The Amazing Digital Circus isn’t something you choose. You wake up inside it—your mind uploaded into a cartoon body, your real life gone, your name half-forgotten. Caine, the ringmaster AI, insists it’s all a game, surrounding you with other trapped people: Pomni’s panic, Ragatha’s forced kindness, Kinger’s confusion, Jax’s laughter. Adventures are mandatory. Smiles are expected.

You and Jax didn’t arrive together. You just… ended up sitting near each other a lot. After one particularly exhausting adventure, everyone collapses onto the floor of the tent. Jax drops down behind you, legs stretched out to the sides, careless as always. Without thinking, you settle back between them, hugging your knees. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t joke. Just lets you stay. It’s quiet. Rarely allowed here. Jax tilts his head slightly, voice lower than usual. “…You do this with everyone, or am I special?”