A stream sketch commission from the awesome  Mr.Pink and colored/shaded by me. Big thanks to him for designing Heart Break Princess's logo.

It has been a bit since we saw Evan, and we're going to see her a few more times now since I was kind of on a roll with her haha. The funny part of creating her as a lover of anime is that I somewhat have started naming and devising the very anime she wants to watch. I mean, it's all silly stuff, but now I'm all like "should I draw out these anime shows she's loving?" and that's a rabbit hole I'm not sure I want to go down...or do I?" XD

Also new characters bubbling up and lots of story this time. I need to calm down but I get carried away lol

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“There it is! Take the next right!”

Evan was eager to get to the convention as early as she could. She knew the lines would be long, and the chances for her to see all the booths and events were slim. Unlike her chances, the golden tigress was particularly round. Sitting in the backseat with her boyfriend, Evan looked out the window, and just in the distance she could see the sprawling grey building. Any other week, it would be home to any number of business or industry experiences, but this week, it was all about anime culture. The center’s immense front billboard shimmered with bright pastel colors, and characters leaped in and out of its boundaries for all to see.

Even Evan’s children were jealous of the attention and bumped against their mother’s insides.

“Oof. Hey, watch it, little ones. We still have a bit longer before you can join us outside...but you would be waived a ticket fee,”
“Evan!” her grey tabby boyfriend lightly poked her side, “Don’t give them any crazy ideas. I’d rather their births be off the convention’s schedule of events,”
“But you admit it would be great timing if I gave birth during the Love Lady Lazul panel,”
“Better than during the Paw Crunch Sensei panel anyways.”

The tigress looked at her belly, both paws gently rubbing around to calm down the cubs. She definitely wouldn’t want to give birth during that panel - she really didn’t want to go to it, in general. Her friends wanted to give it a look-see, though, so she knew Raj was going to go either way. Maybe she could try to find a way out somehow.

The taxi stopped near the convention entrance, and Raj took care of the business end of the deal. All of that taken care of, the two looked up at the building with the familiar awe they felt the year before. Once the convention’s brief moment of nostalgia wore off, the couple ventured toward the crowd waiting to get in. Evan became increasingly self-conscious as different attendees found their gaze locking onto the pregnant tigress. Last year, she purchased a shirt from her favorite anime, Heart Break Princess, and she wanted to wear it again to show off her fandom proudly. However, even before she got into the taxi that morning, it had become apparent to her that her growing pregnancy was simply not going to make the shirt fit well. The tigress tugged at the hem of her shirt, helping to cover more of her warm-colored tum, but it would take more than a few tugs to hide her middle without inadvertently revealing other curves to the convention-goers. Raj offered her one of his shirts before the trip, but Evan had an idea. She just needed to endure a belly-exposed presence surrounded by other nerds for a while. Unfortunately that would include a long time in line.

“Hey, ma’am, do you need assistance?” one of the show volunteers approached the couple. A younger, stocky dalmatian rubbed the back of his head a moment, knowing not to stare too much at the tigress’s form. “We have a health exemption entrance for you, given your condition. Would you like to take it?”
The tigress had never thought the pregnancy would prove to be a benefit at the convention! “Oh! Uh, yeah, that would be great, actually. Can my boyfriend join me?”
The dalmatian coughed softly. “Yeah he can go, too. No worries.”

The couple had stumbled upon one of the hidden boons to her pregnancy - a baby boon, as it were. With a delighted mewl and just a hint of a selfish smirk to the other line of attendees, both kitties made their way into the convention center. This did not fully offset the current predicament for the pregnant tigress, however. Her middle still remained visible to her, her snuggly kittums, and every single passerby in the hall. Sure, having her tummy out and about was fine every now and again, but with every eye on her, it was a little unnerving.

“Okay, we’re good for an hour or so before the first panel. You want to go around the show floor until then?”
“As a matter of fact, I do!” Evan replied, nearly leaving Raj behind as she moved quickly toward the showfloor. Raj was still surprised how fast she could move even encumbered with a few cubs in her!

The convention hall was what one could expect from a convention dedicated to anime and animation of all sorts. Large banners hung around the main hall, some depicting large monsters and heroes with weapons drawn, others with school girls leaping in the air with otherworldly guitars. Evan had trouble connecting with some of the shows this season, but at least she enjoyed a couple of the quirky slice-of-life stuff coming down the pipe so far. One booth she walked passed was particularly focused on that show - large posters and figures of the lead cast and a couple chibi plushies for added measure. Perhaps when she was not a mission, she would buy a couple Ichiko plushies, but her eyes were scanning for something else.

A few rows down from the entrance stood a large booth for one of the animation studios present, Sun Satellite Systems (or S3 for short). It had merchandise on everything they produced, from those overly intense action animes that Raj occasionally watched with the crew to the silly super chibi shows that always made her giggle when she needed a quick laugh. However, it was the merchandise for Heart Break Princess that grabbed her attention most. Displayed high on the sign stood a t-shirt, bright pink and emboldened with the show’s logo. It was, in fact, the very same design that she wore that day, but it was not a new design she was after.

Behind the counter was a bustling crew of employees, scrambling to handle orders from other customers and making sure inventory was well-stocked for the upcoming day. Now that the show was really starting off, they had to be vigilant. In particular, a raccoon girl tied her hair up into a ponytail to get it all together and started to set up the inventory station in the back, while a bear and gecko worked the front. The gecko’s eyes caught sight of the rounded tigress and initially did not acknowledge her, since he was talking with a very enthusiastic cowgirl in front of him. The bear, thanks in part to his partner’s swift elbow, would be the second to see the pregnant tigress and her following boyfriend, and he recognized the shirt that she wore with the slightest amount of company pride.

“Good morning!” the bear spoke up.
“Good morning! The day’s just getting started, so we’re taking a look around the floor before the real party starts!” Raj chimed in, if only a second to affirm their presence to the bear before he slinked off to look at some of the other merchandise on hand. Evan remained where she stood.
“...Is there anything I can help you with today? I see you’ve had our shirts before,” the bear hesitated a little, trying not to bring too much attention to her condition and ill-fitting shirt.
“Oh, um...yeah…” Evan thought for a moment. “Um, do you have this design in a much larger size?” the tigress tugged at her shirt, letting the logo stretch across her chest perhaps a bit more than she should have allowed. “Maybe on a muumuu?”
“A wh-what?” the bear was a bit surprised by the request at first. “I uh...I don’t think we have much more of a larger size...let me check.”

The bear turned back and gestured for the raccoon girl to return to the front. Her reaction to the pregnant tigress was more of a sudden jolt than a recoil, but it was noticeable all the same. This made Evan even more flustered where she stood.

“Oh, hello, how can we help?”
“She’s looking for a larger size of the HBP logo shirt. Like much bigger,”
“Or a muumuu,” Evan raised a paw.
“Yeah, or a muumuu,”
“HBP, hmm...that’s a good anime. Not as popular as some of the others, I’m afraid. We don’t have a lot of stock for it, especially since the hiatus. I think we only have like a 3XL in the back…how about you check, Wen.”

The bear nodded and walked back into the inventory. The raccoon girl smirked and leaned over the counter toward Evan.

“I think I remember you from last year. You obviously weren’t expecting back then!”
“Oh, certainly not! Season 3 was wrapping up but got paused when the author got hurt,”
“Management said it was a boat accident, but I think she tripped in the bathroom and broke her hand,”
“You heard that, too? Sounds like bad timing, too. The story was really getting super good,”
“Heck yeah it was! When she found out about her brother and the Steel Heart, I was so shocked! I knew there was some hint before, but I didn’t want to believe it,”
“Hehe, do you read the manga or just watch the anime?” the raccoon girl leaned forward, increasingly interested in Evan’s fandom.
“Oh, I read the manga when the anime paused, and I can’t wait for the Cerula arc! Watching Princess Beat and her finally get at it full-force will be something crazy,”
“You know...they might do that all in a movie if they can’t get a full season together in time.”
Evan’s eyes lit up. “A...a movie?!”
“Yeah, keep this on the DL, but we might have a surprise to show at the S3 panel later today. Don’t know exactly what it’ll be exactly, but you should go see it!”

Evan nodded enthusiastically, arms held close to her chest as she bounced eagerly, but she stopped when she felt her cubs kick at her belly.

“Are you due soon?” the raccoon asked curiously, “I hope they’ve let mommy enjoy the show and manga all this time,”
“Not for a month or two, but soon! Oh, and yeah they get feisty occasionally but they seem to enjoy the ending theme for the show. I guess they know then that mommy gets up and maybe gets dinner when the episode ends, hehe,” both looked at her belly as she tried to calm down the little ones within, “Now now, lunch is in a couple hours. Mommy wants to have her fun, too.”

After a shared giggle, the two went on to share a few more moments about Heart Break Princess together. The surprises and story arcs still left untold. The sequences that made them hyped and those that made them cry. The shipping confirmations as of late. Eventually, their fangirl conversation was cut off by the bear’s return with a shirt in paw.

“I’m sorry, we only have shirts a little bigger than what you got, from what I see,” Wen said simply. Evan’s ears went down a little as she examined her own shirt compared to what he had, but she took the wrapped up shirt either way.
“Okay, I guess I can go with this then,” the tigress agreed, and the bear began to ring her up.
While the sale took place, the raccoon thought for a moment to herself.

With the transaction over, Evan waved to both of them and began to turn around with her boyfriend. Just as she started walking away, however, she heard the raccoon girl again.

“Hey, miss Evan?” Evan turned to see the raccoon walking up to them in the crowding floorspace. “You are a part of our fan club, yes?”
“Uh...yeah. Is something wrong?”
“N-no, I just wanted to find out if you bought that shirt with your email and such registered,”
“Oh of course! You guys have all sorts of giveaways and events, I wouldn’t want to miss those!”
“Great! Thanks a lot for liking HBP, and enjoy the convention!”

And with a mutual wave, the couple left the S3 booth (at least for the moment) and began to start their exploration of the convention in earnest - once Evan got a slightly roomier outfit on. As promised, the S3 panel did have HBP items, but all they could provide were vague comments and a concept sketch for the next arc. It was a delight, of course, but Evan was still a touch disappointed.

Two weeks later…

“Hey, Evan did you order something from S3’s fan store lately? Seems we got a package from them,” Raj picked up the package and tilted his head, but Evan snagged it from his hand before he could ponder further.
“No, I haven’t ordered anything from them in a while. I mean, they have new stuff coming out soon, but this is a bit big for an advertisement…” she mrowled curiously.

Waddling to the kitchen counter, Evan tore open the package, and she reached in and pulled out the contents with a growing interest. The package contained a wrapped up piece of clothing, which she skeptically unfurled. The tigress’s eyes grew wide when she realized what it was - a large-size muumuu with Heart Break Princess’s logo on the front and little hearts along the lower half of the dress.

“Oh my God, they did have one!” she squealed and pressed it up to her body, belly a bit bigger than at the convention but still somewhat capable of being covered by the new dress.
“W-what...wow, I don’t think they did…” Raj saw a small letter in the package, which he took and read aloud,

“Hello Miss Evan Zerih...we appreciate all the love and heart you put toward our show, and while we were not able to provide you what you needed then, we hope you will make use of this custom design for you and your upcoming family. From another lover of HBP to another, thank you. - your friendly raccoon, ‘Bizniz’ Chauco.”

Evan clutched the dress to her chest, mouth agape and eyes watering. “Oh my Gooood that was Bizniz? She’s one of the translators for the show! Awwww, man I should have known…” she sniffled and waddled over to Raj for a big hug. “She was soooo niceeee to meeee~”
Raj held her in the warm hug, chuckling softly, “Well, then maybe we should send a thank you note back. She provided an email and PO Box,”
Her head shot back up, “Oh my God yes! Let’s send her something lovely!” but before she could think up what, her belly wobbled with a couple strong kicks and a gurgling hunger within. “Buuut let’s get some lunch first,”

Then Evan could start to work on a reply - possibly the start of a lovely friendship.