INT. JASON’S APARTMENT CUBE – LATE NIGHT
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsXBhauewH
[The dim lighting casts dramatic shadows over the game board now fully set up across Jason’s table. Little figurines dot the medieval map. Jason's taken his role as narrator way too seriously. SD-A sits cross-legged on the floor with focus sharper than a blade. SD-K... is holding his dice like they’ve wronged his family.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzI6OSQOPl4
JASON (NARRATOR MODE)
“The goblin snarls, showing a row of teeth he stole from a toaster. He raises his mighty ladle of doom and—K! It’s your turn. You stand before him, one boot stuck in a suspicious puddle of cheese. What do you do?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynaNkydCJz
SD-K (dryly)
“I attempt to negotiate with the goblin… using sarcasm.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXEh9sftTH
SD-A (gasping)
“Bold move. Bold and doomed.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxn4GKelLl
JASON (grinning)
“Roll for sarcasm.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgC9HXb2m8
[SD-K sighs and rolls a 2. Jason slaps the table.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS79bfrhe3j
JASON
“The goblin is deeply offended. He yells something about your lineage and swings the ladle. Take three spoon-damage.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb64bKF00BY
SD-K (muttering)
“I hate this realm.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlC7Kb20EN
[A’s turn. He has a tiny rogue bot figurine perched on top of a mug. He looks at the board with the intensity of a tactical genius.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYPLPt6pWP
SD-A
“I sneak around the back, climb the shelf, and drop a bag of ancient nuts on the goblin’s head.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdv4JjqLlWb
JASON
“You know what, roll it. If this works, I’m buying you a pretzel tomorrow.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8VJngeRTu
[A rolls a natural 20. Jason throws his hands in the air. SD-K groans and flops over dramatically.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ412SqUm0ro
JASON
“By the sacred gears of probability, the goblin slips, gets clonked in the head, and launches himself into the cursed fondue pit. You win the encounter. You get… 10 bronze coins, a slightly cursed ladle, and... a used coupon for half-off repairs.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFzbG3n4ww5
SD-A (beaming)
“Success!”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9r8aCDod5
SD-K (flatly)
“I want to throw myself in the fondue pit.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcwlykvKgE
[They laugh. A short silence falls as they start setting up the next part of the map. Jason’s smiling to himself while organizing loot cards, while A’s busy choosing his next upgrade from a hilariously long list.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqu5QwH8sz6
JASON
“You know, it’s kinda weird. Feels like we’re just... hanging out. No parasitic freaks, no screaming operators, no one bleeding machine oil on my floor.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzelwQKlV4J
SD-A (absently)
“Is that... bad?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvBdZxz5Pz
JASON
“Nah. Just… not used to it. Normally I spend game nights arguing with my toaster over whose turn it is. It cheats.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWbIMFS5oa
SD-K
“Do all household items in this city have unresolved trauma?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvxnugyohO
JASON
“Only the ones Vision Tech made. So yeah, pretty much.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aOXe7JBAK
[They chuckle again. Jason pauses, leans back in his chair, looking at his two very illegal guests.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBxQORCuCn
JASON
“You two ever had this kinda chill time before?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOG2PytnBQ8
SD-A
“Not really. Usually we’re hiding. Or... surviving.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirWgLweK3H
SD-K (flicking his dice around)
“Or arguing about why we can’t stop to pick up shiny scrap in the middle of a pursuit.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDe6NqkmGU
SD-A
“Scrap is important.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvb1cEcboN
JASON (smirking)
“Scrap is life.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Qm4Uqr4gE
[They continue playing, Jason narrating with absurd flair. A new enemy appears: the Tax Goblin. K immediately tries to kill it before it can speak.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e5aylqHhc
JASON
“Woah! We’re not even through its first monologue yet!”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJn7jKa5Hh
SD-K
“It charged me for my boots.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvcjRDKcos
[More dice. More laughter. A night strangely peaceful. They all forget, just for a moment, the city outside. The threats. The mystery. The thing still stalking them.]
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9ftqMExfY
CUT TO:
The flickering hallway light outside Jason’s door. A mechanical click echoes faintly down the empty corridor.
ns3.136.37.101da2
