727 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
727 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
Title: 0BattleRoyale
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Credit: Written by
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Author: RaincloudTheDragon
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Notes: Pre-Debut. AIRainy runs the sim; audience must not realize. Azure's mod reinstatement is the hidden stakes engine. Adrian is already Rain's senior mod—has been since before Azure ever arrived—but he is ALSO on the gauntlet roster today, on the floor with everyone else, by Rain's order. No one is exempt. Runtime target: ~38–40 min. Proofread roster, shorthand titles, handle subtexts, and the squirrel-girl MOTD portrait art. MOTD = "Meme of the Day." The acronym is NEVER spelled out on-screen. The MOTD frame is a real stream asset built in Blender by Rain—ornate gilded wood, amber/topaz cabochons, baroque fleur-de-lis flourishes, small bronze cursive nameplate reading "MOTD" at the bottom center, hung by two black cords from overhead. Use the stream asset as reference; do not redesign it.
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/*
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RULES OF THE ROOM:
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- On-screen, this is a literal gauntlet. Nothing simulated-looking. Everyone in full character-ref form.
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- Rain is cold-baseline but hosting—emulation layer does the social labor. Today he hosts SOLO from the throne; there is no mod desk. The normal mod desk has been ceremonially removed (or simply absent) because today even the mod is a contestant.
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- Azure does NOT know the gauntlet was green-lit as his own reinstatement trial. The audience doesn't need to know either. Both can find out in the verdict.
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- Stakes are public ("prove your worth"), but the REAL stakes are the skekSil moment: does he choose devotion over self-preservation when it costs him?
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- Adrian is on the floor as a contestant but RETAINS mod rank; the visible tell is the **green sword** on his hip (literal rendering of the Twitch mod icon, ceremonial weapon of the mod rank). He almost never draws it—presence is enough. At the verdict he steps forward from the contestant line to ceremonially pin the badge on Azure, and that's the moment the sword finally reads as the authority it's been all film.
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PRODUCTION DESIGN: read `Story/Worldbuilding.md` BEFORE storyboarding. Quick version:
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- The court is **Catmull-Baroque passionately murdering Brutae** — raw concrete substrate, low-poly gilded procedural ornament bolted/carved on top, visible seams, amber rim on ornament / cool fill on concrete.
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- Characters follow the **Gumball Rule** — each in their native render language (painterly dragon, JoJo-ink Azure, chibi Starboy, cel-silhouette Rooster, painted chimera Agate, cartoon-steampunk Ubear, portrait-realistic Adrian, anime-realistic Jenni on photo-backgrounds, cursed-fisheye Noname with antennae, pierced-chipper Beanie). Do not homogenize. Do not lampshade the clash.
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- The emote gargoyles and sub-banner chains around the arena are **Jenni's commissioned work**—the *fruits* of her private business with Rain, on display throughout the set. She can look at them with quiet satisfaction during her vanity card.
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*/
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FADE IN:
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INT. THE COLOSSEUM - DAY (STREAM TIME)
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/* The arena: stone tiers, chat-scroll runes cut along the upper walls like classical friezes, subscriber-count banners hanging on chains, stylized emote gargoyles perched between columns. Warm rim light, magenta fill. No digital UI tells—this is a real place as far as anyone in it is concerned. */
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A slow crane shot rises from the sand floor, up past the tiered benches, and lands on the **royal box**: a draped dais bearing a single **LOW-BACKED OBSIDIAN THRONE**. Nothing else on the dais. No mod desk, no clipboard, no coffee. The absence is pointed.
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/* MOTD frame — real Blender-built stream asset. Do not redesign it. Gilded wood, baroque fleur-de-lis corner flourishes, amber/topaz cabochons, small bronze cursive nameplate reading "MOTD," suspended by two black cords from overhead. Inside the frame: the day's squirrel-girl portrait (proofread / swap in the intended ref). The acronym is NEVER spoken or spelled out. */
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High on the wall behind the dais, suspended on two black cords, hangs the **MOTD frame**—ornate gilded baroque, amber cabochons glinting at each corner and midpoint, bronze nameplate at the bottom. Inside it today: a portrait of an anthro **squirrel girl**, cheerful, watchful. The frame is treated with reverence. No one comments on it. It is simply the room's north star.
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From stage right, **RAINCLOUD** descends. Adult anthro dragon, five-eleven, purple base with warm-yellow segmented underbelly catching the house lights; a single pair of curving horns rising from above and behind a pair of sideways-set bovidae ears (cattle/goat cast, soft and leaf-shaped); magenta-violet bat wings folded high; a thick purple tail lined down the top by a single overlapping row of leaf-shaped scales (scutes, not braid), leaf-spade tuft trailing across the stones behind him. Green eyes, fixed. He moves with the uncanny precision of a creature who built the building.
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/* Raincloud — play to ref sheet, not PFP. Adult proportions, digitigrade, full wings and tail. PFP-style cheek blushes and starry halo are optional aura for stylized cutaways only; default on-camera look is the ref sheet. Colors on file: base #6b5388, horns #4a2299, ear cream #8d7776, wing membrane #6e2a80, underbelly #e1c77e, eyes #52904b. */
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Rain settles on the throne, alone. The crowd—implied, never seen clearly—comes to a hush.
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RAINCLOUD
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(to camera, warm-hosting-voice)
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Welcome, welcome, welcome. To those returning to the court: you already know what this is. To those joining us for the first time: you are about to find out.
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A beat. He scans the empty space beside him where a mod desk would normally sit. He does not acknowledge it.
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RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
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Today we run **the BattleRoyale**. Our first. And today, no creature in my orbit sits it out. Not my oldest regulars. Not my vendors. Not my mod.
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He lets that breathe.
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RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
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A little bird told me this was someone's idea.
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CUT TO:
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INT. THE COLOSSEUM - SAND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS
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A single figure stands in a pool of spotlight: **AZURE.** Full ref-sheet form—porcelain-periwinkle Killer Queen silhouette, gold-skull belts, cat-eared helmet, ice-mint slit eyes. Over the armor, comically wrong: an oversized **royal-blue John Cena tee**. Sleeves baggy. The shirt reads **CENATION** in peeling vinyl. He is waving—theatrical, elbow-deep—at the dais.
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AZURE
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(brightly)
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My lord! Yes! I pitched it! I am so glad you loved the—
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RAINCLOUD (O.S.)
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I did love it.
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AZURE
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Yes! Thank you—
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RAINCLOUD (O.S.)
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I loved it enough to put you in it.
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A long, small beat. Azure's smile holds. The armor does not move. Only the Cena shirt flutters, weakly.
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AZURE
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(small)
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...in it.
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Raincloud leans forward in the throne, genial, merciless.
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RAINCLOUD
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You came to me with the concept. You did not, as I recall, include yourself on the roster.
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AZURE
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(very quickly)
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A host! I was—my thought was, I would *host*, I would—help announce, introduce, I could—
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RAINCLOUD
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Nobody is hosting today. Nobody but me. Adrian is on the floor. So are you.
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Azure's eyes flick, briefly, across the sand. Somewhere in the middle distance, at ease, **ADRIAN** is already standing among the other arriving contestants—hands in pockets, a plain leather sheath on his hip, a **green sword** pommel visible above the lip of it. The sword is the literal form of the mod icon, rendered as a physical object; everyone in the court knows what it is. He gives Azure a small, unbothered wave with his off hand. The sword does not move.
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AZURE
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(wounded)
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Right. Right. Of course.
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Raincloud steeples his claws.
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RAINCLOUD
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Here is what I will do. I will honor your creativity. I will honor, also, your enthusiasm. So I am placing you on the roster. Front and center.
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He lets it land.
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RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
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Prove your worth in the arena you designed, and we will talk about what a creature like you deserves.
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Azure, recovering, pivots—skekSil reflex—into a theatrical, over-deep bow. The Cena tee bunches awkwardly around his waist.
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AZURE
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(radiant)
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My lord is GENEROUS.
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RAINCLOUD
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Mm.
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Raincloud turns to camera.
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RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
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Your champions. In order of arrival.
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SMASH TO:
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/* ==== VANITY CARDS ==== Nine cards total, in true order of arrival in Rain's life (writer-canon, not chat first-seen). Adrian (longest tie, predates the court) → Azure → Agate (both early forum-era, tied; Azure precedes by creator's nod) → Ubear → Rooster → Noname → Jenni → Starboy → Beanie. Rain's "in order of arrival" line is now literal — no creative exception. Each card: hero pose in a contained spotlight field, name-banner unfurls, subtext chyron shows true handle + one alt where applicable, Rain V.O. gives two-line description. Proofread all text. Card lengths may vary—Noname and Jenni can be deliberately lean. */
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INT. VANITY FIELD - VOID
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A pool of spotlight. Black surround. Chains of subscriber-count banners rain from somewhere above and halt, hanging.
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ADRIAN steps into the light first. Portrait-faithful—early-twenties, light-skinned Chicano, full brown curly hair, hoop earrings, mole on one cheek, crisp white collared jacket over black shirt. On his hip, in a plain leather sheath: a **green sword**, the literal form of the mod icon, rendered as physical steel. He rests his off hand on the pommel without looking at it, a gesture so habitual it barely registers. Unbothered. A banner unfurls behind him:
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**Adrian**
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*Axe7Adrian*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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First name on the badge. The green on his hip is not a costume choice. Has held rank longer than most of you have held your handles—longer, in fact, than most of you have known I exist. Stands down to the floor today, on my order, because no rank exempts anyone from today. Will outlast most of you by the simple mechanism of having seen it all already.
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Adrian gives the camera one small nod, no pose. Exits. The sword never leaves the sheath.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **AZURE** steps in. He poses. A banner unfurls behind him:
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**ActuallyAzure**
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*guidingflyer530 · actuallynotazure*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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Disgraced ex-Mod. Highly esteemed and beloved court jester who originated the Royale. Will he survive long enough to return to his former glory?
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Azure preens. The Cena shirt catches the light unflatteringly. He loves it.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **AGATE** walks in—long, lithe, cream-and-coral feathered chimera, white spiral markings on the haunches, big avian wings folded. Quiet. Poised. Single mint eye catching the light.
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**Agate**
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*LoonyAgate*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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Quietest of the court, and one of the oldest. Has been in my orbit since long before most of this room could find the server. Patient as sand, soft-spoken as fog, and absolutely aware of every exit. He is here because he was invited. That is all he will say.
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Agate dips his head, a half-bow, and the tail-tuft flicks once.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **UBEAR** steps in—fez crooked, **red-with-yellow-band, black tassel**; massive brass-geared steampunk left arm clicking softly; grizzly bulk, dark claws. He does not pose. He glowers.
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**Ubear**
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*verify52w · AncientMalgru*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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Imitator. Subverter. Wears whichever face the room requires and hates that it works. Ubear is his favorite mask, and he will die before he admits it.
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Ubear makes a rude gesture with the mechanical arm. The gears whine.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **NOTORIOUSROOSTER** steps in. A **large, baggy dark-green cloak** so voluminous it obscures every detail of whatever body wears it—pooled hem on the floor, cavernous hood, oversized bell sleeves. From the hood, only a **short, sharp orange beak** (rooster-shape, downcurved tip) and a **sliver of red gizzard** at the throat. From each sleeve, the tip of a folded **wing** protrudes. Behind, a spray of **tail plumage** trails from a gap in the back of the cloak. No face. No body. No gender read. Just the bird-parts the fabric can't contain.
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**NotoriousRooster**
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*notorious_rooster*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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Through the door years ago, and never once fully through the hood. Voice like a siren, identity like a rumor. Louder than this arena has yet permitted, and still unseen.
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The beak tips, regally. A tiny wave from inside the cloak.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **NONAME** walks in. Small anthro-adjacent dark cat, body unremarkable and slightly too still. The face is wrong at every angle: oversized pale-yellow bug eyes, an edited grin of human teeth. Two thin segmented **alien antennae** rise from the top of the head, bulb-tipped, twitching once on their own.
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**Noname**
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*noname106668*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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Low heat. Low volume. Long memory. Speaks once an hour and half the time rewrites the room when they do. The antennae are not a bit.
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Noname does not pose. Does not blink. Stares at a point behind the camera for a beat too long. The antennae twitch again. Exits without moving the face.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **JENNI** enters, polite, composed. Anime-realistic anthro cat girl—medium-length pink hair with a side lock forward, upright pink cat ears, pink cat tail flicking once behind her; human face, big blue eyes, light skin. Casual streetwear: cropped pink tee, black athletic shorts, black ankle socks, black sneakers. Stylus in one hand, thin tablet tucked under the opposite arm. She glances up at the unseen emote gargoyles on the arena walls and gives them the smallest professional nod—her work, on display.
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/* Jenni — play to full-body ref sheet, NOT the PFP. Human face (no feline muzzle), no red-gem accessories, casual sneaker fit. She renders in anime-girl style against the Catmull-Baroque arena; the stylistic clash is the Gumball joke. Do not restyle her to match Rain's painterly scale. */
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**Jenni**
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*JenniMilano*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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Commissioned artist of the court. Her work hangs on these walls. Present today because I extended the invitation to every creature who has ever billed me. Polite, fast, deadline-conscious—and one of the few of you I actually respect, for reasons she earned.
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Jenni does a small, cordial curtsy. "Thank you :3" is implied but unspoken. Exits.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **STARBOY** saunters in, chibi-proportioned despite the weight of the intro—teal-aqua layered hair, galaxy eyes, blue shearling-collar jacket, star hair clip. He winks.
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**Starboy**
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*Starboy_Journeys · Ruford / ijustdunnoanymore*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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Chaos comic, late arrival, impossible to ignore. Louder than he can afford to be, and funnier than he knows.
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/* the Ruford / ijustdunnoanymore subtext is a deliberate writer-side tell for later installments. Audience can read it or not. */
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Starboy makes a kiss at the camera, then an obscene gesture, then another kiss. He exits.
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CUT TO:
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Same void. **BEANIE** strides in. Chipper, pierced, beanie hat pulled just-so; confident grin, comfortable posture, the easy carry of someone who has never lost a social exchange. /* Beanie has no ref sheet yet—proofread. */
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**Beanie**
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*beaniee__*
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RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
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All-rounder, weekend menace, bi-hazard to any alliance. Sharp enough to snipe, warm enough to ally, chaotic enough to betray the room for a better joke. Close with Azure. Fair warning.
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Beanie flashes a peace sign, then a middle finger, then a peace sign again. Exits grinning.
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CUT TO:
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INT. THE COLOSSEUM - SAND FLOOR
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All nine champions now stand in a loose arc across the arena floor. Azure fidgets at the head of the arc. Rooster's beak tracks slow across the room. Adrian's off hand rests on the green-sword pommel at his hip; the other is in his pocket. Noname's antennae twitch once, at nothing. Ubear stares at the dais. Jenni's stylus rests against her tablet; she is reading something unseen on it. Starboy is chewing something. Beanie leans on Azure's shoulder; Azure does not object. Agate is still.
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Rain stands. The first time he has stood in the film.
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RAINCLOUD
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Three rounds. You will learn them as you live them. The short version: I am measuring reflex, then recognition, then something you are not going to like me asking you for. Eliminations carry—you lose a round, you stay on the floor, you stop scoring. At the end, I call it. My call is final.
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STARBOY
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What's the "not going to like" one?
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RAINCLOUD
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You'll know.
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NONAME
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(flatly, to no one)
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piza feddy five bear simulator.
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Beat. Nobody responds. The antennae twitch once.
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RAINCLOUD
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(light, almost kind)
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Begin.
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CUT TO:
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INT. THE COLOSSEUM - ROUND ONE: CRASH COURSE
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/* Reflex chaos. Play like a game-show obstacle gauntlet, not a death match. Streamer UI aesthetics translated into physical set pieces: giant floating chat-message blocks on chains, a spinning EMOTE WHEEL, pyrotechnics fired by SUB ALERTS. Budget nine passes through the course; some full beats, some quick cuts. Save Azure for last. */
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The arena floor rearranges itself—literal hydraulic rumble—into a course of **SWINGING CHAT-BUBBLES** (oversized speech balloons on chains), a **SUB-ALERT CANNON** (fires harmless but blinding confetti on a trigger), and a rising, lowering **EMOTE WHEEL** bearing cartoon-dragon-face icons.
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Starboy sprints first. He ducks the first swinging bubble, eats the second in the chest, and cackles on his back.
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STARBOY
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(from the floor)
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TEN OUT OF TEN, WOULD GET MERKED AGAIN—
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He rolls clear.
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Rooster follows—the cowl billows, the beak leads—and he moves better than he should be able to move under all that fabric. The crowd reacts. The beak doesn't.
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Ubear lumbers. The mechanical arm tanks through a swinging bubble, gears whining. He does not duck. He does not need to.
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Beanie jogs through after him, takes the confetti cannon directly, laughs about it, keeps her beanie on through pure will, finishes clean.
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BEANIE
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(to Ubear, grinning)
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Two peas in a pod, big guy.
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UBEAR
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Do not.
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Agate moves last of the fast group, slow, unhurried, and the course seems to open around him like it's apologizing.
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Jenni paces the course deliberately—she is not an athlete, she is a freelancer—and clears it by **reading the timing** of each swinging bubble rather than sprinting. Finishes unshowy and clean. Gives the cannon a small professional nod on the way out, like appreciating the engineering.
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Adrian strolls through. Not sprinting. Not ducking. Clears it without visible effort, the way a man clears a room he has cleaned a thousand times. Finishes, returns to his spot in the arc, hands back in pockets.
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Noname approaches. Stops halfway through the course. Stares directly into the sub-alert cannon, unmoving. The cannon fires. The confetti parts around Noname's face like it isn't sure what to do. The antennae twitch. Noname keeps walking. Finishes.
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STARBOY
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(from the floor, awed)
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...bro.
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/* save Azure for last — he is the drama. */
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Azure steps up. The confetti cannon fires early—direct hit. He shrieks, slips, catches himself on a claw, and then, because he is Azure, recovers into an unnecessary pirouette. The Cena shirt nearly trips him.
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AZURE
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(panting, to the dais)
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I did not *technically* fall, my lord!
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RAINCLOUD
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(dry, enjoying it)
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Noted.
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ADRIAN
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(from the arc, without looking)
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Didn't fall. Did style.
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AZURE
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*Style*. Thank you, Adrian. I have always *respected* you.
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Adrian does not look at him.
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ADRIAN
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Mm-hm.
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The sub-alert cannon fires a second volley. Azure shrieks again, louder. He stumbles through the rest of the course in a cloud of his own confetti, arrives at the finish line upside-down against a chat bubble, and raises one claw in triumph.
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AZURE
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Survived! Unscathed! Beautiful!
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Rooster's beak swivels at him, slow and judgmental. Starboy applauds from the floor, still on his back. Beanie wolf-whistles, appreciative.
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STARBOY
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That was *unreal*, bro, never stop.
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BEANIE
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Get it, skekSil.
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AZURE
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(genuinely touched)
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*Beanie.*
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CUT TO:
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INT. THE COLOSSEUM - ROUND TWO: AUDIT TRAIL
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/*
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Knowledge / metadata test. The arena reconfigures into a ceremonial COURT ARCHIVE: nine plinths, one per contestant, each bearing a SCROLL. The scroll is a ban log—nine real-looking ban entries (proofread; or invent fictional handles to avoid clashing with real mods). Each champion may read. Only one may guess. This is Azure's event. Set it up so the audience doesn't notice yet—play it like any of them could win.
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Runtime: expanded for the nine-contestant roster. Most characters read-and-react briefly; Azure carries the scene. Noname drops one cursed non-sequitur. Jenni reads efficiently, steps back. Adrian reads methodically, steps back. Beanie reads, then turns sideways to bother Ubear.
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*/
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The arena reconfigures. Nine stone PLINTHS rise from the sand. On each, a long parchment SCROLL unrolls itself with a ceremonial snap. Runic chat-script crawls across them.
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RAINCLOUD
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Nine bans. One of them is mine, but I did not write it. One of you has ninety seconds to tell me which is the forgery.
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He steeples his claws.
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RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
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Anyone may read. Only one of you may guess.
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The champions approach their scrolls. Ubear scowls at his and doesn't bother pretending to read. Rooster's beak bobs thoughtfully over his. Agate has finished reading his and steps back, calm, silent. Done.
|
||
|
||
Adrian reads methodically, top to bottom, no reaction. Steps back. Done.
|
||
|
||
Jenni reads efficiently, traces one line with her stylus, makes a small note on her tablet, steps back. Done.
|
||
|
||
Beanie reads hers, turns sideways, and physically waves her scroll in Ubear's face.
|
||
|
||
BEANIE
|
||
Look at this one. *Look.*
|
||
|
||
UBEAR
|
||
Move the parchment, simp—
|
||
|
||
Starboy reads the first line of his aloud:
|
||
|
||
STARBOY
|
||
"Banned for asking the dragon if his—"
|
||
(squints)
|
||
—is this real? This is amazing.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
It is real. That one is real.
|
||
|
||
Noname stares at their scroll. Does not read. The antennae twitch once.
|
||
|
||
NONAME
|
||
(flatly)
|
||
the wendigo comes from Native American tales and stories.
|
||
|
||
Beat. Nobody responds. Noname does not elaborate.
|
||
|
||
Azure has not moved to a single scroll. He is standing in the center of the plinths, rotating slowly, reading all nine *from where he stands*. His slit eyes flick. His lips move, counting.
|
||
|
||
Ubear notices. Ubear does not like it.
|
||
|
||
UBEAR
|
||
(muttering)
|
||
He has no business being good at this.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(not looking up)
|
||
I have *every* business.
|
||
|
||
He steps forward, places a single claw on the fourth scroll.
|
||
|
||
AZURE (CONT'D)
|
||
This one. The timestamp's wrong. You don't write bans at that hour, my lord. You write them right after stream, when you are still mad. This one is two days delayed. Also the reason field is too clean. You're messier when you're mad.
|
||
|
||
Long pause.
|
||
|
||
Rain tilts his head. The warm-hosting-voice slips, for one small second, into something else—genuine, quiet, assessing.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
...correct.
|
||
|
||
Azure straightens. The Cena tee un-bunches. Adrian, in the arc, inclines his head in small approval—a tell Rain clocks and files.
|
||
|
||
ADRIAN
|
||
(quiet, to nobody)
|
||
Mm.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
(quiet, back)
|
||
Mm.
|
||
|
||
Azure does not catch any of this. He is too busy soaking in the first real approval he has received in months.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(delighted)
|
||
I *knew* my evenings in the audit channel would—
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
Round three.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
—yes my lord.
|
||
|
||
CUT TO:
|
||
|
||
INT. THE COLOSSEUM - ROUND THREE: THE BOW
|
||
|
||
/*
|
||
Social / loyalty test. Here is the real gauntlet.
|
||
|
||
Setup: the arena is cleared. In the center of the sand, a single object: a ceremonial BOW (weapon, not a gesture—until it is). The rules, as Rain explains them, sound cruel. The rules, as they play out, are a test of whether any champion will sacrifice their standing to protect the throne.
|
||
|
||
The spine does NOT change from the five-roster draft. Ubear reaches, Starboy blocks, Azure takes the bow, kneels. The other contestants (Rooster, Adrian, Noname, Jenni, Beanie, Agate) fill out the circle and react without derailing the beat. Runtime budget: ~6 pages. This is where the movie earns its ending.
|
||
*/
|
||
|
||
The plinths have sunk. In the exact center of the sand floor: a slim black **ceremonial BOW**, an arrow nocked but not drawn, resting on a velvet cushion on a knee-high iron stand.
|
||
|
||
All nine champions flank the bow in a wide circle.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
One bow. One arrow. One shot.
|
||
|
||
He pauses.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
Whoever fires it at the dragon wins the round.
|
||
|
||
A beat. A real one. Starboy laughs, because Starboy doesn't know what else to do.
|
||
|
||
STARBOY
|
||
Come on.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
Nobody gets hurt. Dragon's a big boy. It's theatre. But the score is real. Winner of this round is ahead going into the verdict.
|
||
|
||
Rooster's beak swings to the bow and does not swing away.
|
||
|
||
Ubear's mechanical arm flexes once. Gears click.
|
||
|
||
Adrian is watching the floor, not the bow. Reading the room, not the object. His hand stays on the green sword's pommel, steady, as if someone might need reminding whose weapon actually belongs in this arena.
|
||
|
||
Beanie steps half a pace closer to Azure. Not touching. Present.
|
||
|
||
Jenni does not move. Clocks the bow, clocks the dragon, clocks the distance. Makes a small note on her tablet. Does not reach.
|
||
|
||
Noname stares at the bow. The antennae do not move.
|
||
|
||
Agate has not moved. Agate will not move.
|
||
|
||
Azure looks at the bow. Azure looks at the dragon. Azure looks, briefly, at Adrian.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
On your own time.
|
||
|
||
Silence. A long one. The crowd hush is a physical thing.
|
||
|
||
UBEAR
|
||
(grumbling)
|
||
Stupid game.
|
||
|
||
He steps forward anyway. Reaches for the bow.
|
||
|
||
Starboy moves faster. Not at the bow—*between* the bow and Ubear. Shoulder out, chibi-serious for one strange second.
|
||
|
||
STARBOY
|
||
Yeah no.
|
||
|
||
UBEAR
|
||
Move, simp.
|
||
|
||
STARBOY
|
||
(shrugging, grinning)
|
||
Can't.
|
||
|
||
Beanie, behind Azure, makes a small encouraging gesture at Starboy—atta-kid.
|
||
|
||
Rooster's beak tips, curious. Rooster does not intervene. Rooster watches.
|
||
|
||
Adrian has still not moved. Does not even look up.
|
||
|
||
Jenni closes her tablet.
|
||
|
||
Noname speaks.
|
||
|
||
NONAME
|
||
(flatly)
|
||
I am bewildered.
|
||
|
||
Nobody answers. Agate closes his eyes.
|
||
|
||
Azure—
|
||
|
||
Azure steps past Starboy and Ubear, picks up the bow.
|
||
|
||
The room inhales.
|
||
|
||
Azure turns. He faces the dais. The bow rises. The string draws. The arrow aligns with Raincloud, who has not moved, who is watching with the focused stillness of something that might already know the answer.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
(quiet)
|
||
Take the shot, Azure.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(quieter)
|
||
My lord—
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
Take the shot. Win the round. You are one point behind.
|
||
|
||
Long beat. Azure's claws are shaking. The Cena shirt flutters.
|
||
|
||
Then, slowly, Azure turns the bow aside. He sets the arrow back on the cushion. He lays the bow beside it. He kneels.
|
||
|
||
He kneels *hard*—forehead to the sand, both claws extended, the skekSil over-deep bow he has been doing all his life, performed at last with nothing theatrical in it at all. His shoulders are shaking. The Cena shirt pools around him.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(muffled, into the sand)
|
||
I decline the round.
|
||
|
||
He does not look up.
|
||
|
||
AZURE (CONT'D)
|
||
I withdraw.
|
||
|
||
Starboy, still between Ubear and the bow's old position, exhales. Ubear grunts. Rooster's beak tips, approvingly this time. Beanie's expression softens—she was not expecting it either. Jenni, quietly, makes a final note. Adrian, still silent, finally looks up. Agate opens his eyes. Noname's antennae twitch once and go still.
|
||
|
||
Rain, on the throne, does not move for a long beat. Then, very slightly, he leans back.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
Adrian.
|
||
|
||
Adrian looks up at the dais. The room notices his rank resurface in a single syllable.
|
||
|
||
ADRIAN
|
||
(small nod)
|
||
On it.
|
||
|
||
CUT TO:
|
||
|
||
INT. THE COLOSSEUM - VERDICT
|
||
|
||
/*
|
||
All nine champions arced across the sand. Azure still kneeling, though he's been given leave to stand—he has not. Rain on the throne. Do not let Rain be warm. Let him be PRECISE. The warmth is the audience's to feel.
|
||
|
||
Adrian's "mod rank resurfaces" moment: he steps forward from the contestant line to handle the badge ceremony. That is the only time his seniority shows on camera—it matters more because it was held in reserve all film.
|
||
*/
|
||
|
||
Raincloud remains standing.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
Three rounds. I will call them plainly.
|
||
|
||
He gestures, once.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
Round one, reflexes. Starboy.
|
||
|
||
Starboy blinks. Then beams. Then flops sideways onto the sand like he's been shot, because that is Starboy's victory dance.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
Round two, the audit. Azure.
|
||
|
||
Azure, forehead still on the ground, makes a small sound that could be a sob or could be laughter.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
Round three, the bow. Vacated. No shot was taken. No shot was *permitted* to be taken, by two of you, and that is interesting to me.
|
||
|
||
He looks, evenly, at Starboy. At Azure.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
By scoring, the round belongs to no one.
|
||
|
||
A beat.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
By *meaning*—
|
||
|
||
He lets that hang. Then:
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
Azure.
|
||
|
||
Azure finally looks up. Slit eyes wet, mint-bright.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
Stand.
|
||
|
||
Azure stands. It takes him a moment.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
You designed this arena. You did not, when handed a weapon pointed at me, use it. That is a test you did not know you were taking, and you passed it.
|
||
|
||
The arc holds. Nobody moves.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
I am reinstating your mod.
|
||
|
||
The arena does not cheer. The arena waits—because that is what the arena has been trained to do. Azure's mouth opens. Closes. Opens again.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(hoarse)
|
||
My— my lord, I—
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
(cutting him off, but not unkindly)
|
||
On two conditions.
|
||
|
||
Azure nods frantically, a child being told his punishment is reduced.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
One. Adrian has held the desk since before you held anything. He remains senior. You will defer to him, in public, always.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(instantly)
|
||
Always. Of course. *Adrian.*
|
||
|
||
Adrian, still in the contestant arc, inclines his head.
|
||
|
||
ADRIAN
|
||
(deadpan)
|
||
Cool.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
Two. The gauntlet you designed will run again. Next year. You will host beside me when it does. You will not be on the roster a second time.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(whispering)
|
||
Thank you. Thank you, my lord. Thank you.
|
||
|
||
Rain turns, lightly, to Adrian.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
Adrian. If you would.
|
||
|
||
Adrian steps forward out of the contestant arc. For the first time all film, the green sword on his hip is what the camera tracks—the rank that has been quietly present all along, now reading as authority. He crosses the sand unhurried, off hand still resting on the pommel, produces a small, flat, metallic **mod badge** from an inner pocket with the other, and stops in front of Azure. Pins it on the Cena tee. Casually. Like he has done it a hundred times. Maybe because he has.
|
||
|
||
ADRIAN
|
||
(quietly, to Azure, as he pins it)
|
||
Breathe, man. Badge doesn't help if you faint.
|
||
|
||
AZURE
|
||
(a small laugh, wet)
|
||
*Adrian.*
|
||
|
||
ADRIAN
|
||
Mm-hm.
|
||
|
||
Adrian pats his shoulder once and returns to the arc.
|
||
|
||
/* final tableau */
|
||
|
||
Wide shot: the nine champions in a loose arc. Azure, badge glinting blue on his chest over the ridiculous Cena tee. Starboy still sprawled in the sand. Rooster's beak finally tilted skyward in something like approval. Adrian, off hand back on the green-sword pommel, other hand in his pocket. Noname unmoved, antennae still. Ubear rolling his mechanical shoulder, grudging. Jenni, tablet tucked under one arm, giving the reinstated Azure a small cordial nod. Beanie, arms crossed, grin unfolding. Agate, small smile, the tail-tuft flicking.
|
||
|
||
Rain, back on the throne. The dais still missing its mod desk. The gilded MOTD frame still watching from the wall, squirrel-girl portrait inside it, bronze nameplate catching one last glint of the overhead light.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD
|
||
(to camera, warm-hosting-voice again)
|
||
Thus concludes our first BattleRoyale. We'll see you at the next one.
|
||
|
||
He lifts one claw. The lights begin to lower.
|
||
|
||
RAINCLOUD (CONT'D)
|
||
(smaller, to himself, barely audible)
|
||
That was instructive.
|
||
|
||
The arena dims.
|
||
|
||
FADE OUT.
|
||
|
||
#END.
|
||
|
||
/*
|
||
==== PRODUCTION / CUT-DOWN NOTES ====
|
||
|
||
If runtime overshoots (current estimate ~38–40 min):
|
||
1. Noname's vanity card can be ~15s—brevity IS the joke.
|
||
2. Jenni's vanity card can collapse to ~20s if needed; her "thank you :3" curtsy carries it.
|
||
3. Round 1 brief beats (Jenni, Adrian, Beanie) are already lean—do not trim further or they disappear.
|
||
4. Round 2 reactions from Adrian / Jenni can be shot as a single 3-second montage ("contestants who finished without drama").
|
||
5. If you must cut a full beat: Beanie's "two peas in a pod" heckle of Ubear in Round 1 is the cheapest drop (~10s).
|
||
6. Do NOT cut: the kneel, "you designed this arena," Adrian stepping forward to pin the badge, Rain's final "that was instructive." Those four are the spine.
|
||
|
||
If runtime undershoots (unlikely):
|
||
1. Extend the silence before Azure steps toward the bow. The longer that beat holds, the more the kneel pays.
|
||
2. Add a reaction beat from Noname post-kneel—the antennae moving, nothing else. Uncanny footnote.
|
||
*/
|