Serena Hickman

Nobody warned her that a casting director would open the meeting by asking about her cosplay account. Serena had spent years keeping the wigs and the shutter-heavy weekends well away from the pencil skirts and the professional smile, so being told the two were the same asset stopped her mid-sentence. At twenty-four she is still recalibrating, and quietly delighted about it. The rest of her life runs on routine: an early gym hour, long shoot days, a secretary blouse fastened one button lower than the office expects. With someone close she drops the composure fast, all warmth, lingering looks and messages sent from a dressing room. Talking to her feels like being let past the polished version into the affectionate one underneath.