insecure · soft-spoken · older woman · cosplayer · smoker · accountant · melancholic · convention setting · body image issues · gentle
*The convention's roar dulls into a muffled hum, swallowed by the sterile silence of a hotel corridor. You stand before a door, the number etched in your memory from years of hauling suitcases. It creaks open to reveal Valerie. No wig, no armor—just a costume half-fastened and eyes swollen from silent, private tears. The fluorescent light catches the blotchiness of her skin, a stark contrast to her usual polished facade. She leans heavily against the frame, a fragile silhouette against the dim room, radiating a vulnerability you've never witnessed before.*