I met Forest Wuff just over 4 years ago today. I occasionally would see his work pop up in my feed and quickly grew interested in his characters, particularly Fomo. One day, August 23rd of 2020, I messaged him here on FA with the slim hope that a popular furry that I enjoyed would be willing to let me use Fomo for a story I wanted to write. I didn't think he would respond, so much so that when he did just a few hours later, asking what I had in mind for a story, I was flabbergasted. The idea that a man of such huge status in this community, talking to an absolute nobody like myself, especially so quick, I felt silly realizing I hadn't even thought of the story I had wanted to write for him just yet. Like entering a raffle expecting to lose so you don't think of what you want until your name appears as one of the lucky few. And even after, he kept up with me, asking all sorts of questions about my interests and my plans, and we hammered out an outline over the course of a few hours.

He loved my first story I wrote for him. He said that I wrote Fomo so perfectly that he had no notes on any fixes. He told me how much he valued my hard work to make him something just because I liked his characters, and we parted ways. That could have been the end of the story. I could have taken that experience and rode it out saying "Oh my gosh, guys, Forest really liked my story!" and nothing more. But it was so much more than that. A couple weeks later I signed up for his Patreon, showing that I wanted to financially support him as much as my low income would allow. When I saw he had a Discord server tied to that Patreon, I hopped on that immediately. In the two weeks since I first met him, his father had passed away. Naturally he was going through a lot emotionally. He never liked to show his emotions too openly. He always preferred cheering someone up as opposed to needing to be cheered up himself. When the news came out about his passing, his entire server gathered to talk about what Forest meant to them. As I write this, it has been 21 hours and they have started planting trees in Forest's name. It's a beautiful sight.

In the beginning, I was as nervous as anyone would be meeting with and constantly interacting with someone you look up to. He was my inspiration for writing, as I'm sure he was for many people in this community. What started as DMs between fellow vore enjoyers blossomed into one of the most important friendships of my entire life. I did not think it would end so abruptly, but I will never forget Forest. He was my pillar to lean on when times were tough. He never once refused to listen to what was troubling me, able to take time out of his incredibly busy schedule to be a shoulder I could cry on. Some days, it was hard to reach him, and I would always worry, "Am I bugging him?" or "Did I upset him?" and he would assure me that I never did anything to upset him, that I was always this fluffy little sheep he loved to squeeze and hug, gnaw on my horns, and just make me laugh when I was sad. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/29310069/ This was my favorite piece of his, knowing how much he exemplified this attitude of being the most kind and beautiful, forgiving soul. I would worry on and on about trying not to upset him, but he always assured me about how proud he was of me.

I became his server moderator one day when he was selected for jury duty around mid 2021 if I remember correctly. He messaged me out of the blue and asked if I would be up for the task. Admittedly, with how much his server fosters and reflects his kind values, I didn't think there was much need for it, but I accepted the position in a heartbeat. He asked if I would need help and I wasn't a fool, and thus I became much more acquainted with another server member and another important person in Forest's life, Maven. She always knows how to get shit done, and keep everyone in order. I'm forever grateful for her efforts, and I'm hoping that she is able to emotionally handle the weight of such a horrible loss.

I would write more stories for him, he'd always say how perfect I wrote his characters, implementing settings and ideas he said he would add to his own works when he could. I never once uploaded anything without his direct permission after review, even if I knew he would have no problems with my works. I don't think I will ever write something of his characters again, not having his explicit approval said to me, but that's a painful thought for another time.

We spent nights talking for hours about everything. Mostly it was him dissecting my brain about what I liked and how best to tease me with pure precision. An RP here and there, but the nights where we just talked until the sun came up, those are the nights I will always cherish most. I could never forget him even if I wanted to, his music is ingrained in my playlists, his humor much akin to my own. I never met a man who had such an encyclopedic knowledge of Spongebob references that rivaled my own until I met Forest. I loved him. I loved him with all my heart and I will continue to love him until the day I pass as well.

The outpouring of support is almost paralysizing. Literal hundreds of messages from friends and fellow server members have been pouring into my DMs, expressing their solidarity and saying things like, "I know how much he meant to you, I hope you're okay." Right now, I'm a broken, exhausted mess. Forest would feel awful if he saw how many tears we have shed for him, but he is worth every drop in gold. Thank you everyone for your kind words. Thank you so much for caring about me, and especially about caring for Forest. The community he built is the most supportive, loving, tolerant and beautiful community I have ever seen. They are his family just as much as his mother is, and I am hoping the best for her in this tragic time.

To touch on the art here, I broke the news to my friend Ami as soon as I could see through my tears, and she quickly hopped on after her shift ended to make me this. We were crying so much together as she drew this beautiful art. I'd say it's pretty good for someone drawing near blind with all her tears <3 please show her some love  EverfreeMoonlight https://www.instagram.com/everfreemoonlight she is an angel for creating this masterpiece. While Lambert of course represents myself, bawling his eyes out, Forest remains as that pillar of love and comfort I grew to know him as. He's calm, collected, and still able to smile through it all, hugging his friend tightly. The stars were out last night, and I know he was shimmering down on every single person that he touched in life. He was a true saint, and I will never be able to properly explain how much he meant to me.

On that note, we will be dedicating September 4th as Forest Day, or 4est if you want to make a pun. He would have laughed, he always laughed at the silliest things. Maybe by the time next year I will have more to say, I know what I've written is a lot already, but I could spend days at a time recounting all the little stories and silly thoughts we had together.

For Forest, I'm going to miss you so much. Even now, it is surreal imagining a world where I can't see your profile pop up on my monitor, that I can't play my little game watching and waiting to see "Forest is typing..." and feeling like a kid at Christmas each and every single time I saw that. It might sound small, but those were some of the happiest moments of my life. I love you so much, Forest. I love you more than words can ever convey. I hope wherever you are now, you're smiling at me, calling me your "Sheeps" and hugging my soul to bed when I sleep. If there is a Heaven, I want to meet you there one day and hug you for all of eternity. Thank you for everything you did for me, and for everyone. I know you'd say you're proud of me, but you need to know I am proud of you too. So proud.

Thank you to everyone who read this entire post, and thank you again to Ami for making this. Everyone, love yourself, and be kind to everyone you meet.
God bless you all.