BabyMorgan

Got a good chuckle at the DB Cooper cameo!

I’ll chime in here too. I vote to keep going. This is obviously prequel to your other stories and is expanding the universe with more color and context. And since you have just one instance of the possible DD world, fleshing it out makes a lot of sense. Not every story is right for every little or big. There are a lot of stories that I don’t care about. It’s no criticism as to the quality. Just that the story doesn’t interest me. On the other hand, there are a lot of stories that really resonate with me. Those I follow fanatically (even though I lurk much more than post.) Your work is entertaining and I personally think you should be doing a Patreon. Don’t let one opinion throw you off your game. Now, if you start seeing Rotten Tomatoes ratings for your stories below that of “Baby Geniuses 2”, you might want to rethink your life choices…. Just saying. 😅

Really enjoying all of your stories. They have a different voice compared to a lot out there and it’s been really enjoyable. Some feedback for you from someone in a power wheelchair. You’ve done a pretty good job of conveying some of the trials and tribulations that people on wheels face. You nailed it about not wanting people to take control of our chair. I have friends who have handles on the back of the chair that they have covered with embroidered fabric reading ‘Pushing me without permission is kidnapping.’ My powerchair doesn’t have handles, but you would not believe how often people, including strangers, will lean on the chair. To the quote above, being ignored or talked about - but not to - is a very common occurrence when you are in a chair. This would not be a new thing for Patrick. It would absolutely be his lived experience from the previous five years. In the Bigs world it would come more from his size rather than the chair but the behavioral pattern is nothing new. It doesn’t matter the situation- people will always talk to my spouse or my kids before they will address me. My wife teases me that I turn invisible once I go out in public but she isn’t entirely wrong. On multiple occasions, I’ve waited in line to make a purchase at a store, gotten to my turn and the cashier looked right over my head and called up the person waiting behind me. And the person behind me - walks around me to be helped. It’s all I can do to not throw a world class overly-tired-toddler grade temper tantrum - succumbing to my inner Little. Occasionally, my wife whispers in my ear that if I do blow, she will get out my binky and make me use it. I’ve had doctors and nurses who are supposed to know better ignore me or play condescending until I point out that my ears work just fine as does my brain. That I actually graduated multiple times from college, hold a full time job and sit on the boards of a couple of nonprofit organizations. I am a (mostly) functional ‘adult’ who is actually capable of making my own decisions. But they frequently ignore or talk down to me. (Now the Little side of me turns all gooey, but the Big in me hates it.) The real fun comes when we have to take a van into the repair shop. We get to play the ‘do they ignore the woman or the person in the wheelchair’ game. I could write an entire masters thesis on that question alone. It’s great fun to watch their mental gears grind and brain cells start exploding. Most wheelchair users develop an incredibly stubborn streak. A lot of independence has been lost so preserving the remaining abilities can become an obsession. Patrick’s willingness to take the leap- hoping to improve before he hits the bottom is spot on. I’ve been willing to try almost anything in order to recapture some of what I have lost. For Patrick, the thought of losing more control over his body and life is very much at war with the hope for improvement. So much comes down to tradeoffs. And you a doing a great job in conveying his inner struggles.

ASFD was my first awareness of others being attracted to diapers. My earliest memories all focus on diapers and wanting to be put back into them but it wasn’t until college that I first found the Usenet group. I learned about Tommy’s Diaper Pail Friends printed newsletter. I was a subscriber and we would order photocopied stories from him. DPF predated all of the electronic sources. Then people started posting stories for free on Usenet. To this day, I have two favorite stories from ASFD - College Daze (written by a member here) and Psychological Remedies. Sadly neither were finished. And I’m not if they are still available anywhere. IRC was my next big discovery and I got heavily involved in talking with people in the #DPF channel. Think the great-grandfather of Discord. I met a lot of people there and to meet a few in real life. There was even a discrete meetup of about 20 people at Disneyland. I still consider a lot of them my friends, even if it has been almost 30 years.

I’ve been having much the same thoughts as BabySofia wondering which of the many paths she will ultimately travel down. My take at this point is that she finishes the regression. Her root anxiety at the beginning is repeatedly focused on the loss of her friends. Lola and Dani’s transition from best friends to older mentors seems to be where the scramble begins - clawing at the ground with her nails to keep from slipping any further away. At each age transition she has to rediscover herself and how she fits into the world. Sofias catch of ‘letting go’ appears where she finds herself struggling against the seemingly inevitable process. Once she can find equilibrium then it’s time for the next step back. It feels like the point where the remaining adult intelligence processing looks at where she has landed. She didn’t lose Lola - rather her role shifts from friends to sisters. The triangle of friendship between Isabelle, Lola, and Dani has reformed into a bond that is profoundly deeper. Jane has transformed from the single parent who is doing and sacrificing everything to support Isabelle’s dreams to a doting mom who is focused on Isabelle’s current happiness. Jane’s relationship with Sam represents a shift from scraping-by single mom to an affluent family that truly loves each other. Jane gains a loving and supportive husband. Isabelle gains a father. I have found it interesting how frequently Isabelle talks about her outfits. She notes the changes with each evolution but never seems to realize that the shoes don’t ever change. They are simply a constant. Given how much energy she poured in to determining the cause of her regression, the blind spot around the shoes is completely out of character. But that is the seeming power of the shoes. My prediction for the end is that Isabelle lets go and chooses happiness. The marriage of Jane and Sam along with his adoption of Isabelle seals the promise of the new family and their future. Lola becoming the official sister and the continuation of the triad friendship convinces Isabelle that she won’t lose her friends. Jane gets what Isabelle believes she deserves. Everyone is ’better’ than they were. And the shoes. Well, I think this is where the decision is finally made. The blinders fall away. Isabelle gets one final future vision of performing and realizes that she will keep her passion and talents. The shoes make the promise- that Isabelle has ultimately lost nothing - only gained. She will become the dancer of her dreams. Her mom, dad and sister will help her in a giant circle of love.