it feels a bit presumptuous to "say something" about Fahmi's passing. i didn’t really “know” him, and we only ever exchanged a few words on Twitter. at the same time, i just really, really have to say something, so forgive me if this is weird
Coffee Talk came out right before the pandemic started, and it became something that really helped to soothe my nerves in a time where everything was incredibly stressful and scary. but i feel like that simplifies things too much-- it was also an inspiration to me. as someone who loves weird little visual novels and wants to make more weird little visual novels, it was encouraging to me to see someone else trying to do something similar and be so successful. and in general, it was also a creative inspiration to me-- i had been in a really bad creative slump for several months at the time, and i started drawing regularly for the first time in a while because i had so many fanart ideas. in general, the game was a big part of 2020 for me
but beyond Coffee Talk, Fahmi just always struck me as a really humble, nice, hardworking guy. i was really stunned when he followed me on Twitter and would occasionally comment on my fanart or random things i said about Coffee Talk. if i’m being honest, it really made me happy. it was just one of those things that made him seem really chill despite him being kind of ~famous~ at this point
Fahmi just was a cool dude. he made some really nice games and was nice to weirdos like me who constantly shitposted about his characters. he clearly wanted to do so so much more, and there aren't words for how tragic it is that his life was cut so painfully short
