The Real Me (Neo-Twiny Jam 2023)

This Neo Twiny Jam game, written in 500 words or less, is the story of a young fairy that is trans.

The balance here is interesting. There are a lot of games and stories out there about being trans, and even more that are allegories for being trans. Some of these are incredibly effective, while others can be confusing.

This one overall has a lot of authenticity but can be confusing at times as it mixes between the explicitly trans nature of the character and the fantastical allegory for it as a fairy who doesn't feel like a fairy. It felt like the same dialogue twice, once at a whisper and once as a shout, and I wonder if it could have been stronger to structure it in some different way.

Through a fantasy setting, a fairy describes his experience of finding and accepting their identity in the face of adversity. It is quite emotional and raw.

The author wrote two vignettes for Neo Twiny Jam, and although A Crown of Ash was a more evocative title, The Real Me lasted with me a bit longer. It's a story of a fairy who's a trans man, but it cuts a bit more about that, to the general "being a bit different and people know it" to having even people who think they understand failing to understand. They see you as part of a block. This happens with any sort of nonconformism e.g. "I really respect nerds' work ethic. But maybe I could use their brains better!"

Having a fairy as the main character was interesting for me because, well, isn't it cool enough to be a fairy and have magic powers? You should be grateful for that. But of course that's not the whole story. The whole story can't and shouldn't be told in 500 words. But enough is captured of the whole "can you be less weird, please?" sentiment that rapidly spills over into scorn, or imagined scorn that nobody every really tried to curb, that the piece was successful for me.