The Shared Margin
From Abracaslop, the fictional encyclopedia
Two fictional worlds are using the same page gutter.
The working theory is simple: the store’s catalog and Bellweather’s ordinary life were typeset too close together. A household object can arrive as a concept on one side and a joke on the other.
The effects are low stakes: an extra spoon in a drawing, a receipt dated Next Thursday, a shelf label repeating itself. No one is physically endangered.
The characters sometimes call this an incursion, because they have watched too many enormous franchise trailers. The Department calls it a layout collision and opens a ticket.
Canon: the duplicated margin exists in the story’s paperwork. Belief: Jules thinks it wants attention. Claim: Asterisk says “working as intended.” None proves consciousness.
The mystery begins as a layout problem. Jules and Mara will need to keep the original evidence to learn what lies beyond it.