Roni and Joey: Chapter 23: Of Whats to Come

Tonya sat back in her chair, her toned bronze legs crossed and fingers interlocked as she met Joey’s gaze. He looked at her with unrestrained wonder, and though Tonya noticed, she didn’t mind; she had a good idea of what was on his mind and was more than willing to talk about it.

“So, Joey,” she began with a warm smile, looking up at him, “what’s on your mind?”

Joey blushed at her smile. He couldn’t ignore how striking she looked, even in her smaller form. Her smile lit up the room, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth framed by red lipstick that complemented her bronze skin. Her athletic build and keen fashion sense only accentuated her presence.

“Ohhh, JoJo,” Tonya teased, bringing him back to the moment. She chuckled as Joey’s eyes widened in surprise at hearing the nickname usually reserved for him by Ciara and Sandi.

“Did… did you just guess that?” Joey asked, caught off guard. He kept his voice gentle, mindful of her sensitivity to volume.

Tonya’s smile grew as she leaned forward slightly. “When I called your soon-to-be mom and your sister Sandi, I heard a younger girl in the background. She asked if it was ‘JoJo’ and whether JoJo was okay. I figured that was you.” Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

Blushing, Joey nodded. “Yeah… that was Ciara. She’s Roni’s—my youngest sister.”

Tonya laughed and nodded. “I thought so. Sorry if that made you uncomfortable; I was just trying to lighten things up. You must be pretty stressed and exhausted.”

“No, it’s okay,” Joey replied, his shoulders relaxing as he smiled appreciatively. “You’re right, I have been. I… I really didn’t think this would work, or that I’d even make it this far, until… well, you know,” he finished somberly.

Tonya nodded. “It’s completely understandable. When I found out, I couldn’t do much either. I spent days in bed, pushed away people who said they cared and wanted to help me. Eventually, I had to leave my apartment right after passing the Bar because I couldn’t hold a job anymore due to my… condition.” Her voice softened, reflecting on those early days. “In the end, I called Generitech myself, explained what was happening, and… well, here I am,” she added with a smile. “I got lucky, like you. The difference is, I’m not going to a family that loves me the way the Hales seem to love you.” She smiled warmly.

Tonya sat up a little, her gaze softening as she looked at Joey with warmth. “But this isn’t about me, is it, Joey? There’s something on your mind that… only I can answer, isn’t there?”

Joey’s shoulders slumped, and he nodded. “How… bad is it—or was it—when you, uh… changed?”

Tonya pursed her lips, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she considered his question. “Well… for starters, I didn’t feel anything, if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s painless but… sudden,” she began. “For me, I was lucky to be living in a Generitech-owned apartment. They had… monitors, for lack of a better term, that notified them when I changed in my sleep.”

She paused, looking at Joey intently. “If there’s one thing you need to understand about this, it’s that you need to be within range of someone at all times. It’s dangerous to be left on your own for too long after you change.”

Joey’s brows knit together, his expression puzzled. “What… what exactly do you mean? I know about bugs, sure, but… what else would I need to worry about?”

Without missing a beat, Tonya rattled off examples. “It could be too cold indoors, too hot outside. You could find yourself without access to food or water. And yes, bugs, but also animals. Even a gentle, domesticated dog won’t see you as human once you’re a Little. That makes you prey. It. Is. Dangerous, Joey. I’ve read too many cases where things went wrong to think otherwise.”

Joey didn’t argue or question her; he’d wanted the truth, and it would be wrong to dismiss someone’s firsthand experience. Besides, he’d seen enough disturbing videos—Littles swept up by birds, others found lifeless from what would be a mildly warm day for a normal human. Hearing it all confirmed made his skin crawl.

“I get it,” he finally said. “But… is living the rest of my life in fear really a good way to live?”

This time, Tonya leaned back, considering his question, and her own life. “No,” she finally answered, her voice so soft Joey had to lean forward to catch it. “Living in fear isn’t the answer. Take it from me. My mom and brother call every week to check on me, and…” She paused, blinking back the tears welling in her eyes. “I just feel guilty for not trusting them, for fearing they didn’t have my best interests at heart. I’m happy here, and being at Generitech has been a blessing. But… it was a gamble—a choice I made because I was afraid of what others might do.

“No… my advice is to enjoy the time you have left,” she finished, her voice gentle but firm.

Tonya took a deep breath, steadying herself as she looked Joey squarely in the eyes, ready to give him the blunt truth. “Which, from what I’m guessing… probably isn’t too long.”

Joey’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock. What did she mean? he thought, She’s a lawyer, not a doctor—how could she possibly know how much time I have?

“What…what makes you say that?” he stammered, looking at Tonya, whose expression had turned grave.

“You’re… showing signs. You might’ve noticed by now, but maybe you brushed them off.” Tonya paused, seeing a glimmer of recognition in Joey’s face, though she knew she needed to drive the point home. “Look, that small smudge you noticed on my face earlier? Humans wouldn’t have picked that up from where you were sitting. Before I changed, I could see things more clearly, more in depth… sometimes unsettlingly so,” she admitted, recalling the odd details she could notice about her professors’ skin beneath their makeup. “That’s just the start. Soon, you’ll feel a bit less tolerant of the cold, maybe stronger than usual, maybe able to lift heavier things… until finally, it’ll feel like you’re coming down with a cold. Once you feel that, the rebirth is probably about a day away, maybe less.”

Joey felt his mouth go dry, the harsh reality now staring him down. He’d hoped it was just stress or anxiety playing tricks on him, but Tonya’s descriptions only confirmed it—he had less time than he’d thought. If Roni hadn’t pushed him, he realized, he might’ve faced this without any preparation.

Tonya could see the devastation on Joey’s face, and she knew how crushing the news was. Telling someone they were on borrowed time wasn’t easy. For most, Hybrid-Littles or not, acceptance didn’t come easily. She felt his sadness like a weight, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie or give him false hope. This was for his safety, and she knew it had to be said.

After a moment, Joey wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath. He wasn’t done with his questions; his sadness wouldn’t stop him from learning what he could. “S-so… what’s it actually like to be a Little?”

Seeing his resolve return, Tonya sighed as she thought about how to answer. She rose from her chair, slipping off her heels, and stood on the table at her full, natural height. “I’m guessing you’ve done some research, right?”

Joey nodded. “Yeah… but mostly about how humans have been treating Littles, to find out how I could’ve helped…”

Tonya gave him a warm smile. “That’s admirable of you, Joey. I can tell you really do care about our species.” She took a few steps closer, positioning herself so Joey could see her clearly, suspecting his symptoms might be affecting him. “But Little culture is probably different than you’d imagine. For one, female Littles are the dominant gender. Most, if not all, males will be shorter than me by about…” She raised her hand to a point just below her chest, “Maybe about an inch under here. This should give you a good visual.”

Joey’s eyes widened as he silently nodded, taking in the idea of looking up to all female Littles at that level—especially since he was used to looking down at most women, like Roni, who barely reached his shoulders.

“Physically, you’ll be weaker, too,” Tonya continued. “Most things in Little society are designed around females. We’re the primary workforce, heads of households, breadwinners—pretty much the opposite of human norms. Think of it like taking the human world, flipping it upside down, and going back about seventy years.”

This hit Joey harder than he expected. Growing up, he’d been raised to be a provider, a leader, someone his family could rely on—and he took pride in that, especially being that steady rock for Roni, Sandi, and Ciara. But now, he was learning that as a Little, he wouldn’t just be small; he’d be in a different role entirely. The more he heard, the more he felt his sense of self shrinking, realizing he’d no longer be the strong provider he’d always imagined.

Tonya, noticing his reaction, stepped closer, feeling the warmth of his body and the gentle breeze of his breathing. She wanted him to feel her presence, to know that she was here to support him even if the truth was hard to hear.

“It’s not all bad, though,” she continued softly. “Our roles might be different, but we’re incredibly tight-knit. We look out for each other, govern ourselves, care for one another. Just because roles are defined differently doesn’t mean we’re putting anyone ‘in their place’—it’s just our way of keeping each other safe and supported.”

Meeting his gaze directly, Tonya gave him a reassuring smile. “But that’s in a community of Littles, Joey,” she said, her voice a gentle comfort. “You’ll be an only Little, with a guardian who loves you and will help you through all of this. Especially when people around you start to…change a little.”

Joey’s brows furrowed, his expression puzzled. “Change? How…do people change, exactly?”

Tonya gave a thoughtful look as she answered. “Well…people will look at you differently. As less… I’m sure you’ve encountered that in your research. You’ve read posts and seen videos.” She paused, watching Joey slowly nod his head. “All of that stems from you being a Little, Joey. I’ve seen families completely change in dynamic just from the process itself—”

“Children take control of their parents, and siblings no longer consider Littles their siblings,” Joey interrupted, already anticipating where this was heading. “But surely it isn’t like that everywhere, right? I mean…Roni won’t change…right?”

“Change begets change. Nothing propagates faster, Joey,” Tonya replied, quoting Dickens. “Roni will love you. She will care for you and do what’s necessary to keep you happy and safe. She’s already committed to it. But she will change, Joey. Everyone changes. Homo sapiens or Homo parvus, it doesn’t matter. But it doesn’t have to be a change for the worse, does it?”

Joey sat quietly, contemplating Tonya’s words. He had witnessed his parents change over the years, becoming more narrow-minded and combative. He had changed, too—losing interest in running a profitable company as his desire to help Littles grew. It would be impossible to expect Roni, of all people, not to change. Still, he wondered what that change would look like. Was he ready to face it? Was he ready to be a Little?

Finally, he spoke softly, meeting Tonya’s gaze. “I…suppose change doesn’t have to be bad, but…it’s still…hard, right?”

Tonya nodded in agreement. “Which brings me to the last, most difficult thing about being a Little: acceptance. Accepting that you’ve changed, accepting that the people you care about will change, accepting that the world has changed…nothing will be harder for you at first.”

“What do I do when…this all happens?” Joey asked, his tone a mix of unease and fear.

Offering her small hand for Joey to touch, Tonya gave him a comforting look. “You take it one day at a time, and you rely on the people who care about you to be there for you. It’s hard, but…take it from me…it’s better than retreating into yourself.”

Joey slowly reached out his index finger, pausing just shy of Tonya’s hand, allowing her to safely make the connection. It was a small, faint sensation, but one that sent warmth through his entire body. After a few brief moments, Tonya pulled away and put her heels back on before turning to give Joey one final word.

“I’m…sorry I needed to be the one to tell you this, Joey, but…ultimately I want you to be safe and happy…I don’t want to know that  the little girl that called you JoJo, her sister that would have forced her mom to take you here to make sure you were okay, or your friend–Roni–the one that stood up for you against one of the most powerful families in the West, lost you because they weren’t around to get you to safety once you changed. You need to know what’s happening to you. Not just for your own safety, but because they put in so much effort to save you and that you deserve to let yourself be saved. So please…let that happen, okay?”

All Joey could do was nod in agreement, which made Tonya smile. “Thank you, Joey. Now…let’s head to the lounge, okay? We can relax a bit with David and your new family. You can carry me, too. I won’t even judge you for being bad at it,” she finished with a teasing grin. “Just keep your palm steady—so steady that you wouldn’t be able to make a butterfly take off—and walk very, very slowly, okay? The lounge is just down the hall. I’ll be totally fine, I promise. I’m totally trained, after all,” she added with a wink as Joey gently offered his hand, watching in awe as Tonya climbed aboard.

Joey lifted his hand very, very steadily, doing his best to ignore the tingling sensation that Tonya’s presence caused. Once high enough, he slowly started to leave the conference room, ensuring his hand remained steady while Tonya held onto his thumb for extra safety.

“You’re doing great, Joey. Just nice and easy,” Tonya encouraged as they moved. “Oh, and if you want a good resource to check out, there’s an amazing and popular Twitch streamer who does content with her Little. You might find it helpful…”

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Lethal Ledgend
3 months ago

1) “This sounds engaging and paints a clear picture of the dynamic between Tonya and Joey. The descriptive details you’ve included add depth to their interaction, highlighting Tonya’s confidence and Joey’s curiosity and admiration. A few tweaks can improve flow and clarity:” Trying to comment on your own post? lol

2) “Ohhh, JoJo,” Tonya teased, bringing him back to the moment” Oh that was gold.

3) “She asked if it was ‘JoJo’ and whether JoJo was okay. I figured that was you” Damnit CiCi.

4) “because I couldn’t hold a job anymore due to my… condition.” Wouldn’t the Limbo statute prevent that kind of discrimination?

5) “How… bad is it—or was it—when you, uh… changed?” That’s the $65000000.00 Question. You’d expect that there’d be countless littles detailing their stories all over the internet, I get that that isn’t the same as an in-person conversation, but still. Or do you reckon that’s part of little voices being suppressed and censored by powerful people in this world?

4) “Generitech-owned apartment. They had monitors that notified them when I changed in my sleep.” That’s a good idea for pre-shruks who live alone or have no one.
Does she mean “Monitor” as in Screen or as in “Person monitoring”?

5) “It’s dangerous to be left on your own for too long after you change.” I mean Jordan managed OK, and he’s an idiot (exaggeration).

7) “Even a gentle, domesticated dog won’t see you as human once you’re a Little. That makes you prey”We know from Chrissy that animals specifically dogs can be little safety trained, and who’s to know for sure if a loyal dog wouldn’t recognise his master’s scent even if small?

8) “and it would be wrong to dismiss someone’s firsthand experience” It’s not all her first-hand experience though.

9.1) “my advice is to enjoy the time you have left” that’s at least a little reassuring.
9.2) ““Which, from what I’m guessing… probably isn’t too long.” damnit

10.1) “… until finally, it’ll feel like you’re coming down with a cold” Hey, you took my advice.
10.2) “rebirth is probably about a day away, maybe less.” That’s an interesting word for it.

11) “I can tell you really do care about our species.” But more than that, he’d still care if he was fully immune.

12) “taking in the idea of looking up to all female Littles at that level—especially since he was used to looking down at most women” More than that it seems that the Height difference be proportionately greater than the difference between male and female humans

To female littles, he won’t be as tall as Roni is to him; he’ll probably be as tall as Cici or maybe Sandi is to him.

13) “Think of it like taking the human world, flipping it upside down, and going back about seventy years.” I’m glad that she’s mentioning it’s like a past version of human society and not just a straight reversal.

14.1) “It’s not all bad, though,” that’s easy for you to say, you got the better end of shitty the deal.
14.2) “. Just because roles are defined differently doesn’t mean we’re putting anyone ‘in their place’—it’s just our way of keeping each other safe and supported.” That might be how it is in the small group you surround yourself with, but millions of littles live in those cities and >99% of those littles would be fresh out of the human world, bringing its baggage with them.

One of the biggest problems of the human world is that women hitting men isn’t taken nearly as seriously as the other way around (and statistically, it’s a lot more common), and I don’t think that’s changing for little just because the women are bigger, because little culture at this point would still be mostly human culture.

15) “This passage effectively conveys the weight of the conversation between Tonya and Joey. It captures the emotional gravity of his situation while providing valuable insights about the changes he will face. Here’s a refined version with some adjustments for clarity and flow:” Were these supposed to be edited out?

16) “Children take control of their parents” I’m gonna count that as Madison’s world reference.

17) “But she will change, Everyone changes… But it doesn’t have to be a change for the worse, does it?” That’s a way to put a silver lining on it.

18) “most difficult thing about being a Little: acceptance. ” I find that’s hardest for most people, especially when they’re in a situation they feel victimised in.

19) Tonya’s advice seemed really solid, she’s clearly made some mistakes and learned from them, wants to help not just Joey but all the Hales.

20) “You can carry me, too. I won’t even judge you for being bad at it,” Now I was expecting Joey to ask to hold her, if I were in his position I’d want to hold a little while still big, even if just once. So I also think it was very kind of Tonya to offer and let him.

21) ““Oh, and if you want a good resource to check out, there’s an amazing and popular Twitch streamer who does content with her Little. You might find it helpful…”” and I’m guessing that was a Sara and Jordy reference, boo.

Asukafan2001
Admin
Reply to  C M
3 months ago

1, 15) “This sounds engaging and paints a clear picture of the dynamic between Tonya and Joey. The descriptive details you’ve included add depth to their interaction, highlighting Tonya’s confidence and Joey’s curiosity and admiration. A few tweaks can improve flow and clarity:” Trying to comment on your own post? lol
 “This passage effectively conveys the weight of the conversation between Tonya and Joey. It captures the emotional gravity of his situation while providing valuable insights about the changes he will face. Here’s a refined version with some adjustments for clarity and flow:” Were these supposed to be edited out?

I’m glad I’m not the only one who has had that happen. AI makes for a great editor but its so easy to copy and paste the prompt.

Lethal Ledgend
Reply to  C M
3 months ago

4) Ok so it predates the Laws, that makes sense.

5) “I think it’s canon that the person loses consciousness when it happens” Asuka has confirmed that it’s possible to go through it while awake, but very rare, and kind of pointless unless you were in a Genrilab for it.

I don’t know about that for sure, I do know that smaller creatures heal faster, so while not a heal all in an instant it could help after completion

“He was beaten pretty bad and needed a breathing apparatus” what kind of breathing apparatus

5) Jordan was definitely more likely to die in the search for help than survive, the worst part is that if he stayed home he’d have been found by Emma and she may have found a way to take care of him.

7) Oh yikes, especially since most people would shrink overnight so their dogs would be breakfast less normally, Maybe people opt to rehome their dogs if they test vulnerable.

10.1) Just fucking end a chapter with Joey sneezing or something, lol

10.2) I can imagine phoenix tattoos being popular for littles in that case.

12) some shots (Like MW S02E44) make the males look like they’re half the females heights, though Asuka confirmed the averages were Male – 4inch and female – 5 inch (Jordan and Greg are both 3” but Jordan was confirmed to be smaller than average)

13)  They “thrive” according to Genritech who have an interest in making sure people think they thrive.

14) Genritech does let only the best trained littles into their cities, but we don’t know how that would truly go once the humans aren’t looming over them, Trina was night and day when Brooklyn was and wasn’t around her.

18) you could always change the last step to “giving up”

19) She’s good for him at this point in his life.

20) We know Gavin tried to get Sara to pick him up in 414, and Jordan wanted Sara to pick him up in 335 one 412  and I think Scotty’s asked Chrissy to hold him a few times.

21) I guessed it was for me; I could sense it. It makes me feel valued and important when people add things like that for me

smoki07
smoki07
3 months ago

Well Tonya did a better Teaching job than trina (Madison story) lol

Asukafan2001
Admin
Reply to  smoki07
3 months ago

I agree. I would much rather have Tonya she has better bedside care. But she also lives at Generitech and has a good support structure and lives in a little based society at generitech. so she has a lot of privileges other littles don’t have.

But littles on the outside like Joey also have different advantages Tonya wouldn’t have. So its a interesting juxtaposition.

washsnowghost
3 months ago

In this reality, being a little is more like a handicap and like many people that are handicap from accidents like myself. Your physical needs change like a little but you mind for most doesn’t so I would think it would be easier for Cindy and her husband and their girls to move to a little community and talk to their daughters through a app like face time so they would seem normal and not dead. I used to work all over the world and would touch bases with my family through facetime and it was a big help. I think them being in a little community would help their physical interactions to be more loving because they would be planned out and not on a survival note but on a loving wanting a physical bond note. I have found that physical touch is very important when you are feeling vulnerable like you would as a little and i would think with the need for heat there would be more of a focus on littles always being on the physical body of their guardian in a place next to there skin to be warm and safe and so the guardian could feel there little was safe and supporting them with a knowing their never alone and if they have a itch or something that needs to be rubbed out their little can go to that spot on their guardian’s body and like a physical caretaker they would take care of any issue on their guardians body no matter where they were. Work, school, home, shopping ect.

Asukafan2001
Admin
3 months ago

I can finally give this its due.

1) I really liked hearing Tonya explain to Joey some of the realities and differences of how people will view him. As even people with the best of intentions would view someone infected differently as its human nature.

If someone loses and arm you are going to view them differently, treat them differently even if you don’t intend to.

It also makes me wonder how Roni will treat him. I don’t expect her to do a 180 personalitywise but I could also see her being over protective which joey could get annoyed by.

As up to this point they have never lived together. They were together but also apart. Sometimes you realize living with someone is different then spending time with them and you need to make adjustments in order to make it work.

So it will be interesting to see who is going to end up adjusting more.

2) I liked Tonya explaining that Joey’s existence will be different as he won’t be directly interacting with littles as much as Tonya would as he doesn’t live in a little based society.

It would depend if other people Roni knows has littles or there are littles where she works if she works or at school or whatever. His interactions would be through her as even the most independent of littles would need someone. As some things are just not practical.

3) Tonya bringing up acceptance is good and it seemed like something Joey needed to hear.

4) the physical differences seemed like something he hadn’t thought of along with the amount of help he will need. As its kind of like releanring how to live in a lot of ways.

5) overall a really good chapter. Can’t wait for the next.