San Bambina Chapter Three (Patreon)

Thanks again to everyone who's been leaving likes and comments. I'm sorry I'm not around that much anymore, but I'm still very busy in real life. I'd like to thank you all one more time for sticking with me in the difficult time.

The flight from New York to Saint Rawls, the capital of San Bambina, ran a breezy four hours. Staci helped herself to a couple of cocktails at the lounge before boarding, then settled into her seat for the flight. The plane was mostly empty, and she’d planned to get a little reading done... but when she saw the in-flight entertainment included a selection of San Bambanian movies and TV shows, she decided it would be a great opportunity to get a head start on researching her articles.

First up was an episode of the generically named sit-com Our Family, about a man with an unmarried 19 year old Daughter who meets and marries a woman with a Daughter of her own who’s the same age. The new family moves in and must learn to get along together. The girls, who live as toddlers in traditional fashion, are presented as mischievous, rebellious, childish and bickering, their laziness, indolence and scheming (and the punishments that result,) comprising the plots of 90% of the episodes. The husband is presented as clearly the head of household, and is often seen punishing his wife alongside their grown ‘children.’ At the end of every episode, paternal order is always restored. In the episode Staci watched, the girls play a prank at school that backfires in a big way when mommy arrives and spanks them in front of the whole class. The girls are mortified, but they get a little revenge when Daddy, angry that he wasn’t consulted about the girls’ discipline, returns home from work and punishes his wife in front of the laughing neighbours at a dinner party. By the end of the episode, ‘Mommy’ has been spanked, diapered, and forced to share a crib with her daughters for the weekend... Staci felt nauseous.

Next came an instalment of the long running crime drama The White Squad: a highly popular police/legal procedural in the mould of Law And Order, detailing the professional lives of a group of detectives who specialize in busting female criminals who’ve achieved full adult status (either as a Mother or a Matriarch.) In almost every case, these criminals have their status revoked and find themselves demoted to the level of Daughter. They are reduced to diapers in public, usually after another punishment (usually a spanking or an enema) and remanded to the custody of their husband, parents etc. In this episode, a high ranking member of the government is revealed to be involved in a drug smuggling ring. The episode depicts the detectives diligently building their case, and the politician’s carefully constructed facade of respectability-- and maturity-- crumbling in the face of scrutiny. “There’s a reason we keep most of our women in the nursery,” one veteran officer reminds his younger partner warily when the slick, polished politician is revealed to be an entitled, tantrum throwing brat as her world implodes around her. She’s eventually sentenced to a full regression sentence-- total suspension of her status and all adult privileges and remanded to the custody of her husband. The sentence was eight years... after that, it would, of course, be up to her husband if and when she would be allowed to return to her adult status. Staci also learned that he would have the option of annulling their marriage and either returning her to her parents or adopting her himself, thus allowing him to marry another woman.

Thoroughly disgusted by her cultural enrichment, Staci shut off her screen and napped the rest of the way there.

Her association with the film festival got her through customs with ease, and Staci was soon in the back of a cab on her way to the hotel. There were two packages waiting for her when she arrived-- one from the festival containing her passes and credentials, as well as a booklet containing brief summaries of the films and when they would be shown.

The second was from Chelsea, and it contained a note explaining the operation. Staci would attend the festival as normal the first day, then feign an illness on the second. A car would be sent around for her at exactly 6 AM. She’d be taken to the home of a nearby comrade who would get her dressed and ready for a day at the local girls college, most likely posing as a member of the staff. Chelsea had provided her with relevant ID and even a clean phone, perfect for taking pictures.

She spent a few moments flipping through the booklet, deciding what movies to check out. The centrepiece of the festival wasRhythms of the Heart-- a lavish, big budget biopic of popular pop star Millie Cyren, who turned her back on fame and a lavish lifestyle to marry a man from San Bambina, moving with him to the country and actually embracing the lifestyle and culture fully-- including living as an adult baby until she has her first child. It was playing the first day, and Staci knew she had to check it out. A couple of other titles stood out, and she made a note of them before deciding to to unwind with a little TV before bed.

She was just in time for the beginning of the popular game show You Bet Your Butt, where group of non-regressed women are brought in to compete against each other in various challenges. The challenges are almost always humiliating in nature, with the contestants frequently winding up wet or messy, or stripping down to their underwear to engage in tickling contests or pillow fights, or forced to answer embarrassing questions. The winner is awarded fabulous prizes (the payouts are notoriously very generous compared to other games shows)... but for the ladies who finish in last place, their adult status’ will be revoked, and they will be immediately reduced back to the level of daughter and sent to live with their parents or guardian. Watching the audience cheer as the two weeping losers were diapered in front of the cameras, the announcer informing them that they’d never again regain their adult status, Staci was struck by the thought that this was the first time she’d seen a game show where the focus was on the losers rather than the winners.

Before she shut the TV off, a commercial caught her eye... it depicted a pair of gorgeous Adult Baby twins, dressed in gloriously infantile bonnets, bibs, booties... and of course, big thick diapers. They were seated in their high chairs, their dinners still smeared across their faces as their mother put their dishes in the sink. “Nothing is more important to me that the health of my twins,” the woman informed the camera seriously. “That’s why,” she said, opening the nearby cupboard, “when it’s time for dessert, I reach for Scrumpco’s Mud Pies!” She removed the package containing two of the admittedly delicious looking pastries, something that could have been sold on the shelf next to Twinkies and Ho Hos.

She handed one to each of the twins, who bit into them hungrily, devouring them with gusto. “The twins can’t get enough of that rich, chocolately cake,” the mother assured the camera. “And I like the way Scrumpco’s patented Mega-Fibre keeps them regular.”

The camera cut to the twins, their mouths now smeared with chocolate. As if on cue, the soundtrack filled with the sounds of ominous intestinal gurgling and grumbling, the twins simultaneously adopting wide-eyed, round-mouthed expressions of surprise. Staci crinkled her nose distastefully as she was treated to an extended scene of the twins grunting, farting, and filling their diapers, complete with a shot of them lifting their butts out of their high-chairs, the seat of their pampers bulging, sagging and turning brown behind them.

Finishing, the girls sighed contentedly and sat back with a matching pair of audible squishes. Their Mommy just laughed, fanning her face and shooting the camera an exaggerated smile. “Just like clockwork! Thanks, Scrumpco!”

With a shake of her head, Staci turned off the TV and went to sleep.

The following morning, Staci rose early, showered, ordered breakfast from room service, and then sat, drank her coffee, and made her initial notes for her article, including her initial thoughts on what passed for entertainment in San Bambina. She ate her plain cereal, then brushed her teeth, dressed, threw on a little light makeup and headed out the door to the festival.