Cycle I: Coming on Strong
The Hidden Voice
The Nerve · 15 (v2.00)
THE HOUSE OF ZAN — Zan

“You love a girl I could never be.”
— The Truth About Cats & Dogs

Some people adjust themselves to improve the chance of being chosen.
The photograph gets better.
Answers become safer.
Interest goes where it is most likely to be returned.
Boundaries move before anyone asks.
Attention arrives.
It looks like success.
Now the unedited version has no proof it would have been wanted.
Desire forms around the role before the person underneath is known.
The approval belongs to what was shown.
Anything hidden can start looking like a reason the affection might end.
So the performance continues.
Keeping the role may seem safer than testing the relationship.
Being wanted by mistake can make honesty feel more dangerous than rejection.
That false version can protect someone from rejection while making acceptance impossible to trust.