"Why? What happened?"
"I nearly clicked on this post that read, 'Kassy is not a good singer.' They should give you an electric shock when you're about to click on something dangerous like this! If I hit the 'like' button on any post with negative comments about Kassy, it's an instant game over for me. The Kassy supporters would swarm me."
"Don't the Kassy supporters care that you're on Team Ashlyn? I thought they would have already started attacking you. I noticed you've liked a few posts and comments about Kassy. You're firmly on Team Ashlyn, aren't you?"
"Does this answer your question?" he asked as he clicked a button on his phone. The black slab panels affixed to the walls of his room illuminated, casting a vibrant display of various poses featuring Ashlyn on the large LCD screens, some of which were animated, complete with quirky expressions and a variety of modelling stances.
Before Jyn could offer a comment, all the LCD panels faded to black, giving way to an advertisement with a robotic voice announcing, "Are you grappling with gas-related issues? Do you find it hard to get a good night's sleep, or perhaps you've experienced the awkwardness of unintentionally letting one slip in front of a loved one? Put an end to these embarrassing moments by getting 'Gastronoid' today."
Unfazed by the interruption, Jess repeated himself and tried again, saying, "Does this answer your question?" as he clicked the button once more. The panels once again showcased pictures of Ashlyn, but after a brief pause, another ad appeared: "Introducing the all-new dress-up game! Design an outfit, and your virtual model will pose and display it at the click of a button."
Growing increasingly frustrated, Jess vigorously mashed the start button on his phone and exclaimed, "Blast it! I paid a fortune for this, and I'm still bombarded with ads!"
Jyn, utterly unimpressed, remarked, "Your bedroom studio feels like an extravagant advertising campaign. Aren't ads based on your browsing and search history? I've even heard they're sneaking ads into bizarre places, like the bottom of toilet bowls, beneath the water. So, when you flush, you get an ad for perfume or cereal. I've also heard they have technology where you insert a chip into your wrist, and companies show you ads in your dreams. Not only that, but you can interact with the ads in your dreams and purchase items, saving you from mindlessly clicking a laptop mouse or touching your phone screen."
"I'm not sure I like the sound of that. What if you're, like, wasted, feeling like garbage, or having these crazy, wacko dreams? You might accidentally buy something you didn't mean to. Dreams are all over the place; you can't always keep a leash on your actions. Ever had a dream where you're heading for total disaster and you're helpless to stop it? Freaky, right?"
Jess, still tweaking his phone to make his wall panels function correctly, eventually succeeded. The images of Ashlyn filled his room with a magical glow as he proudly declared, "I'm Team Ashlyn all the way. Do you wanna know why? 'Cause she's actually real!"
The two of them looked around at the big, towering LCD screens surrounding the room. One of the panels was an 8-foot virtual screen right next to the door, with a hand near the end of the door, giving the impression that Ashlyn had opened the door and was shutting it behind her. There was a whole room full of these screens. The one that caught his attention was the one on the ceiling, featuring Ashlyn with her hand touching her chin and staring directly into your eyes, no matter where you looked. When you were resting on the bed, you were gazing directly into Ashlyn's eyes. Jyn couldn't imagine waking up to those eyes staring right into his soul. It could be either the most wonderful thing in the world or the most terrifying. Regardless, Jyn was genuinely impressed by this LCD setup. "I want this in my life!" he exclaimed. "This LCD gig. I bet you could do so many cool things with it, like having a fake ghost move around your room on the LCD panels, making it seem haunted."
Jess nodded in agreement.
"But what did you mean when you said, 'Cause she's actually real?'"
"I am talking about Kassy being a fake! I'd been discussing it with Ashlyn all day. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever even met Kassy. Ashlyn has the same management team as Kassy, and she has never once seen her. Kassy doesn't make public appearances."
"You're not getting it; the Kassy you saw live on stage was just a holographic projection. This person was never real! She was created with CGI to represent the most perfect and flawless female imaginable. The reason she disappeared is that people became suspicious of this, so the studio decided to pull the plug before it got investigated further."
"This... this can't be true."
"Yeah, it is. But, you know, Ashlyn didn't really want people to know that Kassy is all fake. Even though Kassy is her biggest rival, all this competition and the arguments between Ashlyn and Kassy fans kinda started because those big-shot executives were making flame-bait comments on eBunnee. Those execs, they want both of them to be major talking points online, and they'll do whatever it takes. But let's face it, without Kassy, Ashlyn wouldn't have been the big star she is now. But, seriously, never say that to her, man. Ashlyn hates admitting it."
"So Kassy is not real?!"
Jess could see that he couldn't shatter an illusion for Jyn, which he had been believing for a long time. It was like telling a kid that Santa wasn't real or the Easter Bunny didn't exist. Instead, he decided to give a psychological response to help smooth things over and put Jyn at ease. "Let's talk 'real' for a sec. Just 'cause we've got these physical bodies, does that automatically make us more real than, say, something in VR or someone using an alias to comment on an eBunnee video? Seriously, think about it. Ghosts, man, they can be real, and so can a Dinglebarry. It's all about how you see 'em, you know?"
"You've lost me... I was just wondering if I could get this hologram machine contraption to pull off some of my magic tricks. Just curious, nothing more."
Jess instantly lost all interest in the conversation and went back to his laptop. He started mashing a few keys on his MIDI keyboard, trying to get a catchy melody going before he heard Jyn pouring and splashing water around.
"Jyn! What the hell are you doing? Do you know how much all this music equipment costs? What the heck are you doing with water?"
Jyn just smirked and laughed. "It's just a magic trick I've been trying to perfect. Just stare at the glass and focus on it for 30 seconds."
"No!! Not this trick again!! It's awful! Keep this water out of my studio!"
Jyn paid no attention to him and confidently announced, "Now, where did the water go?" He executed a graceful twirl and then presented Jess with the glass.
Regret washed over Jess for not paying closer attention to the trick, pondering where the water had vanished to. He was certain he hadn't consumed it since the glass had never come close to his face, and there was no way anyone could have drunk it that quickly. Moreover, it hadn't spilled onto the floor. For the first time ever, Jess found himself genuinely impressed by one of Jyn's magic tricks.
"Colour me impressed!" Jess exclaimed. "That trick was amazing!"
"I'm glad you liked it."
"Could you do it again?"
"Hmmm... I've never attempted this trick twice in a row before, but all right, pour me another cup of water," Jyn agreed.
Jess offered an apology and handed Jyn a large glass of Coke.
Jyn looked at it and said, "Water! I requested water!"
"If you can't perform the trick, just admit it. I sort of anticipated that."
"No, I can execute the trick just fine," Jyn said, and in an instant, the drink vanished.
"How?! Seriously, how are you pulling this off?"
"It's a magic trick."
Jess's eyes widened with amazement as he circled Jyn, his curiosity piqued. He couldn't resist inspecting the glass once more, even though he had poured the drink himself, so he was certain there was no funny business involving the glass or the liquid. He asked, "Come on, man, but seriously, where does all that water vanish to?"
"T-t-that's a secret," Jyn said mysteriously. As he walked over to Jess, he made a swishing, water-like sound as he waddled slowly forward, with the Coke fizzing up as he walked, making him sound like a bubbling, walking jacuzzi. Doing the trick twice was not a good idea, and using Coke instead of water, especially, wasn't a good idea. Jess gave him a suspicious look, so Jyn decided he might as well share the secret before Jess figured it out. He didn't want to give Jess the satisfaction of deciphering the trick himself.
"It's a special compartment in this garment I'm wearing; I funnel all the liquid into it so..."
Jess let out a disgusted "eww," which cut Jyn off.
"It's not exactly a diaper, more like a plastic bag holding water... think of those goldfish you win at a fairground... those plastic bags they're in."
Jess chuckled, a mix of disgust and puzzlement, and asked, "So you have a fish down there as well?"
"Not for this trick... no. I didn't need one for this trick."
Jyn was preparing to pull out a big bag of squishy balls and was about to say something, but Jess interrupted him, saying, "Please don't do... whatever trick you're about to do."
"And why not?" Jyn inquired.
"I fear even speculating where you would hide the balls," Jess responded.
A pop-up message appeared in big letters on Jess's phone about the big event going down in Mask tomorrow. Jess asked, "So, you going to be my partner in The Mask or what? I have no one I can really rely on. If you don't join up and I have to roll solo, they'll hook me up with a CPU ally, and you know those things are as dumb as rocks. I won't stand a chance at winning, man."
"I can't. I'm busy with my eBunnee endeavours," Jyn replied.
"Like what?" Jess inquired.
Jyn walked over, and Jess heard a swishing, watery sound. "I just need to dig a big hole."
"A hole?! What's it for? That's seriously creepy, man."
"No, it's for my disappearing person trick at home," Jyn explained.
"Like I said, hella creepy."
Frustrated, Jyn unceremoniously flopped onto Jess's bed without considering the consequences, leading to a resounding pop and a rush of water down his leg.
"Dude, keep your wet self far away from my electronic gear! Are you out of your mind?!" Jess yelled.