By the next day, the reaction no longer felt like an explosion. It had settled into something wider and more persistent. The tone had changed. The urgency was gone. People weren't reacting to the fact that Arianne Summers had appeared as the model anymore. They were reacting to what it meant.
"Noah's fans moved faster than the narrative," Daryll said.
Franz stood across from him, jacket over the back of a chair, posture relaxed but not disengaged. He had been watching the numbers without touching them.
He didn't deny it. Across every platform, the same thing had happened. Noah Hart's fanbase — large, active, and coordinated even without anyone telling them to be — had jumped in immediately. Not to defend. Not to attack. Just to talk.
They reframed.
"She fits the campaign."
"They look good together."
"It's not that serious."
