Awwww, that was a cute story. ^^ Seems like the parents just didn't want to let go of their baby. I doubt I would ever want to get out of my pocky pants. Hehe

<LoL!> You are such a silly skunky. *Crinklehugs*

This story is based off of what I learned when I was at the Colorado Center for the Blind coupled with my own, life experiences.

My parents didn't shelter me as much as Twinkle, but I have met people who have been EXTREMELY sheltered for fear from mom and dad not knowing how to properly push their disabled child. I'll never forget how sad I was when I met the two, High School aged kids who had better sight than me who had no clue as to what to do next. Worse, they didn't even seem to have any aspirations or ideas of how to attain a life goal beyond what they were told to. :(

My mom and dad always kicked my tush into motion. I'm eternally grateful for that. Though, I did learn my dad let me use a bottle up until I was 5. So, in a way, I think matters such as that contributed to why I keep wanting to go back and be a safe baby again. *Rocking Crinklehugs*

Awwww *crinklehugs* That's cute. ^^ I can imagine you taking bottles to kindergarten for snack time. Hehe. My parents were always pushing me too, but I still liked playing with toys and being more of a kid than an adult.

Aww, that's such a sweet story! It's sad how sometimes, parents end up hurting their child by not letting them experience things, even if they are doing that because they think it's for their own good. It's such an especially common scenario for those with disabilities, so I think it's super great that that you would write something that says, hey it's okay to venture out into the world sometimes!

Thank you so kindly, Skye. Your comment here means the world to me. Especially as you are one of the few who I know can read it and genuinely give a "Yay" or "Neigh" to the portrayal of such a character.

Meeting Meredith Simms, voice and writer of Snowdrop, made me realize I need to do more work to get out feelings I have towards the condition of blindness. How can I advocate for the cause of the visually impaired, or anyone else with a disability, if I don't do anything myself to address the issue?

Once I get some other duckies in a row, I'm going to return to writing my Project: Ezil. This story is MUCH longer, easy to read, and follows a fox teen who has sight like I used to before 2006. However, unlike me, she gets over pretending she doesn't have a disability and learns that, through the proper tools, friends, and support, you can do anything!

There are moments when, in writing stories like this, I wish I was able to go back in time and talk to myself when I was a teenager. Let myself know how I was only fooling myself by trying to be someone that I wasn't. Though, I wouldn't be the me today if I did not learn some of my lessons the hard way.

Thanks so much again for reading this work. My heart was really into it and, as such, I did it in less than two days! A real record for me as of late. I also wrote it entirely using my JAWS Screen Reading program. Didn't need to look at the screen until I uploaded it to my other computer and made a few, fine edits. :) Made it much more relaxing as, now, standard writing, outside of comments like this, is really tough. :(

I really enjoy your narrative style. Reminds me of when I read Thomas the tank engine when I was little. Except less English lol. The story is endearing too!

I'm quite flattered that my friendship with Kyle helped inspire part of this o3o this was a really nice little short story and I hope one day you get published, it's very sweet :3

I'm glad you enjoyed it. As with Skye, your opinion on this super-duper means a lot as you understand the material from a more personal level. Therefore, if I failed in any way at conveying the message, you two would've certainly let me know so I could make another crack at it. :)

Could you guess where and how you and Kyle inspired me in this story? It's kind of obvious, but it meant a lot to go in that route. Nothing being implied, but I like the idea of how you two seem to compliment and inspire each other. It's a wonderful thing as, borrowing a phrase, "Friendship is Magic". Especially true friendship in which both parties are equally supportive of one another.

When I get around to Project: Ezil, I would love to hear your take on it. I have over 30+ chapters done, all of which are no more than 3 pages each. I just want to do some "Housekeeping" before posting them again.

Since meeting you, talking with Skye, being inspired by Snowdrop, and my recent, ocular adventures, I may just start working on, and finishing, that story this weekend. It's going to be an epic adventure, but one that I hope takes what you read here and adds more attention to how sight isn't the only sense for which one can work through.

Nope. It's really good. I wanna show it to Kyle, he's busy right now with school (has to study for a test) but I told him about it and he thought it was really endearing that you were inspired by our friendship. In fact, that's a lot like what our relationship is like, we build off of each other so much, we could pretty much do anything together! He inspires me and I inspire him to work harder.

What is it about? I've heard you mention it a few times but wasn't quite clear what the story is about.

Hey you know what, it's awesome that I helped inspire you. I mean, really, I don't even know what to say :U

You don't need to say anything. I am just glad you were alright with me using you and Kyle as kind of a "Template" for how I brought Twinkle and Perky together. The way you described Kyle's determination and how you help him made me more able to believe such a relationship could be built and, thus, made it possible to keep the story short, sweet, and to the point while ensuring the message got across. After all, in the end, it's meant for an age group between 4 and 8. All the "Haposaur" works Nishi and I do are meant for that target demographic. :)

As for Project: Ezil, it is about a fox girl by the name of Bo Foxtrot. She was born with what boils down to what I was. And, like me, she was raised to be too proud to seek out any assistance. She was "Just like everyone else" and, like my dad had me firmly believing, "I WAS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!"

One day, Bo is on her way to school after missing the bus when, suddenly, a mild earthquake occurs that causes the path she walks on to collapse beneath her. When she comes to, she discovers an ancient, ceremonial site that had long been sealed away. The seal being broken by the quake, she ends up meeting one her world's gods, Morgan, who decides to take her under his wing for he portends a great tragedy to come and feels only she can stop it.

The story largely focuses on how Morgan gives her a dragon egg that was locked away in the chamber she found. This dragon acts as a "Companion" and behaves based on Bo's emotions. She names him "Glowey" for how he can change color. He, along with cane training and other adaptive techniques, show Bo the power of independence, friendship, and trust.

There's a lot more "Magical" and "Adventure" stuff in it. However, the gist is focused on how Bo overcomes a number of obstacles and challenges "without" her eyes. Her coolest feature, that I'm proud of, is she uses her cane to draw "Magical Seals" that cast spells. She just slams it into the ground, spins in a circle, and voila! Gives using a cane a new twist. :)

nonono I WANT to show him! It's really cute and nice. I think he'll like it. He said that he thought that you were a really sweet person after I told him about you.

well how I see it, you're born the way you are, that's what you know. So if you're born blind/visually impaired, you don't know what it means to be "normal", so what is "abnormal" to others is normal to you. It's obviously something that is about people born with conditions. But obviously the character in the story was born that way. I don't get why people are so focused on what "you're missing out on" because it's totally normal to Kyle or even me to a lesser extent :p

Hahaha that sounds really interesting and funny too. The cane is a very fun thing to play around with in terms of its uses. I wanna make a game, sadly it wouldn't be accessible, but the idea derives from the duality between me and Kyle. The light world is white while the blind world is dark, and they each have special abilities. Each one can detect things the other can't, and the blind one uses his cane for all sorts of interesting things. I wanna read your story! Show it to me when it's done! Or even just links to the chapters!

I must say, you certainly have inspired me to get back to writing Project: Ezil. I do believe, either this weekend or next, I'll go through and start editing all the chapters I have done and then, with my mind all fresh, keep on chugging until the work is finished.

It's funny, or perhaps makes sense, but I see a lot of my writing as a "Video Game". Since I couldn't see well enough for sports, like baseball, football, etc., as a kid, my folks were quite cool about getting me a Nintendo, Super Nintendo, etc. Beating video games was a huge accomplishment for me and, through many of them, I got inspired to write. They are what got me started into writing in the first place. :)

Project: Ezil is actually also a game concept. There are even parts in the story, in which would be great with a game that has a rumble feature, in which Bo totally has to rely on the sound of her cane and the type of "Feedback" she gets from using it in its many forms. I'm sure Kyle is a master of all the cane techniques and knows a number of epic ways to get around in all sorts of places.

Your game idea sounds fun! I imagine it as one that is like a Co-Op. You either can play 2P at once, or you do like what they did with Resident Evil: Zero where you tag between the two characters using a button on the controller. Each character is best suited to perform specific tasks and only through proper planning and teamwork can an area be cleared.

I have some of the first Chapters of "Ezil" on here. I'll link you via a Shout. :) I hope you enjoy what you read. I started it back in 2006, worked more on it in 2009, and hope to actually finish it before 2015. :) Wish me luck!

Oh, if you have any advice, please let me know. :)

You know, Kyle's played a ton of video games. He seems to really like Mortal Kombat/Street FIghter and we make jokes about it.

The idea is that they're one in the same, but only one can occupy reality at one time. The sighted girl can see things but misses things that can only be detected by sound. The blind man can use his cane for all sorts of things, and make sounds to echolocate in dark areas, or find invisible platforms. I also would want to incorporate cooperation between the two forms, such as them having puzzles based on their unique abilities - for example, the girl can shoot out flames, and he can ride on the updrafts.

I'll let you know individual reviews later, I'm pretty tired after school right now though.

Hey, I understand where you are coming from. Each class is a job itself and rest is important to ensure you stay sharp and don't go crazy.

When I was in college, especially in my Masters, I made it a point to stop doing any school work after 9:00 PM. This helped me to relax and not push myself into an anxiety attack on some nights. :)

I like the idea of your game. I think it could be a fun, side project to do as you get around to it. You wouldn't need to work too hard on graphics either. How are you at pixel art? Some simple sprites could make the game good

Kyle reminds me a lot of a very tech-savvy, totally blind friend I had when I was at the CCB. His name was Richard and he would tell me how awesome he was at all sorts of Fighting games. This actually makes sense as, for most, it's all a matter of just mastering the movies and having fun leaping and running about. As he is totally blind and unable to see, it means he is totally random and, therefore, the sighted player can truly make no real predictions on how he might act upon a move (s)he makes.

What would be really nice is if they made an audio version of "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney" and its subsequent games. They are all pretty much stories that play out as games. All one would really need is a screen reader and a few tweaks here-and-there to make it an accessible game. Too bad CAPCOM is likely not up for that. :(

That was a great little story! And definitely sounds like what would happen with parents trying to be protective and keeping their kids from what they fear. It's great those two met and got to be such good friends. I think the story pace is just right too - it highlights what went on between them, and goes on to tell about their future for a bit before coming to a good close. Very nice work!

Thank you, Nishi. Of all my work, the work I do with our Hapo is the one that truly makes me the happiest. Especially with this story being a very tricky one for me to personally write as it hits very close to home.

Now that I've gotten my "Rewrites" out of the way, I think I'm going to move onto Project: Ezil. It's calling me to do it and, well, it shall be done. :)