Roni kept her emotions in check, but beneath her calm facade, she felt a rush of excitement. The idea of manipulating her father made her feel guilty, especially considering Joey’s struggles, but she knew this was necessary. His future—and perhaps his life—depended on it. Sacrifices were part of the greater good, she reminded herself, even if it meant pulling emotional strings she wished she didn’t have to.
Taking a deep breath, Roni met her father’s gaze, her expression composed, the gravity of the moment sharpening her tone. “Well… Joey’s parents are essentially committing child neglect, at least by California law. They abandoned him on the street, leaving him to fend for himself even though he’s still a minor. They aren’t fulfilling their legal duty to provide for him, and…” she hesitated briefly, her gaze flickering to Joey for reassurance. He nodded subtly, as if granting her permission to continue. “…and they’ve said things that could be considered psychological abuse.”
The room seemed to be still for a moment. Roni glanced over at Joey, who grimaced at the mention of the abuse. The weight of her words hung in the air, heavy with the unspoken history of Joey’s strained relationship with his parents.
“On top of that,” Roni continued, her voice steady, “The Generitech person I was messaging told me that California added extra stipulations to their civil rights laws as additions to the Safe Harbor Act a few months ago—the Limbo Statute. It’s meant to protect those vulnerable to Smallara. It ensures that acts of violence, discrimination, or neglect can’t be taken against them before they… well, before they inevitably shrink.”
Mr. Hale furrowed his brow. “Did you say the Limbo Statute? What kind of name is that for a law?”
“It’s short for Limbowski, Jeff” Mrs. Hale chimed in, her voice unexpectedly cutting through the tension. Everyone turned to her, surprised by her knowledge of something beyond her usual social focus, having never put much stock into news regarding Littles.
“Limbowski?” Mr. Hale asked, his curiosity piqued.
Joey cleared his throat, his tone turning solemn. “Yeah…as in Greg Limbowski… He was beaten by classmates just because he was an underbred. He ended up at Mercy General, but they didn’t have any vaccine doses to spare. He caught Smallara overnight, and before anyone could get him to a Generitech facility, it was too late. He… didn’t survive.” His voice wavered at the memory of the photos—the grotesque brutality of it all.
A somber quiet fell over the room. Joey’s words carried a weight that none of them could shake.
Mr. Hale, ever the pragmatist, tried to shift the conversation back to logistics. “So, it’s a protective statute. How does this mean Joey’s parents would give up custody?”
Roni seized the moment. “If we offer not to press charges for abuse of a minor and underbred neglect, we might convince them to sign over parental rights to you and Mom. The public humiliation alone might be enough to scare them into compliance.”
Mrs. Hale pursed her lips, her gaze now focused on Joey. Her heart, so often worn on her sleeve, was clearly on his side, but she understood the risks involved. Joey wasn’t just any child—his parents had power, and crossing them was like crossing the state itself. Still, she couldn’t ignore the boy she’d watched grow up, the boy her daughter loved.
“I think it’s a good idea, Roni.” Joey said aloud. He knew his parents very well, and maintaining the families reputation and status was of great import to them.
Mr. Hale, fingers now drumming more rapidly, turned his attention to Joey. “Do you really think they’ll give up that easily? They’ve got a massive legal team, and they’re rich. We’re… not. We can’t afford a massive legal battle over an underbred, even if it’s one we’ve been close with for so long.”
Joey’s composure faltered for a second at the mention of “underbred,” but he quickly regained it, speaking with the same calm resolve. “Yes, sir. Especially if Generitech gets involved. My parents’ might be influential, but our influence is nothing like Generitech. The company cares about protecting their assets—me included. Once I shrink, they’ll have full legal responsibility. If my parents abuse that position now, Generitech won’t take it lightly.”
Mr. Hale frowned, deep in thought. The reality was starting to set in, and Roni could see the war in his mind—family loyalty versus the social and financial dangers of going against the Calhouns.
Joey continued, his tone soft but firm. “And, Mr. Hale… My parents are incredibly vain. They won’t risk the public finding out about this. Their reputation is everything.”
Roni added onto this “And If word gets out about how they’ve treated Joey, especially with that new law in place, their reputation could be ruined. The Calhouns care about their status more than anything. Public humiliation is the last thing they’d want.”
Mrs. Hale spoke up this time, her voice filled with concern, “What if they don’t care about the charges? They could just drag this out, drown us in paperwork, and ruin our finances. They could even come after us with their resources.”
“That’s a risk,” Roni admitted. “But we have more than just the law on our side. Generitech would be interested in this. Joey is going to be their responsibility when he shrinks. They won’t like hearing about how he was mistreated before that. If Generitech steps in, the Calhouns would have to back off. They can’t go up against a giant like that.”
“And they would…Trust me” pushed Joey, “A lot of the shouting matches we’ve had always had something about not wanting to be involved with Generitech. My father doesn’t want anything to do with them. Even the threat of Involving them in a legal battle would probably be enough to convince them”
Mr. Hale raised an eyebrow, his skepticism still apparent. “So, you’re banking on Generitech getting involved? What if they don’t?”
Joey stepped in this time. “From what it sounds like, Roni’s already confirmed they’d back us. If there’s one thing my fathers instilled in me, it’s that a business is always going to protect its investment, and Generitech is no different. Plus, it would set a president if this did go to court and become public, and that’s the last thing my parents would ever want to be in the national news for”
Mrs. Hale still looked uncertain. “But what about you, Roni? If we take Joey in, you’ll be responsible for him once he… shrinks. That’s a huge commitment. Are you really ready for that?”
Roni softened, sensing her mom’s concern. “Mom, you and dad have practically raised Joey already. He’s been a part of this family for years. He’s basically my brother already. I know I can do this”
Mrs. Hale looked at Joey, who had been quietly sitting through most of the discussion. His eyes met hers, and for a moment, Roni saw the boy she had known for years—the boy who had spent countless hours at their house, the boy her parents had treated like one of their own.
Mr. Hale, however, was still deep in thought. His fingers tapped against the table again, faster now. “This could blow back on us. The Calhouns are powerful, Roni. If they decide to make this personal…”
“They won’t,” Joey interrupted, his voice stronger now. “They care too much about their image. They’d rather cut their losses than risk a scandal. If they see how serious you are, they’ll back down.”
Roni watched as her father’s hand slowed, his fingers finally coming to rest on the table. He exchanged a glance with Mrs. Hale, whose conflicted gaze reflected the same turmoil. The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity, the tension almost unbearable.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Sandi entered the room, Ciara in tow. “Mooom, Ciara won’t stop bugging me about the pie. Can we eat now?” she whined.
“Yeah, mommy! Please? I even cleaned up my toys!” Ciara added, her small voice cutting through the thick atmosphere like a knife.
Joey, ever the gentleman, stood quickly. “I’ll help with that, Sandi. Ciara, come on. If it’s the pie I’m thinking of from Old Sac, it’s going to be really good.”
Mrs. Hale smiled softly, though the weight of the situation hadn’t left her. “Okay, Joey. Just nothing too big for Ciara, alright? She’ll be up all night if you load her with sugar.”
“Promise,” Joey said with a smile, leading the girls to the kitchen.
As the door closed behind them, Roni exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Her parents exchanged another glance, their expressions unreadable.
But Roni knew—she’d planted the seed. Now, she just had to wait for it to grow
1) “The idea of manipulating her father made her feel guilty” and manipulating Joey, can’t forget that. (Though both are for the best)
2.1) “Well… Joey’s parents are essentially committing child neglect” you fucking think?
2.2) ““…and they’ve said things that could be considered psychological abuse.” again I feel the need to ask, you fucking think?
3) “California added extra stipulations to their civil rights laws as additions to the Safe Harbor Act a few months ago—the Limbo Statute. It’s meant to protect those vulnerable to Smallara.” That is a perfect addition to Smallara lore.
4) sucks what happened to Greg Limbowski, but it is actually something on my list of things I thought would happen/wanted to see.
5) “Joey’s composure faltered for a second at the mention of “underbred,” not the first tine it was said aloud in this chapter.
6) “If my parents abuse that position now, Generitech won’t take it lightly.” right, because Genritech is SO good at keeping abusive people out of guardianship and away from littles.
7) Sandi and Ciara relieving tension at the end of the scene was soo good.
6) I would say they are fairly good. you more hear about the exceptions or when they had failed or missed someone. You don’t hear about all the successes.
Real life is like that as well. you only hear about the misses never the victories.
that’s mostly how I feel. I put more blame on how littles are viewed and treated on the government in this universe than Generitech. The Limbowski statue in California i’d say was a near immediate response by them too and would have been spearheaded by the Gracewoods. Public perception would probably see it as protecting their assets which is why Joey would make the same connection, though he was being more analytical from a business standpoint to convince the Hales in this instance, but the reality is that it’s to prevent unwarranted hate just because someone is born different. That’s also why i like the idea of Generitech having a certified legal division available to the public in case something like that happens and it can be reported and evaluated, and if needed, acted upon. like a functioning deterrent, cause who would want to get into legal trouble with something like Generitech lol
1) true. It’s been for the greater good though, and when it comes to joey I don’t think she’d really see it that way, at least not entirely. She’s always had him figured out and even though she’s using that to force him into this, she knows that Joey probably wouldn’t have done anything to try and save himself unless there was an obvious way to do so. Like as smart as Joey is, he’d have never even considered being adopted or trying temancipation , the latter more so because it wouldn’t really solve the issue of him potentially going to a place that didn’t share his ideas on Littles or treat him more as a person who became a little
2.1 2.2) that’s mostly there to help bring the conversation back to the plan after everything emotionally that had just happened and to help with her logic for the idea
3) glad you like it! With the way the government is written in this story I wasn’t sure if state rights were a thing but went with it anyway. Generitech was pretty pissed about the whole thing. I’d even go as far to say that Chloe and her parents were directly involved with the statues implementation.
4) same. I figured it’d have to happen though. Like the way sarah just blatantly refers to charity as underbred in a negative way made me think that there’s gotta be those that would just attack someone for being an underbred or bully the hell out of them
5) I probably could have done that line better, as it was bothering him a lot more than he had been letting on but this was really the first time he let his composure faulter
6) so that’s the really tricky thing with all of this. So far I think there are a lot of checks in place that are supposed to make sure that isn’t happening, and I think we, thus far, have mostly seen it stem from changes in relationship dynamics than pairing a guardian with a smallara victim or smallborn. Chrissy, steph and her mom, haliey, and ellie when she’s had jordan have had their littles best interests at heart. Sarah does too for Jordan, but I think what we’re seeing in smallara proper and from Cindy and Gregs pov is that there is a major misunderstanding on the personality of homo parvus and that’s causing sarahs ideals to change. Hell I even started to like Dayton after this most recent chapter of her training lol but in situations where is a major power shift like Madison and her parents, Sadie and her mom, or Bryce and Mia, i think we see an abuse of power that’s really sickening but they have had a major power dynamic change and that’s probably played a big part in their treatment, but at least in Madison’s case we see her being conflicted and using weird logic to justify her actions
For Kayla and Kelli, I don’t think we’ve seen just enough yet, but they have a strong dynamic that I don’t think that their change in their relationship will mess with it too much. I’m willing to bet we see Kayla do more things Kelli used to like doing just to make sure Kelli can have some semblance of her old life from time to time. I really don’t see their dynamic changing as drastically as the others.
Mallory and Gavin are tough because Guardian Mallory sucks cause she doesn’t let gavin say one damn thing, but person Mallory is caring and protective as hell, and I think we kinda get hints from other stories that she might be loosing up, namely in the recent dayton chapter as when would Mallory ever let Gavin make a joke lmao
Nicole is the trickiest one cause we just don’t see a lot of her and her sister yet, but she seems compassionate and protective of her sister, if not upset that her older sister isn’t taking into account how much Nicole’s really doing for her and Nicole’s probably too nervous to really say anything yet.
Mostly, generitech I think is more handcuffed on what they can do by the government’s laws on animal abuse and the labeling of Littles as pets/property. They probably would have wanted a whole new set of laws and status labels made but lost that battle so they do the best they can. I still haven’t seen the uncaring generitech employee. I bet cindy is embarrassed by her friend at the generitech store seeing her, but her friend probably never saw littles in the same way as cindy did.
7) I loved making that part. my nieces and nephews kinda do that when my brothers and parents are talking about my dad’s medical issues and it’s just too innocent to really be upset about. plus I figured they’d have to show up at somepoint during the talk as what 13 and 9 year old would be that patient for dessert lol
Excellent chapter!
Thank you!