Akshay needed to do something. He needed to do something to get his mind off the fact that he was painfully single again. Weeks had passed since the break up and, though it was still painful to think about, he found out that if he just kept busy it tended to fend off the bad feelings. So, that was what he was doing. He was healing, he knew he was, but it was still going to be pretty tough to get used to the fact of how alone his apartment now felt. Which was precisely why he wasn’t in his apartment at the moment!

There was only one cure for the blues. And that was nerd stuff!

Necronomi-Con!! It was that time of the year again. The premiere event in all of nerdom (besides Comic-Con, Blizz-Con, Anime-Con, E3, etc.). Necronomi-Con started out as a more horror/fantasy based convention but it quickly fell the to the level that ever Con did and encompassed more than its original intention ever was. Now, comic books, movies, video games, animes, everything was allowed to have booths here to peddle wears and let fans know exactly what was coming up.

Akshay…was in heaven. And, he decided to go in a costume that was a little more out of the box and unknown than he normally did. Today, he was going to dig into his roots and dress as the main character of one of his favorite Indian sci-fi films, Ra.One! He knew that only true fans would know exactly what his costume was of. And to those people he would bestow friendship.

He sighed as he strolled through the large convention hall, a bag of swag already in one of his hands as he happily looked from left to right. He was getting odd, yet impressed, looks from people. So few knew what he was dressed as, but apparently they liked the attention to detail! That had to be a plus, right? Slipping into the film section of the hall, he peered around for anything that looked interesting or that might catch his attention.

Just the smell of this place (that of Cheetos and diet sodas and pimple cream) was enough to lift his spirits just a tiny bit. Akshay had been having a tough time but he was managing. Jean and Lexi were doing what they could to help but in the end, it had to be Akshay who wanted to change. They couldn’t do it for him. And this conversation was just one more step to helping him feel better.

Strolling down the aisle, Akshay’s black leather suit molded to him perfectly while the blue lines of “energy” shined very realistically. He definitely paid a pretty penny to get this costume up to par with what he had seen in the movie so many times. Oh yeah, he was the king of nerds today.

And best thing yet, there was absolutely no woman around that he was attracted too…

The human creatures called "nerds" still baffled the Indian goddess. She had seen quite a lot of them since she had arrived in New York City. Apparently, the way they explained it to ther, Bollywood movies were popular in "nerd" circles. She had certainly experienced that, since most of the people who came to worship her for her acts on screen rather than for her divinity were of this peculiar persuasion.
Her attendance insisted that her presence at some of these "conventions" was useful for her image as a goddess. Even though she highly doubted that, she had never questioned their advice in her life, so here she was, dressed in one of her movie screen attires, more flashy than elegant, enjoying the admiration of the crowd. They had erected a small pavilion for her where she could sit on pillows, and the "fans" lined up, just like worshippers in her temples, to present their requests, respects, and photos to sign.
One hand lifted the cocktail she had been provided to the perfect lips, while another signed her name on a picture from one of ther movies. A third hand waved at the crowd as she could see cameras flash in the background.
It was far from religious worship, and yet so similar.

Akshay was just barely finishing up with this round of the convention when he noticed that there was a new addition to the con this year. It seemed that some genius, trying to take advantage of the surge of mythology themed movies, books, comics, and TV shows coming out in this recent year decided to dedicate an entire section of the con to mythology. At least that was what Akshay could surmise due to the influx of men in togas, monsters, and heroes who were wandering in and out of the section he was quickly advancing on.

He loved it when things were added like this.

Though he may have looked just a little out of step in his Ra.One costume, Akshay had no fear that these people would appreciate it nonetheless. Ancient heroes meeting modern heroes, it was a fanboy’s dream! So, boldly, Akshay stepped into the section, his bag of swag hanging loosely at his side.

Instantly he was swept up in the beauty of it all. Specially designed areas, some of the great mythology writers, upcoming comic and movie booths, all of it just too great for him to contain his excitement! Quickly he made his rounds, meeting nice writers, collecting souvenirs, autographs, and various other paraphernalia (he even got a Medusa bobble-head! Squee!!).

But, while checking signs to see what was up ahead, he paused. Glancing at one, he read “Meet a Goddess”. He began to wonder what that could mean. Just some cosplayer? Maybe an actress for an upcoming movie? Oh! Or maybe even a clip from some secret project that has yet to be released?! Yeah, he had to check this out. So, slipping by a pair of Spartan warriors (who clearly didn’t take the “300” fitness regime to heart) Akshay beelined it in the direction that the sign pointed.

Before long, he found the so-called goddess. There, sitting amongst pillows in a makeshift Indian shrine was—

“Mahadevi!” he beamed and waved! He doubted she remembered him but that never minded to him! He waved just as enthusiastically.

>>“Mahadevi!”

The Goddess looked up from signing the picture, and her almond-shaped eyes narrowed as she looked at the beaming face. He looked familiar. Mahadevi had a good memory for faces, it came with being a deity - remembering them gave the worshippers the illusion of personal importance. Everyone wants to believe the divine takes time to deal with their unique problems.

Raising a hand she gracefully waved back, motioning to the young man to step closer. Apart from the goofy grin, he was kind of cute...
... oh.

Now she remembered. It's was the cute mortal who refused her love.

Setting the cocktail down on the table, she graced him with a smile.

Akshay was shocked. To be honest he didn’t think he was ever going to run into Mahadevi again. Their one meeting before had been pretty brief but it was a definitely a memorable one. If he remembered correctly, she had attempted to offering an “evening” with her; as in, she wanted him for a bed mate for one night. Normally a chance to sleep with a movie star would have warranted an instant agreement from him. Sadly, at the time, he was still dating Emerald and that wouldn’t have been right.

Though…he still kind of kicked himself for passing up that opportunity now that he was single again. He doubted she was going to give him the same offer again.

…Sigh…

But! That didn’t mean that the two of them couldn’t be friends right? So long as, well, she remembered him! For a moment he didn’t think she was but when he saw her hold up her hand in greeting, he took that to mean that she did. Well step one down! Now he just had to talk to her again.

He beamed wide as he made his way over to her booth. In many ways it reminded him exactly of when he met her the first time: the pillows, the garish displays, the throwbacks to Hindu mythology, she really was being treated like a goddess. From what he could tell, that was definitely how she liked it.

Moving in front of her, he smiled as he gave a small wave again.

“Fancy running into you here!” he grinned. Then the thought crossed his mind that just maybe she didn’t remember him and was just waving out of politeness. A goddess needed to be polite, right? God, he hoped she didn’t think that he was just another crazed fan.

>>“Fancy running into you here!”

He addressed her like an equal. The nerve on him. Just because she had to come down to indulge the mortals in their fantasies for the sake of devotion did not mean she stopped being divine.
Then again, they just did not know better. She was seriously condisering hiring someone just to remind her every two hours that that was the case.
...
Hm.

"Greetings, son of India" she smiled, with much more elegance than he did "What brings you here today?"

And what the heck are you wearing?....

Was that a flash of indignation across her face? What the hell was it with him and women lately? It just seemed as if every day he got up on the wrong side of the bed of ALL of them. They either ignored him, disliked him, made fun of him, or (in worst cases) were psychopaths that wanted to treat him like a giant dog! All of it was just so absolutely wrong that he had no idea what else he could possibly do. Why could people just like Akshay for Akshay?

WHY WORLD? WHY?!

Ahem.

He was calm down. Mahadevi smiled to him and he felt the anxiety in his chest loosen up just a little bit. Okay so maybe he had jumped to a conclusion or two. It was nothing big, right?

>> "Greetings, son of India…What brings you here today?"

“Hi! Oh! The usual!” he said with a beaming smile! “Comics, nerdom, the usually fanfare!”

The lining of his costume shimmered with an electric blue and he realized that the lights in his costume were still on an probably a bit distracting. Quickly he found the switch on his belt and flicked it off and turned his attention back to the beauty of a goddess. OH! Goddess…right.

“Sorry,” he quickly said as he gave a little bow of respect to her.

He forgot that she really was under the notion that she was an actual goddess incarnate. Not surprising considering her mutation, her heritage, and, in fact, how pretty she was. When he was done bowing he looked through his swag bag of free items he had received so far from the other booths at the con. When his fingers drifted across a plushie Super Domo, he smiled as he pulled it out and held it out to her with a friendly grin.

“My offering,” he said with a smile. It wasn’t much but maybe the cuteness would be good enough?

>>“Hi! Oh! The usual! Comics, nerdom, the usually fanfare!”

She was entirely sure what that entailed, but she was more graceful than to ask for clarifications. To tell the truth, the whole place baffled her, with people in weird costumes and symbols and images they all seemed to be familiar with, but she could not even place.

>>“Sorry,”

The man named Akshay turned the lights off on his dress. That was definitely better for the eyes. He also reached into his bag and handed a soft plush toy to her.

>>“My offering,”

Well. It was a plush toy. On the other hand, he was the first one today who remembered to bring an offering. These people with all their symbols and supernatural references had no idea how to treat a goddess right. She appreciated the sentiment.

"We thank you for your devotion" she nodded with another graceful smile, holding the toy in one of her many hands. Another hand patterd the pillows next to her. As if by sign, her attendants turned to the rest of the people standing around and told them the Goddess was taking a break.

"Would you like to explain to me the significance of your attire?" she asked, mildly curious "And your offering?"

>> "We thank you for your devotion"

Akshay was happy! It seemed as if the young goddess was actually going to take his offering! Yaay! He had to admit that it was not the most personal or glamorous of offerings, but it still seemed to be to the goddess’ liking. On top of that, it really didn’t look as if many people had brought her anything. Maybe the majority didn’t think she was a goddess and just another actress. He wouldn’t be surprised since he thought the same thing when he first met her too.

But there was no harm in playing to her wants for the time being. If she wanted to believe she was a goddess, why not? Besides, it was just a plushie Super Domo! He had at least two others at home.

He wracked his brain for further conversation. He did come bother her so it was only right that he come up with something to justify it, right? Thankfully it seemed as if he wouldn’t have to be alone. He watched as Mahadevi patted the pillow next to her send her attendants away to give her privacy.

Oh, cool! He gets to sit next to a goddess!

Giving her a small bow in thanks, Akshay took the seat she offered him.

>> "Would you like to explain to me the significance of your attire? And your offering?"

“Oh, sure!” he beamed. “To be honest the costume is just to honor a fictional character in India Cinema. One of the lesser known superheroes of that genre. I figured why not try the costume myself,” he said as he showed off the costume a bit. “Made it myself, lights as well.” So proud was he of his work. He then motioned to the plushie. “As for the offering, Super Domo is just a cute and yet powerful character. Kinda reminded me of you.”

Ahem. Yeah. Probably not the best thing to compare a beautiful woman to a short, hairy creature with a big mouth full of fangs, and farts pink clouds. Hopefully he could save that.

“T-Though obviously he doesn’t look like you! At all! You’re far more beautiful and elegant that he is.” Phew. Nice save there…dumbass…

>>“Oh, sure! To be honest the costume is just to honor a fictional character in India Cinema. One of the lesser known superheroes of that genre. I figured why not try the costume myself. Made it myself, lights as well.”

Mahadevi gave another good look at the costume. It was more strange than elegant, and she mused that if she was going to masquarade as a hero of the people, she would have definitely made another choice. At the same time, the young man was honoring Indian Cinema, and that was something the goddess could relate to.
He was adorable in an awkward puppy way.

>>“As for the offering, Super Domo is just a cute and yet powerful character. Kinda reminded me of you.”

The Goddess quirked a doubtful eyebrow at the plush toy. She could not see the similarities.

>>“T-Though obviously he doesn’t look like you! At all! You’re far more beautiful and elegant that he is.”

Well, that was a save. Kind of. The corner of Mahadevi's lips curled up as she watched him blush deeper and deeper.

"Does being in the presence of a deity make you feel uncomfortable?"

Akshay held his breath in anticipation. Would she actually believe him? Was he able to save the conversation? He really didn’t want to offend her but half the time he really didn’t know what to say to her! First of all, she was incredibly sexy. He always had problems talking with women like that. But, the biggest issue was that she believed that she was a goddess! How does one actually talk to a goddess these days?

He doubted he would ever find an answer. The most that he could do was hope that she saw through his awkwardness and see that he was just trying to befriend her. After all, how many goddesses have actual friends?

Then he saw the curl at the corner of her lips. Was that a smile? Had he made a “goddess” smile? That granted him a breath of relief.

>> "Does being in the presence of a deity make you feel uncomfortable?"

He smiled and chuckled a little nervously. Rubbing the back of his neck, he nodded gently.

“A little,” he said softly. “You can be a tad…intimidating. Beautiful goddesses usual are, I would think.”

>>“A little. You can be a tad…intimidating. Beautiful goddesses usual are, I would think.”

He was cute when he blushed. He also admitted that the Goddess was right, which did not surprise her all that much, since she was always right. But his admission sounded... different. Surprisingly genuine.

"Most of us are" she nodded. She had not met many other real life goddesses, but she knew as much "I have portrayed Kali once, for the screen. It was a part of my divinity that was hard to control."

She did not flinch as the images of the big screenmixed for a fleeting second with images from a dream.

"But I never understood why beauty makes mortals uneasy."

>> "Most of us are…I have portrayed Kali once, for the screen. It was a part of my divinity that was hard to control."

Akshay nodded as he listened intently. So far the conversation seemed to be going well! Even though Mahadevi was claiming to have met with other gods and goddess in her career, he had to admit that in hindsight she was pretty correct. The truth was that any film industry could be considered a pantheon of beautiful people: Angelina Jolie, Scarlet Johansen, etc., all of them were part of that league of people that normal people would never get to meet or ever converse with!

It was like they really were gods and goddesses.

But if that were true, then Akshay really needed to consider himself lucky. He never could have guessed a year ago that today he would have had not only one, but TWO conversations with a real life movie star / goddess! It was just a blessing.

>> "But I never understood why beauty makes mortals uneasy."

He grinned a little shyly and shrugged.

“Truth is, even I don’t know that.” he said with a warm smile. “Some normal people, err, mortals, believe that they aren’t good enough to actually be around beauty. After all, most beautiful people or goddesses just talk to one another. Not people like me. Just you and me talking, makes me feel very blessed.”

>>“Truth is, even I don’t know that. Some normal people, err, mortals, believe that they aren’t good enough to actually be around beauty. After all, most beautiful people or goddesses just talk to one another. Not people like me. Just you and me talking, makes me feel very blessed.”

There was something about the boy's honesty that made the goddess watch him more carefully. He was awkward and, how did the American say, star-struck, but he did not hide his feelings. He must have been overwhelmed by meeting a real deity, yet he did his best to hold up his end of the conversation.

"Being in the presence of beauty makes people better" she said, with the conviction of someone beautiful "There is no shame in feeling overwhelmed."

Standing up from the pillows she gracefully stepped out of the little tent.

"But this is your world, not mine" she said, indicating with a small nod the geekdom around them "So how would you like to show me around and tell me why so many people enjoy this place?"

Because being in the presence of weird could also be overwhelming.

>> "Being in the presence of beauty makes people better…There is no shame in feeling overwhelmed."

Akshay smiled at the woman’s comment. She may have really been into that whole idea that she was a goddess incarnate, but at least she was never really rude to him. Most of the real beauties he ran into were always so snooting. He hated that. What right did they have to think that they were SOOOO much better than everyone? Sure they were gorgeous and probably got hundreds of things for free, but that didn’t make them better. It just made them users.

But Mahadevi, she was a classy goddess. He was actually pretty glad he ran up to talk to her! Maybe they could be friends after all.

Though he was probably wearing out his welcome now. Maybe he should excuse himself?

>> "But this is your world, not mine…So how would you like to show me around and tell me why so many people enjoy this place?"

He watched as she raised her elegantly, curvy body up from her pillows and slowly began to walk down the steps the led up to her altar. She paused, turned to him, and Akshay had to admit that he was surprised he didn’t burst into flames. She…really wanted him to show her around? That…was so utterly cool!!

“Um…sure!” Akshay beamed as he jumped onto his feet. Heading down to join her, Akshay paused as he offered her his arm in a respectful manner. “It would be my greatest honor, Goddess…”