I feel like my 'milestones' for watchers are just completely arbitrary at this point. I figured 600 was a good spot to drop in, but I'm late so 606 it is cause it looks nice and it's nearly been a full year since the last one. Now onto the major life updates since the last one:

1. The oldest notable event was me going through a break-up tail-end of September. I want to keep it brief since nobody wants relationship drama in a celebration post! Ultimately, the relationship was not going to work out long-term, but I'll never regret having had the chance to have someone special to talk to and love each and every day for 2 years. While the watermelon's rind was bitter, the flesh tasted sweet.

2. In the last year I've made some really good friends, both from meeting them for the first time, and turning an old one into a furry (@Muffler.). While I would be here all day if I listed them all by name, I'm especially thankful for  Ryukiri who introduced herself to me by calling me 'mommy' in my shouts, and ended with being my very real, very legitimate wife.

I've had to deal with an online bully in this fandom since the literal day I joined, although they've seemed to vanish in the last year as they lost social power. Sometimes I still don't know how I didn't quit when my name preceded me everywhere I went. Hell, I was at my wits end the day I crumbled into Ryu's DMs, and yet it was the first time I felt like I was truly heard. There was no "your bully has a point" or "your bully is justified in feeling that way", it was just pure compassion. She made a lot of hard decisions that day, while still finding time to rebuild me, and I'm forever grateful.

At the same time, I met my other friend  Moonski who I started talking to shortly after my break-up. Her art has been and continues to be a massive inspiration to me, but I'm just forever thankful to have another friend who knows exactly the shit that I've been through on a personal level. Since then, she's given me a ton of free advice and red-lining (oop spoilers!), and she's been one of the few people I feel comfortable confiding in, yet she's always kept it real since day 1.

3. In June, I got my first annual review at my job. My first week working the position, I was handed a project I felt extremely under-qualified for since it was using programming languages I slipped into my resume despite my lack of confidence. I was stressed out to the max with imposter syndrome trying to make the project work all on my own when my boss handed me a Bud Light and asked "Can you work with this?". I thought it was some kinda hazing or test, but really it was just one of many moments where my boss showed that there is time for work, and there is time for play. It feels amazing to have a good work culture, and I've never felt that as much as getting a large promotion after my first year in recognition of my hard work.

4. In July, I got a wee bit older. Like the year before, I wanted to do a slightly bigger project in which I got all my friends and artists I've commissioned in the past to add their take on "a frog in a cool hat". It was a really sentimental project to me, so if you haven't already, you can see it here.

It's all I really expected for my birthday since the years prior I had only gotten a gift from my now-ex (and a moss-pile shitpost from Aky but shh, it ruins the narrative) which I was perfectly content with. What I wasn't expecting was the sheer wall of love I received from my friends. Drawing after drawing after card after message, there was no time to breathe in the best way possible. I will never be able to express just how amazing it felt, and how thankful I am to have a group of friends that care so damn much.

5. ~2 weeks ago I started to learn how to draw. For the last 3 years now I've been surrounded by amazingly creative people, most of whom are my friends. I've owned a drawing tablet for nearly a decade and yet I could never find the key to start because quite frankly, it requires a lot of humility to suck at something while showing that part of you to the world. I was fully ready to buckle down and do what needed to be done to get better, but I didn't expect just how many artists I revere would spend time explaining, providing resources, red-lining, and just generally giving their support. I'm 9 days in and I've gotten direct help from Ryu, Moonski, Liluay, Jackolen, Aky, Miza, and FellFallow. I'm already better at drawing than I could have ever thought myself capable of, but I still have a long way to go. I'm proud of what I've made so far, but it's nowhere near the quality of art I commission and post normally. I don't know if I should post the 'finished' pieces here as imperfect as they are, or if I should make a new Venus-art-only account specifically to have my growth as an artist be isolated into its own thing.

To wrap everything up in a nice and tidy bow, while the first 2 years of being in this fandom has been a trial-by-fire of resilience and growth, I cannot get over how much happier I've been in the last year. It's still gonna take a long time to heal from everything and grow out of my pricklier habits, but the overwhelming support from everyone around me from my lowest point to my highest peak is worth its weight in gold.

If you've read my endless blabbering, I really appreciate it. I never really know who I'm putting out this journal for, but at the very least it's really nice to leave a timestamped capsule of my life somewhere for future me to look back on. I want to be good enough at art where I can say "I'd commission me" by the end of 2025, with the eventual goal of making something only I can make, and I suppose the tail-end of this journal is to solidify that promise.

Thank you again, and until next time,
✌️