+ 4 - 4 | § ¶Making Of Yet Another Hatbag

David: Seth: So I decided to do something different for your birthday this year.
Guy: Oh?
Seth: I'm giving you a life experience. I've carefully orchestrated this entire 24-hour-period, involving everyone who's close to you, arranging supposedly chance encounters, leaving little Easter Eggs around you. All carefully planned to make everything just a little different. Not drastically so, but just enough that all day long you'll be wondering whether something really is completely normal and random, or whether its the purposeful result of my careful machinations.
Guy: Oh, really! Well, there's no way you could have planned me leaving the store as soon as I got here! Let's see your plan work now.

Herbert: You just told me you'd forgotten Guy's birthday.
Seth: With any luck, he'll never know that.

David: Only funny

David: Or unfunny in a finely manipulated way that achieves our goals

Lain: just like every other hatbag

David: exactly

Lain: What about:
Herbert: Today's his birthday?
Seth: Yeah --- I had forgotten until he walked in.

David: better

Lain: Herbert: That's either a brilliant gift or a lazy cover for your forgetting his birthday.
Seth: Yeah....uh, what did I get you for your birthday?
Herbert: The same thing.
Seth: Then it's a brilliant gift.

Lain: or

Lain: Herbert: Think he'll figure out that you forgot his birthday and just made up some B.S. about what the gift was?

Lain: Seth: You never do.

David: hmmm ... I think this one may still be best ... less punchy, but may benefit from being simpler and more obvious:
Herbert: Today's his birthday?
Seth: Yeah --- I had forgotten until he walked in.

Lain: sure

David: Better if Guy's response is: "Wow, Seth, that really is creative! I'm going to head out now so I can get started!"

David: ?

Lain: possibly.....

Lain: maybe

Lain: "I can't wait to see what you've got in store for me!"

Herbert: What DO you have in store for him?
Seth: My guess would be a fairly normal day followed by a growing sense that he's been hoodwinked.

David: hmmmm

Lain: Herbert: And that's when I climb in through his window and beat him up?
Seth: I'll get the pillowcase full of doorknobs.

Lain: Herbert: What DO you have in store for him?
Seth: Who the hell knows? I didn't even remember it was his birthday until he came in.

David: Herbert: What DO you have in store for him?
Seth: Since I forgot it was his birthday until just now, my guess would be a fairly normal day followed by a growing sense that he's been hoodwinked.

Lain: Except now that I think about it, it may be unlikely that his birthday is a fairly normal day.

Lain: THat would be a bit sad.

Lain: Surely Jenny got him something

David: "...relatively normal day"?

Lain: it would be funny if something incredibly unusual happened to him on that day and he credited (or blamed) Seth

Lain: hit by a car

Lain: wins the lottery

Lain: hit by a lottery truck

David: heh

David: yeah, it's begging for a Later That Day strip

David: but I have no ideas for it

Lain: well, i gotta go make some edits to the homecoming skit script and start printing it up, so i'll just say that either of these are fine with me:

Herbert: What DO you have in store for him?
Seth: Who the hell knows? I didn't even remember it was his birthday until he came in.

Herbert: What DO you have in store for him?
Seth: Since I forgot it was his birthday until just now, my guess would be a fairly normal day followed b

David: OK

David: I think the last one accomplishes the goal pretty well

Lain: all righty then