Spoilers will follow. Read first before reading my comment.
-----
Theme: It didn't feel present, to me. I believe you were one of the people asking about using the theme by like the absence of theme/inverse of the theme (e.g. shrinking), but even with the ending in mind I don't think that's really present based on how the narrative took that path.
I could perhaps point to "expanded sharing one's interests" but that seems more of a side conceit of the narrative, rather than a purposeful choice, especially as our two main characters spoke towards having experience in the scene.
Story: The focus was in the wrong place for me. It was trying to build up the relationship to feel meaningful, but I don't think it did so for me. I did see rumblings of the "twist" coming, but even then I think what's being hinted at in some capacity is pretty overt if we're waking up to Gasoline, although I do think it would have been proper to put a CW on your game page. You were already narratively implicit from the get-go about fire. Putting it on the game page wouldn't change that. You already had the tag "Horror" on the work for the meta data, ergo, put a nod to what's coming up on the game page as a CW too, is my suggestion.
I didn't need the eating scene. I didn't need the office scene, even if that's how they met. You introduced two characters there that never returned, and one that only followed from the immediate scene. If the intent was accuracy to real life, sure, but I think those would have been better suited to not have sprites and just have throwaway quick lines instead. The sprites inflates their importance, whereas the protag doesn't get a sprite.
In terms of your twist, I thought we were going to have Pierre set Arthur on fire, but it was a pleasant surprise for it to be a sacrificial offering of sorts. I enjoyed how he was texting himself as Luc (at least, that's how I read those scenes based on himself wanting to be called Luc), as a sort of manifestation of the guilt he was carrying the whole time, but I think your desire to implement the twist put the narrative focus in the wrong place.
The relationship isn't extensive enough for the self-immolation to have the same weight as whatever would theoretically have gone on before with Pierre and Luc. Instead of texting about some of these elements, they could have met in person to talk. Instead of the work friend being present to obstruct some of the convo, they could have had a one-on-one for more overt bonding. If they met directly at a BDSM club, at least the relationship would have felt sexually transactional, instead of like feeling insufficiently formed to reflect the mirror of the poor relationship with the first lover.
It also could have stood to examine the guilt more overtly, and the continued horniness over the fire IN SPITE of it taking out his lover's life, which we only briefly touch upon with his survival in the hospital at the end before the rushing closure of the game.
---
The vacuum industry was... curious. I don't know what else to say about that, other than wonder if it was supposed to invite an element of mundane and boring.
Story Asides: Why telegram? They're working adults.
It feels very on the nose for the immolation to be done to metal. I think it would have been more subversive if it was indeed like country or a love song, something to point back to Luc's likes.
Is the home a good place to invite this fire experience? Did it first happen at Luc's place? Was Arthur intended to be able to survive given the whole house was set aflame?
Not the start with wakeup :(
That poem for the workspace? Really? Even if not read aloud? I guess Pierre really did have no survival instinct.
Presentation: There were a good chunk of moments with just a background on screen. Those were elements that could have had characters talking in person instead of in text.
I did like your CG for the fire, and how you tinted the room red especially at the edges.
I think you may have been better suited using another character as one of the sprite, instead of one we can't see, given the narrative talks about how disheveled they looked/being cute/etc. It's a lot of informed information, which fair, except you did have sprites to use which you used for throwaway characters/jokes instead.
Creativity: Props to ya for going more "spicy" this time around. I was invested in seeing how the pyromania turned out, and you did get me with it being a self-immolation sacrifice instead of the true lover (okay he was the true lover, but in a different sense) of Luc and Pierre both being like ritual killers who got off on finding people to lead along and then burn. That was a nice pivot, because people don't casually have gasoline in their bedrooms when waking up.
Overall thoughts: I like how you experimented this year with a more twisted narrative, and appreciate that you had a more completed arc, but I think your narrative focus was misplaced. Nonetheless, I do think that people who weren't aware of some fire-twist coming up weren't paying attention to the explicit word droppings of "Fuse" and "Gasoline"... and getting horny at roasted chicken.
I also think your visual focus was misplaced, in that you gave time to characters that we would never see again, but we didn't see the protag ever barring(?) the cg(?) which I liked! Good job for whoever made that.
Still, an interesting companion to the pool of May Wolves, given that it feels like May Wolf 2023 again in how much romance is present in what I've read so far. I appreciate you going off the beaten path for a little lighter action.