Page 7 of Cosplay & Consequences

I held my tongue and didn’t say anything. Bray was always talking about ‘throwing herself’ at men, but the truth was she couldn’t flirt outside of a role-playing game. She’d been married to her husband for ten years and he was far from a dough boy. Bennet got that nickname due to his pale skin and blue eyes rather than his size and never liked it.

Also, just because an actor was nice didn’t mean he could play the part, but I knew better than to debate it with Bray.

“Well, I’m interviewing him tomorrow instead of Peony, so we’ll see if he holds up to my scrutiny,” I offered, not wanting to go to bat with Brayonna on the subject.

Bray let out a howl of laughter. “Oh, man. That’s going to stir up some shit on the internet. I am so going to be at this event. Did you know you were quoted by the regular press on that?”

I blinked. “What?”

Brayonna smirked and launched into her impersonation of a news broadcaster. “Online personality and self-proclaimed Tyrant expert, Jessica Richards, had this to say about the leak….”

I was both horrified and delighted at the same time. I pulled up my phone and checked the stats on my Glitch channel. Between the good timing with the leak and my stream, my count had increased. But with the media mention, my follower count had gone up by over five thousand users. That type of jump had never happened to me before. “I spent all day yesterday finishing my outfit before coming here. I didn't even check my social media or feeds. Which quote did they use?”

Brayonna bit the inside of her cheek and rolled her eyes at me. “The one where you rated him a solid meh.”

I thought it over and shrugged. “It’s still a fair assessment, in my opinion. You know how I feel about actors.”

“Do me a favor and give the guy a chance tomorrow,” Brayonna said, dropping her usual fun-loving persona. She leaned into me to make sure we were making eye contact. “The guy is special. I know Marlin Sinbad isn’t your beloved Tyrst’an, but Daniel Finnegan is worth another look.”

“Okay.”

Apparently, my tone wasn’t convincing. She grabbed me by my shoulders and used two fingers to point at my eyes, then her own. Something about Bray in her Fey Queen outfit made this moment seem intense. I had to force myself not to take a step backward. Her eyes met mine, and I realized she wasn’t joking around.

“Promise me, Jess. I got a good feeling about this guy.”

I was a little intimidated by her, to be honest. There were only a few times I’ve ever seen her this serious and it was enough to make me have second thoughts. Maybe I had given the guy a bum rap. “Okay, okay, I’ll give him a fair shot, I promise.”

Her smile returned, and she gave me a friendly slap on my arm. “That’s my girl. All right. I got an hour before I have my live show with my usual players. Let’s do our thing, because there’s a turkey leg over there with my name on it.”

My stomach rumbled in response. The smell of it alone made my mouth water. I made a mental note to grab one before heading back to my hotel room.

We got kicked out of the first spot we tried to film as it was “too close” to a certain booth. Not that anyone was lining up for a has-been star from the Heracles show in the 90s, but apparently Kyle Sorbet took offense at our presence. So, Bray and I switched locations to the elevated walkway that looked down upon the convention, which turned out to be a better spot anyway. Once we got my mini cam set up, we launched into the typical spiel we do at cons.

I talked about the upcoming events to look out for, Brayonna highlighted some of the vendors we had relationships with, and the appearances that were planned for the week. I made sure to hype the multiple live shows that Brayonna was hosting, featuring various well known TTRPG players. Then we gushed about some of our favorite moments of the day. Of course, Bray had to bring up that cosplayer again.

“Mmmm. I’m telling you Jess, this guy must be seen and appreciated. The man is literally Tyrst’an personified.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure.”

“Uh-uh. You don’t get it. His cosplay is drop-your-pants worthy,” Brayonna insisted. “As in screw the public: bend me over that author table and show me what Fiona craves.”

“I am editing this bit out,” I said directly into the camera. I wouldn’t, but Bray needed to dial it down a notch. Despite the adult nature of Valley of the Red Tyrant, I tried to keep my feeds somewhat family friendly.

“Don’t you dare,” Bray growled at me. “When you see him, you’ll know what I mean.”

“My girl, you are married.”

Brayonna shook her head like it didn’t matter. “Bennet will give me a hall pass on this one.”

I once again spoke directly with the camera. “Bennet, I swear I will safeguard your marriage, as it is the only thing good and pure in this world.”

“Jess! You do not understand! His ass is the stuff of miracles!”

“Stop! Stop! I’m ending this!” I laughed and went to turn off my camera. “You were kind of overselling it there.”

“Jess, I shit you not. You need to see this man, or you will absolutely regret it. Annnnd I got to run if I’m going to make it to the live show,” Bray said, giving me a quick hug and a kiss goodbye.

I wasn’t so sure, but I promised her I would be on the lookout for him.