[Be warned there's some SPOILERS for the game here, and also a long winded thank you to the author <3 PLEASE PLAY THE GAME !! 10/10 wonderful experience if this is something you are going through rn. It feels so validating.]
Three years ago, I stumbled on this game. I thought it was very visually striking, and I wanted to bookmark it to I could play it later. I didn't resonate with the concept of wanting to change my name, and was happy with the gender I had been raised to believe I was. But... for some reason, I felt drawn to the title. And I didn't want to lose track of it. I remember thinking to myself in my head, "[deadname]. My name is [deadname]." And I felt confident in those words.
For three years, this game sat on my virtual shelf.
Two years ago, at 3 o'clock in the morning, I was still thinking about a light hearted joke my friend had made a few weeks prior. They made a comment about how I gave off non-binary energy, and wouldn't be surprised if I came out one day. I laughed at the time, but it struck a cord with me. It took me some time to realize it was because they were right.
Two years ago, at 3 o'clock in the morning, was the start of a very slow, and somewhat painful journey of starting to discovering who I was. And as of about 6 months ago, after realizing I was uncomfortable with my birth name, and trying out some new ones, I think I finally found one that resonates with me. (It's not the same one I have as my screen name for privacy reasons.)
For the past few months, I've been considering legally changing my name to my true one if it continues to stick with me. So when I stumbled on this game again, and played through it, I finally understood why I immediately clicked with it three years ago. Finally, I'm healing the wounded, closet child inside of myself.
Thank you so, so so much for sharing this beautiful experience. Writing out my name again, and again, and again made me feel so much more confident in who I was, and yet I was struck with uncertainty every time. But... it was beautiful. It felt real. The conversation with your mother not understanding but being supportive of you changing your legal gender as nonbinary too, just hit me so hard... I had a very similar conversation with my mom in therapy. I cried a lot playing your game, and I'll admit, while writing this comment as well. The artwork is beautiful, and everything was put together so nicely. I'll definitely be sharing this experience with my friends, in the hopes they'll play it too. <3