10.2 - The News (extraordinary edition!)

Sometimes, the most extraordinary days have the most ordinary beginnings.

It was such a case for that day, too. I had just made some coffee, and was scrolling through social media to wake myself up with fan content. I had lifted my ban a few days ago, and so far it was going pretty smoothly. No weird reactions. No jealousy fits.

Everything was so normal, as expected from an ordinary weekend morning.

After my coffee, I went to the bathroom to try some new makeup looks—I had started to enjoy it quite a bit after my cosplay experiment. I'd just be sitting at home, but it raised my spirits to look all dolled up nonetheless. This time, I tried to imitate the makeup of an idol I liked. It had more orangey tones, and I was surprised at how much it fit my features. I admired myself in the mirror, and then exited my sacred space with a gentle hum.

With that out of the way, I sat down on my puffy chair, hugged a pillow and kept on scrolling. I saw some cool art, I dropped a like and went to see their profile, to see more of their works. The usual. But in a few seconds of time, I'd understand that this was anything but usual: A photo of the Prince Sancho cosplay. In the artist's media tab. Captioned as "So many cute princesses out here today! Had so much fun at the con~".

I dropped my phone. Thankfully, it landed on the pillow, but I had no concern about where it flew to at that moment. I literally felt like a grenade had exploded on my head.

Huh? The artist? The con? The cosplay? The "I've finally found you, my Princess" line? It was THIS PERSON? That I had spent over two months trying to find by now?!

I took a deep breath and gently retrieved my phone. I looked at the photo once more. Yes, it was them. It was that mystery stranger.

Well, what could I say? I finally found you, my Prince.

I scrolled up to examine their bio. Artist name: Lirica. Fanartist+cosplayer. An adult. Female, she/her. Loves black and white drawings. "I'm vocal about my opinions, unfollow if that makes you uncomfortable."

Oh, Lirica-san. If anything, I'd love to know your opinions on every possible topic…

I went back to her gallery. She posted a lot of fanart, in black and white format she claimed to favor. They were very unique looking drawings. They were very detailed, yet the general shapes of the figures were on the simpler side. She made everyone look like a fantasy character. It was all very… beautiful.

You could say that I was biased, but these were exactly what I was looking for, in terms of art.

A bit more of scrolling revealed more cosplay photos. She had done many, of both female and male characters. I zoomed in on her face. She had such unique features. I didn't know her actual hair or eye color, but she looked very charismatic in each and every photo. Incredible…

For some reason, now that I had found the 'mystery person' and was looking at her profile, I had a very calm feeling wash over me… Yeah, my initial reaction was of shock, but now I was just serenely admiring her page. I guess it was the feeling of an almost impossible mission being concluded?

I also found out about the reason why I couldn't find her page before. She had made a post explaining how she had kept the account private for a while and how she was ready to go public again. It must have been locked during her visit to the con, apparent from the lack of tags and smaller number of likes. I laughed at myself. So that's what it was! I was honestly starting to think whether her appearance was an illusion or not at this point. Nope! She was real. Now, all I had to do was to wait until the official announcement dropped by the publishers to contact her.

While I was at it, I put on post notifications for the publishers' page… And for Lirica-san.

During my wait, I found myself involuntarily gravitating towards her account multiple times. I had scrolled all the way back down, seen all her available art, cosplays, and read her answers to follower questions. She sounded very down to earth and sociable, so I was sure approaching her would be easy and without any anxiety.

Right?

Right?!

So why was I trembling like a small puppy waiting for her reply?! After the announcement got posted, I carefully read the conditions and then wrote a small message to her, attaching the contest info and some of my example works. Up until that part, everything was just fine. But as minutes and hours passed, I started to feel my lungs being crushed. There was no reply!

She was definitely annoyed by me, wasn't she? Who was this rando proposing to work together? Who was I, even? What gave me the rights?

Honestly, I considered deleting the message many times but stopped myself each time at the last second. What if she just hadn't seen them yet? If I deleted the messages, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself! And if she didn't reply after tomorrow, then… I'd just take the loss and move on. I could always be her fan from afar, yeah?

After some point, I stopped waiting for a response and tried to find other artists to collaborate with. None of them piqued my interest as much as Lirica-san's art, though…

And then, one night, when I was checking the hour before going to bed, it appeared. The notification for her reply. My sleepy eyes widened in a split second's time, and got reading.

Lirica: oh my, good evening. forgive my spectacularly late response, for some reason this got lost in the inbox? anyhow, i read a bit of your stories. honestly, shoujo is very different from what I usually read. i actually am not 1000% sure if my art would be suitable for your vision? well, either way, i'm always looking to broaden my horizons, so hmu if you're okay with discussing details?

Lirica: though, it's possible that you already found someone else meanwhile LOL in that case, best of luck!

My fingers started to type a reply before I could even think about it.

Matsushima: good evening!! no worries, i actually didn't agree with anyone else. i really enjoy your art style, if you're willing to collaborate i'm sure we can do a good job!

…was I really talking with her? Are we sure this was not a dream? I stared at the screen until her reply appeared.

Lirica: oh, you're still awake? didn't expect!

Lirica: this might be a bit too sudden, but if it's okay w you, could we meet up sometime? like irl? i think it'd be more healthy to discuss story matters in person, and then i could send the files back and forth online. you're in tokyo right?

Sweat covered my entire forehead. Meeting her?! I mean, sure, that'd be a goal of mine, but wasn't this too soon…?

Another message appeared.

Lirica: only if you're comfortable! i'm srs, if you're the type that'd like to stay anonymous, that's totally okay ☆ i just think it'd be most efficient for story development!

Ah, she was a considerate one… I wiped a bit of sweat away from my forehead. I had to stay calm and answer coolly.

Matsushima: of course, that makes perfect sense! i think that's a great idea. what date and place is suitable for you, Lirica-san?

Hah, look at my response. As if I weren't rolling in bed from excitement. We set our date… I mean… the date! Not as in a date, no no! I mean the date of time. This was just a meeting!!!

Even then, my heart was beating as loud as my first date years ago. The sweet excitement. The intense need to impress. Since there was no way I could sleep after this chat, I thought I might as well get my clothes ready for the occasion. I had brought some colorful and cute items ever since my fashion makeover decision. I just decided to follow whatever my heart wanted at the moment. But… would she think I looked good, too…?

I shook my head. What mattered was to discuss the story and do a good job… together.

Ah, man. What was this situation? It was something just like out of my favorite series… Hehe. I am the main character, aren't I? I always have been, and it brought me here, right to this scene in my life.

I couldn't wait for what's more to come…!