The Merry Fairy News

Dear friend,

Tomorrow I am launching The Merry Fairy Demo.

It is an occasion that evokes many feelings in me, and it is a little rushed. I submitted The Merry Fairy to the Wholesome Games Steam Celebration on a last minute recommendation from a friend, and I had not expected anything of it. When I received an email from them, I did not even open it right away - I thought it was a polite refusal. But it wasn't, and this made me very happy. So about two weeks ago, I took the decision to participate in such a beloved event with a demo.

This was not an entirely impulsive decision. I have been working on The Merry Fairy since spring last year. The core mechanic of my game, the Scrapbook Journal, is working smoothly. The cottage and the desk looks quite cute, and I feel that I have enough surprises to keep you relaxed in my beautiful little cottage for a few hours. It all depends, of course, on the expectations. But I do hope I have done a good enough job with my Steam store front for you to know what to expect.

And yet taking the decision to launch The Merry Fairy Demo on August 15 put me in a state of rush and unrest. I prioritised my work on the demo above all else, and this lead to a few small disasters. I have neglected my partner far more than usual, spending entire days closed in my office. I postponed my beloved walks in the forest and said goodbye to my idea to pick enough chanterelles this year, so that I can freeze a few over the winter. My broccoli and green kale crops have been completely claimed and extremely fast eaten by the butterflies. And overall, I have done the very opposite of what The Merry Fairy stands for. I lived a rushed, ambitious life, too fast to notice its wonder.

But yesterday, the sweet peas have won.

Yesterday was supposed to be another fast paced day where my heart felt a great deal of unrest as I tackled a long list of titbits I wish to have ready for you. I woke up early and, as I usually do, I took a little walk in my garden as I sipped my coffee. That is when I noticed that the caterpillars were quite done with the broccoli and kale, and were getting ready to eat my cucumbers and radish pods. I tried to ignore this new knowledge, but somehow my wise and wonderful body did not. And I realised I am tired and stressed, and that this reflects not only in my life in general, but also in the quality of my creative work for The Merry Fairy.

So yesterday I worked in the garden. I picked the peas that need picking, I cleaned and dried and froze them, I removed the weeds around the leek, I removed half of the eaten broccoli and all the kale, I picked some wild potatoes and I started to prepare the land for autumn crops like spinach, winter radishes and pak choi. And today I will polish The Merry Fairy Demo to the best of my abilities, but not without breaks and a little garden work. And I though about how much I love this life of mine, and that I want to treasure it, which means valuing my health, my relationships and my beautiful Fairyland above all else. This is exactly something I hope to inspire you to really think about, as well, when you visit my cottage.

What, in your life, truly, deeply matters?

Yours,

Fairy

Dear friend,

It is with great joy that I announce The Merry Fairy's participation at the wonderful Wholesome Games Steam Celebration event, which will take place starting August 15 and until August 21.

The Merry Fairy will participate with a shiny demo, where you, my friend, will be invited to spend a few days at Fairy's enchanted cottage in the middle of Fairyland.



If you would like to visit The Merry Fairy during the Wholesome Games Steam Celebration, here is what you need to know:

• One day in Fairyland lasts 5 hours by the way humans count
  
• You will notice a curious thing, which is that you can control the weather - this is because Fairy asked the weather to kindly follow the wants and needs of your heart! So you will start every day in Fairyland by choosing the weather that suits your heart best
  
• Every day, you will find a nice letter from Fairy on your desk! And it is good to know that Fairy loves to give small gifts with every occasion
  
• An enchanted journal already awaits you, ready to safe-keep the deepest of your thoughts
  
• Decorations will also be readily available to gather from various places and adorn the pages of your journal as you wish
  
• You will be able to browse the Guest Book, with doodles and interesting thoughts from a few of Fairy's former guests
  
• Every 30 minutes, the Caretaker or the Wishtree will knock on your window to see if you would like a little company. They have a lot of wonderful stories to tell - about Fairyland, about Fairy, about magic and about hope!
  

Perhaps there will be more delights to discover! But some things are best left untold.

I will now go back and tend to the exciting preparations needed for my cottage. Keep an eye out for a shiny new The Merry Fairy Demo page on Steam, which I hope to launch in the next few days!

Yours,

Fairy

Dear friend,

Alan Watts once said: “Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.” I think this is why saying hi and introducing myself is so hard. But I want to try anyhow because who I am has very much to do with The Merry Fairy, which I can comfortably call a memoir game or an autobiography of sorts.

You see, I am Fairy. My given name is Laura, but I feel little connection to it and I do plan to change it officially in the future. I live at a farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the west of Sweden. My life is simple, close to the forest I love, and very remote. If I am not at my computer, developing The Merry Fairy, you can find me in the garden, growing a lot of crops, or maybe deep in the forest, gathering mushrooms. Sometimes, if it rains too much, I might be inside, sewing or knitting or crocheting. Or perhaps I might bake, or cook - I love to cook! Or... heh, there are so many things I love to do!

And so the first thing that comes to mind when I think to present myself to you is: Happy. I am very, very happy. I am happy that I get to discover the truth of my heart, every day. I am happy that I get to create, explore, nurture, and grow. I am happy to be able to appreciate the amazing beauty of this life of mine. Even when I am very sad, I am happy that I can embrace my tears and learn the lessons they carry.

My life has not always been like this and it took me about 40 years to get here. I was born in Romania during the worst Communist times possible. When I was about 19, I accidentally started an unbelievable career in video games. This allowed me to move to Italy and then later on, to Sweden. I got to work on many interesting projects, know a lot of amazing people, and travel the world.

But in all those years, my heart craved the forest. Yet I felt I could not allow myself to head towards where I needed to. I taught myself to ignore my intuition and listen to other people's opinions about how to live my life. I convinced myself that this is what it means to be an adult, and I did my best to appreciate a life that looked amazing on paper, but it was not right for me.

And then COVID happened and the world changed. I experienced the pandemic in a tiny, windowless office created in a wardrobe space, in a small apartment in Stockholm. In the darkness of my little room, I imagined a window I could open. This window would lead to a forest, a magical, gentle place that smelled of pine and felt like home. This is how The Merry Fairy started to grow in my head. And what gave me the courage to leave the big city, and move as close as possible to my beloved forest.

Today, I live in Fairyland and I feel that I have found my home. I learned to lean into my magic, and to discover my deepest, most powerful spells. There are many stories, fables and a lot of art inside of me, waiting to be shown to you. I am slowly getting ready to tell you that magic truly exists, and that you can find it in the place where your heart feels most at home.


The Merry Fairy is true and inspired by real life and real people. As a video game, I am building it as that window I deeply needed when I lived in Stockholm, slowly losing all my hope and dreams. And I need your help!

I made a small and peaceful Discord server where I share my daily life in Fairyland and the progress I am making with The Merry Fairy. The experience I wish to give you is gentle and soothing, as well as hopeful, inspiring and practical. And I cannot do this alone. Will you join my server, keep me company, give me your honest feedback and perhaps become my true friend?

Yours,

Fairy

Hello, dear friends!

Welcome to The Merry Fairy, my beautiful cottage deep in the forest of Fairyland! Or at least a digital version of it, so that you can access it regardless of your physical location. Please rest and relax here, and explore your creativity if you wish! If you turn your sound on, I would like to welcome you here with my own voice:

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I am Fairy, and I have lived most of my life thinking I was human (and trying to act accordingly. But no matter how hard I tried to ignore my nature, my wings would not stop trying to lift me up. My forest, my beautiful Fairyland, was calling, and I eventually made it home.

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It took me a while to understand the richness and depth of magic. Some of us may indeed be humans, magical in their own way through ingenuity and perseverance. But it is not too wild of an idea to allow the thought of being something else. If you can feel the life force of the trees when you hug them, if the rich silence of the forest feels like a healing balsam to your ears and heart, if you profoundly feel the wisdom and kindness of animals, then perhaps you too just pretend to be a human, as I did for so, so long.

This is why I invite you to my cottage. And why I am gifting you an enchanted journal, where you can capture your thoughts. It all starts with a thought, which nurtures a timid stream of courage and hope, and once that starts to flood your thoughts, and the pages of your journal, then the way back to your magical home will become clear, too.

Welcome to The Merry Fairy, my friend!

Yours,
Fairy 🧚✨🍀