[Fawn Diary] Thank You, 2023 — What a Year!

It's hard to believe it's already the last day of 2023!

For most people in Japan, this would be the time to settle in for "NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen" and think about grabbing some toshikoshi soba before midnight —

but I went all out and had steak for dinner tonight to celebrate, and now my stomach's kind of regretting it, lol.

I might just skip the toshikoshi soba this year... lol

By the way, this "toshikoshi soba" tradition is said to date back to around the Edo period (though there are various theories), and apparently carries all sorts of meanings — wishing for a long life, cutting off bad luck, boosting your finances, and improving your fortune!

This month's exclusive fan club situation voice, "New Year's Eve with My Kansai-Dialect Girlfriend," actually features this same "toshikoshi soba" tradition too,

so I'd be happy if it gave you a little taste of Japanese culture!

Anyway —

I've talked about this on stream, on Twitter, and even on YouTube community posts before,

but I wanted to take a moment here to say thank you to everyone all over again, from the bottom of my heart 😭

Getting a little personal for a moment —

this year I went back to work after parental leave, changed how I work, and made my debut as a VTuber,

so it's been an incredibly hectic year, both mentally and physically.

I always try to keep gratitude close to my heart day to day, but

making my VTuber debut has given me so many more chances to say "thank you" than ever before.

I knew absolutely nothing about the VTuber industry going in,

and even before my debut, the whole SODAART team and all the creators involved were an incredible source of support —

and once I actually debuted, even though I couldn't speak a word of Taiwanese Mandarin, everyone in 芝麻包 welcomed me with so much warmth and support.

I really feel like I get to do this in such a fortunate environment.

So truly, once again — thank you so much for meeting 烈芝麻。!

I'm so grateful, in this very moment, to be connecting with all of you — people I never would have met if I hadn't become a VTuber.

And I'm looking forward to another great year together in the year ahead!

I'm going to keep working hard to make content that everyone can enjoy going forward too!

Alright, see you all in the next video, the next stream!

Let's kick off 2024 full of energy ✨

Retsuma.