryan would be getting fast tracked up the company ladder once he had finished college. It was hard to believe that these were the only things she knew about the man she would be marrying in just a few hours’ time. For men business and power meant everything. In the rigid gender defined society of Sallas a man’s worth could be defined by how much was in his bank account and how many people he had underneath him. All men aspired to climb the corporate ladder as far as possible. “Oh, of course, before you start!” Michelle hurried over again. Anna saw something in her hand and immediately grimaced. “Oh, mom… come on.” Anna complained though she knew it was pointless. “You’ll have to get used to it.” Harold grunted as he flicked his eyes over to look at Anna, “I’ve been too lax with you.” As a bib fluttered down over Anna’s head and she rolled her eyes. The white cloth designed to keep her clothes clean was completely unnecessary. She couldn’t help but shake her head with an ironic smirk. Lax was not a word she would use to describe Harold’s style of parenting, though in truth she knew most girls wouldn’t have got off so lightly with some of the things she had done growing up. Anna looked at the food without appetite. She pushed the plate away from her and looked up at her father. It was an embarrassment to her that every morning she had to wait for Harold to decide to change her diaper so she could get ready for the day. There was something she needed to do before her change though. She hated doing this with people present but it wasn’t like she had a choice. Anna put her hands to the seat underneath her and lifted her butt off the seat. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in the same way she had done thousands of times before. With her cheeks blushing red she pushed down with her straining tummy muscles. It was like an explosion in her diaper as soft lumps were pushed out of her in quick succession. The poop quickly piled up in the seat of her diaper. It’s slimy warmth a familiar if unwelcome feeling for the eighteen-year-old. She kept her ass off the wooden surface of the seat as Harold looked up from his newspaper. He checked his watch and sighed with annoyance before folding the newspaper up. “I suppose you’ll want that sorted out before we leave.” Harold said as he lifted himself up, “Come on. I look forward to not having to do this anymore.” Anna bit her lip before her mouth got her in trouble again. Bred for generations to be unquestioning, most women in Sallas didn’t give their men much trouble, Anna didn’t have that same unquestioning obedience. She stood up and started to follow her adoptive father out of the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder to see her mother standing by her seat and watching her go. Michelle had a troubling look on her face. “Of course you’ll be coming back here after the wedding.” Harold continued as they went up the stairs, “Ryan will need to go to college and he won’t need you there.” Anna knew all this. She knew the plan was to be married to Ryan and then whilst he goes off to college she would stay at home cooking and cleaning. Her further education would be an intensive course on being a good housewife. Then she would be sent off with a man she barely knew to turn into a good little Sallasian woman. Anna followed her father back to her bedroom and walked over to the changing table for a process that had happened countless times in the past. She pulled down her pants without a modicum of shame. She then turned so her back was to the changing table and put her hands on the edge. She jumped and lifted herself up. When she landed on the table in a sitting position she winced, the mess in her diaper was compacted between her butt and the table spreading it all over her skin. That was a feeling she would never get used to. Anna laid back and looked up to the ceiling as Harold gathered a fresh diaper, some baby wipes and baby powder. There was little care in the way he pulled at the tapes on the front of her disposable. This was just a necessary task for the patriarch of the family, something that all men were obligated to do, an unpleasant but unavoidable chore. As Anna felt the cool wet wipes rubbing on her skin she felt a sudden feeling of panic flood her system. There was something in the casual way this was happening that made her shiver, the reality of this being her whole life hit her like a brick. “Please don’t make me marry him…” Anna whimpered as she felt herself tremble. “Anna, we’ve been through this.” Harold replied impatiently. “I want to go back!” Anna yelled now. She felt tears fill her eyes though she tried to rapidly blink them away. She cursed herself for not being stronger, “Just send me back! I’d rather be homeless back home than live here!” Harold had just finished wiping her clean and now Anna knew she had made a mistake. The used diaper was balled up and dropped in the pail at the end of the padded table. Instead of putting her straight into a fresh disposable Harold instead roughly pulled Anna off the table and went over to the bed. “No!” Anna cried out, “I hate this place! I hate you!” Harold said nothing. Anna was pulled by her wrist and as her father sat on the edge of the bed, she was pulled forwards and across his lap. Anywhere else in the world an eighteen-year-old girl getting a spanking would be exceptionally unusual, in Sallas it was very common. Anna kicked her legs out to try to escape but Harold was very practiced with this and his leg tucked around Anna’s to prevent movement. The first spank was enough of a shock to the system that Anna yelped like a puppy with its tail trodden on. Harold didn’t hold back when punishing the women in the house and Anna could do little but pray for mercy as he spanked her rear end repeatedly. “You. Do. As. Your. Told!” Each of Harold’s word was spat out angrily and was punctuated by a spank to Anna’s butt. Anna sobbed as she felt the stinging and heat of her punishment warming her buttocks. Combined with the humiliation she just felt awful. She shook her head from side to side as if saying no to a question. “Your. Insolence. Will. Get. You. In. Trouble!” Harold continued. Anna obviously couldn’t see her butt but she was sure it was bright red by now and probably even had her father’s handprint on it. She wailed loudly like a toddler being punished. She hated crying, nothing made her feel more like the child the men of that cursed country treated has as like crying. She took great hiccupping breaths in between each smack of her bottom which made her exclaim. “You. Will. Treat. Men. With. Respect!” Harold had to shout over the increasingly loud crying. “I will! I will!” Anna desperately cried out. In that moment she was completely earnest but she would’ve agreed to anything if it stopped the punishment. The final spank hit harder than the rest but Anna knew it was over as the hand lingered on her skin. After a couple of seconds she was stood up and facing Harold. He looked disappointed with her. “Do you realise how good I’ve been to you?” Harold asked crossly, “Many men would have had you sent to the Finishing Schools for less than you’ve done over the years.” Anna looked at the floor and sniffed loudly. Her tears rolled down her cheeks unchecked. This was often how punishments ended. Harold would remind her of everything he had done for her. How he had taken her in and given her a place to live and found her a good husband. Anna was supposed to be grateful just because he hadn’t sent her to be brainwashed. Sometimes Anna wondered if it would’ve been better to get re-educated, at least then she might not be so miserable with her place in life. “Do you realise the damage you could’ve done to me and my career?” Harold asked, “Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?” Anna remained silent. It was hard to let the man believe he was the victim in all of this but he didn’t expect nor want to be contradicted. The truth was that Anna could’ve done significant damage to Harold’s position in society. In the competitive, exclusively male world any perceived weakness could be fatal to any aspirations. To allow a rebellious woman in the house was to risk other men thinking you were weak or even sympathetic to them, it was hard to know which would be worse for the man in question. “Get yourself cleaned up, dressed and put some make-up on.” Harold finally said after a protracted silence broken only by Anna’s tearful sniffling, “It’s your big day.”