Cindy sat across from Greg inside the cramped habitat, the muted light casting long shadows that danced on the transparent walls. She could see the confusion etched on his face, his eyes reflecting a mix of disbelief and frustration. She had just finished recounting the “teachings” that Madison had imposed on her—the commands, the expectations, the humiliating rituals. Greg had grasped most of it, but she could tell that some aspects were harder for him to process. The distorted view from inside the habitat, where the light warped and refracted off the glass, had made it difficult for him to fully comprehend everything that had transpired.
“She expects us to sit on command? Seriously?” Greg’s voice was edged with irritation, his brows knit together in disbelief. “We’re not dogs, Cindy. Where does she even come up with this stuff?”
Cindy hesitated, the weight of her own complicity pressing heavily on her shoulders. She could feel a flush rising to her cheeks, a mix of shame and regret. “Yeah, you know how kids are these days,” she replied softly, her gaze dropping to her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “Probably some… gremlin at school or something.”
She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she was at least partially responsible for Madison’s behavior. Years ago, she had casually mentioned to Madison and her friends that Littles could be taught simple commands as a form of shorthand—a way to streamline interactions between Guardians and their charges. At the time, it had seemed harmless, even practical. But now, watching her daughter wield those very teachings against her, the bitter irony was almost too much to bear.
The memories flooded back—Madison and her friends practicing commands with their Littles, laughing as they perfected the “Little flick.” Cindy had encouraged it, praising their dedication and ingenuity. She never imagined she would one day be on the receiving end of those techniques, stripped of her authority and dignity.
Greg shook his head, running a hand through his hair in agitation. “I just… it’s hard to wrap my head around all this,” he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief. “We’re their parents. We raised them. And now they’re using all this… this nonsense on us.”
“I know,” Cindy whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She reached out tentatively, placing a hand on his arm. “But we have to play along. For now, at least.” She wasn’t sure if she was saying it to comfort him or to steel herself against the harsh reality they faced.
Greg pulled away slightly, the muscles in his jaw tightening. “This is insane,” he said, standing up abruptly. The confined space made his movements awkward, and he nearly stumbled against the low ceiling. “Do we really have to kneel like this? And why does our back have to be so straight? This is stupid. I’m not going to do it.”
Cindy watched him with a mixture of empathy and apprehension. She understood his frustration—the indignity of it all. “Greg, I get it,” she said gently, trying to keep her voice calm. “It feels ridiculous, but it just takes practice. We’re not used to it, that’s all. I’m not exactly thrilled about it either, but they will make you comply. Trust me, it’s not worth the fight.”
He turned to face her, his eyes searching hers. “What do you mean ‘make me’?” he asked, suspicion creeping into his tone.
She took a deep breath, bracing herself for his reaction. “Both Madison and Krysi know how to do the ‘Little flick,'” she explained, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s a technique where they flick their finger just hard enough to correct a Little’s behavior. Not enough to bruise or scar, but enough to… to make you do what they want. Krysi did it to me earlier. She flicked her finger, and I knelt down immediately. Then another flick made me sit up straight. It’s… it’s quite an experience.”
Greg’s face hardened, a flush rising to his cheeks. “Are you serious?” he demanded, his hands clenching into fists. “They’re physically manipulating you like that?”
Cindy nodded, her gaze dropping to the floor. “I know how it sounds,” she murmured. “But they can make you do it, Greg. The best thing we can do is practice here, quietly, and build up some endurance. Maybe then it won’t come to that. Maybe they won’t feel the need to use the flick as much if we just… comply.”
He stood there for a moment, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. The idea of being forced into submission with a mere flick of a finger was both humiliating and infuriating. He glanced around the habitat—the small furnishings, the artificial lighting, the walls that seemed to close in on them. This was their reality now, and it was almost too much to bear.
“This isn’t right,” Greg muttered, his voice thick with emotion. But as he looked back at Cindy—her eyes filled with a mixture of resignation and quiet strength—he felt his resistance waver. With a heavy sigh, he lowered himself to his knees, his movements stiff and reluctant. The floor was cold beneath him, the position uncomfortable and degrading.
Cindy offered him a small, weary smile. “Yeah, we do,” she agreed softly.
Greg shifted uncomfortably, his knees protesting against the hard surface. “I still don’t see how a simple flick makes you do something,” he grumbled. “It sounded unreal then, and it still sounds unreal now. A flick isn’t mind control. I get that they could use just enough force to not cause actual harm, but this feels like some kind of… fantasy power trip.”
He reluctantly placed his hands on his thighs, mimicking the posture Cindy had demonstrated. A flush of humiliation crept up his neck as he imagined how he must look—kneeling like a chastised child, practicing obedience as if it were some twisted homework assignment from his teenage daughter. The very thought made his skin crawl.
Cindy sighed, her expression one of understanding. “Well, the flick can be used in different ways,” she explained. “There are corrective flicks, which do hurt. It’s similar to spanking a child—painful, but not causing lasting harm. Just enough to leave you red and sore for a bit. Then there are flicks like Krysi used on me. They don’t hurt but they knock you into place, almost like a forceful nudge.”
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “But how does that even work? You’re not a doll. You can’t just be moved around like one.”
“I didn’t think much of it at first either,” Cindy admitted, her voice tinged with regret. “I saw the girls do it when their friends would bring Littles over. It seemed like an appropriate way to correct behavior at the time. I had no idea it would come to this.”
Greg’s expression softened slightly as he heard the remorse in her voice. “You couldn’t have known,” he said gently. “You can’t blame yourself for that.” He paused, a new thought occurring to him. “Wait—girls? As in, you’ve seen McKenzie do this too?”
She nodded slowly. “I was referring to Madison and her friends, but yes, I’ve seen McKenzie use it as well. She’s a high-ranked Guardian, Greg. She’s mastered the technique if she needs it, though I’ve never seen her use it excessively. Only on Littles who need correction.”
He looked away, processing this new information. The idea of his eldest daughter participating in such practices was unsettling. McKenzie had always been the calm, rational one—the peacemaker in the family. It was hard to reconcile that image with the thought of her enforcing obedience with a flick of her finger.
“McKenzie never… I didn’t think she was like that,” he murmured.
“She’s not,” Cindy reassured him. “She doesn’t use it unless it’s necessary. But she’s been trained. She knows how to manage Littles, and it’s part of the reason why she’s so respected in her circles. She’s controlled, Greg. You’ve seen how capable she is. This is just one aspect of that.”
He sighed heavily, the weight of their situation pressing down on him. “I never thought I’d see the day where we’d be on the receiving end of all this,” he said quietly, his gaze distant.
Cindy reached out again, her fingers lightly brushing his arm. “I know,” she whispered. “But we have to learn to navigate it, just like they have. Even if that means… practicing.”
They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound the faint hum of the air circulating through the habitat. The light outside was fading, casting long shadows that stretched across the floor. The atmosphere was thick with unspoken fears and unacknowledged regrets.
Greg finally broke the silence. “It’s just hard to accept,” he said, his voice barely audible. “That our own daughters are… that they’re the ones doing this.”
She nodded, her eyes reflecting the same pain he felt. “I struggle with it too,” she admitted. “But maybe… maybe this is a chance for us to understand. To see things from a different perspective.”
He looked at her, searching her face. “Do you really believe that?”
She offered a faint smile, more a sad twist of her lips than an expression of joy. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “But it’s something to hold onto.”
Greg took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Alright,” he said finally. “Let’s practice then.”
Together, they adjusted their postures, aligning their backs, positioning their hands just so. The movements were mechanical, stripped of any sense of dignity, but there was a quiet solidarity in their shared effort. As they settled into the prescribed position, the weight of their circumstances pressed heavily upon them, but so too did a fragile thread of hope—that perhaps, by enduring this together, they might find a way through the darkness.
Outside the habitat, the world moved on without them, oblivious to their struggles. But within the small confines of their shared space, Cindy and Greg clung to each other, drawing strength from their unspoken bond.
“Thank you,” Greg whispered after a while, not looking up.
“For what?” Cindy asked gently.
“For being here,” he replied. “For helping me… even when it’s hard.”
She reached over and took his hand, squeezing it lightly. “We’re in this together,” she said softly. “We’ll find a way.”
We’re on the cusp of them coming to terms. Greg and Cindy have each other for support. Cindy is realizing the effects of her actions and Greg is learning to deal with it as well. Their ability to confide in one another is the only thing keeping them sane. They have each other and are just barely able to accept their situation. I hope they never split. They’d never be able to do well without the other. But they are on the cusp of acceptance. I hope they reach it soon. My only issue is how the world doesn’t understand that littles have consciousness and sentience. Even if they are biologically different they aren’t mindless and following pre programmed instincts like cats or dogs. They are really just small humans with some biological differences with minds and brains just as complex. You give a cat a hammer it wouldn’t know what to do but we see in other stories they are more than capable of using complex devices like any human and able to create and make complex tools. Afterall I doubt the making of little equipment isn’t done without littles. Unless aside from bonding there are psychological and neurological differences that Asuka hasn’t told us yet.
on the splitting, I think that’s why Kenzie should\will be a bit more involved than Madison is wanting, that way she and Greg can bond in the event there is a separation.
Splitting is talked about in the story its very much unknown in general as its part of who knows what the future holds. Madison could take responsibility for both of them down the road. Maybe McKenzie’s tennis career blows up and she doesn’t have time. Conversely Madison and McKenzie could show grow up normally and end up with families of there own and they have to make real decision on what to do where each taking one and meeting on holidays or something is more workable. The reality is its very much a future looking thought that won’t be resolved in this season.
I would say Greg is further along coming to terms then Cindy is. But they are both making progress from where they started. I won’t really say more as there is such gulf between where I’m writing and where this currently is.
One thing in regards to littles that I think you aren’t taking into account when it comes to your cat and hammer comparison. Is Jordan, Kelli, Greg, Cindy, Bryce, etc. aren’t the typical little. Smallborn littles are the dominant little. When Generitech makes products and things its gears towards smallborns. As gen 1 littles are finite and won’t ever happen again. There are only so many of them. Smallborns are born without any knowledge of ever being anything but a little. They don’t go to proper schools unless there guardian brings them. They don’t know what regular food tastes like unless there guardian gives them some. They don’t automatically know how tools and some things would work unless they are introduced to a little varient of it. So while littles are capable of complex thought smallborn littles aren’t necessarily out of the box as smart without training and the amount of training a little gets does not only costs money either paid by generitech and then passed along to the consumer in a higher pricetag or the little is initially cheaper and then the guardian pays training themselves. But you learn more about this system in upcoming episodes of Madison’s World.
Maybe I should’ve made clear that when I say mental capabilities I mean more so in potential. If a smallborn was given access to the same knowledge they would be just as capable. In the past during times of slavery a person born into it wouldn’t know what it means to be free because being a slave is all they’ve ever known. But when exposed to different ideas, information and knowledge they can develop a better understanding as they are just as capable as anyone else. So it’s more along the lines of saying that littles are just as mentally capable as humans they just don’t have the same access to the same knowledge due to their oppression which has been tailored before they even had a chance. I’m talking more about mental capacity and psychology more specifically.
Yes, I see where you were coming from. In that context you are right. A smallborn would be capable of if given equal opportunity.
“We’re not dogs, Cindy. Where does she even come up with this stuff?”
“Probably some… gremlin at school or something.” dude tge answers in the text, it’s not like Cindy is trying to avoid responsibility with her answer.
she didnt have the best beliefs to have to live through.
Pretty rough. Cindy’s starting to remember a lot of stuff she’s taught them over the years though, so she at least knows what to expect. I do think that Kenzie isn’t going to use the flick very often, if ever. I think her approach is more of a proceed with kindness and respect and it’ll be returned.
The flick would be McKenzie’s last resort, where as it seems to be something Madison is more liberal about.
yeah, i’d be shocked if she actually needed to use it though. especially with Greg. Cindy maybe, but I think just based on their last interaction and what Greg’s potentially told her about how Kenzie feels about Cindy, she isn’t going to want to push her away or anything like that. Especially knowing that she has to be a mother now.
though I guess cindy could push her to it if Cindy didn’t keep her emotions in check when having a heart to heart with kenzie.
Lethal has the right of it. McKenzie has a wide breadth of abilities at her disposal. The flick is just one of that. SO while she has perfected it. It’s not like shes flicking littles on the regular.
i’m pretty sure Krysi did the majority of flicking. I wrote this awhile ago so its possible I’m miss remembering but I didn’t thought it was Krysi who clicked Cindy into a kneeling position and then flicked her again to stand her up right correctly before Madison came back.
That’s kind of my point, she’s liberal enough to let untrained, non guardians flick her littles.
I see what you and Asuka are meaning, and yeah, Madison letting Krsyi flick her littles in general is pretty wrong, moreso due to the fact that they’re her parents. it’ll be even worse when more of her friends come around and proceed to do so.
The only, very slim justification to Krysi being allowed to do it is that Madison considers her a sister and has said as much. so maybe her other friends won’t be allow anywhere as near as much permission to do stuff like that, outside of the one that owns the other little.
It’s good to know, too, that Kenzie has a wider range of tactics to fall back on. I still don’t think she’ll do anything physical outside of the petting so long as her parents can be reasonable, even then it’ll have to be bad for her to do something to cindy, and really, really bad to do something to Greg
I don’t condone cindys beliefs or agree with them personally. However the one bone I will throw her is that most people don’t have deal with every decision and everything they ever said coming back at them like this. Most people wouldn’t want to have to live through every dumb thing we ever had or thought. Even when in hindsight we may have thought better of what we said.
1.1) “We’re not dogs, Cindy. Where does she even come up with this stuff?” lots of fucked up women and men in this world, clearly one influenced her.
1.2) “Probably some… gremlin at school or something.” yeah, must be./s
2) “She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she was at least partially responsible for Madison’s behavior.” Partially? Try mostly, try primarily.
3.1) “Little flick.” what a charming technique, that definitely doesn’t sound like abuse./s
3.2) McKenzie too? That lowers my hope and opinion of her.
4) “It seemed like an appropriate way to correct behavior at the time. I had no idea it would come to this.” cunt, the only thing that’s changed is that you’re the victim now.
5) “She’s a high-ranked Guardian” both your daughters are Kenzie is 23, top 25 definitely impressive, but Madison’s 247 is nothing to sneeze at either.
6) Cindy’s definitely not the same person Krysi took out if the habitat, she’s a lot more submissive and non-resistant now that she’s had her humiliation and torment.
The image accompanying this one adds to it perfectly, Greg sitting in position with his collar on full display while Cindy comforts him really hammers home the message.
1.1) “We’re not dogs, Cindy. Where does she even come up with this stuff?” lots of fucked up women and men in this world, clearly one influenced her.
Lots of crazys who could have possibly infected Madison with this kind of nonsense. The world may never know the answer to this unsolved mystery.
1.2) “Probably some… gremlin at school or something.” yeah, must be./s
Has to be.
2) “She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she was at least partially responsible for Madison’s behavior.” Partially? Try mostly, try primarily.
I mean at this point if I was her I would have kept my mouth shut as well. I figured I would have done enough damage for one day.
3.1) “Little flick.” what a charming technique, that definitely doesn’t sound like abuse./s
It definitely falls in line with spanking a child I feel like where some people are for it and others against it.
3.2) McKenzie too? That lowers my hope and opinion of her.
Well its a commonly taught technique. Its not like its some terrible secret taught under the cover of darkness to guardians.
4) “It seemed like an appropriate way to correct behavior at the time. I had no idea it would come to this.” cunt, the only thing that’s changed is that you’re the victim now.
That is a a big change she never knew her life would come too. Its all fun and games until you are forced to live underneath your own beliefs.
5) “She’s a high-ranked Guardian” both your daughters are Kenzie is 23, top 25 definitely impressive, but Madison’s 247 is nothing to sneeze at either.
Both may be high ranked But I feel like when Kenzie is mad at Madison that is the kind of thing that would be brought up to throw shade in a sibling rivalry kind of way. Madison is the highest rank by far in her friend group. I mean most guardians aren’t even ranked. So to achieve any ranking is impressive.
6) Cindy’s definitely not the same person Krysi took out if the habitat, she’s a lot more submissive and non-resistant now that she’s had her humiliation and torment.
Being flicked and mentally put into place by one of your daughters friends probably has a way of re-evaluating where you stand.
The image came out well for this one. I normally write first and then go back and do images so the text doesn’t always match perfectly as at times I’ve written something that ends up visually being to difficult to depict in a reasonable amount of time or its not possible to create 1 to 1. So its always nice when thinks line up.
2) plus there’s no way Greg wouldn’t already know.
3.1) spanking is complicated, I’m not against spanking, but it has to be something the child actually deserves, and would never be my first reaction. The big issue is that many parents do so because of their temper rather than to discipline their kids.
I got spanked as a child, I deserved maybe a quarter of them (generous estimate) then half were overreactions where I was in the wrong but spanking was too severe a punishment and the rest were me getting hit for bad things falsely blamed on me. (I was scapegoated as a child a fair bit).
3.2) yeah I was hoping it wasn’t part of guardian training and was somethingthey learned online, like that underbred Wiki Daytonread from, I gave them too much credit.
5) man I hope we see Kenzie ask who the higher ranked guardian is during an argument with Maddie, bonus points if their argument is about Greg and Cindy.
6) that woukd be a pretty holiday experience, I doubt I’d ever forgive Krysi or Maddie if I was in Cindy’s position.
Yeah, I often skip over the image and just read, but I look back at the end and this one stood out as particularly well matching.
2) plus there’s no way Greg wouldn’t already know.
He probably knows or at the very least suspects. But there is a point where you are just piling on when someone already feels bad and beat down.
3.1) spanking is complicated, I’m not against spanking, but it has to be something the child actually deserves, and would never be my first reaction. The big issue is that many parents do so because of their temper rather than to discipline their kids.
I got spanked as a child, I deserved maybe a quarter of them (generous estimate) then half were overreactions where I was in the wrong but spanking was too severe a punishment and the rest were me getting hit for bad things falsely blamed on me. (I was scapegoated as a child a fair bit).
Thats kind of why I said its controversial as there is always a reason when it could go wrong or to far but thats also true of the inverse. There is probably many times a child probably did something where they should have gotten spanked and weren’t. It kind of equals out. I’ve always been in the camp that just don’t put yourself in that situation. If you are putting yourself in the situation where it could happen that is a choice you made as well
I to was spanked growing and there were times i deserved and times I didn’t. But my actions normally had led to a place where the opportunity of it happening arose and I made the choice to be there and as a person I need to take ownership of that.
Which is where I kind of stand with the little flick. I don’t love it but also you could just put yourself in a position where its not used on you. If you just listen and do it then they have no reason to flick you. If you want to be a rebel or throw out that you think they are wrong. Then you are also opening yourself up to those consequences of those actions and the ting about consequences is that they aren’t always equal and they aren’t always fair.
3.2) yeah I was hoping it wasn’t part of guardian training and was somethingthey learned online, like that underbred Wiki Daytonread from, I gave them too much credit.
Well I didn’t say it was part of guardian training I Just said its a commonly taught technique. It could be a viral technique that people are just teaching to others. Things talked about on podcasts and youtube videos. Not everything is formal guardian training. There an area between guardian trained, and under cover secret techniques being taught.
5) man I hope we see Kenzie ask who the higher ranked guardian is during an argument with Maddie, bonus points if their argument is about Greg and Cindy.
It hasn’t happened yet. Not that it couldn’t happen.
6) that woukd be a pretty holiday experience, I doubt I’d ever forgive Krysi or Maddie if I was in Cindy’s position.
Yeah, I often skip over the image and just read, but I look back at the end and this one stood out as particularly well matching.
I dont know if you taught someone the little flick and then became a little and tehy used it against you. How mad could you really be as you taught it to them and signed off on it being a good idea.
The images I always kind of debate on. As sometimes I think I could just create a banner and then just update the episode number on it. As I feel like the text is more important. As that would me to create fewer images but when I did have an image it could be more purposeful. But then I do see the other side where some people do prefer the images to the story
3.1) “just don’t put yourself in that situation. If you are putting yourself in the situation where it could happen that is a choice you made as well” i get where you’re coming from, but that logic only works assumes the spanking (or flick) is only happening for fair reasons.
“If you want to be a rebel or throw out that you think they are wrong. Then you are also opening yourself up to those consequences of those actions and the ting about consequences is that they aren’t always equal and they aren’t always fair. ” so littkes should just shut up and take the abuse, or it’ll get worse? That’s fucking morbid.
3.2) I guess you’re right, Sara has flicked Jordan, but never little flicked, (or at least it wasn’t called that) though, Sara could also be the inventor of the little flick.
6) “How mad could you really be as you taught it to them and signed off on it being a good idea” that’s true, it’d definitely cone across as hypocritical.
I agree that the Story is more important than the images, but I also wouldn’t have started reading the story if the images hadn’t caught my attention and curiosity. Something that occasionally bugs me is I you’re longer stories like Chrissy, or brothers, many scenes happen with no images to accompany them.