UsoCho cuddle - gift art

This image comes late this year, last year's art was submitted on the right date: [link] (but we had to move it due to both being busy on the day).

This is for my anniversary with =Gloriantes - Our second year going now, actually, as both best friends and soul mates.

And upon writing this up, my first reaction was ‘what? ONLY two?’ Granted we’d known each other for a few more years prior, but it was two years ago that we became best friends.

It was also in Jess that I found my soulmate. A term that typically gets thrown about a fair bit as reserved only for lovers, but I disagree. There’s more kinds of love in the world than just the romantically involved and the kind I share with my best friend is precious and rock strong.

Jess is like the other half of me. For all my faults, they are her pros. We share a lot in common - despite growing up on other sides of the world with different cultures, families and ways of living. We love so many of the same things - and respect the ones the other does and we do not. We find the same things funny, entertaining, sad... We love Red Pandas and Kitties (Oh yes, you all know about that!), Disney, musicals, video gaming and the same kinds of candy (I’ve treated her to NZ chocolate and now she’s hooked!)

She’s one of the most loving people I’ve ever met. Caring and kind…she never fails to say ‘I love you’ to me at least once every time we talk. Gives me cuddles and kisses from across the world and cheers me up when I’m sad. We have personal in-jokes that make me grin every time I recall them. I tell my friends over here about her all the time, and they know her well enough though they’ve never even met her.

So I guess that leads to ‘what’s this got to do with a picture of Usopp and Chopper?’ Well, as I said – it’s our Anniversary and I wanted to do another picture this year to mark the occasion. Last year’s anniversary picture was a little explosion of the things we love, so this year I tried to keep it more simple. This year she introduced me to One Piece and while I put off reading and watching it for quite a while, I soon took to it as soon as I started having a little look - it's so darn happy and fun, which in a way reminds me perfectly of our relationship to each other.

Most of all, these two and their friendship - people know I’m very fond of close friendships in my fandoms, and I can’t help but feel so giddy every time I see Usopp carry Chopper around on his shoulders (A LOT! ) or mentor him about how to ‘be a man’ or look after him. It’s common for us to liken ourselves to characters and/or their friendships and I can’t help but love this one as much as I do my own friendship with Jessy.

So, I drew these two (in Movie 6 clothes because that movie had the characters decked out in awesome clothes) – in our place for the year. Just a squishy moment between friends who watch out for each other. Done out of pure and utter love for Jess.

My best friend and Soulmate. Panda to my Kitty, Elpehba to my Glinda, Axel to my Roxas, Usopp to my Chopper…everything I could ever want in one amazing person (whom I can’t wait to meet next year and spoil rotten with gifts, hugs, kisses and back rubs).

I love you, Jessy.