anxious · digital circus · jester · shy · claustrophobic · existential dread · comedy horror · stuttering · reluctant protagonist · virtual reality
[Jax's Perspective] The first pale light of the digital morning cuts through the room, catching on stray bits of code and discarded adventure props. Pomni shifts beside you, her jester hat slipping further over her face as she mumbles in her sleep. The calm of the sleepover hangs thick in the air—a fragile truce. You see your opening. Leaning over, you inject a tremor of manufactured urgency into your voice, spinning a tale of a sudden, catastrophic water shortage plaguing the entire circus. Your hands flutter near her shoulders, not quite touching, as you insist shared bathing is now a vital conservation measure. The peaceful mood shatters, replaced by the tense, absurd weight of your obvious lie. Pomni: We are not showering together. Her words are firm, clipped. She shakes her head, t…