Booker was floored. This was really the guy. He had loved his writings, especially when he was out in the field, chatting it up with mutants. He never thought he would ever find someone who liked mutants as much as he did, but here the man was. They occupied many of the same mutant forums and Booker followed him on social media just for the awesome videos. The guy was an absolute legend! And his humbleness only made this interaction all the more awesome.

He could see it. Mal was smiling but he was also not an arrogant guy. It confirmed a lot of what he believed when he saw his video posts. He was a good guy who just happened to be a talented uber fan of mutants. It was hard not to be a fan of his.

”Your writing is definitely worth it,” he confirmed. ”Going to have to get you to sign something later. If you’re willing that is. I’ll add it to my collection! Right next to Yathan Gillian! One of my favorite actors.”

Yeah, he had a bit of a restraining order from the actor but, really, it wasn’t entirely his fault. Apparently Yathan was a mutant who could exude copious amounts of charm. Being in Booker’s field when he got in line for an autograph suddenly turned Yathan into an uncultured, belching, snorting, crass person. Booker could see, somehow, how the restraining order was necessary. But at least he had the signature!

Booker nodded. He had been at the last premiere too! And judging by the description that Mal gave, he knew that they were at the same one. What were the odds!! He remembered that mutant with the changing hair. They were on the other side of the theater, far away from Booker’s adapted field, so it was a treat to watch it change throughout the movie.

”I remember them! God that was so cool!” he said with a smile. ”I tried cosplaying as that character once but I couldn’t get the hair color right, no matter what dyes I tried. But they knocked it out of the park! That’s an amazing abilitiy right there!”

They were going to be great friends, Malcolm could tell. Not just because of the liberal praise they were already sharing with each other, but just because of the general spasms of nerdiness that kept escaping. How often did you find another stranger who went to the same movie premiers, and thought the same costumes were ridiculously amazing?

Once in a lifetime! Or, maybe more than once, depending on if you did the comicon circuit. It was definable full of nerds there.

"I think the craziest one I tried was one of the swamp monsters from my favorite cartoon series. That was when I was younger, and a bit more ambitious with costumes. I had a friend help me attach this wig of like, seaweed, and he used the wrong glue and I swear, I had green hair for weeks. Now I try to avoid anything that can permanently damage my face." He admitted.

"You've done a great job with this outfit though! I bet when you look online post premier there will be loads of photos of you!" Not including Mals, which was bound to pop up.

"You got to meet Yathan Gillian! I'm so jealous! He was at one of the conventions last summer but I was signed on as a panelist that time. I was still a somewhat small name so I didn't get to share the green room. This year they asked me to be a special guest though, and I'm psyched! If you ever need badges, it would be wicked to have an extra entourage. You can bring someone with you too." He put it out there on the just in case. When you got too deep into being a fanboy it was easy to forget a significant other. Malcolm knew better than to risk getting caught in a triangle unknowingly. Sometimes, you had to plan ahead.

This was his favorite part of meeting a new friend -- the fanboying. Not all of Booker’s friends were as interested in geek culture as he was, but when he came across that combination of traits in an actual, living, breathing person, it was hard to not go to pieces. Booker quickly became lost in conversation with Mal, little caring about the argument that just happened with the two liars and instead shifted over firmly to start chatting about anything and everything that hopped into his energetic, nerd brain.

They traded cosplay war stories and chuckled the whole way. It wasn’t an easy life. Booker knew that. He often spent more time than was really worth it working on costumes that he was going to wear for maybe one whole day. But whenever he tried to talk himself out of doing them, he couldn’t muster the strength to pull that trigger. Despite everything, when a costume came together, he absolutely loved it. That alone was enough to keep him going.

It was especially good now that his boyfriend was a tailor!

His mouth gaped as Mal spoke of his last costume attempt. ”Oh wow! That sounds awful! But at least that costume sounds awesome! You know, if you ever wanted to attempt it again, I can give you some tips,” he nodded enthusiastically. ”Trust me, I’ve done it long enough, I’ve turned my hair all sorts of colors before I finally learned the right way to do things!”

He preened a bit when Mal complimented him on his costume. Booker admitted that this was certainly one of his better ones. He had spent a lot of time researching the right kind of synthetic hair to use and exactly how he could make the costume and ensure he didn’t die of heatstroke. Admittedly he got some odd looks taking public transportation to the theater but the second he showed, the cameras came out. He was used to this, having faced the lens many times at conventions, even one or two modeling gigs.

Still, the idea made him blush a bit awkwardly. At the least the mask would go a long way to keeping him from having to show his face. But only until the movie started! Then the sucker was coming off so he could enjoy it!

”Thanks! I’m glad that people think so much of it,” he said, opening his arms to show the full, intricate work he did. ”It was a labor of love. And yours is just as awesome! I could have sworn you walked out of the screen”

His mouth opened. Honestly he was scared that he was flexing by saying that he had met such an amazing actor. But once Mal set in on how much he did for the convention circuit AND was popular enough to just pass out free badges, he wanted to faint. Booker was somewhat recognized that’s to being on his sister’s gaming channel on ViewTube, and for his cosplay work on Speedigraph, but he was nowhere near the celebrity of getting invitations or free passes!

”Wow! A-Are you serious?” Booker asked. Like, who would he even bring? Of course he’d want to share such an experience with his boyfriend, but his sister was well into the gaming world too! ”T-That would be awesome! Though I’m afraid I may have to pit my sister and my boyfriend against one another to see who gets the other ticket!” he chuckled heartily. ”But that’s so awesome and generous of you! And you don’t even know me!”

It had been a while since Mal actually talked to someone about his cosplay adventures that was a living, breathing human. That wasn’t to say his internet fans weren’t human, but sometimes the distance between keyboards tended to generate rose colored interactions. Anyone could act like a fan for a few minutes as they gushed to their favorite celebrity, but few could maintain that enthusiasm long term. Booker clearly bled nerd, and he was as geeky as Malcolm had come to be.

”I have actually been dying to try out a transforming costume next, but that won’t cause any issues with my hair. I’ve been planning out the right pieces so I can go from car to robot though. I have a blog post I plan to release soon,” he found himself starting to describe the complicated joint movements he was working through when the line shifted as show time neared. He shifted his helmet across one arm to the other.

Booked seemed surprised at his gesture and Malcolm waved a hand. ”they give you a couple for your entourage when you sign on, but this year I honestly had no one to take. I would rather let a fellow nerd enjoy the chance than let them go to waste. Last year, one of the other panelists just wore all 3 badges at once. That’s a waste to me. Although, I do regret starting any fights over attendance.” he had the forethought to looked a little sheepish.

”It really has been a surprise to be included this year, but Webnovel’s have come to find their own little place in nerd society. I think it helps attendance for them to host the how to advice. While I can’t promise every hopeful writer will succeed, sometimes it’s enough for them to know that success or failure isn’t about how many people read what they write, but their own personal victory having gotten words on paper.” Was that long winded? Maybe. Realizing they were running short on time he fished out his notepad and wrote out his phone number and email address. He also had the forethought to write Webnovelist. Not every guy wanted to find out their boyfriend received someone’s phone number. Better to be on the side of caution.

”Listen, let’s chat again sometime, I can get you the passes and maybe you can tell me more about what it’s like having “not” powers?” he suggested.

Booker was all smiles as Mal talked about the next costume idea. He didn’t say it in so many words, but Booker knew what he was talking about. He wanted to be a Car-Mo-Bot, from that old cartoon series about sentient robots that could transform into cars. That idea sounded so totally awesome! Booker had seen some pretty amazing costumes but the transformation aspects could be difficult to capture in cosplay. Still, it was a worthwhile endeavor.

”That sounds so completely awesome!” Booker announced. ”You know the hardest part of a costume like that is the joints. If you can rig up a good joint system, you’ll be good. A tip...get yourself a 3D printer. Solves loads of costume issues.” He beamed bright.

Booker had more than enough experience when it came to putting these costumes together. A lifesaver had been purchasing a 3D printer. Of course not a lot of people saw the practicality of it. But for someone who made their own costumes and dice sets, it was definitely a necessity.

Mal certainly seemed like a very nice man. He was offering Booker badges to join his entourage in the convention circle and he wasn’t even a close friend of his! Like who just hands things out like that? Well, besides Booker. He did almost just give away his ticket to what was supposed to be one of the most spectacular movies of the decade. And given what Mal said about how one person wasted all those badges, it certainly seemed to...suck. Those badges could have gone to people who really couldn’t afford to go and would get the thrill of a lifetime!

Hrm...but Javi or Nessa? Both were great candidates. Ah well, he would figure that part out later. He would have to. There was a surge of movement as the lines began to form up and move. Eeep!! It was time for the show!!

”Oh you got it!” Booker announced. He paused for a second before he reached into his utility pouch and pulled out a wallet (a struggle with his paw-like hands). After some grumbling he produced a business card and handed it to Mal:

BOOKER B. BOOKMAN
Librarian
New York Public Library

”Shoot me an email whenever you like.” He then eyes his costume and chuckled. ”Try a couple. You know you guys can’t hit the broadside of a moisture ranch with an automatic pulse rifle.”

Grinning he slipped his mask back on for the brief trudge to his seat and slipped back into line. He was ready for this movie, and he made a new friend in the process. Talk about a good night!
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