I have a lot of first parts of writing I might continue. Here's one.

Lethal injection, consensual, semi-casual, children

Myrtle approached the pharmacy counter. “Hi, I need ten Little Angels.”

The pharmacist seemed surprised. “Ten? Are you sure?”

“They're going to be birthday party favors.”

“Oh, that's a cute idea!” She stepped away, rummaged around, and after a couple of minutes returned with a modest carton covered in the usual logos and text. “Here we are, ten doses of Mortaxim Juvenile Formula in single-use injectors for self-administration. You've probably seen the ads, but just as a reminder, you take the black caps off both ends of the injector, just pull straight, and press the red end against the child's belly to right or left of the navel, at least two of your finger-widths away, or four of theirs. Older children can do this for themselves with supervision, younger ones may require a little assistance. Press down on the white plunger until you hear a click. You don't have to press specially hard. There should be no more discomfort than a hard pinch, and the child will begin feeling pleasantly woozy within two to five minutes, accompanied by engorgement of the erectile tissues of the genitals and nipples. Death should occur within five to fifteen minutes. It's not approved for children under four years of age or twenty kilos in weight, and for those over twelve years or fifty kilos, or who have started puberty, you should use Mortaxim Adult, OK?”

“Oh, I always keep a couple of those around the house. Might as well pick up a couple extra, though, as long as I'm here.”

“Good thinking.”

The ad campaign for “Little Angels” was as inspired as it was simple. Each video followed a child, at full length and without editing, as they requested the drug, self-administered it, and died. In the corner was a little inset showing a trace of their heartbeat, although without the annoying beep sounds of hospital monitors. Even though the videos were sometimes ten minutes long, they held attention, and many people watched them without skipping ahead. It was well known that audiences eagerly awaited the new ads when they came out, which happened frequently, but the old ones stayed in rotation and continued to get plenty of views. Each ad was different in its details, not just the child, older or younger, boy or girl, white or black or whatever ; and the degree of adult assistance ; but also the setting, typically a comfortable one, whether the child's bedroom, or the living room while watching a movie with the family, or a playground, a beach, occasionally someplace like an amusement park.

One feature which excited particular enthusiasm was a series of six connected ads, starring the girls at a sleepover party. That had become enough of a trend in recent years that greeting-card makers had begun to provide packs of “sleep over (and never wake up!)” invitations. Some fun new twists on classic activities like “Spin the Bottle” had begun to appear. There was just something special for a mom, listening for the noise from the bedroom to quiet down one final time. A popular variation, which caused some controversy but had its strong supporters, was for the parents to wait until the kids settled, and then come into the room with the injectors to tuck them in. Very often this ended with the chaperones getting frisky and injecting each other, and being found the next morning by the other parents when they came to pick up their children's bodies. Some parents preferred to wait until morning, and then pass around the injectors in lieu of breakfast.

The print campaign was similar. An ad might be a multi-page spread in a parenting magazine, or a collage of images occupying a full page in a newspaper, but its focus was always a single child and their experience. There was no need for fancy promotional efforts. It was one of those products that genuinely sold itself, once people saw what it did. Who it was meant for, why they might want it, were all unambiguous. The popular product was also sold in “Companion Packs” with one child and one adult dose, and those ads had their own loyal following. Their Valentine ads, featuring the special heart-shaped packaging, were particularly awaited every year. Watching a little kid shyly or boldly hand the box to Mommy or Daddy or a favourite sibling, sitter, or teacher was always a special treat. Of course some viewers had a definite preference for the ads in which adult men appeared, and typically pumped out truly spectacular volumes of semen as they slipped away.

Naturally, the Adult-formulation injectors, sold as “Perfect Moments”, were also available in fancy presentation boxes, for a Valentine's or anniversary gift, or even a truly memorable first date. The most spectacular ad campaign to date, and one that would be hard to top, was for the introduction of the Maternity Formula. Twice a day, every day for a month, a video of a beautiful, heavily-pregnant woman, eight or nine months along, with two (or in a few cases three or even four) heart-rate traces stuttering to a halt. During that month, hospital maternity departments reported a 20% decline in admissions, and condom sales nationwide fell fifty per cent in the first week.