Oh, gosh, I really loved this little story!! It also made my eyes feel very moist and my heart hurt a little... because I've had experiences exactly like this -- close online friendships where I began to feel very strong emotional connections to them, to the point where I wasn't quite sure what it was. Love? Something else? All I know is that they all left me feeling very heartbroken in the end, often for this same exact reason as Kiki experiences here, because she never did say anything. Or never tried following up. Because something always kept her from doing so.
....so... yeah, this hit me a lot and felt very true to life. The relationship between Kiki and Tashi is so cute ahhhh 😭💕 I loved their back and forths. It felt like it could literally have been a convo out of some of my old LJ or AIM days. Especially how it all starts through fandom!! Pretty sure I've reached out to authors of my favorite fics in exactly the same way before GODDDD. And the way you set up the UI and everything is so good?? I love how we can see Kiki in the mirror to see her expressions, and the set-up with the computer screen is so cute and makes it feel even more immersive. Also the Live2D is so good??? Actually I think this might be the first time I've played a VN with Live2D!! So it was really neat to see. And I feel like it added a ton to just make it feel really engaging. Her sprite was very cute!!
Like Kiki herself, we're left wondering at the end where things could have gone... where things might still be able to go... which is really sweet. Makes me wonder if Kiki will end up trying to call Tashi. Though I also feel her -- I'm not sure I'd be courageous enough either. Especially once a little time has passed, making it feel even more awkward. In my mind, though, things might still work out for them... I think that would be really sweet 💕
At any rate, this was super cute, super feelsy, and definitely a close-to-home hit that's gonna stick with me for a while. Loved this a lot!! Thanks for sharing this little story 💕