I did not expect to like this. 

When I had first read this, I was put off by a few things- the protagonist was edgy, to say the least, and I was prepping myself for the overbearing, self indulgent, emo self-insert slop I've seen in countless other FVNs- sure that it would sour the mood eventually. But it never really came. I kept reading. Something about it charmed me, and I wanted to see where it would be going- even if I thought it was going to be a garbage fire.

But it wasn't. It was tasteful, shockingly- the themes of grief and loss omnipresent throughout, but never forcing itself upon the reader the way that's all to common in other works of the genre, and the characters used to convey these themes over and over proving more and more human, fun, and deeply complex. The setting and narrative itself I could praise for hours- grounded in a way that other developers in the genre (looking at you, FBTW, Password, Temptations Ballad) never seem to be able to land, and yet still being so engaging and intriguing at every twist and turn. I'll give credit as well- there's some clear influence here from some works I greatly respect- this no doubt surely having some inspiration from John Carpenter's work- this has the making of "The Thing" all over it- and the author clearly knows what he's doing here when it comes to making an engaging read, and I respect the living hell out of him.

I've since joined the Patreon for the project, and I see myself remaining there for quite some time. One of my personal favorites, this is-I cannot encourage a read more.