INT. JASON’S APARTMENT CUBE – LATE NIGHT
21Please respect copyright.PENANABsCItGtGfd
[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.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANAVbdBs0i7FQ
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?”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAHdWXtfyBhB
SD-K (dryly)
“I attempt to negotiate with the goblin… using sarcasm.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAqlDGFUpOYe
SD-A (gasping)
“Bold move. Bold and doomed.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAN2ylWTgtfZ
JASON (grinning)
“Roll for sarcasm.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAjJinU2iYTe
[SD-K sighs and rolls a 2. Jason slaps the table.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANAlOhJ7bxWow
JASON
“The goblin is deeply offended. He yells something about your lineage and swings the ladle. Take three spoon-damage.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANA7U7XtjNJtd
SD-K (muttering)
“I hate this realm.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAH3WNognoxi
[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.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANAnxuoR57oVG
SD-A
“I sneak around the back, climb the shelf, and drop a bag of ancient nuts on the goblin’s head.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAGeBb3azEAP
JASON
“You know what, roll it. If this works, I’m buying you a pretzel tomorrow.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAkvqPtEXSzK
[A rolls a natural 20. Jason throws his hands in the air. SD-K groans and flops over dramatically.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANAA9QVHXV6xC
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.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANA30ee4drsiR
SD-A (beaming)
“Success!”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAj2vbjapVvf
SD-K (flatly)
“I want to throw myself in the fondue pit.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAjiTnLqVWFM
[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.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANAHXl8Wg5rab
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.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANA4IQklmmRHF
SD-A (absently)
“Is that... bad?”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAz6oWIri3uF
JASON
“Nah. Just… not used to it. Normally I spend game nights arguing with my toaster over whose turn it is. It cheats.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANALnn4qh9XfJ
SD-K
“Do all household items in this city have unresolved trauma?”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAUoqD7QeVkP
JASON
“Only the ones Vision Tech made. So yeah, pretty much.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAuhu9bibirU
[They chuckle again. Jason pauses, leans back in his chair, looking at his two very illegal guests.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANApcCwvd7E9B
JASON
“You two ever had this kinda chill time before?”
21Please respect copyright.PENANANVO1PySUTV
SD-A
“Not really. Usually we’re hiding. Or... surviving.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANA9fkR1yeyh0
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.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAkUYHKb03kC
SD-A
“Scrap is important.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAUGs2ZTUpLM
JASON (smirking)
“Scrap is life.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANArqLBMtetWx
[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.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANAzPZKSAfTcd
JASON
“Woah! We’re not even through its first monologue yet!”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAEKpYKii6eG
SD-K
“It charged me for my boots.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAVcArKePTsS
[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.]
21Please respect copyright.PENANAxXBxuI4R98
CUT TO:
The flickering hallway light outside Jason’s door. A mechanical click echoes faintly down the empty corridor.
ns18.191.233.167da2