#I actually did this for inktober like a year ago whoops

[your-local-granny]

fall from grace

[ssho25]

Hopelessly Devoted to You

@thatsthat24 makes a list for inktober prompts and I really liked day 18: Draw your OTP in Halloween costumes that are designed to go together! (Shout out to him for the inspiration) But I am unfortunately not an artist, so I wrote a fic instead. So...yeah.  (also available on ao3)

“Thank you for your patronage. Please come again,” Kazuya repeated for the umpteenth time that day. He focused on maintaining his gentle bow and smile, trying his best to ignore the giggling girls as they walked by him.

“Miyuki-kun looks so handsome,” one of the girls whispered.

“The waiter uniform really suits him,” her friend agreed.

“Ahh~, I should’ve taken a picture for my phone background,” chimed the third.

Once they rounded the corner, Kazuya let out a large breath he didn’t know he was holding. He whipped his head over to the clock. 12:45pm. Good, only 15 minutes left of wearing that ridiculous outfit.

It was the annual cultural festival at Seidou High School, and Kazuya was designated as a waiter for his class’s café. Usually he’d weasel his way out of things like this, using baseball practice as an excuse. But this year, the girls had guilted him into it.

“We know you don’t have baseball practice Miyuki-kun. Maezono-kun already told us,” one complained.

“It’s not fair if you make us do everything,” said another.

“You can at least do some work the day of…”

“Okay, okay, I got it,” Kazuya said, his hands at his chest raised in surrender. “Just give me whatever job there is. I’ll do it.”

That was how Kazuya found himself in a well tailored, form-fitting waiter costume that looked like it belonged to a high-end café. The flattering uniform made him stand out way more than he liked, earning him unwanted attention not unlike the girls who just left. He inwardly cursed his past self for giving in so easily and not getting the details beforehand. And just when did his classmates get his measurements? These clothes fit waytoo well to be a coincidence.

“Hey,” Kuramochi called out. “Stop slacking off and bring these orders to table 4.”

“We’ve been doing this for the past 2 days now. I’m allowed to complain,” Kazuya argued, yet still walked over.

“It’s just until your shift is over.”

Kazuya picked up the desserts one by one and placed them onto his tray. “Easy for you to say. You’ve been hiding behind this curtain all weekend.”

“You’re fault for saying you’d do whatever,” Kuramochi muttered as he cooked some fried rice.

Kazuya pouted, but quickly replaced it with a professional looking smile as he approached table 4. “Here is your parfait and pancakes. Please enjoy,” he said to the couple at the table.

“I agreed to help out,” Kazuya continued when he returned to Kuramochi’s cooking station. “What I didn’t agree to was being stared at by so many girls.”

“Don’t pat yourself too hard on the back,” Kuramochi commented sarcastically.

“I’m not bragging, I’m uncomfortable,” Kazuya corrected. “Why are there so many girls anyway?”

“You can thank our classmates for that,” Kuramochi explained while cooking an omelette. “Ever since the fall nationals, you’ve been really popular, especially among girls. So, they’ve been telling everyone that you’re the waiter here as our selling point.” Kuramochi scooped some rice into his omelette and began folding it up. “So, congratulations. They’re all here for you Mr. Ladies Man.” He drizzled ketchup onto the finished omurice and handed Kazuya the plate. “Now quit whining and take this to table 1.”

Kazuya took the plate to the corresponding table and came right back to Kuramochi. “Don’t get mad at me. I didn’t ask them to take my picture.”

“I bet you’d be okay with it if it was Sawamura,” Kuramochi countered.

“Why would I let Sawamura take a picture of me?”

“Besides the crush you have on him?”

“I don’t have a crush on him,” Kazuya said defensively.

“Uh-huh. Yeah, sure you don’t,” Kuramochi replied unenthusiastically, clearly more focused on cooking than he was on the conversation.

“I don’t!”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“Because that’s the truth.”

“Mm-hmm. Whatever lets you sleep at night.”

“You think I lose sleep thinking about Sawamura?”

“I didn’t say that. You did.”

“That doesn’t prove anything,” Kazuya said matter-of-factly.

“How’s this? Haruichi and I know you keep a picture of you and Sawamura in the side pocket of your duffel bag.”

Kazuya froze in shock, but brushed it off before Kuramochi noticed. “You’re just making that up.”

“It’s from the time the newspaper club asked to write an article on the baseball club after we won the fall tournament. Sawamura has his arm around you and looks cheerful as ever, but you weren’t looking at the camera.” Kazuya didn’t retaliate, so Kuramochi continued. “I’m guessing the photographer caught you off guard, ‘cause you had quite the gentle expression while staring at Sawamura.”

Kazuya’s eyebrows scrunched up. “How did you…?”

“A few weeks ago before practice, the picture fell out without you noticing. Haruichi picked it up and was going to call out to you, but then saw what it was and thought better of it. After practice, he gave it to me and I slipped it into your bag while we walked to class.”

“…Okay, so maybe you do know about it,” Kazuya reluctantly admitted. “But there’s no special meaning to it,” he quickly added.

“Oh?” Kuramochi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s…it’s just a good luck charm,” Kazuya answered.

“What an interesting choice of a good luck charm. Why that one?” Kuramochi inquired.

“N-no reason…”

“You sure about that?” Kuramochi pointedly asked, his gaze boring holes into Kazuya.

The conversation was cut short when Kazuya and Kuramochi heard the familiar sound of a cell phone camera shutter. They turned towards the sound and found Sawamura had snuck up on them, a self-satisfied smile on his face and his cell phone primed and ready to take photos.

“Hey, no pictures,” Kuramochi called out.

“Whoops, already sent it to Onii-san,” Sawamura unapologetically said.

“I thought I told you no,” Kuramochi retorted, a scowl on his face and his fist raised as a threat.

“Sorry Kuramochi-senpai,” Sawamura replied more seriously, “But Nii-san asked for it. And to be honest? I’m more scared of him than you.” The look on Sawamura’s face was more than enough proof that he wasn’t messing around.

“…Yeah, that’s fair,” Kuramochi reluctantly said, recounting the not-so fond memories he had with Ryousuke.

Rather than sympathize with the two of them, Kazuya was more concerned about something else. “How long were you standing there?” he asked Sawamura.

“Hmm? Oh, not long at all. I just got here,” Sawamura replied.

“So, you didn’t hear us talking?”

“About what?” Sawamura gasped. “You were bad mouthing me, weren’t you?”

“Actually, we were complimenting you and that last game we played. Your pitching was the best you’ve done so far,” Kazuya said.

Sawamura blinked in disbelief, though it quickly turned to prideful acceptance. He folded his arms and upturned his nose. “Hehe, it’s rare to hear that kind of flattery from you Miyuki-senpai. Of course, I did work hard on those pitches, but…”

Sawamura happily chatted away while Kazuya let out a small sigh of relief. Thankfully, Sawamura didn’t hear the conversation from earlier. Even so, Kazuya couldn’t help but smile at Sawamura’s energy; it was quite infectious really.

Kazuya felt a pair of eyes staring at him and found Kuramochi to be the offender.

“Still don’t have a crush?” Kuramochi’s raised eyebrow seemed to ask.

Kazuya waved his hand in dismissal causing Kuramochi to roll his eyes and go back to cooking. Kazuya, wanting to forget Kuramochi’s ridiculous ideas, returned his attention to Sawamura. “So, what brings you here?” Kazuya asked, interrupting Sawamura’s monologue.

“Huh?”

“Did you really just come to take Kuramochi’s picture?”

“Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out with me.”

Not only did Kazuya freeze, but so did Kuramochi who had been eavesdropping. “Go…out with you?”

“Yeah. Go out and see all the booths in the courtyard. I heard there’s a really good yakisoba stall down there.”

“…Oh.” Kazuya felt a little disappointed, but paid no attention to those feelings. “Why me?”

“Well, everyone else I asked said they were working at their classroom booths. And since I needed a picture of Kuramochi-senpai, I thought I’d might as well ask you too.”

“…I see.” Again, Kazuya wasn’t too happy about Sawamura’s response. He tried not to show it because he knew Kuramochi was still watching and would comment on it later. “Unfortunately, I can’t walk around with you, Sawamura.”

“Aw, why not?” Sawamura asked.

“Yeah, why not? Your shift is done,” Kuramochi chimed in, pointing to the clock.

Kazuya’s eyes followed Kuramochi’s finger to the clock and sure enough, it was a few minutes past 1:00pm. He glared daggers at Kuramochi, but Kuramochi was unfazed. 

“Just take him Sawamura. He’s been whining all day and I’m sick of it already,” Kuramochi added.

“Yay!” Sawamura cheered. He grabbed Kazuya’s wrist and began to drag him out of the classroom. “Let’s hit every stall we can!”

“H-hey, wait!” Kazuya protested. “At least let me change first!”

…

“Man, high school cultural festivals are so much fun!” Sawamura exclaimed.

Kazuya chuckled. “You say it like it’s your first one.”

“Well, it kind of is. Last year, we were so busy with club activities that I didn’t get to enjoy the festival. It’s the same for you too isn’t it?”

Kazuya shrugged. “Can’t argue with that.”

For the past hour, Kazuya had let Sawamura drag him around the school, trying out the many different food stalls and booths other students had set up. It was honestly a lot of fun and it was a shame the festival would be over by the end of the day. But at least he got to experience it before it was gone.

Kazuya suddenly heard paper crinkling next to him and looked over to see Sawamura taking a large bite out of a taiyaki.

“Mmm,” Sawamura said as he happily munched away.

“You’re still eating?” Kazuya asked. “Aren’t you full?”

“But it looked really good! And I was right. Here, try some.” Sawamura extended the treat towards Kazuya.

Kazuya looked down at the taiyaki in Sawamura’s hands, debating whether or not to take a bite. Wasn’t this the infamous ‘indirect kiss’ girls always talked about? Wouldn’t he be giving people the wrong impression about them?

…Wait a minute. Why was he concerned? This was simply his junior offering Kazuya a taste of some food. Thinking about this any longer would mean he wanted something from Sawamura. But that couldn’t be true. Nope. Nuh-uh. That’s something someone with a crush on Sawamura would think.

Kazuya leaned forward and took a bite out of the taiyaki. He straightened back up as he chewed. “Mmm, it is good,” he said in between bites. He turned to his side to see Sawamura was no longer there. Confused, he craned his neck behind him to find Sawamura frozen in place, shock and a light blush dusting his cheeks. “What’s wrong?” Kazuya asked when he returned to Sawamura’s side.

Sawamura’s eyes wouldn’t meet Kazuya’s. “I…I thought you were going to hold it yourself,” Sawamura answered, his hands slowly returning to his chest.

It occurred to Kazuya that he basically let Sawamura feed him like a real couple and what they did was quite embarrassing and intimate. “…Oh,” was all Kazuya could lamely say as the heat crept onto his face. He rubbed at the back of his neck, his eyes suddenly very interested in whatever he could see through the building’s windows.

“Did something happen?”

“Are they fighting?”

Whispers from other students reached Kazuya’s ears. He realized they were drawing in an audience and needed to keep moving. He cleared his throat before speaking. “You said you wanted to visit Kominato’s classroom?”

“Y-yeah. It’s this way.” Sawamura pointed down the hall and they resumed walking in that direction.

Though the noise and energy of the students around them continued, the silence between them grew thick. Kazuya wasn’t quite sure how to approach the situation. Should he brush it off like it was nothing, or completely forget about it all together? And again, why was he so concerned?

Kazuya suddenly felt something nudge his arm, bringing him back to reality. He looked at his elbow, but figured he must’ve been imagining things when he saw nothing wrong. A second nudge prompted him to look again, and he realized they were coming from Sawamura.

Sawamura didn’t say anything, only gave Kazuya a look. Being battery mates for so long, Kazuya became accustomed to reading Sawamura’s non-verbal communication.

I’m sorry.

Kazuya raised an eyebrow.  What for?

I kind of…made it weird. Sawamura diverted his eyes, letting his shoulders droop and his head downcast.

Kazuya hated to see Sawamura like that and gave him an ever so gentle nudge back. Don’t worry about it.

Sawamura peeked at Kazuya through the side of his eye. Really?

Kazuya shrugged. Wouldn’t be the first time you did something weird.

Sawamura’s cheeks flushed red as he shoved Kazuya. He didn’t put much force into it, but it was enough to make Kazuya fumble a little with his steps.

Kazuya chuckled at Sawamura’s antics, knowing that Sawamura wasn’t as hurt as he seemed. Eventually, Kazuya could hear Sawamura quietly laughing along with him. He smiled at Sawamura and gave him another nudge. Yeah, really. It’s okay.

Sawamura reciprocated the gesture with a soft smile of his own. But instead of a nudge, Sawamura left his arm to rest against Kazuya’s. Kazuya was surprised by the intimacy, but welcomed it all the same. He kind of…liked it.

They continued to walk shoulder-to-shoulder until they heard…

 “Miyuki-senpai! Sawamura-kun! Over here!”  

Kazuya and Sawamura turn their heads to see Toujou standing by a classroom, one hand holding up a large sign while the other beckoned for them to come over. Kariba was standing beside him, waving as well. Sawamura dashed ahead to meet with his friends, leaving Kazuya behind to catch up.

Kazuya didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little hurt by the lack of hesitation from Sawamura. He also didn’t want to admit how he almost reached out to stop Sawamura from leaving his side, how surprised he was with himself when he realized what he was about to do. Kazuya actively ignored how he missed the warmth of Sawamura’s arm against his own, and how Sawamura’s bright and cheery smile directed at other people made his chest feel funny.

Acknowledging all these things would mean acknowledging Sawamura had an affect on him. Coming to terms with that was hard, and a little bit scary. Worst of all, it would mean Kuramochi could be right and that Kazuya might actually have a…no. No, no, no. It’s not a crush. Infatuation maybe, but definitely not a crush.

“Senpai! Hurry up!” Sawamura shouted.

Kazuya shook his thoughts away and made his way over to Sawamura.

“Miyuki-senpai, let’s take a picture!” Sawamura said.

“Picture?” Kazuya questioned.

“Our class is running a photo studio for the cultural festival,” Kariba explained. “We have a bunch of props and costumes you can use to take pictures with your friends.”  

“You can trust Kominato, he’s really good with the camera,” Toujou added.

“So let’s go!” Sawamura said.

“Yeah…I think I’m good,” Kazuya responded. He had enough pictures taken for one day.

“Aw, please?” Sawamura begged.

Kazuya wanted to resist, but found it incredibly difficult to do so. Since when was he so weak to Sawamura? Probably when he started thinking Sawamura was cute…but when did that happen? “All right, but just one picture.”

Sawamura’s whole face lit up with excitement and Kazuya hated how adorable he thought it was.

“Right this way,” Toujou said as he gestured to the doorway.

Kazuya and Sawamura walked into the classroom and were surprised to see how elaborate the makeshift photo studio looked. There was a hair and makeup stations, racks of costumes, boxes of props, and a blue backdrop in front of Haruichi. A group of guys were making silly poses as the camera flashed before them.

“Whoa, this almost looks like the real thing,” Sawamura commented in awe. Kazuya had to admit, it did look quite professional.

“Hello there!” One student said as they approached the duo.

“Hello,” Kazuya replied. “How much are the photos?”

“You can get 1 photo for 200 yen, 500 yen for 3, or 600 yen for 6.”

“Could we just get 1 picture, please?”

“Certainly. Would you like to try on some costumes?”

“Oh, no. That won’t be necessary,” Kazuya replied.

“What are you talking about, Miyuki Kazuya?” Sawamura exclaimed. “Of course we have to put on a costume!”

“We can just take a normal photo.”

“We can NOT ‘just take a normal photo’. Where’s the fun in that?” Sawamura linked his arm around Kazuya’s and began to drag him towards the racks of clothes. “Come on, we’re going to find really cool ones!”

“H-hey, I don’t…” Kazuya tried to protest, but to no avail. Sawamura was already sifting through the costumes, trying to find the ones he liked the best. Kazuya sighed and began to look at the costumes as well, but was doubtful of finding something he would agree to. A butler’s suit? No, he already felt like a butler all weekend. A vampire? Yeah, no. He wasn’t too keen about wearing a cape.

Kazuya went through an entire rack of costumes, each one worse than the one before. He made a silent prayer that Sawamura wouldn’t make him wear any of these. He looked to his side expecting Sawamura to be there only to find that Sawamura had stopped moving in the middle of his rack.

Kazuya approached Sawamura and saw Sawamura’s eye sparkling at one particular costume. Kazuya took one look at the costume and knew exactly why Sawamura was so enamored by it. You could only see the back, but Kazuya could tell it was a Yomiuri Giants baseball jersey. A big number 14 was centrally located on the jersey, but the most important detail was the word ‘SAWAMURA’ written in capital letters above the number.

“It’s like it was made for me,” Sawamura whispered, his eyes wide in amazement.

“It’s the jersey for Sawamura Eiji,” Kazuya explained. “He was the pitcher. The ace even.”

“Really?!” Sawamura’s head whipped over to Kazuya so fast, Kazuya thought Sawamura might’ve hurt himself.

“Yeah really. He was so good as a player, he retired the number 14.”

Sawamura’s jaw dropped in bewilderment and turned to look at the jersey again. “I have to wear it.”

“I mean, do you have to?” Kazuya asked.

“Yes!” Sawamura quickly replied. “And look! There’s another jersey here. So we can match!”

Kazuya looked at the jersey Sawamura was pointing to and saw another Yomiuri Giants jersey. This one had the number 10 and ‘ABE’ written on the back.

“You told me Abe Shinnosuke-san is a catcher, right?” Sawamura asked.

Kazuya nodded in reply.

“Isn’t he the captain as well?”

Kazuya nodded again.

“See? It’s perfect then! An amazing pitcher and catcher, just like us!” Sawamura exclaimed. His enthusiasm and excitement were so blinding that Kazuya forgot how to say no.

The two boys donned the jerseys and found the matching baseball caps in a prop box to finish their ensemble. They walked in front of the blue screen and turned to face the camera.

“Hello Miyuki-senpai, Eijun-kun,” Haruichi said.

“Hey Harucchi!” Sawamura replied.

“I see you’ve found the baseball jerseys,” Haruchi said, gesturing to their outfits.

“Yeah! Where did you find these?” Sawamura asked.

“I brought them from home,” Haruichi answered. “My dad is a big fan and so I asked if I could borrow them. I figured there would be some baseball fans who’d want to wear them.”

“Nice going, Harucchi!” Sawamura complimented, giving his friend a big thumbs up.

Haruichi chuckled. “You’re welcome Eijun-kun. So, how many pictures would you like?”

“Just one is fine,” Kazuya said.

Haruichi nodded. “Just let me know whenever you’re ready.”

Sawamura quickly threw his arm around Kazuya’s waist. “Ready!”

Kazuya wasn’t sure he should do, but eventually let his arm settle around Sawamura’s shoulder. “Ready.”

“Okay, I’m going to take the picture on the count of 3,” Haruichi said as he positioned himself.

“Hey, Sawamura?” Kazuya whispered.

“1…”

“Yeah?” Sawamura whispered back.

“2…”

“Thanks for taking me out. I had a great time,” Kazuya replied.

“3!”

Click!

Haruichi caught the picture as it came out the front of the camera. “All done,” he announced.

“Huh?” Sawamura said confusedly.  

“This camera is a polaroid. That means the picture develops right after you take it,” Haruichi explained. “So, who wants to keep the photo?”

“Sawamura can have it,” Kazuya answered as he took off the costume. He gave it to the student waiting on the side.

“Really? Are you sure?” Sawamura questioned as he began to take off his outfit as well.

“Yeah, you’re the one who wanted to do this, right? So you should keep it.”

Sawamura smiled brightly. “Thank you, Miyuki-senpai.”

Kazuya smiled back. “Don’t mention it,” he replied as he walked to the front of the classroom to pay for their photo.

…

“Here you are, Eijun-kun,” Haruichi said as he handed the photograph to Eijun.

“Thanks, Harucchi.” Eijun looked down at the photo and was surprised with the results.

Haruichi had zoomed in so only their upper body was showing. Miyuki’s playful charm was captured in the picture, with his all too knowing smirk and his angled baseball cap. Eijun on the other hand, wasn’t even looking at the camera. He had a gentle smile while staring at Miyuki.

Eijun realized the camera shutter must’ve went off when Miyuki was whispering to him. He never expected Miyuki to thank him, or even say something so nice. But Eijun was glad he heard it.

“Now I have a good luck charm too,” Eijun whispered as he smiled at the photo.

“What was that?” Haruichi asked.

“Nothing, it was just something I heard Miyuki-senpai say before,” Eijun replied as he slipped the picture into his pocket.

“Sawamura, hurry up or I’ll leave you behind,” Miyuki called out as he exited the classroom.

“Coming,” Eijun called back. “Thanks again, Harucchi,” he said before lightly jogging after Miyuki.

“What took you so long?” Miyuki inquired once Eijun caught up to him.

“Just admiring the good job Harucchi did,” Eijun explained.

“Is it really that good?” Miyuki asked. “Let me see it.”

“No,” Eijun rejected.

“What? Why not?”

“If you wanted to see it, maybe you should’ve said you’d keep it,” Eijun cheekily responded.

Miyuki looked appalled, but it quickly changed to a playful smile. “You little brat,” he said as he locked an arm around Eijun’s neck and began to ruffle up Eijun’s hair.

“Hey, cut it out,” Eijun said through laughs, trying to get out of Miyuki’s hold.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Miyuki said.

“What if you make me lose all my brain cells and then I can’t pitch?”

“Do you even have any up here?”

“Hey!” Eijun shouted.

Miyuki laughed. “If that happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Then you have to promise to catch for me every single day until I die!” Eijun negotiated.

Miyuki’s grip on Eijun loosened as Miyuki started to laugh again. “Aren’t I already doing that?” Miyuki continued to laugh, seeming to have forgotten all about the photo.

Eijun stopped trying to escape Miyuki’s arm and smiled at Miyuki instead. He liked it a lot when Miyuki genuinely smiled; it was a rare and beautiful sight. It made his face feel warm and his heart beat fast, but he made a mental note to not say anything until Miyuki’s feelings were the same as his.

Hurry up and say you like me too.  

[tessmontyart]

2018 Year In Review

Another year, another review 💕(I actually typed most of this up before 2019 and then got distracted, whoops)

To put things short, 2018 has been AWESOME :D Exhausting and fast, but awesome.

I started it off pretty uncertain how things were going to go, dreading it would be a repeat of 2017′s boring TAFE courses and endless job rejections. But the miracle happened - a 2D animation studio opened up near me, I applied, did an animation test and got the job!

The job was a contract from 1st of April - 21st of December, so I spent the majority of my year going to work to animate characters for a really crazy but hilarious new kids show called Spongo Fuzz and Jalapena, due to air mid 2019 :) 

It was honestly the most fun job I have ever had and I can’t wait for the next project! 🎉 I have never been this exhausted in my life, though. 😅I had already booked a whole bunch of conventions before I got the job, and didn’t want to cancel them so I was working nonstop - Animation during the day and intensive convention prep every night. 

I also had the bright idea of creating a full colour 26 page comic -with a tight deadline - so I was madly working to the point I didn’t even have time for dinner half the time :’) I am sort of happy with the comic, but also kind of wish I never had the idea in the first place. 😅

I tabled at a ton of conventions; Melbourne Supanova, Central Coast ComiCon, Other Worlds Zine Fair, Sydney Supanova, SMASH and Canberra Gamma Con. If next year doesn’t go so well on the job side of things I’m hoping to add a few more conventions to that list - Brisbane Supanova, Oz Comic Con and Animaga to name a few. I’ve already booked Sydney Madman Anime Festival!

2018 was the year my partner and I celebrated our 4th year together, and he never fails to amaze me with his continuous love and support. I was too sick to attend the first day of SMASH, so he set up and ran the whole stall for me while I stayed at home. Same with Sydney Supanova, I was too bogged down in animation work and couldn’t afford to take the Friday off, so he set up and ran the stall for me on Friday, then we ran the stall together on the weekend. He also tended to my every need when I broke my toe, cooked all my meals when I was busy with work and even packaged + posted all my Etsy orders every day because I was always working during post office hours. He listened to all the problems I was having with my stall setup and helped make shelves and decorations to make it look and function better. I was getting stressed because my desk space was too small, BAM he bought me a brand new desk with plenty of storage. I was getting stressed that I had so much on my convention to-do-list and couldn’t keep track of all my project ideas, BAM, he sets up a whiteboard and helps me brainstorm everything so I can keep track of all my thoughts and ideas and what to prioritise for future conventions. I didn’t even ask him to do any of this, he just loves to help me and make me happy and I am forever blissed and happy to be able to spend my life with such a wonderful human! 

(Home made High Tea I made for him on Valentines Day) 

Arsty Highlilghts / accomplishments:

🌸I designed 9 cute Houseki no Kuni acrylic charms which have been doing really well at conventions!

🌸I also drew a cute series of ‘Sleepy Gem’ Houseki no Kuni / Steven Universe holographic prints, which I’m quite proud of 😊

🌸I created my 2nd enamel pin design, which already needed 2 reorders because they were so popular! ;w; I never knew I could make something that so many people love *sob* I’ve already planned to make these into a series! (already designed some deer ones, and thinking of doing foxes next ^_^ )

🌸I also tried getting gold foil prints done for the first time, which was pretty cool! I got the american sizes mixed up though so I might try for the bigger size next time :) (grainy photo cause its a screenshot from a video)

🌸I’ve been taking steps to make my stall look more ‘professional’, and got a really neat wooden sign made for me by my friend as_sweet_as_jasmine!

🌸I’ve started revamping my favourite series of posters - the Eevee Gijinka girls :) I plan to have them all done and ready for 2019s conventions! 

🌸This was the year I got an iPad, so I could do digital art on-the-go. Honestly its helped me so much, and I can’t wait to be able to use it more (sorta didn’t get a chance to touch it while i was working!)

🌸I got Copic Markers for my birthday so I had a whole new medium to play with! These mixed with using a brush pen for inking really make my inktobers pop and I’m eager to draw more with them  :) 

🌸Speaking of Inktober, it was a huge accomplishment for me to put effort into a decent artwork every day this year! Usually theres a few dud ones when I lacked inspiration, but I somehow managed to make it work ;w; So when it came time to printing the books, theres 31 illustrations rather than 25 like the others :) Also the whole rainbow theme idea came from how cool I think it would look flipping through a rainbow book - so I managed to make that happen and couldn’t be happier!

🌸I passed 1000 sales on Etsy!! 😱As well as 1000 followers on instagram! Crazy right??

General 2018 highlights

🌸2018 was the year one of my best friends got married! I made cute little clay wedding cake toppers for her :)

🌸The year Owl City’s 7th album Cinematic came out!! All the tracks are so GOOD and exactly the sound all us hootowls were longing for. Also Be Brave is a tearjerker, in a good way. What an amazing human Abbey is to Adam <3 

🌸The year Spyro Reignited Trilogy came out!! It’s absolutely amazing, and I love every second of it. Every time I play it I just can’t help but stand there looking around at every detail because everything is just so gorgeous *_* And the nostalgia is so real.

🌸Not exactly a highlight but the year Tumblr went NSFW free, and lost hundreds of thousands of users 😂I’m still here though. Got a dumb tradition to keep up ya know.

🌸The year my work had a hilarious Christmas party where we had to dress up as a character from Spongo Fuzz and Jalapena. It was the first time I actually put effort into a cosplay by myself 😂(possibly the last) (wont put a photo up for embarrassing reasons)

🌸the year I broke my toe for the first time xD;; definitely not a highlight but a first! I couldn’t walk for weeks! it sucked!!! T__T

🌸The year my friend successfully funded his kickstarter for his own cartoon ‘Nurry Brothers Adventure World’ :D So proud of him. I’m gonna help him animate!

🌸The year Lano and Woodley reunited with their amazing show ‘Fly’!! I loved it so much I saw it twice :D 

🌸The year I tried doing Halloween for the first time - I bought a bunch of lollies and chocolates and decorations on my letterbox/door to let people know I was participating. I got 2 different groups of people at the door, 5 people all up 😂More than I expected tbh!

🌸I tried Ruby chocolate for the first time! It was ok .. just kinda tasted like berry yoghurt flavoured white chocolate though ;w; 

SO! What’s coming for 2019?

I’m not really sure at the moment, but I have high hopes for Cheeky Little Studios (the animation company I worked for) - so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if any of their next projects get concrete start dates :) I’m not as terrified of the year as I usually am when its just one big question mark. I know I can make decent money through conventions and commissions in the meant time so I’ll just continue doing what I love! 

LAST YEAR I SAID:

“I am crossing my fingers for an animation job I applied for a while ago” - I GOT IT! :D

“I plan to do even more conventions. Hopefully I can get into Oz Comic Con!" - didn’t end up applying because I was busy with the job, but keen to try for 2019 :)

"I’m keen to apply for like Animaga in Melbourne, as well as Madman Anime Fest in Brisbane and Melbourne.” - didn’t end up doing so for the same reason above, but that might change this year :)

“I also want to make a lot more non-fandom things for market stalls, as well as a comic and zines!” - I made the comic, as well as 3 inktober zines and a cute ‘if I fits I sits’ cat zine! As well as a bunch of cute original enamel pin ideas and my whole inktober was original art :D 

“Hopefully I’ll hit 1k followers on fb/ig? :D that will make me feel important lol” - I hit 1k on instagram!! I felt very important xD

“I’m also hoping to go on a holiday this year." - I didn’t, for job reasons ... buuut I’m booked in for a cruise in Italy / Greece this September that I’m extremely excited for!

“PLEASE BE KIND 2018, I’M BEGGING YOU 😱” - You were very very kind to me, 2018. 2019, please follow suit! 

(man this is the 7th year of review I’ve done. Can’t believe I’ve been on tumblr this long 😅)

[2017] [2016] [2015] [2014] [2013] [2012]