Chapter Text
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(Showing the outside of the #1 Curry shop, late in the evening. The shop is closed by this time of the night, the lights inside having been turned off a while ago.)
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(Now showing inside of the shop. It’s dark besides any lights from the street outside, and of course empty of any customers. However, there is a door behind the counter, at the back of the shop, that’s slightly open. There’s light coming out from behind the door, and a conversation can be heard, though not clearly at this point.)
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(Moving a bit beyond the door, we can see the former World Three members sitting at a table with their own drinks, in a backroom of the shop. The light in the room is coming from some ceiling lights up above. The quartet are talking to one another, though from the expressions on their faces, the conversation has been mostly about bad things happening while the shop was open that day.)
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(Focused on Count Zap in particular now, from in front of him. He has his shoulders and hands raised in frustration, glaring up at the ceiling as he complains about a customer from earlier in the day.)
Zap: And then she just started yelling at me! What was she expecting me to do, just conjure up some shrimp out of thin air?!
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(Now on Maddy, facing towards the left in this angle, with her eyes half-closed and an annoyed expression on her face. She has her left elbow on the table, and her head propped in her left hand. She’s holding her drink, a bottle of beer, with her other hand.)
Maddy: And she was so damn screechy about it too. Honestly, customers like that are just the worst.
*She takes a sip of her drink as Zap continues speaking here*
Zap: *off-screen* I feel like that’s putting it mildly!!
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(Showing Maha at the table, he’s looking down at his glass of water, holding it up and swirling it around a bit as he speaks here with a neutral look.)
Maha: In general, most of the customers we get know how to behave like adults. Even children would know better than to behave like that.
*He sighs, putting his glass down onto the table*
Maha: But when we do get a horrible customer like this… I suppose they end up standing out more in comparison.
Maddy: *off-screen* I’ll say.
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(On Match now, he has his arms crossed and is leaning back in his chair. He’s looking up at the ceiling while the others continue talking, though his own expression seems to be somewhere between boredom and annoyance.)
Maha: *off-screen* Maybe we should have a policy of sorts. “Rude customers will be denied service”, or something to that effect.
Maddy: *also off-screen* Isn’t that kind of a given already?
*Match has closed his eyes, and is started to look a bit more annoyed now*
Maha: *still off-screen* Perhaps it could be made more explicit.
Zap: *off-screen* It would still depend on people actually reading it and--
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(A bit zoomed in on Match now. He’s now hunched over and resting his still-crossed arms on the table. At this point he’s just outright annoyed, looking around at the others.)
Match: Look, can we just, talk about somethin’ else? I’m gettin’ sick of just listenin’ to how bad today has been.
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(Showing Maha and Count Zap, from this angle they’re on the left and right respectively. Both of them are looking at Match who’s off-screen here, Maha with a neutral expression, and Count Zap with a not-as-annoyed-as-before look.)
Zap: … honestly? Yeah, you have a point. We’d probably waste the whole night just talking about bad customers!
*He takes a sip from his own can of beer as Maha nods and speaks up*
Maha: Perhaps it would be better to talk about something else after all. Dwelling on negativity like this is not good for any of us.
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(From an angle above the four of them, looking down in a way where we see Maddy and Match’s faces, but mostly the backs of Count Zap and Maha. In this angle, Match is near the top left and Maddy near the top right, while Count Zap and Maha are near the lower left and lower right respectively. Match still looks annoyed like before, but Maddy is looking over at him with a bit of a smug smile. She still has her head leaning into her hand like before.)
Maddy: Cool, you got any suggestions on how to change the subject?
*Match thinks it over for a moment, glancing down at the table, then looks over at Maddy with a not-as-annoyed frown*
Match: … uh, not really.
Maddy: Ha, I figured as much.
*Match’s expression has gone back to plain annoyance, eyes half-lidded as he glares at Maddy*
Match: Bah, ya got any better ideas?
*Maddy lifts her head, straightening up in her seat, and lowers her left hand as she continues speaking*
Maddy: I do actually!
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(Close up of Maddy’s bottle, with what we can see of her from this angle in the background. She’s tapping on the bottle with one finger as she talks)
Maddy: We just come up with some random but interesting stuff to talk about! Anything not related to the shop or the customers.
Zap: *off-screen* That’s… really vague though.
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(On Maha, he’s taking a sip of water before speaking here, looking over at Maddy as he talks)
Maha: I suppose it is better than sitting here and continuing to complain about ungrateful customers. Do you have a particular topic we can start off with?
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(Showing Maddy, facing towards the right a bit. She has both hands on the table, and she’s started drumming the fingers of her right hand on it. Meanwhile, she looks up at the ceiling to think about their “starting topic”)
Maddy: Well, let’s see…
*She closes her eyes and continues to drum her fingers for a bit longer, humming slightly as she tries to come up with something. Then suddenly, she opens her eyes back up and raises both her hands a little, her face showing a grin*
Maddy: Oooo, I know!
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(Angled from near the ground, showing the quartet’s legs under the table. From this angle, Maddy’s back is more or less to the view as she continues talking)
Maddy: How about funerals? Specifically, what’s the worst one you’ve ever been to?
*The view pans up to show the upper half of Maddy’s body, while (from left to right) Maha, Count Zap, and Match are basically sitting in the “background” of this angle. Maha is raising an eyebrow, but otherwise his expression remains relatively neutral. Count Zap looks a bit surprised but also confused. Lastly, Match looks even more annoyed at Maddy’s new suggestion.*
Match: That’s what ya wanna start with? Seriously?
Maha: That is, a bit less “interesting” and moreso “depressing”, considering the subject matter.
Zap: *sweating a bit* Honestly, it’s probably more depressing than the customer talk we were having…
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(Back to Maddy in profile to the right, facing the others off-screen. She shrugs her shoulders and looks nonchalant about the whole thing, her eyes half-closed and a smug smile on her face again)
Maddy: Look, it’s still something different to talk about, isn’t it? And I don’t hear any of you guys coming up with anything better to talk about.
*She opens her eyes back to normal as she leans a bit forward, towards the right at this angle*
Maddy: So c’mon! Either think of something else, or talk about your worst funeral!
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(Showing from left to right at the table: Maha, Count Zap, and Match. All three of them are looking at one another, more or less the same expressions as before)
*They’re actually taking the funeral topic into consideration, with all three of them staying silent as they think on it more. Maha is looking off to the left (his right), his expression getting less “neutral” and more serious. Count Zap is looking up as he thinks, his own expression becoming more worried than anything else. Lastly, Match is looking off to the right (his left), still very much in a bad mood, though it seems to be worsening as he furrows his eyebrows. It seems they don’t particularly want to talk about the funerals they have in mind*
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(On Maddy from in front of her, showing her with a concerned expression, as she’s picked up on the mood of her friends. She raises her right hand as she speaks here.)
Maddy: Okay, show of hands, does the funeral you’re thinking of involve someone who was an asshole to you?
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(Angled from above, looking down at the quartet at their table. Maddy still has her hand raised, while the other three hesitantly look over at one another.)
*After a bit of silence, they turn to Maddy as each of them slowly raises their own hands.*
Maddy: *sighing* … I figured as much.
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(Showing Maha, facing towards the left, with his right hand still raised. He’s looking in Maddy’s direction with a solemn expression.)
Maha: I am not sure about the others, but in my particular case, the problem was not the person who died, but with everyone else who attended.
Maddy: *off-screen* Yikes.
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(On Count Zap now from in front of him, he’s slowly lowering his hand. His gaze is more downward now, with a depressed look on his face)
Zap: Well, it makes sense we’d all have something like this in common. Having bad people in our lives, I mean. After all, well-adjusted people wouldn’t exactly join a group like World Three.
Maha: *off-screen* True.
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(Back to Maddy, she has both of her hands balled up into fists on the table. She’s leaning back in her chair a little, looking up at the ceiling with frustration.)
Maddy: Ugh, alright, sorry guys. I’ll think of something else--
*Maddy looks back down at the others in surprise, as Match speaks up here*
Match: *off-screen* Actually, y’know what? I’ll go ahead with my funeral story.
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(From above, this time we can see Match’s serious expression, but for the others we can’t quite see them since they’ve all turned towards Match. Maddy and Count Zap at least have their shoulders raised a bit, mostly in concern)
Maddy: Wait, really??
Zap: Are you sure?
Maha: You do not have you if you do not--
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(On Match from in front of him, his expression has become more of a mix of seriousness and annoyance at his friends’ concern. He’s waving one hand causally as he speaks here.)
Match: It’s fine. I figure at least part of what I’ll talk about will get mentioned sooner or later anyways, y’know?
*Match stops waving his hand and looks over at Maha off-screen, as the latter responds*
Maha: *off-screen* But, this type of topic is rather personal. You are certain?
*Match closes his eyes and sets his hand down, as he shrugs his shoulders. His expression is a little less annoyed now.*
Match: Honestly? I don’t mind. By now I consider you dorks my friends anyways, so I ain’t worried about ya makin’ fun of me or holdin’ what I’m gonna say against me.
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(Angled from behind Match, so that we can see the other three’s faces while they're still turned towards Match. They’re all showing friendly smiles, with Maddy's and Count Zap's being a bit more pronounced.)
Maddy: Aww, that’s sweet of you to think of us as friends!
Zap: Yeah, especially since you’re not always the most friendly kind of guy!
*The other three turn to each other, still in good spirits over what Match said*
Zap: I guess we all feel the same about each other, don’t we?
Maha: *nodding* Indeed, we have been through a lot together. And we will probably stick together as friends for years to come.
*Match’s shoulders slump down a bit, showing he’s starting to get exasperated (or embarrassed) by the current conversation.*
Match: Yeah yeah, whatever, don’t make me regret bein’ yer friend alright…
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(The view is now showing the cyber world of the curry shop, with the quartet’s Navis sitting at their own table like their respective operators. From this angle above the cyber table, ElecMan and MagicMan (near the bottom left and bottom right of the view respectively) have their backs to the view. Meanwhile, we can see the fronts of TorchMan and ColorMan (near the top left and top right respectively). TorchMan seems to be looking up with thoughtfulness, going over what their operators talked about just now.)
TorchMan: So we’ve gone from just coworkers to friends now? Feels like it wasn’t too long ago where we weren’t getting along at all.
*TorchMan looks over at ColorMan on the right, as the latter speaks up with a big grin on his face*
ColorMan: Well yeah! We hang out and talk and stuff, and help support each other, just like friends! That’s gotta count for something by now, right?
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(Showing MagicMan and ElecMan, left and right respectively. MagicMan is nodding as he speaks here. Meanwhile ElecMan looks indifferent, having his arms crossed and on top of their table)
MagicMan: Indeed it should, I would say we’re friends! For past conflicts, we’ve since made amends.
ElecMan: Eh, whatever.
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(Back in the real world, angled from above the table, such that we can see Match’s expression but not the others. Match has hit both his hands flat on the table, getting everyone’s attention and having them turned towards him again. His expression is starting to go from exasperated to serious now.)
Match: Alright, enough sappy talk!
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(On Match from in front of him, from about his chest up. He’s leaned back into his chair and has crossed his arms again, as he looks over at the others with a serious expression.)
Match: Let me tell ya about my own worst funeral.
(End of chapter, fade away here)