It was Monday morning and the city felt like it had been refrigerated overnight.
Dayton stepped out of her home into air that bit the inside of her nose, her breath fogging faint and ghostly in front of her. Roosevelt Middle loomed several blocks away, hidden behind towers of glass and old brick, but she could already see other kids in school hoodies and puffy jackets streaming toward the the school..
Her phone buzzed before she reached the corner.
NICOLE: u outside yet or r u having another “my eyeliner betrayed me” crisis
Dayton snorted, shoved the phone back in her pocket, and picked up her pace. Traffic hummed along the avenue, cabs and delivery vans and the occasional sleek black car. Street vendors were setting up on the corners, steam spilling from aluminum carts.
Nicole and Hayden were waiting under the cracked Roosevelt banner on the corner, pretending not to wait.
Nicole had white earbuds in, music loud enough that Dayton could catch the tinny rattle from a few feet away. Her hair was twisted up with a pen, navy hoodie unzipped over a graphic tee. Hayden leaned against the lamppost, hands deep in the pockets of her army green jacket, scarf wrapped three times around her neck like she was prepping for arctic research instead of social studies.
“Look who actually exists,” Nicole said, popping one earbud out. “I was about to text your mom you got abducted for unregistered eyeliner use.”
Dayton rolled her eyes. “Ha.”
“Seriously, you ok?” Hayden asked. “You were quiet on chat last night.”
“Yeah,” Dayton said, which was technically not a lie. “Just finishing the Dickinson packet.”
“You finished it already?” Nicole groaned. “We literally got that.”
“My mom turned off the Wi-Fi after nine. There was nothing else to do.”
“That is abuse,” Nicole declared. “You should report her.”
“To who,” Dayton said. “The government?”
Nicole’s mouth twitched. “Life begins at eighteen inches, but apparently it dies at nine p.m.”
Hayden snorted a laugh.
The slogan hung between them for a second, familiar as any brand jingle. It was on bumper stickers and campaign buttons, in the background of every news panel where some talking head explained why Littles were not technically people.
Dayton’s mom had one of the pins in her jewelry box.
She tucked her hands deeper into her sleeves. The wind cut down the cross street, snatching at the loose edges of their jackets.
“How’s Kinsley?” she asked, partly to change the subject, partly because the answer actually mattered.
Nicole’s face shifted at once, something softer under the sarcasm. “She is fine. Annoying. Perfect. You know.”
“You make perfect sound like an insult,” Hayden said.
“It is,” Nicole replied. “She beat me at Mario Kart while literally sitting in a hammock bed attached to my bookshelf. Do you know how humbling that is. When your six inch sister beats you. Ever since we got that little controller that sinks with the console…”
“You trained her,” Dayton said with a hint of sarcasm and smirk. “You own it.”
“Guardian flex,” Hayden added.
“Yeah, yeah.” Nicole bumped her shoulder lightly against Dayton’s. “At least my Little can brag they beat you in soccer.”
“I really don’t want to go to english class. Mr. Rhys is a monster.” Hayden said.
There it was.
The tiny electric flicker in Dayton’s stomach at the thought of Mr. Rhys, perched on his stack of books, red pen clicking between two fingers that were shorter than her pinky.
She had gone all weekend without seeing him, which had been a relief and also irritating somehow. Her brain kept circling back to the image of him the last time she had walked out of his classroom, small hands folded behind his back, posture straight like he could will himself back to full height through stubbornness alone.
“So what’s the plan today,” Nicole asked. “Are we taking bets on how many times he asks for your help, or are we pretending he is going to act normal.”
“Maybe he will forget I exist,” Dayton said.
“Sure,” Hayden replied. “And maybe they we will see Kinsley in class like we used to if we are just tossing fantasy’s out there.”
Dayton smiled despite herself.
They started walking toward the school entrance, joining the flow of students. Roosevelt was one of those old New York buildings that looked like it had hosted ghosts and historic scandals. The front steps were wide and worn by decades of sneakers. Above the doors, someone had hung a banner for the fall fundraiser: ROOSEVELT CARES, outlined in glitter that the rain had already half destroyed.
Inside, the lobby buzzed. Security guards in navy jackets stood by the metal detectors, waving kids through. There was a table against one wall piled with pamphlets, half of them about high school applications and the other half about responsible guardian practices.
SEA COMPLIANCE: YOUR LITTLE, YOUR DUTY.
DON’T COLLAR AND FORGET.
Dayton skimmed the titles with the detached awareness of someone who knew all the bullet points already.
A 6th grader scrambled past with a clear plastic carrier in both hands, something moving inside on a bed of shredded fabric. Dayton caught a glimpse of tiny shoes, a flash of pale hair. The Little lifted one hand toward the ceiling, fingers spread, then the crowd swallowed them.
“Cute,” Hayden murmured.
“That was a little, I think,” Nicole said. “Did you see it shimmering?”
Dayton’s brain automatically corrected. Not shimmer they have a modified dermal layer. She bit her tongue before it could get geeky out loud.
“Come on,” she said. “I want to hit my locker before homeroom actually starts.”
They split at the main stairwell. Hayden peeled off for the science wing to meet up with Hannah before class.. Nicole and Dayton climbed toward the eighth grade floor, the staircase echoing with sneakers and the clicking of someone’s cheap heels. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead.
At her locker, Dayton spun the combination and yanked it open, the metal door clanging against the one next to it. Inside, her books lined up like little soldiers, color coded more from habit than compulsion. A tiny Guardian certification card was taped to the inner wall, the SEA logo stamped in blue showing it was real.
It had her name.
Her photo.
Her rank.
Every time she saw it, something in her chest straightened a little.
“Do you think he knows,” Nicole asked quietly.
“Knows what.”
“That you graduated top of your Guardian class.” Nicole nodded toward the card. “Or did you conveniently forget to slide that into casual conversation while he was making you erase the board last week.”
Dayton grabbed for her English binder, the edge of a well worn training manual visible on the shelf behind them.
“He knows,” she said.
“How.”
“I told him.” She shut the locker a little harder than necessary. “The first day he came back. He asked why I was staring at his collarbone. I told him I was calculating where the clasp would sit.”
Nicole snorted, delighted. “You did not.”
“I did.”
“What did he say.”
“He said, and I quote, ‘I see our tax dollars are being put to very practical use.’”
Nicole made a face. “Rude.”
The bell rang in the distance, a flat electronic beep that never quite matched the size of the building.
“Move,” Dayton said, feeling her stomach flip in that weird mix of nerves and annoyance that had become normal on days she had English.
They cut through the noisy stretch of hallway outside the social studies rooms, dodged a cluster of seventh graders who were trying to trade snacks without getting caught by a teacher, and turned toward the language arts wing.
The closer they got to Rhys’s room, the more the noise shifted. It always did, a little. Laughter softened, voices dropped. Even kids who thought poetry was dumb seemed to instinctively know that Mr. Rhys’s classroom was not quite like the others.
Maybe it was the sign on the door.
ROOM 305: LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION.
Underneath, in much smaller handwriting, someone had added:
AND LITTLE.
The word LITTLE had been hastily scratched out by an adult, but you could still see the grooves.
Dayton was the first of her friends to step inside.
The room smelled faintly of dry erase markers and lemon cleaner. Rows of desks faced the front, where an ancient wooden teacher’s desk sat like it had grown out of the floor.
On top of the desk, another smaller desk that looked identical was secured to a small platform on the desk.. The platform was made of three heavy literature anthologies stacked on their sides, topped with a laminated square that had a tiny lip around the edges, like a stage.
His tablet stood on its miniature easel. A small speaker lay on its side, cord running to the wall outlet along a groove someone had carefully carved into the varnish.
The platform was empty.
For a second, something in Dayton relaxed. Then the door opened again, and he arrived.
He came in carried on a clipboard by Cassie.
Technically it was not a clipboard. It was a transfer board, light plastic with raised edges, the kind Guardian training videos loved. The student teacher held it level at her waist, moving carefully through the gap between desks.
Cassie Porter was new, fresh out of college and eternally frazzled; her tote bag loaded with graded papers from three different classes. She was in theory responsible for Mr. Rhys.
In practice, she walked him from home upstairs to the classroom, checked a box on a form, and then vanished to her real job down the hall.
“Morning,” she said now, slightly out of breath. “Traffic in the stairwell is brutal today.”
On the board in front of her stood Mr. Rhys.
He was dressed like always. Crisp button down shirt, tiny navy tie, black slacks that had been tailored at a scale that made Dayton’s eyes itch if she thought about the labor involved. His dark hair was neatly combed back, a few white strands near his temples catching the fluorescent light.
He did not wobble. He never did. Even at just a few inches tall, he held his balance like he still expected gravity to respect his authority.
“Thank you, Cassie,” he said, voice picked up by the slender mic clipped at his collar and amplified through the ceiling speaker. “You have saved me from the perils of the third floor stairwell yet again.”
“Occupational hazard,” she replied with a weak smile. “Do you need anything else before I go.”
“No,” he said. “We will manage.”
We.
Dayton felt that word land in her chest.
Cassie slid the board carefully onto the edge of his platform. He stepped off onto the laminated surface without looking down, like he had done this a thousand times, not just all of last week.
The transfer board disappeared. The door shut behind her.
The room seemed to exhale.
“Good morning,” he said, surveying them. “Phones away, eyes up, minds slightly engaged if at all possible.”
There were a few chuckles. Chairs scraped as kids shifted, digging out notebooks.
His gaze swept the class, sharp and quick. Front row. Back row. Window side. Door side.
It slid over Dayton like a skipped word.
She sat in the third row center, English binder open, pen aligned with the margin. Her nameplate glinted on the desk.
MISS HARRIS.
He did not look at it.
“Dayton,” he said instead.
Not Miss. Not Guardian.
Just her first name, dry and familiar, like she was someone’s kid he had known since she was six.
“Yes,” she said.
“The amplifier, please,” he said. “Someone was experimenting with it over the weekend.”
He gestured with his pointer toward the small black amp mounted on the wall beside the whiteboard, its single dial slightly off center.
Dayton swallowed the reflexive answer, which was that in guardian training she learned compliance guidelines explicitly recommended dialing in the volume at the start of each day, call it micro acoustics, not experimentation.
She stood. “What do you need.”
“An adjustment,” he said. “My voice sounds like it is trapped inside a tin can. I have enough indignities in my life. I refuse to add acoustical humiliation to the list.”
Laughter.
He gave the class a little shrug, tiny shoulders lifting, as if to say, what can you do.
Dayton crossed the room. The amp was at her eye level, its plastic surface cool under her fingers. Up close, she could see that the dial sat between two red lines on the faceplate.
Her training slid into place automatically.
Check the power light.
Confirm the cord is secure.
Dial between eight and nine for a standard classroom, nine to ten for auditorium, lower for one on one.
She rested her index finger on the dial and turned it two notches, feeling the faint clicking through the plastic.
“There,” she said.
“Is that within Guardian recommendations,” he asked, voice amplified more clearly now.
Several heads turned toward her. A couple of kids snickered.
Heat crawled up the back of her neck. “Yes,” she said. “Eight point five is the standard for Little projection in a room this size. Any more would hurt your ears. They aren’t just smaller human ears. They are biologically divergent.”
“Fascinating,” he replied. “Please resist the urge to laminate that information and staple it to the bulletin board.”
More laughter.
Dayton kept her face neutral. She checked the cord out of pure stubbornness, making sure it would not get tugged loose if someone bumped the braced chair below it, then walked back to her seat.
He did not say thank you.
“Now that my voice has been returned to its usual godlike clarity,” he said, “we can begin. Take out your notebooks. Today we are talking about tone. In poetry, not in interpersonal communication, so some of you are safe for once.”
Pens uncapped. Paper rustled.
Dayton lowered herself into her chair, her brain buzzing with leftover adrenaline. She could feel Nicole’s eyes on the side of her face.
“Eight point five,” Nicole whispered, barely moving her lips. “What a nerd.”
Dayton did not answer as she felt Hayden pat her shoulder in support.
She stared at the front digital board, where Mr. Rhys picked up his tiny marker and wrote TONE on his miniature tablet in letters that were, annoyingly, perfect.
The lesson itself was almost normal.
He read a short poem out loud, voice smooth through the speakers. They underlined repeated words, circled imagery, argued about whether the speaker sounded angry or tired or resigned.
Every so often, his gaze skipped across the room and snagged on Dayton for a fraction of a second, as if checking that she was still in place, like a piece of furniture he was mentally rearranging.
He did not call on her, not for the first half of the period. He let other kids stumble through answers, correcting gently, redirecting. From the outside, he looked like the same teacher he had been at full size. Same timing, same questions, same dry sarcasm.
Dayton found herself relaxing, pencil moving across the page as she took notes. It was easy to forget, when he got like this, that his entire world was now inches tall and perched on a couple of textbooks.
Then he pivoted.
“Tone can also shift mid piece,” he said. “A speaker can start resigned and become defiant, or begin with anger and soften into acceptance. Imagine you are a character whose circumstances have changed drastically, but who refuses to adjust your internal voice to match. What does that sound like on the page.”
He paused, tapping the marker lightly against his board.
“Dayton,” he said, eyes locking with hers. “You spent your summer in a very… specialized training program, did you not.”
A couple of heads swiveled in her direction. A murmur ran through the room.
“Guardian training,” someone whispered.
Dayton felt her heartbeat climb up into her throat. “Yes,” she said.
“Wonderful,” he replied. “Describe for us, briefly, the official tone you are instructed to use with Littles in your care.”
She could have refused. She knew that. There was no rule that said she had to answer personal questions in class.
But this was not personal, not really. It was policy. And policy was almost comfortable.
“Calm,” she said slowly. “Firm. Clear. You are supposed to sound in control so they feel safe. Training guidelines say Littles respond best when voice tone communicates stability, even when they are scared or confused.”
“Interesting,” he said. “So, the tone communicates authority, but also comfort.”
“Yes.”
“Do you ever get to sound frustrated.”
“Not supposed to,” she said. “At least not where they can hear it.”
“So your life can change, your schedule can change, your responsibilities can quadruple, but your tone, officially, remains the same.”
She hesitated. “…Yes.”
He nodded. “There we have it, class. A perfect example. The speaker’s circumstances drastically change, but their voice must not. On the page, that reads as tension. In life, it reads as professionalism. Or possibly martyrdom, depending on one’s opinion of our beloved Guardian programs.”
A few kids laughed.
Dayton felt the floor tilt under her in a way that had nothing to do with gravity. He had just used her training as a metaphor, dissected it in front of everyone, without once acknowledging that she had earned it. He had turned her summer into an illustrative device.
“And what tone,” he continued, “would you say is appropriate for someone whose body has shrunk to a fraction of its former size while their job description remains largely unchanged.”
He raised both brows at the room, inviting them in on the joke.
No one answered.
Dayton did not move.
“Resigned?” someone offered hesitantly from the back.
“Defiant,” another said.
“Petty,” someone else muttered, and the class snorted.
“Perhaps all three,” Rhys said mildly. “Now, open your notebooks. Write a few lines in a tone that does not match the circumstance. You can thank Miss Harris and the Generitech for your inspiration.”
He did not look at her when he said it.
He did not need to.
The bell shrieked at the end of the period. Chairs scraped, notebooks snapped shut. Kids spilled into the aisle, conversations re-igniting instantly.
Dayton took her time.
She slid her pen into the spiral of her notebook. Tucked the notebook into her binder. Straightened her nameplate without meaning to.
Nicole lingered beside her desk with Hayden and Hannah. “You okay?” Nicole asked.
“I am fine,” Dayton said. Her pulse still felt like it was trying to tap Morse code against her ribs.
“You sure? Because I am pretty positive he just used you as a live action textbook.”
“He used my training,” Dayton said quietly. “That is different.”
“Is it, though.”
“It is Monday,” Dayton said. “We have four more days of this. I am not wasting my energy on the first one.”
She slung her backpack over one shoulder and headed for the door.
As she passed the front desk, she heard him speaking softly into his mic, voice no longer booming through the ceiling but still clear enough for her to catch.
“Eight point five,” he murmured, almost to himself. “Impressive recall. The SEA must be very proud.”
Dayton stopped.
He was not looking at her. He was straightening his stack of tiny papers, lining the edges up so precisely that the corners formed a single perfect square.
“Proud enough to print a certificate,” she said.
He glanced up at her then, quick and sharp. “Certificates are easy. Obedience is the real test.”
Her hand tightened on the strap of her bag. “Guardians are not trained to be obedient.”
“Aren’t they?” he asked. “You adjusted the dial when asked.”
“That is not obedience,” she said. “That is compliance with safety standards.”
“Of course,” he replied, nodding as if that settled it. “Thank you for your compliance, then.”
There it was. The closest he had come to a thank you all morning, twisted on its way out.
She walked out without responding.
In the hallway, the noise swallowed her. Locker doors slammed. Someone laughed too loudly near the stairwell. A group of seventh graders argued about lunch options.
Nicole caught up, matching her stride. “Seriously,” she said. “He has got you on a leash.”
Dayton almost laughed at the accuracy.
“Relax,” she said instead. “If anyone is ending up on a leash in this building, it is not going to be me.”
She did not look back into the classroom.
She did not have to.
She could feel him in there, small and stubborn and uncollared, moving his tiny world into place, already arranging the week in his head.
By the time Monday ended, Dayton had a new, quiet resolution pulsing under her skin.
He could use her training.
He could poke at it, twist it, turn it into examples during lectures.
He could ignore every title she had earned.
For now.
Because there was a form at home sitting in a folder in her desk drawer, SEA logo sharp on the front, lines waiting to be filled in.
And on that form, there was a box for Guardian name.
Another for Little’s legal name.
Another for current location.
She had all three.
Loving this story, it really does feel like it could go either way, whether or not Dayton will become Mr. Rhys’s guardian, and both outcomes would be great for Dayton’s character development.
Dayton not getting Mr. Rhys would be a fun turn. Although canonically she has said that he could be assigned to another guardian who is not her. As she is highlighting the errors she is seeing and tossing her name in as a potential guardian but she more wants the issues addressed.
Honestly……I like how a little is talking his shit towards a “human” it so refreshing to see after how much bullshit a little has to go through to have the level of control and power over a normals is so powerful to see that I don’t care if he’s picking on Dayton the girl still deserves it
If Dayton thought that me seeing her get picked on by Mr. Rhyes is going to make me switch sides and see her pov on this situation favoring her…….
SHE CAN HOPE IN ONE HAND AND SHIT IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FASTER !!!
Why on god green earth ?…. Why on gods green fuck would I feel bad for Dayton she has been nothing but a disrespectful and rude tyrant since the jump !!! With Chloe, Chrissy and few others being the exception of humans treating little like people
Sara is in the grey
But Dayton hell no fuck no !
She can kick rocks and and eat shit all day and every day!
Great chapter and story !
J-Vader out !
I like how anti dayton you are. its like she kicked kelli and pushed kayla down the stairs or something.
Ironicalyl being one of the younger characters Dayton has the most potential to change as she has the most growing still left to do.
Glad you are enjoying the story. We will see if dayton can win you over.
These interactions reminded me of a story I read a while back. I couldn’t remember the name but a giant captured a tiny person. The giant would impose their will on the tiny but despite everything the tiny person wouldn’t budge. Basically stating that they had everything the giant didn’t and that the control was due to jealousy and disdain. This is a lot like that. Dayton even if she gets him is ultimately a loser. She’s angry jealous and upset as she believes due to the twisted reality of her world that he has no right to be how he is but ultimately is angry about how he made her feel. He knows this too. Clearly they don’t get along but ultimately if she does get him I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to be the perfect little out of spite just to kill any joy she’d have in molding him. He seems smart and aware and knows her well. I think that would be an excellent outcome. Mr. Harris formerly Rhys who breaks Dayton by not playing the game and exposing her insecurities and simply being a good little to to remove the possible joy from her desire to control and get revenge.
Also Lethal is probably cry laughing on the ground out how Mr. Rhys is schooling Dayton. Pun intended.
that could be a fun plotline. Although to be fair to dayton. We haven’t seen her with a little post guardian training. So we don’t actually know what she intends to do or how he would be treated. As her time with Jordan was over a year ago at this point. She did grow as a person with her time with thomas. So its possible she is a better person then she was. Where she isn’t trying to mold Mr. Rhys into anything other then compliant with the law.
She also could just be a brat,
While she has potential to grow and her time with Thomas has influenced her, she’s still a product of her environment and her mother. Plus the wrath of a teenage girl whose trying to maintain social standing in a school which is already highly competitive and survival of the fittest is pretty fierce. I doubt she’d be so kind due to feeling humiliated and invalidated, especially by someone she considered lesser. We’re talking about someone whose social circle extends to sara and her friends. One of whom ruined the life of a girl so bad that she had to basically leave the state over a relationship. While these stories are interesting we are seeing them from the prospective of rich upperclass 1%ers. I could imagine that a working class family would probably be much different depending on circumstances. Sometime I ask what if it was my family. I doubt itd be anything close to these people.
good insight. but I’m still pro Dayton lol
Welcome back.
1) “Dayton snorted, shoved the phone back in her pocket, and picked up her pace” No reply? Rude.
2) “I was about to text your mom you got abducted for unregistered eyeliner use.” That’s not the unregistered use that’s about to get someone abducted.
3) “Life begins at eighteen inches, but apparently it dies at nine p.m.” Isn’t it “freedom begins at 19 inches?” like Sara said in 202, or “rights may begin at 19 inches” like the president said in 291
4) “And maybe they we will see Kinsley in class like we used to if we are just tossing fantasy’s out there.” Was Kinsley in their class? Are her and Nicole twins or something?
5) “That was a little, I think,” Nicole said. “Did you see it shimmering?” C’mon Nicole, don’t call Littles “its”, you’re better than that, I’d expect that from Dayton.
6) “Do you think he knows, That you graduated top of your Guardian class? Are you telling me you don’t think Dayton told everyone who’d listen?
7) “He said, and I quote, ‘I see our tax dollars are being put to very practical use.’” “Rude.” Not compared to what Dayton said, it isn’t. (Though the implication that Mr Rhys pays taxes still is one in his favour)
8) “Underneath, in much smaller handwriting, someone had added: AND LITTLE.” First hint that Dayton and her yes girls aren’t the only ones taking issue with Mr Rhys
9) “Her nameplate glinted on the desk. MISS HARRIS.” Does it always say that, or did she get a custom one for his classroom, just to goad him?
10) “Her training slid into place automatically. Check the power light. Confirm the cord is secure. Dial between eight and nine for a standard classroom, nine to ten for an auditorium, and lower for one-on-one.” Training covered this incredibly niche situation that Dayton finds wholly inexplicable?
11) “Is that within Guardian recommendations?” Don’t play with fire, she already wants to burn you.
12) “Fascinating, please resist the urge to laminate that information and staple it to the bulletin board.” I wanna be on your side dude, and I am, putting your foot down and not letting Dayton assert dominance was the right move, but don’t pick on her.
13) “He did not say thank you.” damn, normally it’s the humans who don’t have any gratitude.
14) “Imagine you are a character whose circumstances have changed drastically, but who refuses to adjust your internal voice to match.” I see what you did there, Mr Rhys, teaching about how Dayton sees him.
15) “Do you ever get to sound frustrated? ” – “Not supposed to, at least not where they can hear it.” Teaching people not to show emotions to people in their care doesn’t always grow trust.
16) “There we have it, class. A perfect example. The speaker’s circumstances drastically change, but their voice must not. On the page, that reads as tension. In life, it reads as professionalism. Or possibly martyrdom, depending on one’s opinion of our beloved Guardian programs.” Good way to give a real-world example of what he’s teaching, but still not the best idea to poke the bear, he could just have easily asked Nicole or any other guardian who may be in that class, (Although avoiding Dayton may have its own issues)
17) “would you say is appropriate for someone whose body has shrunk to a fraction of its former size while their job description remains largely unchanged.” Dayton gonna be playing victim tonight.
18) “Now, open your notebooks. Write a few lines in a tone that does not match the circumstance. You can thank Miss Harris and the Generitech for your inspiration.” fuel to the fire
19) “Eight point five, Impressive recall. The SEA must be very proud.” acknowledging her training.
20) “Certificates are easy. Obedience is the real test.” True, the real test is to see how much sticks around when instructors aren’t watching.
21) “Guardians are not trained to be obedient.” not to Littles, but to the law and rules of their state.
22) “That is compliance with safety standards.” Compliance is obedience.
23) “There it was. The closest he had come to a thank you all morning, twisted on its way out.” NGL, he’s losing me a bit, I’ll never side with Dayton, but have some damn manners.
24) Because there was a form at home sitting in a folder in her desk drawer, SEA logo sharp on the front, lines waiting to be filled in. And on that form, there was a box for Guardian name. Another for Little’s legal name. Another for current location. She had all three.” Having the form, filling it out and filing it doesn’t guarantee success.
1) She wasnt far so she figured seh would just speed up.
2) all kidns of things you could be abducted for. Although being 13 there is probably only so much make up dayton is allowed to wear.
3) its being continually refined. Life begins at 18 inches just sounds better for his messaging.
4)Nicole and Kinsley are twins. Kinsley was part of the crew although kinsley also had her own friends seperate. She was friends with dayton independently as well. They ahd something of a rivalry in which they competed at everything they did together. It as friendly but each wanted to best the other.
5) Nicole isnt a saint or anything.
6) That is a fair point. although he may not have listened.
7) Well he paid taxes for all of his life up this point. Its not mentioned what the arrangement is but logically speaking if he is still getting paid he would be paying taxes regardless of if he is a little or not.
8) lol I wouldnt call them yes girls but Daytons opinion on littles isn’t exactly abnormal or some off the all opinion to have. In this world it would be similar to saying murder is illegal.
9) she made it custom and put it on her desk. the class doesnt even normally have name tags or name plates.
10) Its not that niche as even the habitats have two way communication systems where hte guardian would need to set the audio levels to a level that little can hear but not damage hearing and that hte mic can pick up little communication and be projected properly.
So being able to work audio equipment is part of lesson plan as it specifically pertains to littles.
11) lol, sometimes a person cant help themselves.
12) I will be curious on your thoughts as the week progresses.
13) not htis time. its the little. it comes in all sizes.
14) yes and well littles and people in general. Dayton is not unique in that belief set.
15) It doesnt, I doubt the teaching is that black and white. there is probably some nuance to it.
16) Nicole gets her turn later. There are only two guardians in the class. I mean there arent a ton in the school in general. More and more all thetime but its still expensive and this is a public school so you have people form varying levels of wealth albeit it is in a wealthier section of town.
17) Dayton? Dayton Harris? She would never, she would never do anything like that. You must be mistaken sir.
18) He is throwing blocks of wood bigger hten him on that fire.
19) although not openly she just happened over hear it.
20) that is fair.
21 + 22) Well i woudlnt say compliance is obedience wholly. As obedience is taking orders from someone directly who has authority over you. Being obedience just means you are following the orders regardless if they are compliant ith a policy or law.
compliance is specifically following a rule or law regardless of authority. So while there is a intersecetion point the belief as used here is a bit different. As Mr. Rhys is using obedience to say Dayton is following orders the SEA woudl be proud of her obedience as she following without thought she is just doing what they say. He is insulting her and the SEA.
kind of like when you are a kid and told to clean your room. You clean your room because your parents are in charge. You are following the orders of whoever is in charge. Similar to that of military. We are talking this target because i as commanded too. Thats obedience.
Dayton argues back that she is not obedient she compliant meaning she is following the rules and laws to comply to them as that is the request, incentive or avoidng a punishment like you are compliant with the speed limit as you dont ant the fine. Dayton is compliant with SEA guidelines and laws because she wants to be a guardian. Those are also incentives i’m avoding being fined so i can spend money on stuff for me. Getting to be a guardian.
So she is more illustrating that guardians are compliant as in they are following requests and are incentivized by there liscensing and certification to do so. Howevers its different then obedience as its nto like the SEA is ordering her to do XYZ.
The fact Mr. Rhys is potentially in this situation could be argued as teh differences between obedience and compliance. The district believes its in compliance with the law. But the SEA didn’t order them to do anything.
23) That is very telling coming from you.
24) It does not, but you miss 100% of the shots you dont take as they say. If she doesnt file it then she for sure wont get anything.
2) I was making a joke about her trying to claim (abduct) Mr Rhys for being unregistered.
3) So does this mean he won the 2020 election?
4) Damn, that means Kinsley is the biggest Little yet, 6.2 inches is already the tallest, but at 13years means she’s still got growing to do, she could make it up to 7 inches
7) That means the American tax collectors is involved (IRS I think it’s called)
9) That’s the kind of extra nonsense that makes Dayton entertaining.
10) That would imply that Genritech has made a universal volume system for all these products sound systems
12) I hope you aren’t disappointed
15) Maybe, but all we have to go off is Dayton’s word.
16) Didn’t you just tell me Hayden was also guardian trained?
17) Nah, I think I’m right.
21 + 22) That’s very semantic, I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that the difference is incredibly minute. Rules are just orders that are written down in many ways, after all.
23) My word does carry weight, lol
24) You’re right, If Dayton is stopped from taking the shot, she’ll definitely miss
How about when Dayton first gets her hands around Mr. Rhys she strips him right down to nothing ties a yoyo string to his privates and let’s him dangle as she giggles while she’s contemplating other punishments for him in the future?😈♥️💯🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Ow, I would rather be Madison’s little then go through that level of punishment.
Even if Cindy was a guardian she wouldn’t be that needlessly cruel.
Cindy is just a bully and racist to different humanoid’s lol.
I dont see dayton being cruel like that, I would think she is above that with her training and being close to Sara. I would be her little, I would soften her up lol
A) Life begins at eighteen inches, but apparently it dies at nine p.m. does this Quote mean there are littles at 17 inches because that and foot tall littles would be fun interaction sizes lol
B) I know I am in the minority but I think Dayton would be a good guardian for a little that had skills she need and would physically bond to her, I see her as hard on the outside but soft in the inside and would be a loving but strict guardian
C) it seems the trenched and attention that teacher is giving Dayton feels like grade school he likes her or she is rent free in his mind lol.
D) love her friends little sister, she seems spunky. I would like to see Dayton babysit her lol.
A) Its a campaign slogan for the current president who is anti-little rights and ran on a anti-littles rights platform and won because he is anti-little rights.
18 inches is the average size of a human baby. So he is saying a human baby is the smallest form that denotes humanity. Anything smaller then baby isn’t human, which in turn, doesnt deserve human rights, human consideration, or to be thought of equal to that of a human. Its his polite way of saying littles are less then and will always be less than.
b) That is daytons character. She is very much a heirarchy, systems and rules person. She is a if you are playing a board game she will read the rules of the game and expect everyone to play by the rules as dictated in the rulebook.
She actually studied and applied herself in guardian training because she is interested in the system. She wants a little so she wants to know every rule, every policy, everything will be just as it needs to be.
Which is why seh has such an issue with the collaring law, and Mr. Rhys leading the class because its not proper. You can have the smartest dog in the world but it doesnt mean your dog should teach english.
Her other issue is that she doesnt have to agree with the law or policy to understand it is the law. She understands Mr. Rhys is a good teacher even if she doesnt like him personally. She doesnt doubt his credentials her issue is legally he is a invalid, Legally he is less than a human. Those aren’t opinions they are facts. If those are facts, if those are rules, if those are the laws then she doesnt understand how both can be true. How can Mr. Rhys be a teacher but a invalid. How can he be a teacher if he has no degrees, no certification. As regardless of its fair, or right, or wrong. Those are the rules and while you can want to change them it doesnt mean you get to choose not to follow them in the interim.
c) They definately dont see eye to eye.
d) Dayton talks to kinsley pretty much everyday. They have a rolling chat thread where they talk shit to one another.
Well if Littles are basically animals, then are they bred for specific traits? I could see an Underbred male and female pair, where the male was neutered to prevent unwanted genes from spreading while the female is used to breed with Littles who have more desirable traits. If their animals, how far does this go? I’m curious as to the world building with how Littles are treated.
we aren’t that far into the timeline where they are breeding littles with that level of specification in mind.
However, in reality, people breed for specific traits/genes; as humans, we breed animals for specific traits.So the breeding of littles for specific traits or genes woudln’t be any different then what we do to ourselves in real life.
So logic would dictate at some point, littles would be bred for specific genes or traits, although, like people, they would probably, at that point, just be artificially inseminated.
Im not saying it would be common or something everyone does. But would it happen at some point in history by someone. So sure its as possible as anything else.
i think Kelli & Jordan would be a good breeding pair for sara and Kyla lol. they are already a together and have good chemistry lol.
I’m really curious how breeders would breed Littles now… what traits would they look for and how would they prevent Littles from mating? Would there be “purebred” Littles? Little studs that are used to have sex with Little women? I see a pair catching smallara and are both bought by a breeder.
Even IF I wasn’t already Team Dayton….. I’d seriously be Team Dayton. This dude needs to be collared. Insufferable, pompous, ass. I can feel Dayton’s frustration…. having something she actually accomplished and did well in be ridiculed. I can relate. She needs to collar that rat.
Hell yeah brother lol
lol to be fair, the class she had taken is for a government system proped up by massive propaganda that is essentially telling Rhys he isn’t human and his accomplishments and everything he succeeded in up until he became a little didn’t count or mean anything and that he is basically supposed to just accept that and accept the fact that he will always be branded as invalid. Plus it’s not like Dayton does things that make her worthy of the respect she demands lol
That is true and hindisght is often 20/20. But, if hadn’t immediately went in on Dayton she may have helped him and propped him up and been a voice of support for what he is doing.
Instead he immediately turned someone with education, the knowledge, etc. against him. And just being honest she does have the ear of the future leading of generitech.
Instead he chose this path which is messy and may or may not lead to where he ultmately wants to go.
As one could argue his issue is that he is gettng his efforts not acknowledged and hes not getting the credit for his work.
So his response to this is to do to dayton what it is being done to him. He is invalidating her work and refusing to acknowledge her achievements while also using what she has learned to his advantage
So even though Dayton has made her bed in some ways. She is only 13 and despite being mature for her age is only taken hte knowledge as she knows and the rules of the society she lives in and applying it within the confines of life as it exists in her world.
That may make her a bad perspective from the reader who isn’t a byproduct of that world. But if thats all you know its hard to say that makes her a bad person in my opinion. As North Koreans live a very restricted and the news and messaging they get is tilted to a very specific point and belief set. It is difficult for me to blame them for thinking or feeling how they feel as thats what they know and there is no other real opinion available to them.
This si a very similar situation with Dayton. She is applying herself within the system, societal beliefs and laws put forth before her.
Mr Rhys, is choosing to basically fight Dayton with the same tools being done to him instead of actually trying to change or make anything better.
I the smallara world, I agree with Dayton. The teacher is at great risk without a guardian. Every little should have a guardian just from a risk assessment. I think all guardians should be loving but still keep there littles from doing stuff that could hurt them. I am sure he could help teach under a teacher guardian
I don’t know, but to me, Mr. Rees is trying to convey to everyone that Guardianship isn’t a game. He used Dayton to point out that, despite all the irritating factors, Guardians must remain collected and calm. He defined this as professionalism in real life, and he also pointed out that some might view this as martyrdom, for example, Dayton’s mother. After all, as he noted, the workload on the Guardian (essentially a 13-year-old child) increases exponentially because they have to deal with the Little One’s problems alongside their own, and it’s a lifelong contract—there’s no turning back. But Dayton is a child and doesn’t understand this without further explanation, although, judging from the letters she wrote, she should, because the level of letters isn’t appropriate for a 13-year-old. 🙂 Also about obedience, he means that the government essentially trains Guardians, just like the Little Ones—strict boundaries and rules with constant monitoring and consequences. And he asked her politely for help with the volume control, initially expressing his gratitude.
Daytons issue is that he in wanting and is using her skills, her techniques, her knowledge all the effort she put into achieving that without actually wanting to acknowledge her effort and give her that credit. As he did belittle her efforts.
Daytons letter is written above a 13 year old level because it also is supposed to convey she is smarter then her peers. Has a higher understanding and in some ways more mature them.
She is aware of the rules, the guidelines, the policies probably better then most anyone in the school. As while she doesnt like studying, homework, etc. She does do it and is smart.
She wants him to acknowledge her achievements and he continually refuses. Mr. Rhys is a good teacher. I wrote him connecting the points and using the students lives and expierences to relate to them and explain things in a way that is understandable to them. While he teaches english and sometimes civics. He often because of his teaching style teaches more then that. He can also be an ass sometimes and is protentious.
The few, the proud, team dayton
To put a spin on this in a VERY vague and only I’ll get it sort of way, but it makes me sympathize with Dayton on some level…. COVID. I dealt with COVID the entire goddamn time we were under it’s thumb. While most others were let off work, I was considered “essential”. While others were posting TikTok’s complaining how they were bored staying home and playing video games, I was at work. Wearing a fucking mask eleven hours a day, five days a week, for two years. A mask that, as a person who wears glasses and works in a refrigerated cooler, was constantly fogging up.
Two years I wore that fucking thing…. then we got a ‘vaccine’. At first I didn’t trust it…. but then they said if we got the vaccine, we didn’t have to wear masks anymore at work. I signed up…. got the two shots…. got sick LOL…. my arm felt like it was going to fall off for two days…. I did everything they said I had to do. Then the first goddamn day I went to work without a mask, where I worked made the mask a mandatory part of the uniform. All that for fucking nothing…
So yeah…. Dayton going through all that training only to have it disregarded, and ridiculed right to her face? Hell, yeah I’m TeamDayton. And I’ll tell you…. even if they discovered airborne herpes, I’m not putting that fucking mask on again…