Basic premise was a series of greens with tiny and giant humans living together. But tinies come in a feral and domesticated variety. The pet tinies are softer, friendlier, and somewhat reverent of giants. Ferals of course value their independence and view the "pet" tinies with a mixture of disgust and pity. Yes, the title and the character of Joan are both a reference to Joan Jett / Bad Reputation.
Good Reputation
be stuck as a tiny feral Anon in land of giants.
you find your way into a house for the coming winter.
it's more dangerous for giants finding you but fewer concerns about food or shelter.
then one night, out sheer bad fucking luck, you get caught out on the kitchen counter.
home owner is a middle aged matron type, luckily she seems to really like tinies.
takes you to a "habitat"; a glorified aquarium in the spare room.
a few other tinies are there, all of them are pet types.
a bunch of dumb simps that worship giants, completely pathetic.
there's enough of you that you could get out of the habitat if you worked together.
but none of them wanted to leave.
one of them even started crying when you talked about going outside.
at least they left you alone.
a few weeks go by and two girls show up.
one of them is very plain and almost looks like the lady of the house.
the other one is, well, beautiful.
pale skin, dark hair in a punky cut, leather jacket and jeans.
in another life you would have chatted her up immediately.
"Thanks aunt Carol, I've wanted a tiny for so long" said Katie.
"Oh no problem hun, I've got plenty of rescues to choose from" Carol replied.
"What about you... sorry I didn't get your name" Carol began as she turned to her nieces friend.
"Joan, and nah these things aren't my... thing" she said with a shrug.
Carol turned back to her niece "Well I'll introduce you to all of them so you can pick one."
it was time for introductions, but you stayed in your corner.
the pets ran to the front of the glass and waited for Carol to say their names.
they waved and danced at the young woman.
after it was all done Katie asked about you.
"Oh hes a feral, I don't think hes really socialized yet, honey"
Joan chirped up "A rebel" she said with a smile.
you threw your fist in the air and she laughed a little.
you knew immediately this chick was your only chance of getting out.
Katie and the other tinies are babbling at each other over in one corner
you walked up to the opposite corner and waved at Joan.
she rolled her eyes.
but you were insistent.
eventually she stepped forward and leaned down, face to face.
that cherry lipstick of hers was distracting but you made your introduction.
"I know you don't want anything to do with these guys" you said gesturing to the pets.
"But I can't be in a cage, just do me a favor and get the old lady to let you take me out of here."
"You can set me on the ground by the mailbox, I'll take care of myself from there."
She chuckled and asked "Really? You think you can handle it out there in the great big world?"
"I came from that world, I can't handle living with these losers."
you pointed over to the tinies, but honestly you could have meant Katie and Carol too.
she studies you for a moment.
you're praying that this chick will play ball.
you don't want to beg like those morons though.
she stands up and asks Carol if she can take you.
thank God.
"I don't know, Joan, he might need special care" Carol said.
"He's feral, he probably needs less care than the others" Joan retorted.
"I like him" she said.
Katie had made her pick and was putting him in a cardboard travel cage.
Carol asked Joan "Do you know what tinies need?"
Joan was getting annoyed "I'm sure he can tell me if I forget something"
"I think he needs to be away from... domestic tinies, he seems stressed out"
Carol had to agree and honestly she had no plans for the feral.
If her niece was friends with Joan, Carol figured she was nice enough to trust with the aloof tiny.
Joan reached into the habitat, and you quickly climbed into her palm.
the smell of cigarettes was hard to miss, but you weren't about to judge your savior.
she opened her jacket and there was a plaid shirt underneath.
she dumped you into the breast pocket.
this was the best.
you weren't sure if it was the warmth of the flannel
or the prospect of getting out of the habitat
or the breast you were leaning against, but you couldn't help but grin ear to ear.
"Joan you should really put him in a transport" Carol said with concern.
"hey little bro are you alright?" Joan asked down into her jacket.
"I'm good" you yell out.
Carol says her goodbyes as Joan and Katie leave.
you snuggle up in the flannel as the girls enter the cold winter air.
Joan starts to zip up her jacket and continues walking down the sidewalk.
you look up at her "I thought you were gonna drop me off at the mailbox?"
Joan looks down at you.
"It's gonna get below freezing tonight little dude."
"I think you're better off with me" she says "at least through the winter"
you didn't feel like protesting as you snuggled into the pocket.
Joan finished zipping up her jacket.
normally you would be pretty nervous about going home with a strange giant.
but you felt pretty good about this, whatever it was.
Joan and Katie chatted on the subway.
They had been friends since they were neighbors as small children, then classmates through high school.
Despite all the differences they had, the friendship had held strong well into adulthood.
Which is why Katie was so interested in Joan's change of heart regarding tinies.
She didn't like pets in general but had a particular aversion for the "creepy little humans."
"I don't know, he just talked normal, you know" Joan finally said.
"He wasn't trying to worship me or beg for treats."
"He just wanted out and it seemed like a reasonable request."
Katie wasn't sure that was good enough "Yeah that's what all feral's say they want."
"But you didn't let him out, you're taking him home."
"And you don't have a habitat, or tiny food, or any experience with pets..."
Joan would normally be annoyed at that kind of moralizing, but she knew Katie meant best.
"I don't think I need any of that with a feral, if I can ask and he can answer, then we can be cool."
"I think there's a reason tiny enthusiasts like you and Carol don't know what to do with ferals."
Katie let her friend pause and organize her thoughts.
She could already tell Joan had put more thought into this than she initially suspected.
"You guys judge ferals by the standards of pets, and you try to make them into pets."
"But I think you'll get a lot further respecting their boundaries."
"They know how to live without your protection, so I think they know a lot more than you give them credit."
Katie trusted her friends good intentions and decided to drop it.
She shifted the conversation to their plans for the weekend for the rest of the ride.
Joan got off at her stop, careful to side hug Katie goodbye so she didn't disturb the tiny in her pocket.
She was on the fourth floor of a small apartment building.
It was expensive to live alone, but she valued the quiet living space.
anon woke up from the sudden brightness of Joan removing her jacket.
"hey little dude, did you have a nice ride?"
you nodded still unsure of how much you could trust this woman.
it was nice to get out of a cage.
but you also knew that some giants thought up stuff much worse than cages for tinies.
however the rest of the day gave you no cause for concern.
you asked if you could look around and she let you down on the floor.
she sat on the couch and read a book for most of the afternoon.
she insisted there wasn't much to see in her one bed one bath apartment.
but as a tiny you didn't think about space the same way as giants.
you were looking for vents, ways into cabinets and dressers, places to hide, places where other things might be hiding.
mapping out new territory was an essential survival skill.
after you were done you scaled the armrest of the couch.
"what are you reading?" you asked.
joan jumped, but her arm nearest you was holding her book so she didn't make any panicked movements in your direction.
"wow, you scared me!" she said as she leaned back into her seat.
she looked over the armrest "I didn't even think you could climb up this thing little du..."
she stopped and realized she wanted to stop using pet names for the tiny
"anon how did you get up here?"
you shrugged, climbing was second nature to you, you wouldn't get many places if you weren't good at it.
she seemed impressed "I don't know if you would like my book but you're welcome to get back in my pocket if you want."
you climbed up her sleeve and slipped in.
she chuckled as you did so.
you weren't nearly as worried as when you arrived.
the next month went by quickly.
joan didn't really have a desire to tell you what to do.
except after the first week she did make a rule that you couldn't be on the floor if she was in the house.
you were so quiet and she wasn't used to looking where she stepped.
so there had been a couple close calls with her almost stepping on you.
she promised she wouldn't complain about taking you around the house.
so long as she had the peace of mind that you weren't walking underfoot.
personally you felt like you could dodge being stepped on all day.
the "close calls" that she was worried about weren't that close from your perspective.
but you weren't exactly going to complain.
the frequent contact was nice.
she shared her meals with you, or made sure to leave you something if she went out.
her job was something to do with an office.
but she didn't like talking about it, and you didn't really understand a lot of giant "jobs" either.
to help with her rule you would climb up on the back of the couch when you heard her keys in the door.
it was nice seeing the smile on her face as she got home as she went to pick you up.
outside of work she spent a lot of time at home, reading and listening to music on her headphones.
she didn't wear a lot of clothes with pockets
but you had discovered that you could sit in the divot of her collarbone.
you could either lie down and look up at her face
or lean against her neck to read or watch what she was watching.
sometimes she would just crack the window to have a cigarette.
and the two of you would look out at the city in silence together.
originally she let you pick out a place to sleep and you chose to build a bed next to the window facing the door.
but after some insistence from Joan you moved to her bed stand.
she said she worried if you were sleeping in the other room out of sight.
still as nice as it was, it was time to start making preparations for the end of winter when you would leave.