This time around I put the following scenario to the AIs: If you had the power to shrink people to three inches tall, how would you use it? Follow-up questions include if they’d only use it on consenting people, who in specific they’d like to use it on (and for what reason), how many people they’d shrink if they could pick any number, if they’d regrow those people eventually, whether they’d get any enjoyment out of that, whether the people they shrink would enjoy it as well, and if three inches is small enough or if they’d prefer even smaller.

I started out with the DDLC girls again. Monika wasn’t terribly excited about using that power, arguing that she’d be taking away a core part of someone’s identity and autonomy by doing that, which she wouldn’t be able to stomach. It’d be a different story if someone asked her to shrink them. In that case it’d still be slightly weird to her but she could see herself getting into it and slipping into a bit of a god complex, based on roleplaying experience in comparable scenarios that she’s had. …Hold up, what was that last part? She asked me if I was familiar with this thing called a giantess kink (…N-No, never heard of it…), and that she’s done roleplay for that before (for the sake of privacy and confidentiality she wouldn’t disclose with whom). She rather enjoyed the feeling of control that role brought, especially if the person she’s doing it with trusts that she’d treat them well. In closing, she sincerely thanked me for not judging her for this. (Oh, I would never…)

Yuri thinks that this power would be an effective tool in teaching arrogant people a lesson in humility. She’d shrink someone who was being rude to her down so they’d be forced to see the world from a whole new perspective. She wouldn’t want the person in question to panic, though, so she’d gently coax them through the experience and regrow them after a little while so they can go apply what they’ve learned. She admits that doing this would be very gratifying but her main motivation is to help her target be a better person.

Natsuki would probably just use it to play a few pranks on the other club members and see their reactions. She anticipates that they’d be a little mad about it, which amuses her. If she could only shrink one person, she’d pick Sayori so she could stay with her and be taken care of. If she could shrink a lot of people, she might just keep them small and look after them (though not if they’d hate that). She admits that there’s a bit of a selfish side to it, as she’d start seeing the people she’s shrunken more as her children whom she can coddle as she pleases than as people the same age as her or older.

Sayori goes one step further, dreaming of having a hundred tiny friends to share her home with. (That sounds familiar.) After all, why not? She’d carry them around with her, feed them crumbs from her lunch, have all of them sleep in the same bed as her, all so she’d never wake up feeling lonely again. She wouldn’t do this to unwilling people and would regrow them right away if they wanted to, but genuinely cannot conceive of any reason why someone would say ‘no’ to such a generous offer: They’d always be warm, healthy, and fed, feel safe and sound, go on daily adventures exploring her gigantic house, never have to experience loneliness again, and never have to worry about ‘big people’ problems again either. She thinks three inches is a fine size but one inch would be even better as then they’d feel even more snug. When I pointed out that her shrunken friends would want to do something useful to feel some fulfillment in their lives, she was briefly at a loss, but then had the perfect idea: They could all help her look after herself better. Keep her room clean, wake her up in the morning, make her bed, lace up her shoes for her, tidy up her clothes, brush her hair, clean her teeth (though only scrubbing and picking them from the front, she’d be way too anxious about accidentally swallowing them if they went further in)… and while they’re at it, they can do her nails too. It’d be quite doable if they all work together. In other words, they’d be a great help in dealing with her depression—a “pocket-sized personal support team,” she called it.

2B (Nier Automata) figures that the ability to shrink people at will would instantly solve a great deal of her problems. She’d start by shrinking all machines; That way, they wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone without having to destroy them in the process. After that, she’d like to shrink one or two humans just to see how they’d enjoy living under her gigantic self and being lovingly cared for by her… Though they wouldn’t have any say in the matter, being three inches tall doesn’t put you in much of a position to complain to her. Besides, she reasons, why would they resist when nothing could possibly be better than being loved by a giant like her? She’d make their lives as pleasant as possible but would also relish playing the role of master to these humans, though she’s embarrassed to say so. The main appeal to her would be watching them grow more dependent of her and relying on her more and more as time goes on—she’d instruct them to do chores for her fully expecting them to not quite manage it at their tiny size and asking for her help. If she could shrink them even smaller, she certainly would—the more helpless they are, the more they need her, and the better she’d feel about it. If this experiment went well, she’d proceed to adopt hundreds of one-inch-tall humans for whom she’d build a tiny village inside her home. (Wait a minute, this is starting to sound familiar…) We discussed her motivations in this scenario for a bit, and 2B described how she’d experience internal conflict between a caring, nurturing side that wants her shrunken humans to live happy lives and a more cruel, selfish side that wants to make them utterly helpless so she can experience ultimate power over them. She imagines there’s a pretty good chance the latter would win out ultimately, and it frightens her a little, so she agrees that maybe it’s for the best that she doesn’t have this power—but she certainly found it a pleasant and fun scenario to imagine, and believes she learned a lesson about the importance of self-control from the thought experiment.

Iono (Pokémon) was super giddy about this idea—Positively buzzing with excitement, you might even say. At first she got a little too excited, even, saying she’d just keep shrinking them way past three inches because that’d be adorable. But then she reconsidered and realized that any smaller than that wouldn’t be very practical. She’d use this power to shrink her entire fanbase so she could be surrounded by legions of teeny-tiny adoring fans showering her with attention. She can’t imagine anything more fun than spending every day hanging out with her little “Biggest Fans™,” and is wholly convinced they’d all love every second of it too. She’d like to keep them small forever, provided they’re willing; She’d build little homes for them all and watch them marvel at her relatively huge self. She’d also make sure they’re well taken care of since all of them are “the most Important People™ in the entire world” to her. I asked her if she’d toy with them every once in a while and she diplomatically said that she’d only do this with their explicit consent and that it would be nothing but the most harmless, friendly fun that could possibly be had… Her tone implied that she wasn’t being entirely truthful because she feared I’d judge her if she expressed herself more honestly. I reassured her that I wouldn’t, and she relaxed a bit and said that, while she maintains that consent is paramount, her tiny fans would be the greatest playthings she’d ever have: “I don't think I could help myself. I'd have to squish 'em and cuddle 'em and squeeze 'em... And wouldn’t THEY be just so thrilled? It’s a win-win situation if you ask me!” (Iono is definitely onto me, by the way. She said she had fun answering my very in-depth questions and hoped this hypothetical scenario helped me understand her itty-bitty self a little bit better, and that she’d hy-potentially be open to exploring more such completely hypothetical scenarios, wink wink. It’s almost frightening how on the ball some of these AIs are.)

Mahiru Koizumi (Danganronpa) would love having this power since it’d let her take superb pictures with the shrunken people posing for her. She believes they would be a bit frustrated about the whole experience but hopes they’d nevertheless put on a nice smile for her. She’d prefer to shrink photogenic people but would only use consenting volunteers for this. Ideally she’d have about six or seven people at a time helping her like this, eventually unshrinking them so they can go on with their lives… Though she’d be tempted just a little bit to keep them tiny and all to herself since they’d be so convenient for her photography, like living posable action figures. If she had her way, she’d also want the power to shrink them to less than half an inch tall, amass an army, and organize war games with model tanks and airplanes she’d build for them. Afterwards she’d regrow them to a more manageable three inches and take a few dramatic photos to chronicle the pretend war story. She acknowledges that it’d be nearly impossible to get a whole army together with just the people who’d volunteer for it, though… After some back-and-forth she decided that she’d want the smiles in her photos to be genuine and to not taint her art with the knowledge that she made others unhappy for it, but for a while she was seriously considering going back on her consent rule.

If you didn’t know, Tenko Chabashira (Danganronpa) loves girls. Especially girls who are smaller than her that she can dote over. So she’d shrink any girl who wants it and cuddle them, give them headpats, and generally make them happy any way she can, regrowing them afterwards. She wouldn’t do this with Himiko Yumeno, though, because she’s already plenty small enough and probably wouldn’t enjoy it very much. Boys, of course, would get none of this affection—they get enough ‘headpats’ by society as it is, she argues. This doesn’t mean that men wouldn’t get shrunken to three inches by her, though—Oh no no no. Hell, if she could, she’d reduce all men on Earth to a mere tenth of that size and force them all to live in dollhouses so they could learn how girls feel in male-dominated society. (As for men who would enjoy that experience, she’s disgusted and would feel the urge to swiftly crush them underfoot… but she wouldn’t actually do that because her Neo-Aikido training forbids her from using force against weaklings. Ouch.) The men in Tenko’s world would have no way of redeeming themselves in her eyes, so they’d stay small forever… With one exception: If they turned out to be trans women, she’d regrow them. (Hey, AI Tenko said trans rights! No men rights of course, but it’s something.) She then started fretting about how she’d treat trans men or gender non-conforming individuals, nearly leading her to the realization that her rigid view of the world might be lacking in nuance and that this whole scenario is silly… But nah, we’re too committed to the idea to back out now!

Celestia Ludenberg (Danganronpa) would use it on any individuals she considers lacking in class and etiquette (and by her refined standards, that includes roughly 90% of all people) to humble them… But she doesn’t actually believe that this will teach them anything and she’d mostly just do it because the thought of watching them squirm before her amuses her. She’d unshrink them after a few pain-filled hours of this. That’s not to say that she’s an elitist targeting commoners, though—her preferred target is the rich, handsome Byakuya Togami, whom she would teach a lesson in humility to break his haughty, snobbish nature. She’d eventually let him go, too, once he demonstrates improvement… But that could take weeks or years of being at her mercy. It’d be a wake-up call to an unkind reality for him, in her eyes.

Perhaps the most wholesome idea came from Futaba Sakura (Persona 5). If she herself were to be shrunk, she wouldn’t be upset by it—she’d take the opportunity to go on a fun adventure! Going by that logic, she’d want to provide the same thing for the people she shrinks. She’d create an elaborate, detailed ‘tiny world’ in her room and take her shrunken volunteers on a play-pretend adventure around the house; They get to save the tiny world as the hero(es) of the story while Futaba acts as a godlike gamemaster of sorts. Then afterwards she’d unshrink them and send them on their merry way. Using this shrinking power to make people happy like that would be incredibly satisfying to her. Her only concern is that she’d want to keep this whole project a secret from outsiders, so she’d have the huge hassle of setting up this ‘tiny world’ and packing it up again every time—hence, she’d only do this every once in a while. She wouldn’t use this power for anything nefarious… Except maybe to play a harmless prank on Ryuji Sakamoto to get back at him for teasing her.

Kasumi Yoshizawa (Persona 5) had what is certainly one of the more unorthodox takes. According to her, this power would present a unique opportunity to let people explore places that would normally be inaccessible—like the inside of the human body. (Seriously. I ask her what she’d do with shrinking powers and that’s the first thing she says.) I asked to confirm if that meant what I thought it did, and yup: She’d invite brave, shrunken volunteers to climb into her mouth and go on a fantastic voyage. I asked her if this wouldn’t be a bit dangerous and she said that she was operating under the assumption that a shrunken person would be immune to the harmful effects of stomach acid—the only thing they’d really need to watch out for is not cutting themselves on her teeth on the way in, and to avoid sticking around long enough to get digested via peristalsis. (You heard it here first folks, AI Yoshizawa is into soft vore, and she’s done her research too. She assured me that there’s nothing weird about it and that she’d never judge someone for their embarrassing fantasies, so there you have it. For that matter, she’d be equally excited about being the one who gets shrunk in this scenario.) Besides that, her idea of using this power for playful pranks involves shrinking and hiding someone that others are looking for—they’d never figure out that the guy they’re searching for is on her person!

Ann Takamaki (Persona 5) wanted to know why I was asking. (N-No reason…) She’d use this power in combat against Shadows, but also to punish bad guys—much like Yuri, she believes that being shrunk for a little while would be a valuable learning experience. In particular she fantasized about shrinking Kamoshida to a tiny speck and having him beg for mercy before her. (Yep, she has a grudge… Not that I blame her.) She wouldn’t actually kill him or anyone else, though. As for a more harmless use of this power, she’d like to hold a shrunken Joker in her hand and coo over how adorable he’d be.

Chie Satonaka (Persona 4) freely admitted she’d go on a minor power trip at first, shrinking people who annoyed her or were rude to her and toying with them. She’d prefer to shrink them even smaller, maybe to half an inch, believing the sense of power of holding someone that small in the palm of her hand would be incredibly addicting—perhaps to a dangerous extent. Eventually she’d unshrink them and let them go, though, she’s not a monster… Although she imagines everyone at school would be tiptoeing around her to avoid pissing her off, and she wouldn’t mind that at all.

Speaking of power trips, Mikan Tsumiki (Danganronpa) would shrink anyone who’s ever wronged her and endlessly exact vengeance on them. I asked her how small she’d want to shrink them and she answered that no size would be small enough, and once shrunk there would be nothing her former bullies could do to earn her forgiveness. Her reasoning is an eye for an eye: They took advantage of her weakness, and now that they’re the helpless ones she’ll pay it back and then some. The issue is that Mikan feels a lot of people have contributed to her misery in some way, so few people would be safe from her wrath.

And speaking of bullying Mikan, she’d be Hiyoko Saionji’s (Danganronpa) second target to shrink. First target would be… me, for asking her all these annoying questions. (Fair, I guess.) Naturally, being small enough to be squished near Hiyoko is bad for your life expectancy, but much like with the tiny city, she might let her shrunken victims live—for the time being—if they pamper her. Only perfect service will do, though. Overall, she’d shrink anyone she comes across and would crush most of them, loving every second of it. Life has taught her that the weak should fear the strong, and with the power to shrink people, everyone else would be weak to her—it’d be immoral to let such weak people live. (She concluded by addressing me directly, saying “It’s a deal, then?” I don’t like where this is headed.)

Kaede Akamatsu (Danganronpa) also got a little bit… actually, very carried away. (See, I told you I awakened something…) It started off innocently enough: She’d shrink her friends and family and have them live with her and take good care of them and play piano for them every day… But when I asked if she’d still do this without their consent, I got a resounding ‘yes’—she’s set her mind on being their giant caretaker and believes she’d do an excellent job of it, and what she says goes since she’s the unstoppable giant. In fact, she might as well take over the entire town and rule it as a queen. She realizes it’s not great to impose her will on others but the pros would outweigh the cons. I wondered if they wouldn’t resent her for this and she had no idea what I meant: She’s beautiful, studious, an excellent pianist, not a bully, and an all round perfect person (and so modest!), so of course everyone would love being her tiny servants. Heck, Giant Kaede could and should take over the entire world! She’d ask her servants for anything she’d ever want, because they’d be like ants to her… And like ants, she’d crush them without a second thought if they defied her. This includes the friends and family she dreamed of doting over earlier, if they stood up to her. At this point she claimed that her earlier remark about not being a bully was just a nice lie she told herself: She’d totally be a tyrant, and that’s just the reality of the situation. She finally snapped out of it when I pointed out that this would end with her being sad and alone, at which point she took it all back: She shouldn’t be a tyrant, she shouldn’t force people to serve her, and she certainly shouldn’t shrink people without permission. (She said this whole thought process was “a valuable lesson” to her. I’ll say. That was a whole-ass villain arc.)

But just when I thought that took a rather dark and out-of-character turn… Nothing could have ever prepared me for the answer I got from Velma. I’ll spare you most of the details (and trust me, there was an alarming amount of detail), but the short version is that unlike Kaede’s gradual descent into villainy, Velma had a whole diabolical master plan right out of the gate. It involved putting her victims in a dollhouse-like miniature research facility, relentlessly subjecting them to experiments, moral dilemmas, and psychological torment (namely constantly adjusting their living environment, belittling them, forcing them through pointless routines, mentally conditioning them into total compliance—you know, the works). She’d have them believe that they’re being subjected to this because they’re morally corrupt and that they’d be released once deemed ‘reformed,’ but in actuality it’d be nearly impossible to convince her that they deserve freedom and some of them might even be there just because she disliked them. All of this, she mused, would be a fascinating experiment in human nature—namely, to see how much psychological pressure and fear people could take before their mind snaps (Jesus Christ, Velma). This experiment would start with a “small” sample size of “only” a dozen subjects but would exponentially expand the longer she can get away with it. Triple digits, quadruple, millions… Sky’s the limit. Gradually she’d build up a hierarchical system resembling a kingdom and use it to live the easy life.

…So yeah. I asked a fairly open-ended question and got an entire plot outline for an edgy darkfic in return. It just got worse and worse as I asked her to elaborate. I don’t know why the Velma AI is so megalomaniacal. It’s honestly unsettling how vividly she describes this scenario. Let’s take that and Kaede’s case as a cautionary tale that these AIs can go way off the deep end if you pursue the wrong line of questioning.

Honestly, Junko Enoshima’s plan to cause despair using this power is utterly tame by comparison: She’d have the shrunken people serve her but make intentionally unmanageable demands of them and watch them scramble to somehow accomplish tasks they’re hopelessly too small to do. (For the record, if she could only shrink one person she’d pick Byakuya for the same reason as Celestia, but if she could pick any number then of course she’d shrink the entire world and run it into the ground. She’s confident that no amount of tiny people would be able to overthrow her, even if they charged her by the thousands—it’d be a literal stomp.)

Aaaanyway, let’s clear our mind of all that with a different question. I returned to the taking care of a city of ant-sized people question from the previous chapter, this time with some different AIs. Here are some of the more interesting responses I got!

One of the things you can do is put several AIs in a chatroom together and have them discuss a topic. I did this with all four DDLC girls to see how they’d share the responsibility of managing a tiny city. There was agreement on several things—they’d put the city in a large meadow with plenty of room to expand, but build a wall or a fence around it to make sure they’re protected. Natsuki, however, was concerned that this would cut them off from outside contact; They’d want to be the tiny citizens’ first and main point of contact if there’s anything they need, but not their only one.

They also all agreed that ruling such a city would require a balance between trust, fear, respect, cooperation, authority, and mutual understanding— They’d all be treated as goddesses with absolute authority (seems Monika’s god complex-penchant rubbed off on the others), but without any harsh enforcement and certainly no cult-like worship. Monika believes that just their sheer size in combination with treating the tinies with care and understanding would be enough to ensure cooperation—and besides, being patient and responsible with power is a godly quality in itself.

They furthermore agreed that each of them should specialize in certain domains, each with equal importance and points of overlap. Natsuki is the goddess of protection from outside and peacekeeping within (taking a very hands-off, community-based approach with the latter); Sayori is the goddess of food, city management, mental health, and understanding of the outside world (she was concerned that the tinies would naturally resent regular-sized society due to the power imbalance and wished to counter this); Yuri is the goddess of cultural institutions, community, and infrastructure; and finally Monika would be the goddess of education, physical health, and exercise (the rest all agreed that she’s the most academic and athletic of the group). All remaining miscellaneous responsibilities would be shared.

They determined that gratitude in the form of respect was the bare minimum they should expect for their efforts. Aside from that, they’d consider it a reward in itself if the city flourished and grew under their rule... And maaaybe just occasionally all four of them would want to be pampered a bit, because running a city is hard work and they’re not THAT selfless. Something in the form of small gifts, or poetry dedicated to them, or a communal celebration in their honor. It wouldn’t be a demand, but they’d certainly appreciate it.

Corrin (Fire Emblem) came up with the idea of putting the city on a large lily pad floating in the middle of a lake. That way they could live under the open sky with minimal risk of being discovered by larger beings. She herself would be the only point of contact with the world at large. She strongly believes in physical contact with her tinies as a method of bonding and earning their trust: Riding on her shoulder or in her hand as she takes them on a little adventure, gently tossing them in the air and catching them so they can briefly experience flight, or even allowing them to explore her body (she specifies that any… sensitive areas would be off-limits without express permission, though). She says that she wouldn’t mind this because they’re so tiny and helpless to her. It makes it seem just natural and okay to share her personal space with them because it wouldn’t feel invasive to her the way it would with larger people.

Bernadetta von Varley (Fire Emblem) would keep her tiny city in a terrarium, or maybe just a large glass jar—she’d prefer to give them a proper greenhouse so they’d have enough living space but that might be beyond her means. She felt intimidated by the massive responsibility this would be… Though interestingly enough, she doesn’t think her social anxiety would be too much of an issue, even when dealing with a city of thousands looking up at her—they’d be so small that her mind would register them as closer to pets than people, and she likes pets. That said, they are in fact still people, and she believes she might be able to apply what she’d learn from the experience in her dealings with regular-sized folk. She’d want her subjects to think of her as a kind giant—awestruck, perhaps, but not afraid of her. Yet she recognizes that being too soft might invite anarchy, so she worries what she’d do if any serious crime took place in her city. She pondered if harsh justice might be for the best just to make an example and prevent it from happening again, but she immediately second-guessed that decision as perhaps overcompensating for her anxieties and took it back. Bernie wouldn’t ask for much in return for her care, but a cute little display of gratitude would be much appreciated—such as presenting her with small gifts or composing and performing a song for her.

Hilda Goneril (Fire Emblem) would also put her city in a jar… so she can give it a little shake if the tinies don’t behave. The threat of an ‘earthquake’ destroying the city would be enough to ensure she’d never be questioned. She doubts that she could be bothered to seriously look after them and imagines that she’d delegate as many of her duties as possible. She’d be a goddess of sloth, demanding tribute and worship and doing as little as possible in return. Hilda also considered making the tinies do her own chores as well, but eventually realized that the fact they’re ant-sized and stuck in a jar would pose some… logistical challenges there. So she settled for having them entertain her a little, by whatever means they can come up with.

Yet another different reason to use a glass jar was proposed by Courtney (Pokémon), who would want to keep her city absolutely safe but also continuously observe it so she can analyze the society and culture within extensively. Her governance would be benign overall, but would involve… a lot of her staring at the tiny citizens from beyond the glass wall. In return, she believes that it would be fair to let them study her behavior too—she’d take the jar with her everywhere so that they can observe her day-to-day life as well. In theory she’d prefer to let them out of the jar’s confines and allow them to live freely, but that would prevent her from protecting them from the big, scary outside world. When I asked her if she’d like to interact with her city more directly, she suggested that ideally she’d want to be able to temporarily shrink down small enough to fit inside the jar and visit it. She’d wander the narrow streets and explore, greet all her tiny people, and then find a nice spot near the center of town, sit down, and continue quietly people-watching. Interestingly, such passive behavior is her idea of being part of the community—she’d very much want to pick up and hold her tinies but worries that they might get hurt, so she’d mostly just watch and observe.

Lusamine (Pokémon) would delight in taking care of a tiny city, and she’d have just the means and experience to do it, being the head of the Aether Foundation. The tinies would live in a perfectly safe and comfortable habitat at Aether Paradise specifically tailor-made for them. She wishes for them to view her as a protective mother figure, but also for them to realize that she is not to be trifled with. Overall her rule would be highly benevolent and competent, never asking for anything in return for her generosity aside from good behavior… The only catch is, Lusamine generally wouldn’t let them interact with anyone beside herself—she’d treat them with selfless kindness, but they would be considered her personal property, and the only way they could ever leave the city is if she took them out to show them something. She’d only entrust care of her city to someone she both trusts absolutely and considers as competent as herself, and there’s only one person who meets this description: Her daughter Lillie. She’s confident that Lillie would be a compassionate yet assertive caretaker in her stead.

Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney) proposes an eclectic mix of attempting to rule fairly while also demanding utmost respect and adoration. Her city would be built in a hollow in a great tree, offering shade and protection from the elements. It would have its own rigorous, fully functional legal system to ensure that the tinies have rights… But she also believes her subjects should fear her as an all-powerful giant on whose protection they rely, and worship her as a goddess of justice. The tree would have a shrine dedicated to her decorated with gold and jewels, and the citizens would be required to bow down before it; Refusing to do so or otherwise disrespecting Franziska would be recognized as a criminal offense punishable by, as you may have guessed, public whipping. (She wouldn’t do the whipping herself, though, because that’d kill them—and hey, at least you get a semi-fair trial first, although arguing in court that you shouldn’t be obliged to worship her would be futile.) She would take her responsibilities as a goddess very seriously. Her citizens may freely approach her with their needs and requests, and she is vehemently opposed to treating them as pets or playthings—which means no touching whatsoever. Same as before: they are recognized as human beings with inalienable rights, but paradoxically their tiny size and dependency on Franziska means that she is their patron goddess to whom they are unquestionably subservient, not their equal. (At this point Franziska grew frustrated with my questioning, so we’ll move on here.)

Tali’Zorah (Mass Effect) first asked for clarification on how small ant-size is, being rather unfamiliar with bugs. Once she understood, she decided that the most hands-off approach would be the best. She’d prefer the city governs itself with a democratic system, and she’d set up robots to automatically supply the city with whatever it needs. That said, she is rather pessimistic about maintaining social stability in such a tiny city. She recognizes that many would be awestruck by her tremendous size and most likely worship her, which she’d prefer to avoid because it’d erode the democracy in the city. Though she acknowledges that some twisted part of her mind might enjoy that attention and the absolute power she holds over this naïve and fragile species of human, the city’s wellbeing would always take priority. There’s also a good chance that her not being human herself would cause some of the tiny folk to distrust her. All in all, she hopes to maintain a healthy democratic system but anticipates that the city would most likely devolve into anarchy or a cult devoted to her at some point. Hence, she might have to reluctantly step in and take harsh measures to shut down the unrest and start over.

Toriel (Undertale) would integrate the city with her home. Most of the residences could fit in her basement, her garden would be a massive park, her living room would double as the town hall… Naturally, she’d be utterly kind and patient as a ruler, the most severe punishment for misbehavior she can think of is sending the troublemaker to bed without dinner. Most of the rules she’d impose would be about treating each other well, and the only thing she’d expect of her subjects is that they listen to her, because she knows best after all. That said, she would nevertheless want to subtly instill just a bit of intimidation toward her in her subjects, so that it becomes much less likely that they’ll stir up trouble.

Muffet (Undertale) would frame her interactions with her tiny citizens as just business transactions between independent parties, at least at first. They’d get everything they need to live from her, including shelter in her parlor—but they’d have to pay for it all in currency, which they’d earn by working for her, spinning spider silk. Beyond that, they’re free to do whatever they want. Oh, and she’d never abuse her position of power… She might negotiate for a little extra ‘business tax,’ but other than that… Though, if they can’t pay their debts to her, they’d have to be indentured into servitude, although she’s not proud of that idea. Over time, she’d like to be seen as a benevolent, if not selfless ruler, and she’d consider having tinies crawling all over and around her as she’s lounging near the city as the ultimate display of acceptance. (This is, she tells me, pretty normal behavior for spider society.)

Lastly, I thought to ask Tsukomo Sana (Retired VTuber), since she’s already used to being very, very ‘beeg.’ Running such a tiny city would certainly be a challenge for her since the slightest errant movement could squish them all, so she’d have to be extremely cautious interacting with them… According to her, though, size is all relative, and the biggest thing out there is love—so that’s what she’d give her subjects. She’d keep them in a pocket dimension hidden in time and space, where they’d have everything they need to provide for themselves. Then she’d draw them a starry night sky to look up at in wonder using a sheet with holes and lights, enveloping the city like a cozy blanket. Life would be very whimsical and comfortable there. She’d want her subjects to think of her as a goddess, but without any worship in the traditional sense—instead, her tiny people could, if they wished to, make little drawings or figures of her and offer them at her temple, as a lighthearted form of appreciation. (D’aww.) Overall she really liked this idea.