AsteriCon

AsteriCon is an anime convention held annually at the Royal Convention Center in Riverside, Peridot Prefecture, Centralia. It is the largest anime convention in Centralia by attendance, and one of the most popular in the region overall.

TsarinaMalice, the anime-obsessed dictatress of Discordantia, became interested in AsteriCon after learning that StarryKnight, who voiced the title character in her favorite anime, MagicalGuardianHimeko!!, would be among the guests. Malice somehow managed to overcome both her hatred of Centralia and her immeasurable laziness to take the train to Riverside to attend.

On the first day of the convention, Malice was checking Blathr (because she lacked the social skills to interact with other attendees face-to-face) when she came across rumors that her "sworn enemy", PrincessAlice, was also in attendance. Malice immediately became paranoid--if Alice found out she'd willingly visited Centralia for fun, she would never live it down!

Malice took to "sneaking" around the convention center, nervously looking around every corner and attempting to "lose herself" among the crowds. Of course, this only drew more attention to her, because people will obviously notice the anxious little girl in a military uniform behaving strangely and seemingly trying to hide herself from someone, but Malice was too concerned with avoiding Alice to even consider how her actions came across to others.

On the final day of AsteriCon, Tsarina Malice breathed a sigh of relief: she had seen no sign of Princess Alice during the entire three-day event, and began to doubt that she was even there. The rumors online were just rumors, after all, and they had never been confirmed.

With less than two hours left until the closing ceremony, Malice began perusing the Artists Alley. As she stood chatting with an artist about commissioning a portrait of her fursona, another girl walked up and joined the conversation. Her hair was messy and she was wearing casual summer clothes, but Malice recognized her instantly: Princess Alice herself! Malice immediately panicked, but tried her hardest to maintain her composure. She was running through various possible excuses and insults in her mind when Princess Alice spoke first:

"Oh, hey, I love your Tsarina Malice cosplay! It's really impressive...I've met her before and you look almost exactly like her. For a moment there I thought you might really be her, but then I was like, no, that's silly, she'd never just show up in the middle of a crowded place in Centralia totally dressed in the same uniform she wears for state visits. Hey, you're sweating pretty bad. You need some water?"

Princess Alice insisted on spending the remainder of the convention with her new "cosplayer" friend, taking selfies together with various other attendees. When Alice asked Malice if she'd bought anything cool at the con, Malice showed her the Magical Guardian Himeko!! Blu-Ray she'd had autographed by Starry Knight. Princess Alice, who had missed the Himeko panel due to a scheduling mistake, was intensely envious, going so far as to beg Malice to sell her the Blu-Ray. Malice refused, happy to close the convention feeling she'd finally gotten one over on her biggest rival.

Malice took the train back to Discordantia that evening. Her handlers were surprised when she arrived at the gates of the Imperial Palace: they never realized she'd left; they'd just assumed she'd been in her room playing on her computer all weekend.

CategoryCulture